Review: The First Husband by Laura Dave

The First Husband
Author: Laura Dave
Published: May 12, 2011
Genre: chick lit
Hardcover: 256 pages
Source: borrowed from the library


My Rating: 3.5 stars


Synopsis (from GoodReads): Annie Adams is days away from her thirty-second birthday and thinks she has finally found some happiness. She visits the world's most interesting places for her syndicated travel column and she's happily cohabiting with her movie director boyfriend Nick in Los Angeles. But when Nick comes home from a meeting with his therapist (aka "futures counselor") and announces that he's taking a break from their relationship so he can pursue a woman from his past, the place Annie had come to call home is shattered. Reeling, Annie stumbles into her neighborhood bar and finds Griffin-a grounded, charming chef who seems to be everything Annie didn't know she was looking for. Within three months, Griffin is Annie's husband and Annie finds herself trying to restart her life in rural Massachusetts. 


My Thoughts:  I picked up this book not because I was looking for something to make me view things differently, but because I was looking for an easy chick-lit book. However, Laura Dave's third novel is unlike anything that I have ever read before from this genre. It's not all sunshine and rainbows for the heroine, Annie, as she navigates through a break-up, meeting someone new and getting married, all within the span of a few months. And while there were some comical points throughout the novel, there are far more serious moments. Dave explores how people who fall in love quickly and marry navigate their first few months of marriage together. And while that alone would be enough to tackle! Just through in a set of twins, a new restaurant opening, and losing a job, and you have a great story.


The best thing about this book were the characters. Annie is a great main character, one who is real and authentic. She is flawed, but not overdone. I thought she was well-written and a realistic person, someone who I could imagine knowing in real life. Griffin, Annie's husband, was another great part of this book. While a typical leading man-type, he is also flawed, but he loves Annie. Nick, Annie's ex, is another great character. While he is supposed to come across as the villian of the novel, I didn't find him to be evil. I found him to be another flawed human being, just trying to figure out his life.


The characters are great, the plot interesting, and the writing superb. I cannot wait to read more of Dave's work in the future.