First Comes Love: A Novel

Josie and Meredith are as different as two sisters can be, and their love for one another is often at odds with their constant disagreements about, well, everything. Their relationship was always rocky, but it became much worse after the death of their brother more than a decade ago. In fact, Daniel’s death tore their family apart in many ways. Now Meredith is struggling with feelings of inadequacy and wondering if she made the right decisions in marriage and career, while Josie decides it’s finally time to realize her lifelong dream of motherhood, husband or no. When a deep secret about Daniel’s death finally comes to light, will it destroy their relationship for good?

With First Comes Love, Emily Giffin weaves a complex story of family relations, secrets, love, and betrayal. The story is told via the alternating viewpoints of Josie and Meredith, which helps give readers a really thorough view both of how complicated their relationship is and of just how deeply the loss of their brother affected the entire family. Many readers will identify with Mere’s seeming midlife crisis, while others will be fascinated to see Josie navigate the world of sperm donors and voluntary single-motherhood. This is a fascinating novel that is hard to put down.