As soon as they return home, Dex comes to Rachel’s apartment and they both admit they have real feelings for one another.Īs Rachel and Dex spend more time together, developing a strong emotional and physical connection, Rachel’s friendship with Darcy starts to deteriorate. Rachel finds herself experiencing jealousy and longing when she travels to the Hamptons for Memorial Day weekend with Dex and Darcy, as well as their friends Hillary, Marcus, and Claire. While Rachel tries to ignore her drunken tryst with Dex in its immediate aftermath, their attraction to one another is undeniable.

Rachel wakes up to the fact that she’s not a risk taker, and has been happy to live life complacently, focused on pleasing others and doing what’s expected of her. Rachel starts to realize the extent of her passivity and reflects on the subdued role she’s played in her previous relationships. However, when Dex and Rachel spend a drunken night together after Rachel’s 30th birthday celebration, her life begins to change dramatically. Rachel’s status as Darcy’s maid-of-honor serves as a reminder that she constantly lives in Darcy’s shadow. Rachel feels tremendous jealousy towards Darcy, who not only has a fancy job, but is also planning her dream wedding to Dex. She finds her job as an attorney at a Manhattan law firm unsatisfying, and envies Darcy’s glamorous job at a PR firm. She’s failed to accomplish her life’s goals, which center on getting married and starting a family, as well as attaining a fulfilling career. Rachel begins the story plagued by insecurities on the eve of her 30th birthday.

Something Borrowed follows protagonist Rachel White as she begins an affair with Dexter Thaler, the fiancé of her best friend, Darcy Rhone.

Giffin currently lives in Atlanta with her husband and children and released her 11th novel in 2022. It was there that she wrote Something Borrowed, which was published soon after its completion. Although the novel was initially rejected, Giffin eventually retired from the legal profession and moved to London to pursue writing full time. In her spare time, she started working on the manuscript for a novel. Giffin began her career practicing litigation in Manhattan after attending the University of Virginia Law School.

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin