Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Landline
Synopsis:
Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it’s been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now.
Maybe that was always beside the point.
Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect to him to pack up the kids and go home without her.
When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.
That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts . . .
Is that what she’s supposed to do?
Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?
Review:
After finishing A Knight in Shining Armor the other day and having issues with the time travel element I was hesitant to start Landline. Yes it is not really time travel, but the whole premise is present day Georgie talks with Neal in the past which is similar enough that it made me pause before starting it. I still jumped in because, well it is Rainbow Rowell and I tend to enjoy her books. I am so glad I did. This book was really a great story and the time travel like elements actually worked. By the end I was just like thank you for making this story make sense! So yes, thank you Rainbow Rowell for not making this one of those stories that explodes my head a little because it doesn't make sense.
Georgie is a comedy writer with her best friend. They work on TV shows with the dream of one day having their own show they can write themselves. Well as luck would have it they have a meeting to sell their show just after Christmas! Yey for Georgie, not yey for her family. Everyone was supposed to go to Nebraska for Christmas with Neal's (the husband) family. Well, now Georgie can't go, but Neal decides to go anyways with the kids and leave Georgie behind. It was a really interesting read as you can see Georgie's point of view, but not Neal's. Georgie feels like she needs Neal and the kids more than they need her. Neal and the kids are this package and she is the outsider almost. It was really interesting to see her view of everything.
Throughout the story you also get the backstory of how Neal and Georgie got together. I loved that. Neal is so odd in such a good way in this book. They just seemed to work even though Georgie now thinks it might have been better for him had they never gotten married. Neal might have been happier without her even though she cannot imagine not having him. She needs him, but he doesn't need her. Well she starts staying with her mom while Neal is away and she uses the landline to call him at his parents. She quickly realizes she is not talking to present day Neal, but past Neal where he went back to Nebraska by himself for Christmas again. At the time Georgie had thought Neal broke up with her, but on Christmas day that year he came back and proposed. At first Georgie thinks she is crazy, losing her mind as how can she talk to someone in the past? Then she figures maybe she needs to change what happened. Maybe things shouldn't have happened the way they did. It was really fun to read her trying to figure all of this out and see her connect with Neal again. It was kind of obvious what would happen at the end, but it was still fun getting there.
Thankfully when you get to the end it all makes sense. There is none of this time travel not working things like most time travel books. It all works out and everyone is happy. Well most everyone. It really was a great read and I really enjoyed it.
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★1/2
Throughout the story you also get the backstory of how Neal and Georgie got together. I loved that. Neal is so odd in such a good way in this book. They just seemed to work even though Georgie now thinks it might have been better for him had they never gotten married. Neal might have been happier without her even though she cannot imagine not having him. She needs him, but he doesn't need her. Well she starts staying with her mom while Neal is away and she uses the landline to call him at his parents. She quickly realizes she is not talking to present day Neal, but past Neal where he went back to Nebraska by himself for Christmas again. At the time Georgie had thought Neal broke up with her, but on Christmas day that year he came back and proposed. At first Georgie thinks she is crazy, losing her mind as how can she talk to someone in the past? Then she figures maybe she needs to change what happened. Maybe things shouldn't have happened the way they did. It was really fun to read her trying to figure all of this out and see her connect with Neal again. It was kind of obvious what would happen at the end, but it was still fun getting there.
Thankfully when you get to the end it all makes sense. There is none of this time travel not working things like most time travel books. It all works out and everyone is happy. Well most everyone. It really was a great read and I really enjoyed it.
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★1/2
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