The Opposite of Love

From debut author Julie Buxbaum comes a brave original heroine who will be instantly recognizable to anyone who has loved and lost. . . and loved again.

When twenty-nine-year-old attorney Emily Haskey ends her happy relationship just as her boyfriend is about to propose, she can't explain to even her closest friends why she did it. But beneath her independent exterior, Emily knows her decision has less to do with him and more to do with. . . her.

As the holidays loom and Emily contemplates whether she made a huge mistake, the rest of her world begins to unravel. She's assigned to a multimillion-dollar lawsuit where she must defend the very values she detests by a boss who can't keep his hands to himself, her beloved Grandpa Jack is losing it, while her distant father leaves her to cope alone; and memories of her deceased mother continually remind her that love doesn't love forever. Emily has faced tough opponents in the courtroom--but as she reaches her limit in the heartbreak department, can she face her deepest fears?

Some of us go through life knowing exactly where we are and what we want. Some others are not so fortunate. A lot of us have issues that keep us from moving forward, usually borne from experiences we had when we were growing up. (I'm not really sure where I fall on this issue scale, but that is beside the point.) The Opposite of Love gives testament to that struggle. It tells the story of Emily, who almost has everything, but who, because of her fears, is not ready to have it all.

This must be the trend now--all these novels about soul-searching. After all, it's only been a couple a weeks since I've read Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love, and the two books almost sing the same tune. Are people really that confused? Eat Pray Love and The Opposite of Love both tell stories about women who are trying to find themselves, and both books I really love, but that is where their similarities end. I have to say, that to me, the latter comes out superior even though it has not been getting much publicity. The Opposite of Love, despite being the fictional one,  comes out with so much more emotion and reality, it's hard to believe it's just a tale straight out of the author's imagination.

Like all good books, The Opposite of Love forces you to take a look at your own life and take lessons from it. It is true that experience is the best teacher, but it really wouldn't hurt to listen to this book and not have to learn a lot of life's lessons the hard way. It is definitely a must-read, and you won't be able to stop turning the pages. If you're like me, you will shed buckets of tears. Although I have some similarities with the heroine, we are not completely alike. At times all I wanted to do was knock some sense into her, but I understood her.

Perhaps the best description of this book comes from another author, Hope Edelman, who sums up the novel as "A brilliant examination of loss, romance, and the jagged, imperfect, utterly realistic way we fall and stay in love. A stunning debut." I couldn't agree more, and I can only add, "Move over Nicholas Sparks, I've found my new favorite author."