Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

5 Star

"Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . "

Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.

Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.

When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.

By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.

What would he say . . . ? 

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Lydia - 5 Star

Attachments is absolutely delightful! I immediately warmed to this quirky novel full of loveable characters, unusual circumstances and nostalgic references. Heart warming, romantic and utterly grin-invoking, there’s nothing not to love about Attachments.

 

This novel was funny, clever, cute and a joy to read. The characters of the two women came across so well from their emails and Lincoln was such a fabulous character to root for. Pining away for his high school sweetheart for the last nine years, I couldn’t help wanting to kick him into gear, but Lincoln grew to realize change was necessary on his own so I didn’t have to invent a way to teleport back a dozen years to an imagined time and place to kick his ass. His gradual transition was believable and immensely enjoyable to read.

 

I found Attachments really nostalgic. In 1999, I was in my mid-twenties, close to the age of the characters and I immediately related to the time period and all the pop culture and nostalgic references as well as the anti-climactic Y2K New Year’s Eve. I also related to the two women and their lives in emails because I too lived my life in emails during this time. Long drawn out conversations with girlfriends took place and I cringe to think of what the ‘email filters’ spewed out of my inbox. It wasn’t a stretch at all for me to believe you could get to know someone via their emails, especially back in the day of long drawn out ‘novels’ like those I used to write my girlfriends. 

 

I actually had to Google a Star Wars reference because I didn’t believe that the follow up movie, or prequels came out in 1999. Yes, I have no fondness for Star Wars, have not even seen the three recent installments, but of course I knew the reference and was shocked to find all copy editing correct and bamboozled by how quickly time has passed. I was also surprised by how many of the geekish references in this novel I knew and giggled at and appreciated. I never would have thought I would be rooting for a Dungeons and Dragons playing, Star Wars loving creature.  But I was. But then again, I love The Big Bang Theory, so maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised.

 

Both men and women will enjoy this lighthearted romantic tale. I really want this to be a movie, but I don’t think it would come across well especially with almost all the interaction between the two women taking place via email. Attachments will appeal to the romantic geek in everyone as well as everyone who came of age during the invention of the internet. I loved every word and will definitely be reading more from Rainbow Rowell.

 

Thank you to Plume for our review copy! All opinions are our own.

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