Landline By Rainbow Rowell

[amazon_link id=”1409154912″ target=”_blank” ][/amazon_link]’Landline’ is the latest book by Rainbow Rowell.

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 he still loves her – but that almost seems besides the point now. Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells him 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 – he is always a little upset with her – 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?

‘Landline’ was a book that completely caught me off guard. I wasn’t sure what I was getting once I tucked into this vibrant and beautifully illustrated book, but magical time travelling wasn’t something I considered.

The story is seen in the third person observing Georgie McCool (such a great time) at Christmas time when it’s a time for family but her and her writing partner and best friend Seth have potentially the life opportunity of a lifetime getting to pitch their scripts for a possible television series. Having to work to such a tight deadline means that Georgie has to miss out on Christmas with her husband Neal and two daughters Alice and Noomi as they visit Neal’s mum in Omaha. Left behind to work, Georgie has to de with the stress of work as well as listen to her family who are now convinced that Neal and Georgie have spilt up. Scared at this thought, Georgie tries to keep in touch with Neal over the Christmas break but they always seem to miss each other. Then Georgie stumbles across an old landline phone and when she uses, she always manages to get hold Neal, but it’s always the old Neal, the one who made her happy from the very start.

I enjoyed this book and thought it was quite a magical and fun story. I found Georgie and Neal’s relationship to be a strange one but then I found Neal to be an unique character. He gave up his life and his independence to support Georgie’s career and was the perfect father to their sweet little girls. But it seemed with Georgie he constantly seemed to be disappointed even though he knew she always put her career before family. He never laughed or showed emotion, he was just there being practical. Georgie was a hardworking character but you could see she had a bit of a selfish side, leaving Neal to everything whilst she and Seth chased the impossible dream. It was also apparent that Seth was the thorn in Neal and Georgie’s relationship, her best friend since university, he was always about putting pressure on Georgie to work never considering her family as he was a busy bachelor.

The magical element to the story was the part that I really clung onto as Georgie would talk to Neal through the landline, we see a younger lighter hearted version of the man before the stress of life, he was more vocal and they would spend hours talking and I loved this, as it showed the relationship developing. There were also chapters about the couple when they first meet and shows the tender moments and the more frustrating times when they strive to make things work.

This is the first book that I have by Rainbow and I thought it was an interesting introduction to her. Her books are easy to read with absorbing characters and a couple of nice sub stories that make for entertaining twists.

A story about the rise and fall of relationships, ‘Landline’ is about second chances and if you could relive your life, what would you do live differently. A recommended read.

You can buy [amazon_link id=”1409154912″ target=”_blank” ]Landline from Amazon [/amazon_link] and is available to buy from good bookshops.