"Giffin excels at creating complex characters and stories that ask us to explore what we really want from our lives."--Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tessa Russo is the mother of two young children and the wife of a renowned pediatric surgeon. Despite her own mother's warnings, Tessa has recently given up her career to focus on her family and the pursuit of domestic happiness. From the outside, she seems destined to live a charmed life.
Valerie Anderson is an attorney and single mother to six-year-old Charlie--a boy who has never known his father. After too many disappointments, she has given up on romance--and even to some degree, friendships--believing that it is always safer not to expect too much.
Although both women live in the same Boston suburb, the two have relatively little in common aside from a fierce love for their children. But one night, a tragic accident causes their lives to converge in ways no one could have imagined.
In alternating, pitch-perfect points of view, Emily Giffin's Heart of the Matter creates a moving, luminous story of good people caught in untenable circumstances. Each being tested in ways they never thought possible. Each questioning everything they once believed. And each ultimately discovering what truly matters most.
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"Loved it! Could not believe what happened between the two couples, and the deception really took me by surprise. I liked the growth in all of the characters, especially seeing the deeper side to April. It was a great book but still not my favorite of Giffin's."
— Kelli (4 out of 5 stars)
Very well done - I didn't realize until I was most of the way done that the voice is Miranda from Sex and the City. She does a great job.
— My Reading RoomCynthia Nixon narrates the audiobook and she is just fantastic. She has the ability to convey a lot of emotion with her voice and I was impressed with her performance.
— Daemon's BooksLike Giffin's previous books, Heart of the Matter is a story about love, relationships, and infidelity, with a decidedly Sex and the City tone, so I think Nixon is a natural pick to orate it.
— Entertainment Weekly“With realistic and a sharp depiction of relationships, Giffin crafts an emotional, effortless read.
— More magazine" started out very interesting, then didn't like it, then the ending was better "
— Barb, 1/28/2014" Definitely should expect another book from this series. "
— Rianna, 1/9/2014" Seriously, what is it with this author and the constant infidelity themes? It makes me think there is either cheating in her marriage or of someone close to her, and she is using the books as therapy! There are basically no redeeming qualities to this book - even most of the children are unlikable; the only one who elicits sympathy is Charlie, the 6 year old who gets badly burned due to negligence of the supervising adults at a birthday party. Definitely do NOT recommend it. Boo. "
— Margo, 1/7/2014" This was the first book I've read by Emily Giffin. I enjoyed her writing but I felt this story went on and on and on about nothing. It was boring. "
— Robin, 12/29/2013" Not a fan of books or movies about adultery so naturally I'm wondering why I bought the book in the first place... "
— Catherine, 12/28/2013" This was her best book. So insightful. Great for the 30-40's age group "
— Maria, 12/24/2013" I liked the way it went back and forth between the two women revealing the way Tessa felt and the way the author saw Valerie, interesting to see how both women viewed the situation. And I have to say not what I expected from the title and the first chapter. "
— Kay, 12/22/2013" As always Giffin does an amazing job of getting in people's heads. Just not my favorite of hers. "
— Emily, 12/19/2013" as mentioned previously, I enjoyed that characters from Something Borrowed were carried into this story. Towards the end of the book, I couldn't put it down as I wanted to see what decisions they all made. "
— Heather, 12/5/2013" The writing was brilliant. I love the way the scenes and actions are described so well. But the storyline just doesn't do it for me.. I'm not blaming the book, I just didn't find it interesting enough.. I actually found it quite boring. (it's just me ) "
— Rabbie, 12/2/2013" Meh. That's all I have to say about this book. I really loved Something Borrowed and Something Blue, but this was just a total miss for me. "
— Lara, 11/27/2013" Not my favorite Emily Giffin book. "
— Jeri, 11/9/2013" I enjoyed this book and I was really happy with the ending. "
— Wendy, 10/8/2013" Really enjoyed this book. My only issue is how Nick is described as such an amazing dad, man, doctor blah blah blah. Someone who never makes it home for dinner to see his wife and kids is not a real man to me. "
— Kathy, 5/10/2013" Love Emily Griffen. Love all her books. Couldn't put this book down. BUT, it left me feeling sad and melancholy. Even though I couldn't put it down, I wouldn't recommend it;( "
— Amieway, 10/15/2012" While at my daughter's this week, I snooped around in her books for something to read. Imagine my surprise to read such a good book! And she has 4 others by this author that she sent home with me. Very well written. "
— Barbara, 10/11/2012" I found it a bit formulaic and cardboardy, wishing more for a Housewives of Boston drama-filled story than the subtle stirrings within a privileged community with odd divisions of haves/have nots. "
— Scott, 10/9/2012" total fluff, unlikeable characters, I did finish it just to see how it would end, predictable of course. "
— Susan, 8/3/2012" I felt a lot of anger while reading this, because I hate cheaters. I also hate women who knowingly prey on another woman's man. It was pretty well written though. "
— Breanna, 8/1/2012" I wouldn't say I really liked it but I thought it was well written. "
— Shannon, 5/12/2012" I spent most of the book being angry at the main characters. I would not recommend to friends. "
— Sara, 12/28/2011" Awful! I actually skipped the middle of this book and flipped to end. I feel like Emily Griffin wrote this end book as a threat to women who step away from a career/profession to care for their children. I thought Valerie was lame and Tessa was even more lame. "
— Alina, 11/30/2011" This book was one of the hardest books for me to digest. It is well-written and engaging, but the subject-matter was haunting. That said, I appreciated this story more than I would have ever thought. "
— Laura, 11/12/2011" I'd give this 1.5 stars. "
— Kelly, 6/28/2011" Touching, realistic, and well written story told by two women...one who was the wife, the other who had an affair with that wife's husband. I didn't want to put it down. "
— Carol, 5/19/2011" I really enjoyed this book and it actually made me think. It was a bit slow at parts, but definitely worth reading! "
— Fabulous, 5/19/2011" Really good chick-lit; intelligent and insightful characters. Not the pulp I expected by the cover. "
— Nicole, 5/18/2011" Have decided I'm not a fan of Emily Giffin's and probably won't be reading anymore of her books. "
— Emily, 5/16/2011" I couldn't put this book down because I wanted to know what happened. There are parts of the book where I felt like I needed to talk to someone about what was happening. "
— Carrie, 5/15/2011" I liked the characters and found them believable, but the story line became old about half-way through. "
— Nancy, 5/14/2011" Good read, wonder why Emily centers so much around cheating spouses but then what would make the story so interesting if people just lived a boring life :) I liked the ending "
— Tammy, 5/14/2011" I usually love Emily Giffin books but I didn't like this one at all. It was a little to serious for my liking, I prefer a more light-hearted story. <br/> "
— Rose, 5/12/2011Emily Giffin is the author of eleven internationally bestselling novels, including the Adventures of Darcy series and nine stand-alone novels, including eight New York Times bestsellers.
Cynthia Nixon is an actress best known for her role in the popular television series Sex and the City. She has received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and A Grammy Award. Nixon lives with her wife and three children.