Rainbow Rowell's Attachments is book I had been looking forward to for quite some time. I'm a fan of books in email format - I absolutely adored the Holly's Inbox books and Meg Cabot's earlier 'Boy' series, among others. Sure, they're usually quick, light reads but they're loads of fun. So when the news of Attachments came, I was looking forward to finally reading it and snapped it up for my Kindle.Attachments is set in the office of a small American newspaper in 1999. Having recently gained use of the internet across the office, the staff members are new to office-based email and are aware that their emails are monitored. However, colleagues Jen and Beth aren't too bothered, and spend their time emailing each other with the goings-on in their lives.
Meanwhile, IT guy Lincoln is the one paid to check the emails and issue warnings to staff not adhering to internet usage policies. A lonely guy who lives with his mother, Lincoln is trying to move on after splitting with the first - and only - love of his life, Sam, a few years before. When he comes across the emails shared between Beth and Jennifer, he can't help but pry; after all, it's his job, even though he doesn't like being the guy responsible for getting staff into potential trouble. But soon enough, he's checking out the email conversations between Beth and Jen, and soon finds himself falling for Beth. But there's a problem - Beth doesn't know who he is. And confessing his feelings to her is only going to out him as a snoop who's found out everything he knows about her by reading her personal conversations. Can he do it?
The book is written in a nice format; the chapters flit from emails to story, so the novel is not completely in message form. Which was nice, as we get backstory from the characters. Though the emails are by far the best parts of the book. Ever spent boring work hours bouncing gossip across the office? So do Beth and Jen, and it's quite amusing.
Though I'll be honest here and say that even though the premise of Attachments is wonderful, I really didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would. In fact, I felt like giving up on it a couple of times throughout the book, but I hate reading a book and not reaching the end. But it was tempting. Lincoln seemed a bit of a cliché, and it was hard to like him at first, but then as the conversations continued and we got more of an insight into his life, I warmed to him a little. Admittedly I did like the relationship between Beth and Jen, who were messaging and gossiping throughout the day; I'm partial to the same kind of thing with friends and the conversations rang true!
However, I didn't find this book remotely as funny as I expected it to be, although the majority of reviews by others have claimed that it's hilarious, so this could just be down to a matter of personal taste. Even so, it's worth a read.
Rating: 3/5
Like this? Try Holly's Inbox by Holly Denham
