Landline - Rainbow Rowell

Landline by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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?


This was the first book I have read by Rainbow Rowell and after hearing so many great things about her as an author I couldn't wait to get started.

Georgie loves her job, she has been working hard all her life to achieve success writing scripts in her television job. She has been finding it hard juggling her career with her family life, her husband Neal and two children are beginning to suffer.

Neal takes the children to his mothers for Christmas in Nebraska something that Georgie didn't think he would do. She is on the verge of producing her show and she cannot give up the opportunity, she thought Neal would understand and stay, but as he says they have paid for the tickets. Georgie begins to wonder if she has made the right choice, is her marriage over?

Georgie has practically moved back home with her mum, things are made worse when her family keep assuming Neal has left her, he hasn't has he? She begins to doubt herself and wonders if the job was really worth it. Georgie begins to not keep up with her work, she has to though, isn't this what got her into this mess in the beginning?

Georgie uses the landline in her bedroom to call Neal to make sure he is o.k but things are not as they seem. Neal is Neal but in the 80's how can this be happening? And Why? What does this all mean? Can Georgie work it out and save her marriage before it is too late?

The secondary characters in the story are just as interesting as the main ones, I particularly enjoyed reading about Heather, Georgies sister, I found she bought humor to the novel and I felt like I knew her by the end of it as her character was so well developed. I had the same feeling about Seth Georgies life long friend and colleague. He has been with her through thick and thin, and goes way back even before Neal so it begs the question why did they never get together?

I liked reading about Georgie and Neal's relationship, it is a complicated one but we get to read about their relationship from the beginning, which makes the characters seem more real. The majority of the book has been written in dialogue which has made the book very easy to read. I finished it in one day!

This story asks you the question everyone wants to know, is love enough? You are responsible for your own happiness and they way your life pans out. I managed to connect with Georgie a lot, I don't have children but I do have a career that I have worked hard at. I was like Georgie, my career was the most important thing to me. At the beginning of the year something happened that made me re evaluate my life and then I realised what was truly important and that was my husband and family. However if that hadn't of happened this book would have made me realise this. It makes your realise you are in control of your own happiness and you have to do something in order to achieve it.

I think that Rainbow Rowell has written a true book that covers relationships and your priorities. I would read other Rowell books after this one. The only reason I have not given this book 5* as although I enjoyed the book and it kept my interest to the end as I wanted to find out what would happen in the end, at times I felt the dialogue was being repeated through conversations on the phone to Neal.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending me this to review in exchange for a honest review.

I am super excited to be able to bring you a sample from Landline audio book! Please check it out below.