I don't know what took me so long to actually sit down and read this book. I think it was the almost grim outlook of this marriage dissolving that I didn't want to read. I should have had faith that no matter the subject Rainbow Rowell would inject her signature whimsy and fun into what may be considered a maudlin topic: the break apart of a marriage. 
 Georgie McCool is a comedy writer. She and her writing partner may finally have the big break they've been waiting for for 20 years: the chance to develop and write their own show. The only problem: they only have about 10 days to prepare for the meeting that could change their lives. The meeting: days after Christmas. Georgie now has to go home and tell her husband, Neal, that she can't go to his family's house for Christmas. His reponse? Well, he quietly acknowledges this and then leaves with their two children to go to Christmas anyway. At first Georgie just accepts this, but as she starts to think about the situation she unwittingly admits this just may be the end of her marriage. But where exactly did things start to go wrong and can they be fixed? 
 Hiding out from a lonely house, Georgie spends time at her mother's. One night, while trying to reach Neal (who she seems to keep missing), she plugs in her old yellow rotary phone and connects. But not to the Neal of now, but to the Neal of the past when Neal and Georgie were going through a similar situation as they are now. So now that she has this window into her past relationship, will she try to fix the problems plaguing them in the future? Or maybe it would be better if Neal and Georgie had never married in the first place? 
 Rainbow Rowell can do no wrong in my book. I've loved every single thing she's released (some more than others obviously) and I will continue to read anything she publishes. 
 Landline continues in the same tradition as Rowell's other novels. For all that Georgie has trouble seeing the problems that are right in front of her face (and their obvious solution), I liked her. I liked that this book wasn't about the collapse of Georgie and Neal's love for each other. Through some sweet flashbacks we see the beginning of the relationship and through Georgie's musing we get snippets of current life. For me, this book was about getting into the groove of being married and in love and eventually taking advantage of the fact that you have that love. It's about remembering what is truly important in any relationship and finding your way back to that. Neal clearly loves Georgie, and because the book is told from Georgie's POV we know that she unequivocally loves Neal too. I liked that there wasn't some nefarious side to Georgie, she's just a successful woman who forgot the big picture. 
 I think the inclusion of the "time travel" aspect via the yellow rotary phone was an interesting way to have Georgie and Neal have the conversations they've needed to have since the beginning of the relationship but neither of them would start. It's true that Rainbow Rowell could have achieved this same thing minus the phone with Georgie and Neal having a face-to-face conversation, or have them talking in the present on their cell phones, but there's something magical about first love and true love and it kind of goes hand in hand with this magical phone that allows you to talk to the past. I suspended my beliefs and my practicality and just went with it. What I found was a sweet story about reconnecting. 
 Rainbow Rowell is on my relatively short auto-buy list. I can't see her leaving that list any time soon. If you don't read this book by Rainbow Rowell, just read something by her ASAP!