Bookblr

We Could Be Beautiful

I first got caught up in the lifestyle p0rn aspect of We Could Be Beautiful, by Swan Huntley. Catherine is a trust-fund Manhattanite, who owns a cute hobby business selling artistic cards, but spends most of her time redecorating, buying art, or going to stylish restaurants. Her best friend Susan was her private school classmate, also with a trust fund and cute hobby business, and her younger sister, Caroline, has three nannies for her three children. I usually enjoy reading lifestyle stories, but it’s extra engaging when I’ve been inside my 1-br apartment for 10,000 years, and just the chance to enter a store to browse sounds incredibly appealing.

But, quickly, this story twists into something darker. Catherine loves the style and feel of her shop, but barely looks at any bills or profits. Why would she pay attention to how the store is doing, when she gets deposits of $80,000 a month from her inheritance? When that stops, and she actually has to think about money (in a slightly-less-excessive-shopping kind of way, not really worrying about bills), where her money comes from and how to get more of it, she starts to uncover family secrets. Meanwhile, her new romance is just perfect, although he strangely doesn’t have any friends or family, and her mother freaks out when his name is mentioned…

Catherine’s constantly moaning how it’s “always something” with her when she really means that the caterers brought the wrong rental chairs, not, you know, actual problems. And she brings this attitude towards her real problems, too. Without spoilers, she uncovers dark secrets about people very close to her, and even then, she’s focused on her shopping habit and near-constant home redecorating. Such a fascinating character in a suspenseful drama.

My only real annoyance was the ending — after such a surprising, twisty storyline, some of the final scenes felt a bit flat with so much tied off into a neat bow.

For more Manhattan thrillers, I liked Beware That Girl, about a darkly twisted prep-school friendship, and Social Creatures, about a darkly twisted mid-twenties friendship. For more Manhattan inheritance drama, I liked The Nest and The Heirs.

 

View Comments

Recent Posts

Imperfect by Katy Motiey

Imperfect, by Katy Motiey, tells the story of Vida, a young Iranian mother, and how the…

Lost on a Mountain in Maine

12-year-old Donn Fendler is on a family hike up a beautiful but challenging mountain, when…

The Pursuit of Mary Bennet

I picked up Pamela Mingle's The Pursuit of Mary Bennet after reading The Bennet Sisters'…

Confessions on the 7:45

Confessions on the 7:45, by Lisa Unger, is a suspense novel, beginning with two seemingly-random…

American Born Chinese

I originally read American Born Chinese, a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang, for a…

Cute Candy Matching in ‘Candy Fiesta’ Minigame

Candy Fiesta is an adorable match-3 browser game from CulinarySchools.org. Players can enjoy colorful candies…