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bethanyc_bookhive's review
5.0
Couldn’t put it down! Fiction but I imagine rooted in real experiences.
CW: sexual assault
CW: sexual assault
spaces_and_solaces's review
4.0
Sex & Power.
That’s it. That’s the whole book.
Alex Vogel is a brilliant young attorney who got the opportunity to work at one of the best law firms in the entire world, in one of the best cities - Manhattan. A graduate from Harvard, she has been with her boyfriend Sam for many years. Though she has a niggling fear that this job will change her, and not in a good way, she is beyond excited to take on the corporate world and make a name for herself.
The story takes us right in to the trenches of the legal world. Every page is brushed with the nuances of power, greed, sex, jealousy, and competition. As Alex continues to climb the corporate ladder, she makes decisions that will not only alter her relationship with Sam but with herself too. Little by little pieces of Alex are chipped, until what remains is the person who will do anything to be & stay at the top.
Alex’s character is so well developed. You start noticing the differences in Alex as she starts getting annoyed by her ‘ordinary’ boyfriend Sam, her ‘normal & simple’ parents etc. She is attracted to the power that the firm’s senior lawyers possess and is willing to do anything to be in the game.
But then something happens that rocks Alex’s world and it’s like she snaps out of this dream or call it nightmare.
The incident forces Alex to take stock of her behavior & of others and she finally gets the courage to take on her firm & fight the patriarchy!
Erica Katz has created a high stakes world, within the legal realm and given us behind the scenes glimpses of what occurs in the so-called boys club. It is a brilliant debut novel and I wonder if the author has written this from her own experiences, being a lawyer herself.
Read it if you like legal drama, stories about corporate world, the game of power & sex, or if you are into shows like Boston Legal & Suits!
That’s it. That’s the whole book.
Alex Vogel is a brilliant young attorney who got the opportunity to work at one of the best law firms in the entire world, in one of the best cities - Manhattan. A graduate from Harvard, she has been with her boyfriend Sam for many years. Though she has a niggling fear that this job will change her, and not in a good way, she is beyond excited to take on the corporate world and make a name for herself.
The story takes us right in to the trenches of the legal world. Every page is brushed with the nuances of power, greed, sex, jealousy, and competition. As Alex continues to climb the corporate ladder, she makes decisions that will not only alter her relationship with Sam but with herself too. Little by little pieces of Alex are chipped, until what remains is the person who will do anything to be & stay at the top.
Alex’s character is so well developed. You start noticing the differences in Alex as she starts getting annoyed by her ‘ordinary’ boyfriend Sam, her ‘normal & simple’ parents etc. She is attracted to the power that the firm’s senior lawyers possess and is willing to do anything to be in the game.
But then something happens that rocks Alex’s world and it’s like she snaps out of this dream or call it nightmare.
The incident forces Alex to take stock of her behavior & of others and she finally gets the courage to take on her firm & fight the patriarchy!
Erica Katz has created a high stakes world, within the legal realm and given us behind the scenes glimpses of what occurs in the so-called boys club. It is a brilliant debut novel and I wonder if the author has written this from her own experiences, being a lawyer herself.
Read it if you like legal drama, stories about corporate world, the game of power & sex, or if you are into shows like Boston Legal & Suits!
vonderbash's review
4.0
I won an ARC of this book through Goodreads.
Wow, it's been a while since a book has dragged me into the story and made me want to not put it down. If I didn't have other responsibilities, I think I could have finished this is one sitting.
The writing style is great, most of the characters are love to hate, and it's interesting watching Alex's character evolution. I didn't know much about the world of Big Law, but this is an interesting peak and a good story.
Wow, it's been a while since a book has dragged me into the story and made me want to not put it down. If I didn't have other responsibilities, I think I could have finished this is one sitting.
The writing style is great, most of the characters are love to hate, and it's interesting watching Alex's character evolution. I didn't know much about the world of Big Law, but this is an interesting peak and a good story.
kaelaceleste's review
3.0
oh I have soooo many mixed feelings about this one!
first of all. the rumors that I picked up this book only because it was narrated by Julia Whelan...I can confirm those to be true.
this was not my normal type of read but also not NOT my normal...it was an interesting premise, a little Devil-Wears-Prada-but-if-it-were-a-law-firm vibes. I really liked the way it was written, with courtroom scenes and flashbacks to everything as it happened. the legal setting was different for me but interesting once I was done googling what all the terms meant that I didn't recognize lol
what I didn't like was how absolutely unlikable the main character was. she treated everybody in her life so badly and really just became a truly nasty person (and such a pick me girl) so quickly. I also felt like near the end of the book it took a really random and dark turn that didn't fit the vibe of the rest of the book, and then sort of just...wrapped itself up quickly? the ending was also unsatisfying in that it was technically a happy outcome, but I hated the main character so much that I was just kind of like...okay. I also thought it was super unrealistic. it just don't add up to me. overall this made me just never ever want to be an attorney :)
2.5 and rounding up but I was dangerously close to rounding down lol
first of all. the rumors that I picked up this book only because it was narrated by Julia Whelan...I can confirm those to be true.
this was not my normal type of read but also not NOT my normal...it was an interesting premise, a little Devil-Wears-Prada-but-if-it-were-a-law-firm vibes. I really liked the way it was written, with courtroom scenes and flashbacks to everything as it happened. the legal setting was different for me but interesting once I was done googling what all the terms meant that I didn't recognize lol
what I didn't like was how absolutely unlikable the main character was. she treated everybody in her life so badly and really just became a truly nasty person (and such a pick me girl) so quickly. I also felt like near the end of the book it took a really random and dark turn that didn't fit the vibe of the rest of the book, and then sort of just...wrapped itself up quickly? the ending was also unsatisfying in that it was technically a happy outcome, but I hated the main character so much that I was just kind of like...okay. I also thought it was super unrealistic.
Spoiler
I don't believe for a second those scumbag lawyer friends of hers would back her up when she told them about her sexual assault after we saw them repeatedly objectify other women and hide similar behavior in the past. nasties!!2.5 and rounding up but I was dangerously close to rounding down lol
susannajane's review
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
jackelynvb's review
4.0
I think this could have been 100 pages shorter (a lot of drinking/partying/self destructive scenes, for example, could have been taken out - that got pretty repetitive). Overall, though, it was entertaining and voyeuristically interesting to be put in the world of a first year associate in a big New York City law firm. It took a while to get to the point, but the payoff was worth it. It definitely conveyed that sexism in law firms and among the ultra rich is a real thing, though hopefully with stories like these it'll change.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault
sennas_reads's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0