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judithdcollins's review against another edition
4.0
A special thank you to Doubleday and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Swan Huntley delivers a twisty debut WE COULD BE BEAUTIFUL — an electrifying psychological and domestic mystery suspense mix of dark family secrets, greed, money, lies, and betrayal.
Catherine West, age 43 years old, has everything anyone woman could want or desire. Wealth, homes, business, clothes, and beauty. She primarily lives off a trust fund from her father, with a robust monthly amount, more than most earn in a year.
She even volunteers and gives to the needy. The posh Manhattanite lacks what she really wants. Despite her good deeds, and good fortune, she feels incomplete. She wants a man who loves her and a family. Children. It was not for a lack of trying. She had been engaged twice but it never worked out. She feels like a failure.
One night she promised her girlfriend she would attend a Gala for Contemporary Folk Art and meets an older distinguished man, William Stockton. He even knew their family and appears he has money, class, charm, and looks.
They share so many of the same things. He is sophisticated and enjoys the finer things of life; art and culture. Could he be too good to be true? Maybe now she does not have to worry about him liking her for her money, if he has his own. Or does he?
Catherine’s mom has Alzheimer’s and had progressed to the point where the task of living alone was beyond her. For a while she had caretakers, but her mother could be difficult and was unable to keep anyone long term.
Catherine and her sister Caroline decided to put her in a home, which turned out positive with other friends her own age. They had sold the apartment and her mom had enough to live comfortably with her health and financial needs cared for.
Something is a little off with William. She is unsure. He was careful, confident, familiar, strange, and he was exactly what she had been waiting for. Classy, smart, fashionable, and practical. Or so she thinks. What about his past?
When Catherine brings up William’s name to her mom, she is very disturbed. Her mom’s reaction bothers her, but she was not sure she could trust her. Even pre-Alzheimer’s she had a tendency to express hatred for others, for no apparent reason. She was extremely judgmental. Back in her day she was charming but intimidating, even to her staff.
Possibly she was just confused.
In the meantime, things heat up with William. He moved in two weeks later and then engaged rather quickly. They settled into a routine. Could they be beautiful together?
When she shows her mom the ring and informs her she is getting married, she seemed upset again. Her face is twisted and nostrils flaring. Catherine is so desperate for a happily ever after, she ignores her mother, and her fears. She puts it all aside and moves forward.
William is bothered when Catherine is going through childhood photos. A note, a diary. Her old nanny. Can she trust her? Things are getting very confusing to her.
She receives bad news about her trust. The money is not what she thought. Then there is the will. Her mom had donated the sale of the house, the art, and money to charity and museums before she lost her mind to her illness. Now, what will she do? No more money. Could William save her?
Now, you "must" read to find out the juicy details, and the dark twisted secrets!
Razor sharp, haunting, contemporary, and psychologically astute. With clever shocking twists and turns, vivid descriptions, mixed with humor—Huntley grabs you and takes you for a wild ride.
The diaries/journals/letters between Mae (nanny) and Catherine’s mom, are nicely done from the seventies. A nice twist with the Alzheimer’s, adding an unreliable intriguing mood.
What is real beauty? What we see in people, places, things, and our lives? Sometimes we do crazy things, tangled in a maze, and take detours in our lives, in order to land on the right path.
Fans of Paula Daly, Liane Moriarty, and Heather Gudenkauf will enjoy the complex psychological twists. Well-developed characters, and smartly plotted; hard to believe, this is a debut! Can’t wait to see what comes next. Huntley is a talented author to follow.
Highly entertaining! A great summer escape.
Also purchased audiobook, performed by Cassandra Campbell (one of my favorite narrators)!
JDCMustReadBooks
Swan Huntley delivers a twisty debut WE COULD BE BEAUTIFUL — an electrifying psychological and domestic mystery suspense mix of dark family secrets, greed, money, lies, and betrayal.
Catherine West, age 43 years old, has everything anyone woman could want or desire. Wealth, homes, business, clothes, and beauty. She primarily lives off a trust fund from her father, with a robust monthly amount, more than most earn in a year.
She even volunteers and gives to the needy. The posh Manhattanite lacks what she really wants. Despite her good deeds, and good fortune, she feels incomplete. She wants a man who loves her and a family. Children. It was not for a lack of trying. She had been engaged twice but it never worked out. She feels like a failure.
One night she promised her girlfriend she would attend a Gala for Contemporary Folk Art and meets an older distinguished man, William Stockton. He even knew their family and appears he has money, class, charm, and looks.
They share so many of the same things. He is sophisticated and enjoys the finer things of life; art and culture. Could he be too good to be true? Maybe now she does not have to worry about him liking her for her money, if he has his own. Or does he?
Catherine’s mom has Alzheimer’s and had progressed to the point where the task of living alone was beyond her. For a while she had caretakers, but her mother could be difficult and was unable to keep anyone long term.
Catherine and her sister Caroline decided to put her in a home, which turned out positive with other friends her own age. They had sold the apartment and her mom had enough to live comfortably with her health and financial needs cared for.
Something is a little off with William. She is unsure. He was careful, confident, familiar, strange, and he was exactly what she had been waiting for. Classy, smart, fashionable, and practical. Or so she thinks. What about his past?
When Catherine brings up William’s name to her mom, she is very disturbed. Her mom’s reaction bothers her, but she was not sure she could trust her. Even pre-Alzheimer’s she had a tendency to express hatred for others, for no apparent reason. She was extremely judgmental. Back in her day she was charming but intimidating, even to her staff.
Possibly she was just confused.
In the meantime, things heat up with William. He moved in two weeks later and then engaged rather quickly. They settled into a routine. Could they be beautiful together?
When she shows her mom the ring and informs her she is getting married, she seemed upset again. Her face is twisted and nostrils flaring. Catherine is so desperate for a happily ever after, she ignores her mother, and her fears. She puts it all aside and moves forward.
William is bothered when Catherine is going through childhood photos. A note, a diary. Her old nanny. Can she trust her? Things are getting very confusing to her.
She receives bad news about her trust. The money is not what she thought. Then there is the will. Her mom had donated the sale of the house, the art, and money to charity and museums before she lost her mind to her illness. Now, what will she do? No more money. Could William save her?
Now, you "must" read to find out the juicy details, and the dark twisted secrets!
"Denial, I have learned, is not the act of lying to yourself. Denial is not an act, it‘s a state. It’s the state of not knowing you are a liar.” I was fixated on a certain picture of my life, and that picture was reflected on the surface of everything I saw. We do not choose to be blind, and when we are blind, we don’t know that. We see as much as we can bear to see, and we assumed that’s all there is.”What comes in Part Two and Three is Mind-Blowing! Catherine finds herself questioning everyone around her. Delicious scandalous dark secrets!
Razor sharp, haunting, contemporary, and psychologically astute. With clever shocking twists and turns, vivid descriptions, mixed with humor—Huntley grabs you and takes you for a wild ride.
The diaries/journals/letters between Mae (nanny) and Catherine’s mom, are nicely done from the seventies. A nice twist with the Alzheimer’s, adding an unreliable intriguing mood.
What is real beauty? What we see in people, places, things, and our lives? Sometimes we do crazy things, tangled in a maze, and take detours in our lives, in order to land on the right path.
Fans of Paula Daly, Liane Moriarty, and Heather Gudenkauf will enjoy the complex psychological twists. Well-developed characters, and smartly plotted; hard to believe, this is a debut! Can’t wait to see what comes next. Huntley is a talented author to follow.
Highly entertaining! A great summer escape.
Also purchased audiobook, performed by Cassandra Campbell (one of my favorite narrators)!
JDCMustReadBooks
abbey_tipton's review
3.0
Eh. I didn't mind the shallow characters. But I have a lot of unanswered questions. Why did he need a haircut on their first meeting? The author implied it was sinister and then never revisited it. Why does he smoke and how does he hide the smell? If he didn't really want to marry her, why insist she not cuss and on a church wedding? Why the mention of golf balls several times but no explanation? Why would he rape his fiancé and why is there no resolution there?
Also, books like this would be a lot more shocking if the author didn't constantly tell us we are about to be so shocked.
Also, books like this would be a lot more shocking if the author didn't constantly tell us we are about to be so shocked.
meghan111's review
3.0
I was provided a free electronic copy of this title from Edelweiss and the publisher.
A+ escapism, the story of a wealthy trust fund New Yorker in her 40s, whose life of luxury is upended when she untangles a web of deception around her fiance and family. I loved the specificity of detailis about the main character's privileged lifestyle - her upscale artisan greeting card shop, her extravagant tipping - but unfortunately the book doesn't quite tip over into having her undergo the full consequences of her decades of inattention and being in a lot of ways an extremely horrible person. I liked her relationship with her best friend and her sister.
A+ escapism, the story of a wealthy trust fund New Yorker in her 40s, whose life of luxury is upended when she untangles a web of deception around her fiance and family. I loved the specificity of detailis about the main character's privileged lifestyle - her upscale artisan greeting card shop, her extravagant tipping - but unfortunately the book doesn't quite tip over into having her undergo the full consequences of her decades of inattention and being in a lot of ways an extremely horrible person. I liked her relationship with her best friend and her sister.
delsim's review
2.0
I just didn't like any of the characters. I couldn't see past their superficiality. Does that mean I'm just as superficial?
vidotson's review against another edition
3.0
Oh Catherine West, how easy you made it for me to loathe you and yet live through the pretty parts of your life. Catherine lives a most charmed life, $80K a month deposited into her bank account from her trust fund, her hobby is owning a store that sells expensive artisanal cards, which seems to really just be a front for her to feel like she is "discovering" artists as if collecting astronomical art pieces for her home isn't enough and a place to also snidely judge people without feeling guilt because she's just trying to improve her employees, she eats nothing, but buys everything and yet is (surprisingly to her) seems to be miserable and have no soul.
She so desperately wants a husband and baby that she ignores all the red flags of a gentleman, William Stockton, she meets and then immediately moves in with by focusing on how great he looks on paper and in person, but don't worry about his bland and pretentious personality. I guess it matched up nicely with her own snobbery...and made her otherwise almost perfect life lived alone completely perfect as a duo, even if the sex is painful at least he looks great in a tux and her on his arm!
For those of you trying to figure out if you want to read the rest of the book, here's the pretty disturbing twist so you can decide for yourself:
Catherine's mother, whom you meet after she's slipping away to Alzheimer's, had an affair with William when he was 17 (her parents and his were good friends until they were found out) and to keep William's parents quiet about the affair Catherine's father paid William's parents off and they moved away to Europe never to be seen or heard from again...that is until they died and the money that the West's were paying the family dried up and William came to sweep Catherine off her feet to get to her money. He only makes $300K a year which isn't nearly enough compared to the millions he blackmailed them out of before splitting town, while Catherine is pregnant with their child. Oh and the icing on the cake, Catherine's little sister that she seems to despise quite a bit is the love child of the affair!!!!!!! So that would make the unborn baby her neice and half-sister!!!
I read this book so fast just because I wanted to know the story and the big twist everyone kept mentioning. I skimmed and skipped most of it just to get the important bits and there you have it.
She so desperately wants a husband and baby that she ignores all the red flags of a gentleman, William Stockton, she meets and then immediately moves in with by focusing on how great he looks on paper and in person, but don't worry about his bland and pretentious personality. I guess it matched up nicely with her own snobbery...and made her otherwise almost perfect life lived alone completely perfect as a duo, even if the sex is painful at least he looks great in a tux and her on his arm!
For those of you trying to figure out if you want to read the rest of the book, here's the pretty disturbing twist so you can decide for yourself:
Catherine's mother, whom you meet after she's slipping away to Alzheimer's, had an affair with William when he was 17 (her parents and his were good friends until they were found out) and to keep William's parents quiet about the affair Catherine's father paid William's parents off and they moved away to Europe never to be seen or heard from again...that is until they died and the money that the West's were paying the family dried up and William came to sweep Catherine off her feet to get to her money. He only makes $300K a year which isn't nearly enough compared to the millions he blackmailed them out of before splitting town, while Catherine is pregnant with their child. Oh and the icing on the cake, Catherine's little sister that she seems to despise quite a bit is the love child of the affair!!!!!!! So that would make the unborn baby her neice and half-sister!!!
I read this book so fast just because I wanted to know the story and the big twist everyone kept mentioning. I skimmed and skipped most of it just to get the important bits and there you have it.
bookgirl4ever's review
2.0
Can't remember why I placed this book on hold. I finished it because I wanted to know what William's deal was without reading the end; and my guess was right. Catherine and her sister are trust fund babies. Catherine is 43 years old and deeply desires to be married and have children. But her superficial perspective on just about everything makes her the perfect target for a man who is too-good-to-be-true; especially since she doesn't really know who she is herself.
Adult
Adult
ae1028's review
3.0
This book certainly kept my attention. The plot twist was pretty messed up and the main character was extremely soiled and money centered.
camilleisreading24's review
3.0
Meh. Again I was looking for an audiobook thriller to fill that 'Girl on the Train' itch. Katherine is beautiful and rich and meets, William, the love of her life. However, her mother, who suffers from Alzheimers', is afraid of William but cannot remember why. Katherine is terrible at managing money and learns that, to her dismay, her mother donated the entirety of her trust fund to charity. While she's been receiving almost a million dollars a year for over a decade, she has almost nothing in savings. (I found it very hard to sympathize with her abominable financial management skills). Luckily her father's will contains a loophole that will pay out a sizable sum for every child born to his daughters. So William and Katherine get engaged and get pregnant. What could possibly go wrong...
Another okay but not stellar thriller. Sigh.
Another okay but not stellar thriller. Sigh.