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mrblackbean11's review against another edition
4.0
Wow, this definitely wakes you up and shakes to you your core. Listen to your heart and defend your independence.
abookwormwithwine's review against another edition
3.0
There is nothing wrong with this author's writing and it was very a interesting book, but for some reason I can't bring myself to give it more than 3 stars for "I liked it". Maybe it was the topic? I'm not sure.
I felt so bad for Phoebe! Apparently she should have listened to her mom all those times when she said she didn't like Jake. What a terrible man, and in more ways than one. So much loss in this book and some parts were very sad. Great writing though and like I said above, it was an interesting read. I think it's worth reading and would recommend.
I felt so bad for Phoebe! Apparently she should have listened to her mom all those times when she said she didn't like Jake. What a terrible man, and in more ways than one. So much loss in this book and some parts were very sad. Great writing though and like I said above, it was an interesting read. I think it's worth reading and would recommend.
kaleenazag's review against another edition
3.0
High school sweethearts, Phoebe and Jake, have been dating since they were fifteen, but their relationship isn’t exactly built on trust. Jake grew up wanting nothing but the best for himself and Phoebe, and he was willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen. When Jake quickly rises to the top when he starts his own firm, the crimes he committed along the way to get there are revealed. The question is, did Phoebe know about it? And was she in on the scheme all along?
This book starts out at the beginning of Phoebe and Jake’s relationship, so you can get a sense of what got them to where they are at the end of the book. I definitely think that helped in building the characters and understanding why they made the decisions they did.
If you’re a fan of books with unreliable characters, this one is for you. Jake is the type of person that just drove me insane, but also made me want to keep reading. While not a jaw dropping page turner, I overall enjoyed the book!
This book starts out at the beginning of Phoebe and Jake’s relationship, so you can get a sense of what got them to where they are at the end of the book. I definitely think that helped in building the characters and understanding why they made the decisions they did.
If you’re a fan of books with unreliable characters, this one is for you. Jake is the type of person that just drove me insane, but also made me want to keep reading. While not a jaw dropping page turner, I overall enjoyed the book!
kellymac44's review against another edition
2.0
Although an interesting concept, I feel like the book featured its two protagonists, Jake and Phoebe, as being too one-dimensional and predictable. You have the evil, greedy, ambitious husband and the "do-gooder" wife. Honestly, for parts of the book, I forgot I was even reading a novel and thought it was the memoir of Bernie Madoff. I tend to read novels because they give a different spin on reality, the road less taken. You always want to see character development, but I feel like you don't get a ton past the first couple sections. It just becomes a different scale of the same. Overall, I give this a 2.5/5.
toeys's review against another edition
4.0
I liked Phoebe's voice and viewing the world from her point of view. I also liked how the book showed that abuse doesn't necessarily have to be physical. I really appreciated how Jake's attitudes and actions are realistic (I've actually met people who think and act similarly to him in real life!).
Spoiler
I was afraid that Phoebe might forgive her husband in the end, so I was happy when she decided to leave him.carolmia's review against another edition
4.0
An absorbing book about a long-term marriage with a man involved in a Ponzi scheme and what happens to the family and the relationship after the fraud is discovered by the authorities during the economic crisis of 2008. Wonderful!
cansail's review against another edition
4.0
One of the best first lines ever, and a constant dripping build-up of tension and small steps.
maddyd51's review against another edition
3.0
{Many thanks to the publisher for sending me an eARC of The Widow of Wall Street free of charge.}
If you remember the story of the Madoff ponzi scheme, then you know the plot of The Widow of Wall Street. It has only a few deviations from the story and is told from the perspective of Phoebe, who married Jake Pierce at 18, before he began the scheme that devastated so many.
I'm a little torn on this one. Reading it prompted me down a rabbit hole of Wikipedia and newspaper articles about Bernie Madoff, his inner circle, and the fallout of what is likely the worst financial scam ever perpetrated. I even listened to the Ponzi Supernova podcast on Amazon Channels (which was great, by the way).
But I'm torn because while reading this novel, I found myself skimming ahead past yet another internal monologue saying the same thing the last five internal monologues said: he couldn't fix it ad the pressure was killing him. It became repetitive.
I also wasn't very interested in Jake's perspective. I feel like there is tons out there about the scam and how it happened. I would have enjoyed a novel entirely from his wife's point of view. I also would have loved the focus to be on the aftermath, rather than the downfall, of the House of Madoff. In any event, this was a good read, especially for those who love the drama surrounding this true life story.
If you remember the story of the Madoff ponzi scheme, then you know the plot of The Widow of Wall Street. It has only a few deviations from the story and is told from the perspective of Phoebe, who married Jake Pierce at 18, before he began the scheme that devastated so many.
I'm a little torn on this one. Reading it prompted me down a rabbit hole of Wikipedia and newspaper articles about Bernie Madoff, his inner circle, and the fallout of what is likely the worst financial scam ever perpetrated. I even listened to the Ponzi Supernova podcast on Amazon Channels (which was great, by the way).
But I'm torn because while reading this novel, I found myself skimming ahead past yet another internal monologue saying the same thing the last five internal monologues said: he couldn't fix it ad the pressure was killing him. It became repetitive.
I also wasn't very interested in Jake's perspective. I feel like there is tons out there about the scam and how it happened. I would have enjoyed a novel entirely from his wife's point of view. I also would have loved the focus to be on the aftermath, rather than the downfall, of the House of Madoff. In any event, this was a good read, especially for those who love the drama surrounding this true life story.
ramseyhootman's review against another edition
4.0
This compelling fictionalization of the Bernie Madoff scandal is told from the point of view of the scam artist's wife, "Phoebe" in this narrative. It asks (and answers) the question so many ask when confronted with such scandals: how could the wife of such a man NOT have known what he was doing? Is she guilty merely by association? We travel back in time to see the genesis of their relationship, the ways in which they fit together, for better or for worse, and we come to understand that Phoebe trusts because, at every turn, she feels she has no alternative. It's a compelling portrait of a woman entrapped by her own lifestyle, not by willful blindness but the almost incidental isolation of great wealth. We come to sympathize with her and see this as a very personal betrayal. Is she culpable? Should she be condemned? Read the book and judge for yourself!
I listened to this as an audio book and honestly if I had this to do over, I'd have read it in print. I reeeeally disliked the narrator - I'm not picky, so I didn't listen to a sample ahead of time - my bad. But she parsed sentences very strangely, and read at an excruciatingly slow pace. The good news is that this prompted me to explore playback options, and I discovered that the entire problem was solved if I simply set playback to 2x speed!
I listened to this as an audio book and honestly if I had this to do over, I'd have read it in print. I reeeeally disliked the narrator - I'm not picky, so I didn't listen to a sample ahead of time - my bad. But she parsed sentences very strangely, and read at an excruciatingly slow pace. The good news is that this prompted me to explore playback options, and I discovered that the entire problem was solved if I simply set playback to 2x speed!