whitneydaniell

by: Carola Lovering
published: Mar 05, 2024
genre: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction
352 Pages, E-Book ARC Courtesy of NetGalley
GoodReads Link

It’s a lot of wine-drinking and breastfeeding… I’m not a mother but something about that ain’t right!

Let me start this off by giving a huge KUDOS to Carola Lovering! As a thirty-something, childless by choice woman, I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to watch people’s (men and women) heads explode when they learn that you do not desire to be a mother. From my experience, men think there is something wrong with you — you’re not the “nurturing” type, you don’t have a maternal instinct; and women, they’re the worst — “Oh, you’ll change your mind” “You don’t understand, you’re not a mother” etc… It’s exhausting. Despite the overall plot of this story, I can appreciate the uplifting tone for childless by-choice women.

I don’t need to have kids to be happy.

I want partnership, too… There are plenty of people who choose not to have kids. And there are plenty of reasons why. I would never assume that you – or any woman – wants to be a mother.

Alex, Billie’s Boyfriend

But back to the book. I had high hopes for this because I loved Too Good to Be True so much! However, this fell a little flat for me.

I. Characters

The story is told through Billie and Cassie and jumps between past and present timelines. Billie works as a travel consultant, where she travels to beautiful destinations to stay in five-star resorts and then later, sells these resorts to her high-end clientele who take million-dollar vacations with their second wives. Billie comes from humble beginnings and since the day Cassie walked into her life, she’s wanted nothing but the best for the both of them. After college, the pair set their eyes on the big city, New York City, and never wanted to look back.

I could say a lot about Billie. I could dissect her personality and pick on all of her flaws, that would be easy but instead, I take pity on Billie. In so many areas, the people who were supposed to love her failed her and then as she got older, she could have sought out the help that she needed, and she didn’t – so for that, she failed herself. And once she was in a pattern of not showing up for herself, it became easy to quiet her own voice over and over again. I hated that for her.

Cassie Barnwell Adler on the other hand, had everything she could ever want, and yet and still, she wanted more. Always the one with Moët & Chandon Dom Pérignon taste on a Zima budget, Cassie wasn’t satisfied. Cassie wanted a taste of the good life and not just a sip, she wanted the whole vineyard. Once Grant Adler stumbled into her life, she knew she had found a sucker so, she licked it.

I don’t think I’ve hated a single character more than I hate Cassie Barnwell Adler.

On another and more personal note, Billie’s mother’s story really tugged at my heartstrings as someone who has dealt with Alzheimers up close, and personal. It’s a terrible disease that (in my opinion) is worse for everyone around then it is for the one who is actually suffering from it.

And McKay, even though you came through in the end, don’t think I forgot all that slick sh*t you were talking in the beginning. I didn’t like that, and her behavior toward Billie and her comfortability with talking about Billie, also showed me how low-brow Cassie was for even allowing that.

II. The Story / Plot

Not shocking. Not surprising. The story was so sloooww. I was expecting a fast-paced, THRILLER or sh*t even a quick-moving, MYSTERY. It was neither one of those things.

I honestly cannot think of anything that I liked about the main story, the main plot. I just finished this book, no less than 40 minutes ago, and I’m still in limbo about the story. Some of the sub-plots were more interesting to me; Jane and The Path, I’d like to know more about her, and Sasha and the business: Grant Adler and the Adler family, where did they get their money from? What’s his story?

Where is Remy? Why did we focus so heavily on him in the past, but not bump into him or find him on Instagram? Speaking of Instagram, it was relied upon in this story to carry the plot in some areas. While I think it’s kind of cringy because it may not age well, it does lend itself to real life and how people view “influencers” and social media. It feeds a need in all of us – whether it’s a need to be liked, adored, revered, coveted, admired, or despised. Or it’s a need to feel validated, to fit in, to be a part of something, or to be included in something.

I don’t want to spoil the story. If you’ve made it this far in my review and you’re interested, read it. *shrugs*

III. The Writing

Carola Lovering can write a book, and there is no doubt about that.

My Final Thoughts: It was just alright. Very much in the middle. It didn’t blow me away but, it didn’t bore me either. Again, I think I was looking for something that was going to take me on a TRIP like, Too Good to Be True but, this is nothing like that. I didn’t get thriller vibes, nothing about the story kept me on the edge of my seat. I also didn’t get mystery from it because there is no mystery, we know who did it! I don’t know what genre I would put this in; contemporary fiction maybe.

Would I recommend it when it’s released? Maybe. Would I buy a physical copy for my collection? No. Did I enjoy it? You could say that.