whitneydaniell

Summary

Erin has spent her life on the other side of the glass, looking in at the wealthy elite—and now she wants a seat at the table. Ashamed of her working-class roots and having attended prestigious schools on scholarship, Erin is biding her time until she can slink her way into the life of a rich man. New York City is certainly full of the type of men Erin is looking for. From the finance bros to the hedge fund homies, Erin spends her nights and weekends on the prowl.

While having drinks with her good friend, Lucy, she spots a handsome man in a nicely tailored suit. And although he’s not traditionally handsome in the way she usually goes for, he’s immediately drawn to her—and they hit it off.

After a few weeks and just as many dates with Stefan, their slow-burn romance is starting to fizzle out—until Erin makes it clear what she’s looking for. To her surprise, Stefan is on the same page. He’s coy about the ins and outs of his job, only noting that his family is in the natural gas business and that he’s done some art dealing. But all Erin sees is the house in the Hamptons, the apartment in the city, and the breadth of his potential wealth.

It’s only been two months of dating when Erin finds herself at the “surprised” end of a pregnancy test. Unsure how this will change their relationship, she’s shocked when Stefan is over the moon about the new addition. They both agree a wedding must happen sooner rather than later. And even though this should be a joyous time for Erin, there’s Stefan’s unhinged half-brother—who’s on house arrest and staying in their Hamptons guesthouse—and his pesky ex-fiancée, who’s just been found dead.

Who TF did she marry?

Stefan’s brother, Tanner, gives her the creeps, and something feels off about their relationship. The neighbor, Madison, is snooping around and asking too many questions—does she know something Erin doesn’t? And who is Stefan really? Without hesitation, Erin must paint a clear picture of what’s going on around her—for her own sake.

Character Summary

Erin Donovan is running headfirst away from her middle-class upbringing. As a child, she applied to an exclusive private high school—opting out of her local public school—and later attended a prestigious liberal arts college. On scholarship for both, her single mother often worked two jobs and still barely covered rent. Now an adult living in New York City and working for a public relations and marketing firm that serves the visual arts community, Erin wants as far away from her current life as she can get. She aspires to live a life of leisure and luxury—spending someone else’s money: her rich husband’s.

Erin’s best friend, Lucy Chang, is a star defense attorney who isn’t interested in trolling bars for rich men; she is the rich man. Lucy is entangled in a situationship with Justin Peterson, a prosecutor from the Southern District. With his assistance and connections, Lucy is able to feed Erin information on her new husband and his affairs.

Elusive, German-born businessman Stefan Ziegler defines his business as “commodities,” when in fact, his family is in the natural gas business and may be in possession of war-era paintings looted by the Nazis during World War II. Stefan was set to inherit a large portion of his family’s wealth as the sole heir after his younger brother died in a skiing accident—until a bothersome half-brother from L.A. popped up out of nowhere and began threatening his claim to the inheritance.

Aspiring actor Tanner Wilkens was caught trying to sell counterfeit art—whether he knew it was fake or not. He took a plea, at his brother’s insistence, and is now on house arrest for six months. At least the house isn’t half bad—it’s his brother’s place in the Hamptons. As much as he doesn’t want to be there, Stefan clearly doesn’t want him there either. Tanner’s trip from L.A. to New York was supposed to help him pursue theater and bond with his brother, but when he meets theater beauty Amelia Summers, they cook up a plan that’s dangerous for them both.

Madison and Jeremy Bradford are neighbors to Stefan, Tanner, and Erin. While Madison means well, she gets herself intertwined with Tanner and Erin—and now her family may be in jeopardy.

My Thoughts

I was shocked at how quickly I got through 80% of this book. It’s a quick read, for sure. The writing is concise and direct—definitely an easy read. The chapters are short, often ending with a cliffhanger, which keeps you turning the pages, if for nothing else than to see what lackluster bomb is being dropped.

I can’t say the plot moved the needle for me. Once you get to the climax, it’s pretty meh. I wanted a few more twists and turns, but this is very cut and dry—not much mystery, and even less thriller.

Erin is not a likeable character. From the beginning, it’s clear she’s in this relationship for all the wrong reasons, and then blatantly disregards every glaring, bright red flag directly in front of her. Even with the help of her attorney best friend, who brings her cold, hard facts about her new husband and his family, she refuses to pay attention. Almost everyone around her is giving her clear warnings—but does she listen? Nope.

The relationship moves quickly. The courtship is only two months—then she’s pregnant, they’re married, and then everything falls apart. The whole thing spans about six months!

Madison seemed like she could be a reliable narrator, but something was off about her too. Why did we need chapters from her? In the end, I was hoping her role would be more sinister, but that was too much to ask. Lucy was cool. I think in lieu of Madison’s narrative, I would have preferred hearing more from Lucy and Justin and their “investigation” into everything.

Lastly, Stefan reminded me of Jonny from Lola Akinmade Åkerström’s series. Stefan is who I wanted Jonny to be, LOL. But even so, it all just felt a little unbelievable. His connection to Dimitri is glossed over and not fleshed out. His family’s history—which is talked about a lot—is barely part of the reveal. All the good stuff I wanted to know was glossed over and replaced with Erin moving to Florida. So many unanswered questions.

Final Verdict

Eh. The ending and epilogue left much to be desired. Too many unanswered questions and plot lines that should have been explored or explained. This felt like a quick write—just as it was a quick read. Like it was a draft on Bonnie’s hard drive, and she submitted it just to clear space. It felt unfinished.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to NetGalley and Pathway Publishing for this advanced reader copy of The Rich Guy’s Wife by Bonnie Traymore in exchange for an honest review.