Title: The Heiresses
Author: Sara Shepard
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Published: May 20th, 2014
Synopsis
You know the Saybrooks. Everyone does. Perhaps you’ve read a profile of them in People or have seen their pictures in the society pages of Vogue. Perhaps while walking along that choice block on Fifth Avenue, you’ve been tempted to enter the ornate limestone building with their family name etched into the pediment above the door.
The only thing more flawless than a Saybrook’s diamond solitaire is the family behind the jewelry empire. Beauties, entrepreneurs, debutantes, and style mavens, they are the epitome of New York City’s high society. But being a Saybrook comes at a price—they are heirs not only to a dizzying fortune but also to a decades-old family curse.
Tragedy strikes the prominent family yet again when thirty-four-year-old Poppy, the most exquisite Saybrook of them all, flings herself from the window of her TriBeCa office. Everyone is shocked that a woman who had it all would end her own life. Then her cousins receive an ominous threat: one heiress down, four to go.
Was it suicide… or murder? In the aftermath of the tragedy, the remaining heiresses—Corinne, the perfectionist; Rowan, the workaholic; Aster, the hedonist; and Natasha, the enigma—wrestle with feelings of sadness, guilt, and, most of all, fear. Now they must uncover the truth about their family before they lose the only thing money can’t buy: their lives.
The Heiresses is a whip-smart mystery that simmers with the wicked sense of humor and intrigue that made Sara Shepard’s number one New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series a must-read, must-watch phenomenon.
Review
The first thing I thought while reading the book was this book is what would happen if you mix Pretty Little Liars with Gossip Girl; beautiful, successful, and wealthy women with lots of secrets.
As I started reading, I had to turn the page back and forth because there are so many characters, all being introduced – briefly – at once. I mixed up the cousins at certain points in the beginning because I just couldn’t catch up. It gets better once I continue reading and you get to know these characters more.
The main characters in this book display the stereotypical depiction of a wealthy family; you have the perfect daughters, the wild ones, and the rebellious ones. Poppy is the most perfect of them all, a working mum who manages to juggle being a working woman a mum – while also hiding a secret from everyone. (While reading the book, I can’t help but imagining Poppy as Ivanka Trump). Then you have Corrine who was going to get married to her college sweetheart though a hidden secret might ruin her wedding. There is also Aster, Corrine’s sister, who is the wild Saybrook. A model who prefers partying over photoshoot. Then there is Rowan who compares to all her cousins seemed tame, but not without her own secrets. And last but not least, Natasha, the youngest of them who disassociates herself from her family for unknown reasons.
In terms of characters, I have to say there there is very little character development in the story. The only one who had was Aster. The rest remain pretty much the same from the beginning until the end of the story, except they were without secrets by the end of it.
In terms of storyline, it moves quite fast. There are so many secrets, though it’s mainly because there is so many characters in this book and each of them has secrets. The secret part actually got me hooked. I was super curious who decided to kill Poppy and what makes the family experienced bad luck? And since I can’t guess a few of them, it makes the reading experience a little better I suppose. AND THAT CLIFFHANGER ENDING!! Have I mentioned that I don’t like cliffhanger? And I’m not sure when the next book is coming out (or if there would actually be a second book).
Overall, it is an entertaining book. The secrets didn’t blow me away but I was hooked to the story. I wish we could focus on fewer characters and maybe delve into the other cousins’ stories in the next books. So, if you’re looking for a deep, intense book, this one might not be for you. But if you are looking for a fun, mindless entertainment, this one might work.
xo,
Naths
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