November 17, 2020
NetGalley
Delacorte Press/Ballantine
Random House
288 pages
Women’s fiction, arc, digital,
ISBN: 9780399179686
11/29-12/6
3/5
I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
All That Glitters…..as the aphorism says is not gold. The title says explains my experience reading this book. It seemed to have so much potential but was ultimately just okay.
Nicole “Coco” Martin was a 21 year old year journalism major at Columbia University when her parents were tragically killed by a terrorist attack while in France. Coco had missed the annual trip as she was hired as a summer intern for Time magazine. In the aftermath of their death, Coco’s life is shattered as her life revolves around her loving parents, Tom and Bethanie.
Fortunately, her best friend from childhood, Samuel Stein, is always a source of support for her. His strict Orthodox Jewish parents want him to marry an Orthodox Jewish girl and have babies. He is focused on his studies and tries to encourage Coco not to abandon her college dreams.
Coco is so distraught that she cannot return to school and is unable to meet her intern commitment at Time. Her father’s married business partner Ed is made trustee of her inheritance. He begins an inappropriate relationship with her which just further traumatizes her when she naively thinks he is leaving his wife for her.
After the disaster of a relationship with her trustee, Coco accepts an internship in the London Time office. She feels traveling abroad would provide some distance and allow her to move forward from her grief. It isn’t long before she falls for Nigel a Time employee more interested in partying and running up the social ladder than a successful career. He says and does all the things that Coco wants to hear even s her drugs her down a rabbit hole.
Her close platonic relationship with Sam does nothing to dissuade her from making one bad decision after another. He knows her and has only the best intentions for his friend. It was frustrating to understand how Coco could continue to ignore his valid concerns for her safety. Coco expresses her concerns for Sam’s future to a “solid” Orthodox Jewish girl with whom he had been dating for over a year. She feels he should marry for love and not obligation to please his family.
I wanted to enjoy this story more than I did. The characters were dull without much dimension making it hard to invest in their story. There were so many moments when I thought Coco needed a “dope slap” for being so stupid! A true example that money does not buy happiness and all that glitters is not gold.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/1401616887
https://www.instagram.com/p/CIev2BHArH7/?igshid=ueupsx2qevmy
No comments:
Post a Comment