We Could Be Beautiful

by Swan Huntley

A spellbinding psychological debut novel, Swan Huntley’s We Could Be Beautiful is the story of a wealthy woman who has everything—and yet can trust no one.

Catherine West has spent her entire life surrounded by beautiful things. She owns an immaculate Manhattan apartment, she collects fine art, she buys exquisite handbags and clothing, and she constantly redecorates her home. And yet, despite all this, she still feels empty. She sees her personal trainer, she gets weekly massages, and occasionally she visits her mother and sister on the Upper East Side, but after two broken engagements and boyfriends who wanted only her money, she is haunted by the fear that she’ll never have a family of her own. One night, at an art opening, Catherine meets William Stockton, a handsome man who shares her impeccable taste and love of beauty. He is educated, elegant, and even has a personal connection—his parents and Catherine’s parents were friends years ago. But as he and Catherine grow closer, she begins to encounter strange signs, and her mother, Elizabeth (now suffering from Alzheimer’s), seems to have only bad memories of William as a boy. In Elizabeth’s old diary she finds an unnerving letter from a former nanny that cryptically reads: “We cannot trust anyone…” Is William lying about his past? And if so, is Catherine willing to sacrifice their beautiful life in order to find the truth? Featuring a fascinating heroine who longs for answers but is blinded by her own privilege, We Could Be Beautiful is a glittering, seductive, utterly surprising story of love, money, greed, and family.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Adult Fiction

340 pages, Hardcover

First published June 28, 2016

About the author

Swan Huntley is a writer and illustrator living in Los Angeles. Her books include Getting Clean with Stevie Green, The Goddesses, We Could Be Beautiful, The Bad Mood Book, You’re Grounded and I Want You More. She earned an MFA at Columbia University and has received fellowships from MacDowell and Yaddo.

Reviews

[Jennifer]

DNF @ 20%

OK, let me explain. First off, I have a hard time empathizing with ridiculously rich and privileged grown-ass adults who still whine incessantly about their unhappy lives. Yes, I realize money can't buy happiness but still. I work and stress too hard to read this dynamic in my leisure time. Second, the main character is in her forties but it felt like she was in her twenties still living off of her daddy's money. Grow up. Third, another hoity–toity character enters, a possible love interest who seemed like he would be sticking around for a while, and I was just over it.

At this point, I was considering the dreaded DNF so before I did anything rash I explored some reviews to see if it was worth continuing. Some indicate yes, some a resounding no. I clicked on a spoiler tag and got all the juicy details spelled out for me. The big reveal just seemed weird and frankly a bit silly to me. Maybe it wouldn't have seemed that way if I had actually stuck it out but what's done is done.

[Elyse Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overdrive library ebook .....

“We Could Be Beautiful” was instantly available with a tap of my finger...from the comfort of my bed for free. Sometimes modern life is really sweet!!!
No review is requested of me. No archive date attached....but I ‘want’ to share my thoughts about this fast-bullet-ride-non serious-saucy-tongue-in-cheek-slightly suspenseful-comical-mystery, anyway :)

Between the eye-catching book cover and curious if reviews were thumbs up or down when this book first came out ( I honestly couldn’t remember)— I started reading with no frame of reference- no memory of anything of what to expect.

So,....I’ve concluded this book is a satire-type boisterous romp. A little frolic fun.
If read as a serious book - good God - this book would be ghastly- awful.... but as tongue-in-cheek novel, it’s as enjoyable as a game of ‘kick-the-can’ on a warm summer night with the neighbors followed by a root beer float!

My fun starts with the pleasurable memory of a little favorite TIDBIT....( adds nothing to the over-all plot) - but I felt a sudden connection with the author....yelling out “HELL, YEAH, ya got that right”.

I’ll just type out the quote and some of you may understand my pleasure:
........Here goes:
“Chris and I talked about food. That was sort of our bonding thing.”...
NOTE: MY LINE OF “HELL,YEAH”.......”THE TRUTH OF ALL TRUTH’S.....is coming....
“We had decided the *carrot cake* at Whole Foods was the best on earth”!!!!
YUM!!!! I sooooooo agree!!!! Highly recommended.... lol > the Whole Foods *Carrot Cake* is sinfully delicious!!! ....High Five to the author, *Swan Huntley*.

Alright - back to important things.
This book can be read in one sitting pretty quickly. Especially if you take the express train by taking few - to zero notes.

Catherine West - is an ULTRA GIRL ....ultra wealthy - and ultra beautiful.....
with long silky hair - lean & fit- smooth skin - privilege beyond privileged- with an ultra leisurely- choice- lifestyle. She is a can do - can spend - material girl.
However... something is missing in her life: love & a child.

Catherine says: PAGE 1:
“I WANT A FAMILY”.
“I was rich, I owned a small business, I had a wardrobe I replaced all the time. I was toned enough and pretty enough. I moisturized, I worked out. I looked younger than my age. I had been to all the countries I wanted to see. I collected art and filled my West Village apartment with it. My home was right and tastefully bare and worthy of a spread in a magazine”.
“ I was also a really good person. I volunteered at a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving; I paid my housekeepers well on time. I was a good sister, a good daughter. I have been a pretty good student. I’ve gone to Sarah Lawrence and then NYU. I had substance. I was conscientious. I’ve seen enough documentaries to make me a vegetarian. I voted. I recycled. I tipped generously. I gave money to the homeless people on the street. I gave extra to Gypsy mothers, their sooty babies, always sleeping, maybe drugged, hanging heavy from their necks in hammocks made from ratty T-shirts.”
“But despite my good deeds and good fortune, I felt incomplete. I had always felt incomplete, even as a small child. I have a memory of myself, age four, cheek pressed against the cold black smoky design of the bathroom tiles, my hot breath fogging smooth marble, thinking, I am dead. I am dead but I am alive. I am dead and this is a dream.”

The above first paragraph had me hooked - because WHY would a 4 year old girl be thinking about death in regards to herself? Curious? I was too.... with good reason.

And the story moves on ......
Catherine gets a serious new love interest. ( PROBLEMS ‘will’ arise)...

Catherine has a sister - a mother - a best friend - her masseur- and many employees. You’ll meet them all. ( SECRETS ‘will’ arise)....

From superficial- materialistic girl ......author Swan Huntley ( GREAT NAME by the way)....slowly opens our hearts to this starlight self-centered woman.
We’ve little empathy or respect for Catherine— for most of the novel ....
Yet.....
We begin to feel a little different by the time the book ends.
If nothing else she lived a fascinating life. And we either did or didn’t have a romp of fun. I did!

Read this novel quickly - with great supporting characters- while waiting for a bus -sitting in the dark of a theater -or when you have all-night insomnia.
Enjoy a few chuckles for ‘what-it-is’...
an-over-the- top-rich-girl takes a mysterious journey and makes new discoveries about love.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an entertaining read for the last days of 2016! This is a book I wouldn't dare to recommend to anyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The narrator, Catherine, is a rich, self-involved and shallow woman in her mid 40's living in Manhattan. She is looking for love, having bounced from one unsuccessful relationship to another, and is getting a little desperate. Lo and behold, she meets a charming and sophisticated older man, William, at an event at an art gallery and they fall in love and move in together. But something is up with William - his name clearly means something to Catherine's mother, who has dementia and is in a nursing home. He won't talk about his past and as little bits and pieces come to light, Catherine begins to wonder if she really knows William at all.

I figured out some of it pretty early, but it didn't matter - I still hated to put the book down and couldn't wait to pick it up again. Addictive! But I confess to loving unlikeable characters and there were plenty of them here to choose from. Catherine seemed to grow up a bit by the end of the book and that was nice, although the author didn't overdo it so that it was unbelievable.

I had a lot of fun with this one. This is ONLY for readers who don't get bent out of shape by unlikeable characters. I suspect that is why this book has a low rating; readers are put off by the narrator. I was more fascinated by her ridiculous lifestyle and shallow mindset than offended. Why do we read other than to live other lives and experience different worlds?

Fun debut novel - well done.

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 This is the third book in as many weeks that featured the wealthy and privileged. This years trend mayhaps? Catherine West is in her early forties, a trust fund baby who owns her own apartment in Manhattan, loved to shop and lunch, and owns a small greeting card business. What she doesn't have is a husband, despite two precious engagements, and is soon not to have her monthly influx of cash.

Catherine is a maddening character, didn't like nor dislike her, she is somewhat oblivious, obtuse and her idea of saving is to spend two thousand on a purse instead of more. It was on sale. She is the kind of character that you want to shake and yell, "Wake up woman", especially after she meets the man of her dreams or so she thinks. But who really is this man and how close are his ties to her own family?

Have to admit I enjoyed this novel, the witty writing style of this début author. Not so much a mystery, though there is a family mystery at its heart, more an unraveling of secrets that live at the heart of this family. Some pretty good supporting characters as well. Interesting to see how Catherine changes in response to all the revelations in her life.

ARC from Netgalley.

[Meredith (Trying to catch up!) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I am torn about this one. I hated the main character, but yet I was interested enough to keep reading.

Fiercely insecure and extremely privileged, 43 year old Catherine West is desperate to find love. Born into wealth, she receives $80,000 a month from her trust fund. Sometimes she works in the card store that she owns, but spends most of her time getting massages, shopping, and attending charity events. She often reflects on her problems, and although she knows that she doesn't share the problems with those who are less fortunate, she frequently shares that her problems are just as difficult as those who have nothing (this is what makes her so unlikable). Yet, this is the world that she has grown up in, so she doesn’t know any better.

When the story begins, Catherine is recovering from her most recent breakup; her fiancé left her for an older and wealthier woman. When she meets William Stockton at an art gala, she thinks that she finally has met the perfect man. William seems too good to be true; there are many signs indicating that he is not the man that he appears to be. However, blinded by love and insecurity, Catherine is determined to build a future with William. In the end, Catherine goes through somewhat of a transformation and realizes that love has always been in front of her.

Reading this book was an interesting experience. Usually when I don’t like the main character I give up, but there was something compelling me to keep reading. The book was well-written and even though Catherine never grew on me, I found the world in which she lives fascinating.

[Bam cooks the books · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We could be new again, and we could be beautiful."

In Swan Huntley's debut novel, her character Catherine West is a little hard to relate to or like: beautiful, thin, uber-rich trust fund baby receiving $80,000 a month, superficial and shallow, judging everyone and valuing everything by its cost. "Mirrors reminded me that it was what was on the outside that counted."

At forty-three, the one thing Catherine doesn't have is love. At an art gallery gala, she meets William Stockton, a handsome older man with social connections to her family. They hit it off well--this is the one! Soon he moves in and they are engaged. Even when Catherine learns her trust fund is running out of money, he sticks with her. But there's hope for more wealth to come! Her father's will stipulates that if Catherine is married and has a child, she will receive another $10 million. Her biological clock is running down but....

The one person who doesn't like William is Catherine's mother, Elizabeth, who is suffering from Alzheimer's. Catherine tries to figure out why and digs into her mother's past, reading her journal for clues and searching for her old nanny. What she learns is devastating.

It's interesting to go back and read Chapter One again where Catherine summarizes who she is--her good deeds, her good fortune--but she also mentions that she feels incomplete and has since she was a small child. And then she relates her memory of being on the bathroom floor at age four, face pressed against the cold tile and thinking, "I am dead. I am dead but I am alive. I am dead and this is a dream."

I remember thinking when I read that for the first time, Wow! What strange thoughts for a four-year-old to have! Later we learn it was THE pivotal moment in her life, in all their lives, and what she witnessed were actions by two people that set everything that happens later in their lives in motion.

Neat literary device!

Huntley's writing style flows nicely and even though Catherine herself is so unlikeable, the people of the supporting cast of characters are interesting and well fleshed out. Catherine begins to grow as a person as her 'perfect' life falls apart and comes to the realization of what is really important.

*Maybe 3.5 stars would be more accurate but I look forward to reading more by this author. I won this book in a giveaway contest from the Keep Turning Pages reading group. Many thanks to Doubleday Publishing for the opportunity to read the debut work of this talented new author.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me introduce you to a character you'll love to loathe: Catherine West.

Catherine, our first person narrator in Swan Huntely's debut novel We Could Be Beautiful, is a trust-fund wealthy Manhattanite. With the automatic monthly deposit of $80,000 from her trust fund, Catherine's days consist of shopping, spa treatments, redecorating her apartment, spending as little time as possible at the boutique stationary store she owns, and visiting art galleries. It's at one of these art galleries where she meets the very handsome and charming William Stockton.

Huntley takes us through William and Catherine's relationship with a building sense of mystery. (The description on this book uses phrases like "spellbinding" and "psychological" which seem a bit too strong for what is at play here). Still, there is a sense that there's more than meets the eye with William, and Huntley deftly builds to a conclusion that I did not see coming.

Even more enjoyable for me, however, was the pitch-perfect tone of Catherine West as an uber-privileged 1 percent-er who is completely out of touch with reality. She's so privileged she doesn't even know how privileged she is. In this regard, Huntely has created a believable character without making her cartoonish.

A solid 3.5 star debut.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book deserves much more acclaim than it's getting. It's easy to dislike the main character, and because of that, dislike the book. But that would be doing yourself a great disservice. This book can be read on a surface level, or you can go a little (or a lot) deeper. In my opinion, this deserves a deeper read. I don't think it's a stretch to say that this book is pretty brilliant. But you have to be willing to go there with the book. 5 stars, easily.

[mollusskka · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5 stars

I don't know, but the image of Mariah Carey kept visualizing every time I was reading about Catherine West, the main character of this book.



And a little bit touch of Cher from Clueless:



Okay, now. Let's get to the review. This book tells the story of Catherine West, a 43 years old super rich woman who is about to lose her luxurious life. She used to get $80.000 a month from the trust her father had left her and suddenly she finds out a low balance in her bank account. So how can she not freak out??!!



But, hey! She can still keep her happy life on two conditions: to be married and to have children. Just one child will get her $10 million. Amazing!



The best thing is she's already on her way! But the worst thing is she's about to reveal the dark secret of her fiance, William Stockton. It involves her mother and her sister and it is an extremely, and uncommonly HUGE SCANDAL (at least for me). But, well, I did see it coming, though. I know from the beginning it's gonna be that kind of plot, lol. Oh, if you ever watch Rumor Has it movie with Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Costner in it, it's pretty much alike.

About the writing style... As long as it's easy to follow and to understand, then for me it's not bad. I like how Huntley describes the lavish life of Catherine West. But somehow, on the other side, I kinda resented how Huntley, through the POV of Catherine, explained her life and the people around her. It's just too much and at some point made me bored to death. No wonder some people make it a DNF.

The good thing about this book is how funny Catherine West is. The way she thinks, it's just funny to me. I giggled pretty much. Really, I couldn't stop laughing when reading this:

"I hadn’t been brought up with religion and I didn’t understand it. I thought God was an imaginary friend to people who couldn’t admit they were talking to themselves."

Oh, and I really liked how Huntley showed me the feeling of rich people about their luxurious life which I think could be true:

If you had money, you had no excuse. And people didn’t feel sorry for you either. Instead they decided not to like you before they even knew you. They said, If you’re sad, can’t you buy a new house somewhere, can’t you take a trip? Don’t you have so many choices, so many resources? They said, We’re not stupid and we know you can’t buy happiness, but we also know you sort of can, too, because money means choices and choices mean you don’t have the limits that we do, and that means you should shut up now and be happy. Look at everything you have— it’s limitless."

It's like rich people don't deserve to feel miserable about their lives. Poor rich people. You can cry all you want because I know problem in life is not always about money.

So, guys, that's all my review for this book. It's your decision to read it or not. Have a good time and happy reading for you.

[Dorie - Cats&Books :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“A spellbinding psychological debut novel, Swan Huntley's We Could Be Beautiful is the story of a wealthy woman who has everything—and yet can trust no one. “

I read the above blurb and I was looking forward to this promising novel, I love a good psychological thriller. What I read, however, was something very different.

We follow Catherine West, age 43, who has been incredibly wealthy for her entire life. She has everything she wants except for a husband and a family. O.K. set up for a good story perhaps?

I am in the minority on this one but I couldn’t find much in this book to like. For approximately half of the book we hear about the brands of clothing she buys, the food she eats, how she furnishes her house, a lot of pages covering what this over indulged woman buys which I found very uninteresting. Then there is her constant contemplation of what else she wants, purchases and wastes. She compares herself to others, all the while she appears to have no idea how the rest of the world lives nor does she have any desire to find out. She has no friends and only one sibling, her sister, Caroline, and she is somewhat friendly with her masseur, Dan. Catherine’s mother has Alzheimer’s and it’s a shame that this relationship wasn’t developed more fully. It’s was hard for me to continue this book when the main character is so shallow, uninteresting and very judgmental.

The plot doesn’t really kick in until about the half way point. Catherine meets a man at an art exhibition who seems to be a perfect match for her. They date and the relationship continues all the while Catherine is unaware of the obvious “red flags” that appear. Her mother, despite her illness, tries to convey a message to Catherine about William and his parents and her sister Caroline senses something isn’t right about him, but Catherine refuses to acknowledge that William is anything less than perfect. It’s when Catherine finally digs into the past that the mystery is unveiled. The reader has a pretty good idea of what’s ahead. I won’t go into any more of the plot.

I kept reading because I wanted to know the outcome, which was really not a bad ending. The mystery of William’s background is the “suspenseful” part of this book.

I think perhaps if there was more time spent on how these experiences changed Catherine and less of the endless pages of how she spent her money, I might have liked it more. Telling me that she spent two million dollars on a building to house a small card shop while also maintaining a large Manhattan flat doesn’t relate to me. I know a number of really wealthy people and have never met anyone like our main character.

The writing isn’t bad, the plot just wasn’t interesting. The only psychological part of the book is that I kept wondering how anyone could reach the age of 43 and be so clueless about the life around her. Maybe a younger reader would be more forgiving?? This reminded me of “Everybody Rise” published last year also with a super wealthy, clueless main character trying to get higher up the social ladder, at least that character was young.

I received an ARC of this book from Doubleday in exchange for an honest review.

[Holly B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up and started reading it.....and....... I couldn't put it down!!!!
It was intriguing and kept my interest. I finished it in a few days. Great Read.

[Catherine (The Gilmore Guide to Books) · Rating 1 out of 5]

This should have been a DNF but I kept thinking 'something's going to happen, there is a point to this'. Sadly there was not. The page paper had more life to it than the characters. To say that the protagonist, Catherine West, is one-dimensional would be a stretch. She is a farcical wealthy woman who goes a bit nutty when she discovers her money is gone. There is a plot, but it is so far fetched and obvious that there's no tension. When all is revealed it's as energizing as an Ambien.

[Vishnu Chevli · Rating 3 out of 5]

We could be beautiful came to us almost 2 years back in form of a review copy. The book went through 2 of our teammates but they were not able to make a bond with the book. According to them something about Catherine (lead character) didn't let them enjoy the story. That statement made me curious so I checked reviews by other book lovers, and I found it common in 2 out of 5 reviews. But the book is a book, I thought of giving one last chance and decide whether to put it under DNF or not. Luckily I was able to finish the book

The story goes like this our protagonist Catherine was in her early forties and recently went through a breakup. Her boyfriend left her for an elder woman for money. Again Catherine herself was getting 80K $ cheque monthly from inheritance (trust). She owned a small time shop which she visits once in a while. The majority of her time spent in the leisure of shopping and self-maintenance. She hardly cared for less-fortunate people but she considered herself miserable. The ray of hope appeared in her life as a new guy entered her life. She started planning her future with him. She found something fishie about him, but she ignored it. Whether her call to ignore his dark side would affect her life or not. Check the book to know more.

I hope I haven't revealed much. Now coming to my view, Catherine character is portrayed as a confused woman who is in her forties but feels like twenties, priorities in her life were missing. The book is a part thriller, part drama, part romance, and slight suspense. You need a taste to like this book.

I would like to point out I selected this book by just cover and title. I didn't check the blurb. I was under impression that book was self-help.

Detailed Review Link - https://chevusread.blogspot.com/2018/...

[MaryannC Victorian Dreamer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very torn about rating this one. While I loathed the novel's main character Catherine West, actually her whole family as well, I have to say the author did a great job of giving me a glimpse of Catherine's ultra privileged life that makes me wonder is this how the very rich live?

[Syndi · Rating 2 out of 5]

ugh! this book is a big no no.

i can live with the dull, selfish and so boring characters of this book. i can accept that.

but the plot and the writting. its to sick and too twisted with a very bad writing style. it is so dead boring. i almost DNF.

a big no. sorry.

[Judy Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A special thank you to Doubleday and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Swan Huntley delivers a twisty debut WE COULD BE BEAUTIFUL — an electrifying psychological and domestic mystery suspense mix of dark family secrets, greed, money, lies, and betrayal.

Catherine West, age 43 years old, has everything anyone woman could want or desire. Wealth, homes, business, clothes, and beauty. She primarily lives off a trust fund from her father, with a robust monthly amount, more than most earn in a year.

She even volunteers and gives to the needy. The posh Manhattanite lacks what she really wants. Despite her good deeds, and good fortune, she feels incomplete. She wants a man who loves her and a family. Children. It was not for a lack of trying. She had been engaged twice but it never worked out. She feels like a failure.

One night she promised her girlfriend she would attend a Gala for Contemporary Folk Art and meets an older distinguished man, William Stockton. He even knew their family and appears he has money, class, charm, and looks.

They share so many of the same things. He is sophisticated and enjoys the finer things of life; art and culture. Could he be too good to be true? Maybe now she does not have to worry about him liking her for her money, if he has his own. Or does he?

Catherine’s mom has Alzheimer’s and had progressed to the point where the task of living alone was beyond her. For a while she had caretakers, but her mother could be difficult and was unable to keep anyone long term.

Catherine and her sister Caroline decided to put her in a home, which turned out positive with other friends her own age. They had sold the apartment and her mom had enough to live comfortably with her health and financial needs cared for.

Something is a little off with William. She is unsure. He was careful, confident, familiar, strange, and he was exactly what she had been waiting for. Classy, smart, fashionable, and practical. Or so she thinks. What about his past?

When Catherine brings up William’s name to her mom, she is very disturbed. Her mom’s reaction bothers her, but she was not sure she could trust her. Even pre-Alzheimer’s she had a tendency to express hatred for others, for no apparent reason. She was extremely judgmental. Back in her day she was charming but intimidating, even to her staff.

Possibly she was just confused.

In the meantime, things heat up with William. He moved in two weeks later and then engaged rather quickly. They settled into a routine. Could they be beautiful together?

When she shows her mom the ring and informs her she is getting married, she seemed upset again. Her face is twisted and nostrils flaring. Catherine is so desperate for a happily ever after, she ignores her mother, and her fears. She puts it all aside and moves forward.

William is bothered when Catherine is going through childhood photos. A note, a diary. Her old nanny. Can she trust her? Things are getting very confusing to her.

She receives bad news about her trust. The money is not what she thought. Then there is the will. Her mom had donated the sale of the house, the art, and money to charity and museums before she lost her mind to her illness. Now, what will she do? No more money. Could William save her?

Now, you "must" read to find out the juicy details, and the dark twisted secrets!

"Denial, I have learned, is not the act of lying to yourself. Denial is not an act, it‘s a state. It’s the state of not knowing you are a liar.” I was fixated on a certain picture of my life, and that picture was reflected on the surface of everything I saw. We do not choose to be blind, and when we are blind, we don’t know that. We see as much as we can bear to see, and we assumed that’s all there is.”

What comes in Part Two and Three is Mind-Blowing! Catherine finds herself questioning everyone around her. Delicious scandalous dark secrets!

Razor sharp, haunting, contemporary, and psychologically astute. With clever shocking twists and turns, vivid descriptions, mixed with humor—Huntley grabs you and takes you for a wild ride.

The diaries/journals/letters between Mae (nanny) and Catherine’s mom, are nicely done from the seventies. A nice twist with the Alzheimer’s, adding an unreliable intriguing mood.

What is real beauty? What we see in people, places, things, and our lives? Sometimes we do crazy things, tangled in a maze, and take detours in our lives, in order to land on the right path.

Fans of Paula Daly, Liane Moriarty, and Heather Gudenkauf will enjoy the complex psychological twists. Well-developed characters, and smartly plotted; hard to believe, this is a debut! Can’t wait to see what comes next. Huntley is a talented author to follow.

Highly entertaining! A great summer escape.

Also purchased audiobook, performed by Cassandra Campbell (one of my favorite narrators)!

JDCMustReadBooks

[Greta Samuelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is is possible to have everything and have nothing at the same time? Absolutely!

Catherine West is a perfect example of this paradox. She wasn’t born with a silver spoon in her mouth- she was born with a diamond encrusted platinum spoon in her mouth.

As you get to know her you will be frustrated with the depths of her shallowness - what!?! Depths of shallowness - YES! this is Catherine.

Thank goodness as I kept reading I was able to see her grow a bit and even began rooting for her.

[♥ Sandi ❣ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The insecure spoiled little rich girl about to lose her honey pot.
Catherine was born into money and received an extremely high allowance each month, as did her sister, Caroline. Too "above it all" to read the letters her attorney had sent to her monthly for the last year, Catherine is shocked to learn her allowance would soon be a thing of the past.
At about the same time Catherine meets William - handsome, debonair, rich, single and looking her way. After many failed relationships, and turning 40, Catherine dives right into wedding plans. Sadly, her Mother is not as quickly taken by William Stockton. Catherine finds out that in long years past the two families had been close, however no one will acknowledge what that relationship was like. Catherine begins to dig into the past.
I did not like any of the characters in this novel - not when I started reading it and not when I completed it. However the author did a great job of bringing these characters to life. You keep turning the pages because you know that something is about to happen, you just cannot put your finger on it. Huntley brought the novel to a good conclusion with a surprise twist.
I rate it at 3 1/2 stars.

Thank you Doubleday and the Turning Pages group for the free novel in exchange for a truthful review.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is being promoted as "psychological suspense," and while it had a myserious element running throughout the storyline, it was more of a psychological character study. The development was a little on the slow side but I had a tough time putting it down.

Added comment: What I enjoyed about this book was the character study of a very privileged trust-funded woman who receives so much money each month that her life is pretty much a continual cycle of shopping, getting massages, decorating her large NYC house, going to the gym, and occasionally dropping into the greeting card shop she owns. She really has no idea what it's like to live as a regular person and at times her sense of entitlement is more than annoying but seemed very true to life. But the author makes her somewhat likeable and Catherine really does try to be a "nice person" by giving larger-than-required tips, money to street people, and being nice to kids ("I had to meet him at eye level, which was really, really nice of me. I was so nice."--note: this quote is from the advance reading copy). And does she ever get a clue and become humble? You'll have to read it to find out...

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

> We Could Be Beautiful is about a 44-year-old rich woman named Catherine West. Catherine is all about the luxury and the privilege: she's got a perfectly immaculate West Village home stocked with fine art, the best furniture, and a whole lot of hired help. She gets $80k a month from her trust fund, has a mother slowly succumbing to Alzheimer's, and the thing that Catherine wants more than anything is to be married and have a child. Enter William Stockton, an impeccably dressed and well-spoken businessman who meets Catherine at an art gallery. It was love at first sight. Or was it?

Called "psychological," this book aims to fully portray several characters in all their depth, foibles, and idiosyncrasies. There's Catherine, who thinks she's moral and strong, but who is actually petulant, childish, spoiled, privileged, and completely farcical. There's William Stockton, a man who seems perfect but who is absolutely too good to be true. And then there's Catherine's sister Caroline, more honest and self-aware than her sister, and much more aware of her own privilege.

The plot is basically this: 200 pages of Catherine agonizing over William's every move after they meet, and being incredibly immature and insecure for an older woman with everything she could possibly want. Then, the second 150-odd pages are spent in some very disorganized, very amateur suspense-building toward a conclusion that was both predictable and wholly uninteresting. Catherine loses her trust, must get married and have a child to trigger a clause in her father's will so she can get $10 million per child, and then uncovers some very unsavory family secrets that leave her perfect, luxuriously manicured world shattered.

The hook, of course, is that "money can't buy happiness" and all that shtick, but as much as I wanted to find deeper meaning in Catherine's whining and complaining, and to think that the arc of the story triggered a change in her, even after the reader discovers, very predictably, that all is not well in paradise, Catherine doesn't evolve so much as fire off some trite clichés at the end of the novel.

I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't. The author, Swan Huntley, went to Columbia University's MFA program, a very prestigious and competitive program. It did not show. The sentences were short and choppy, full of fluff and no meaning whatsoever. I was highly disappointed in this book.

Characters? One-dimensional. Writing? Meh. Plot? Predictable! I am usually very easy to please when it comes to books, but this one is a skip for me. If you've read it or want to read it, let me know what you think in the comments!

I received this title from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This title will be released today, June 28, 2016.

[Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday)]

I find it interesting when this happens: two very similar books are published at nearly the same time, yet one will be much "buzzier" than the other, even if the more ignored one is (in my opinion) a better book.**

We Could Be Beautiful has characters and a plot that are eerily similar to that of The Nest: a set of Manhattan siblings has been living a comfortable upper middle class lifestyle thanks to family money and then things go terribly wrong.

These books were published within a few months of one another. Both feature characters that many readers might find it hard to relate to, characters who, through happy accidents of birth, drift through life cushioned by trust funds and yet remain strangely unsatisfied. To be fair, both books do try to suggest that money doesn't buy happiness, but mopey rich characters like these are the kind you want to smack upside the head and send out to do some volunteer work.

Why did I like We Could Be Beautiful more? I thought that book's writing was much stronger, and its points more subtly made. I've seen it called a thriller, but I think that's way overstating the book's level of suspense. (The story does make an amusing shout-out to Patricia Highsmith.) I'd call it a mystery of sorts (one that I did figure out about two-thirds of the way through) and one in which the clues are very cleverly placed. I could tell right away that Catherine's mother's dementia was a way of hiding some dark family secret. I didn't like that it was necessary for Catherine to be so dumb about her financial situation for the plot to work. Seriously, who throws out financial documents without reading them?

I found the characters We Could Be Beautiful far less annoying than those in The Nest. As a resident of Manhattan for decades, I do think that The Nest does a much better job of capturing the social world of its characters. To me, We Could Be Beautiful's descriptions of Catherine's life of massages and personal trainers and endlessly decorating her apartment were generic enough that you could have changed a few minor details and had the book set in Chicago or San Francisco or Boston.

I think most readers will find it very hard to relate to the characters in The Nest and We Could Be Beautiful and many will downrate the book based on their dislike. But I remain a fan of Huntley's writing style and sly wit and will definitely check out her future books.

**Funny that Catherine, the main character, has the same thought about small businesses in the West Village. Why is her best friend's bonsai shop so much more successful than her blank card shop? Such are the mysteries of life...

Read more of my reviews on YA Romantics or follow me on Bloglovin

[Ann Marie (Lit·Wit·Wine·Dine) · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can read more of my reviews at Lit. Wit. Wine & Dine.

Catherine West is a wealthy trust fund (43 year old) kid living the good life in Manhattan. Like many wealthy people, she seems to have it all from the outside. Her days are spent bag shopping and lunching (though she doesn't actually eat anything). Her nights are filled with gallery openings other society events. Somehow she manages to squeeze in massages on Sundays. She barely has time for involvement in the boutique stationary store she owns though she considers being a small business owner an important part of her identity. She is superficial and judgmental. Even her generosity (she loves to mention that she throws money at her staff, waiters, etc.) seems egocentric rather than being born of a need to actually help or reward people. Though she has been burned a few times when it comes to love, and she longs to have a husband and family, she's such a you-know-what that it's hard to find any sympathy for her.

She has a sister who adores her but she finds Caroline to be weak and needy. She judges her parenting skills. She's happy to let Caroline take on the lion's share of responsibility when it comes to caring for their mother who has recently been moved to an assisted living facility due to the progression of Alzheimer's Disease.

When she meets William Stockton at a gallery opening, things begin to look up for Catherine. He's handsome and cultured and his parents were friends of Catherine's parents many years before. This move very quickly and they become engaged. However, it soon becomes apparent something may be a little off with William. Catherine struggles with her competing emotions. On one hand, she's ecstatic that she's found her Mr. Wonderful. On the other, she has some questions and William is not exactly open to talking about the past. And why is it that her mother shuts down at the mere mention of the name William Stockton? With her wedding growing nearer by the day, Catherine needs to find out.

The first half of We Could Be Beautiful was difficult for me to get through. It didn't feel psychological or mystery-like. It felt like Chick-Lit. There's nothing wrong with Chick-Lit if that's your preferred genre but it's generally not mine. Fortunately, the second half was much better. I won't include much in the way of spoilers but I will say I think Catherine (finally!) grew up.

This was, overall, a solid debut. Though originally categorized as General Fiction on NetGalley, I see that it has now been recategorized as Women's Fiction on the Penguin Random House website which I think is more fitting and will draw a more appropriate and appreciative audience.
3.25/5 stars

Thanks to Doubleday via NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[roxi Net · Rating 5 out of 5]

At this point I'm just going to stop saying this is outside of my reading preference. I prefer to read amazing books and "We Could Be Beautiful" hit that note.

It's literally a book that made me jot down notes for my review rather than review from the heart - it's a thinking book for sure.

Catherine, a very wealthy, single 43-year-old woman finds herself drawn to someone from her past who falls for her equally as hard. Despite her mother refusing to tell her about their family's history with William (chalking it up to Alzheimer's), Catherine refuses to see any red flags and continues her relationship with William, until...

We Could Be Beautiful is incredibly detailed (scary to a point - is this how wealthy people really think?!), Catherine's first person narrative is intriguing, honest, funny ("meditating makes me want to punch someone in the face most of the time") and depressing at times.

I couldn't stop reading it, not so much for the twist ending (which was a tiny bit predictable but I didn't mind in the least), but for Catherine's voice. I was so curious about her, her life, and her relationships that I wanted to keep reading. It also makes me curious about Swan Huntley and definitely interested in reading other books.

Oh, and kudos on the fantastic cover.

[Erin Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

We do have to give mad props here, because Swan Huntley pulls off an admirable thing - having readers invested in her characters. However, it's so hard to separate my dislike of Catherine West from the actual novel - I finished the novel (wanted to prove myself correct about my theory, and was pretty much correct), but couldn't stand Catherine, even when she halfheartedly has an about-face at the end of the novel and realizes she's been an insensitive person for most of her life.

And also, many people have had much worse things happen to them in life; they don't all turn out to be narcissistic, self-indulged, self-centered, and almost cruel. ...I still don't understand how yoga boy could even sort of like her. Seemed a little trite and "tying a bow on it".

Of course, as with everything, this novel is a mirror for us, the reader. Why do so many of us so intensely dislike Catherine? is it because she's rich? Is it simply envy? Or is it because we see some of her traits reflected in our own lives? (You don't have to be rich to be an a-hole.) Would go out on a limb and say most of us are pretty conscious of class distinctions and upholding them, no matter who you are.

(And if there was a novel about a do-gooder 1%-er, would we want to read it?)

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this was like taking a ride in a sleek (and I say sleek because this story is sleekly written) convertible. You'd be going down a road and start to turn turn down one alley, you get a premise of a plot line, but no, your back on the road again. Then another alley comes up, same scenario. Over and over again. I had no idea at times where this book was taking me. At one point, I saw a scene from 50 Shades of Grey down one of those alleys. Thankfully it was only a short trip.

I think Swan Huntley did one heck of a job with this book. There was no doubt I was engrossed in this book. And the plot twists, CRAZY! I am so excited that I saw and requested this book. Thanks Doubleday and Net Galley for the free e-galley.

[CL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catherine West receives an $80,000 a month from her trust fund and still feels that her privileged life is just as hard as those who struggle without wealth. She is uber wealthy so she does not know that this is not how she should feel since her life has been one of wealth and privilege. She is always looking for love and her insecurities cause her to make decisions that may not be the wisest. She becomes involved with a man she meets at an art gala and thinks he may be the one only to realize William may be hiding something from his past. Then her trust fund comes to an end and she is forced to consider a life without money and the privileges it has afforded her. Secrets from her mother’s past start coming to light and her world and William may not be as it seem. I would like to thank the Publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Witty, slyly funny, insightful, and some surprising plot twists as well. I really enjoyed being privvy to the main character's stream-of-consciousness thoughts about why she does the things she does. It shows how we all fool ourselves. I love being inside the character's head. And I also love being inside the posh world of a privileged Manhattanite. Very entertaining, highly recommended. I am going to look for more from the author, Swan Huntley.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun and easy to read and very suspenseful, but the end was predictable and the "surprise" wasn't shocking enough to match the build-up.

[Bonnie Brody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catherine West is 43 years old, single and rich. She owns a small business, collects art, changes her wardrobe regularly and thinks of herself as a good person, someone of substance. Her money comes from her father's trust fund and she never has to think about the cost of anything. She has recently purchased a two million dollar building to house her small art stationary business. In addition, she owns a home in the West Village of Manhattan. There is only one thing missing in her life, and that is a man. She has been engaged twice and both of her fiances left her. Her last fiance, Fernando, left her for an older woman who Catherine calls 'the grandmother'.

Catherine, in fact, is shallow and materialistic to the hilt. It is difficult to think that the author is not writing tongue in cheek about her protagonist. Ms. Huntley, in her debut novel, portrays Catherine perfectly. She is materialistic, self-absorbed, trying to be the way she thinks she is supposed to be in others' eyes, and she has no north star of her own. She is a parody of herself.

As the novel opens, Catherine is attending a gala at a folk art museum. It is there that she meets William Stockton, her new love. He has big hands and other appendages. Within two weeks they are living together. Catherine loves the way he looks and the sense she gets that he comes from money. After all, he attended Dalton and boarding school in Switzerland. It even seems that his family and hers were friends when Catherine was young. However, when Catherine mentions this fact to her mother, who is suffering from Alzheimer's, her mother appears disturbed. What is the elder Mrs. West thinking or is it just her dementia. Catherine worries. William is great but is he too great to be true?

Catherine's character is cheesier than a 1-900 fortune teller. All her employees (and she has a lot of them) are attractive and she wonders if this is intentional or just happenstance. She endures sex with William but does not really enjoy it. To be fair, she has never enjoyed sex with anyone. However, sex with William is important because Catherine has just found out that her trust fund is running out. She has never bothered to open her mail and, had she done so, she would have found out this important fact. What she does know, however, is that for each child she bears, she will inherit ten million dollars. At her age is she still able to become pregnant?

Read this book for a wild romp with a group of people that you'll love to hate or at least look down on. Ms. Huntley has a fine tuned eye for art, clothing, galas, and bad taste. She will keep you shaking your head and turning the pages for more. This tongue-in-cheek novel is a real treat. If you haven't already been jaded by the Kardashians, Hiltons, and other people who are famous only for their fame, then Ms. West will be your entry into that special world of vacuous entitlement.

[Ioana · Rating 1 out of 5]

There is nothing psychological about this book. For the first half of the book you keep reading about Catherine West, a spoiled brat of 46 years old, who has an obnoxiously large sum of money delivered to her account every month, she spends it on useless things, has a business that's semi-useful, and desperately wants to have a family. Most certainly I'm not convinced of her "good" side just because she mentions the "poor people out there". She meets an odd man, but she doesn't pay attention to all the little things that should catch her attention and ring those alarm bells because she's beyond ready to meet the one. They plan their wedding, plan to have a baby because it will bring them more money now that Catherine's funds are running low, and play house. As you keep reading you are aware of the stiffness of their relationship, of the counterfeit of the perfect life these two rich people try to present. Catherine is judgmental, mean, you read of the brands she buys, of the food she orders, and it is all so uninteresting. There's clearly something off with her boyfriend-too-quickly-turned-fiancé, William, that you come to the conclusion that only in a movie or in a book could someone be so willingly blind.

The most normal people in this book, in my opinion, were Caroline, Catherine's sister, and Dan, Catherine's masseur. In the end, they are the ones who will be there for Catherine. This just proves that normal shouldn't be overlooked.

I reached the half of the book, and I kept reading because I was promised a psychological novel and I wanted to read one. With tortoise movements we get somewhere, eventually. Spoiler: it's not psychological, but I kept reading because I was so close to the end. Turns out William was after Catherine's money and some revenge because his family blackmailed Catherine's father, who apparently paid too little over the years. What's more, Catherine's mother had an affair with William when he was seventeen years old, and Caroline is his daughter. You figure this out way before Catherine does, and it's not shocking at all because, as I said, there's something fishy about William. It's a rather silly plot, in my opinion. There was supposed to be suspense to keep the reader interested, but I didn't find this suspenseful at all. It was tacky.

The writing wasn't bad, but the plot was unfortunate. I don't understand why they keep naming every book psychological even though they clearly aren't. I am glad I only spent two days reading this, a weekend, because this is an easy read, and I am glad I didn't spend more time on it.

I received an advanced ebook copy of this book from the publisher, Doubleday, via Net Galley. All thoughts expressed here are my own.