Thank you Libro.fm / Harper Audio, for the ALC and Harper, #partner, for an advanced copy of When We Were Bright and Beautiful in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Harper / Harper Audio
Published: August 2, 2022
Summary:
The acclaimed, bestselling author of This Could Hurt returns with her biggest, boldest novel yet–an electrifying, twisty, and deeply emotional family drama, set on Manhattan’s glittering Upper East Side, that explores the dark side of love, the limits of loyalty, and the high cost of truth.
You can have everything, and still not have enough.
Cassie Quinn may only be twenty-three, but she knows a few things. One: money can’t buy happiness, but it’s certainly better to have it. Two: family matters most. Three: her younger brother Billy is not a rapist.
When Billy, a junior at Princeton, is arrested for assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Cassie races home to Manhattan to join forces with her big brother Nate and their parents, Lawrence and Eleanor. The Quinns scramble to hire the best legal minds money can buy, but Billy fits the all-too-familiar sex-offender profile–white, athletic, and privileged–that makes headlines and sways juries.
Meanwhile, Cassie struggles to understand why Billy’s ex Diana would go this far, even if the breakup was painful. And she knows how the end of first love can destroy someone: Her own years-long affair with a powerful, charismatic man left her shattered, and she’s only recently regained her footing.
As reporters converge outside their Upper East Side landmark building, the Quinns gird themselves for a media-saturated trial, and Cassie vows she’ll do whatever it takes to save Billy. But what if that means exposing her own darkest secrets to the world?
My thoughts:
Once again, I am coming to a book late to the party. I remember hearing all the chatter about this one when it first came out but just couldn’t fit it into my schedule. And I’m totally kicking myself for waiting…but I am glad to have finally gotten to it.
This book is definitely one that is not for everyone. It’s the type of book that is unsettling, gets under your skin and will have you thinking about it long after you finish reading it. I love books like that. I love books that make me really ponder who is in the right and who is in the wrong and believe me when I say, there are all so many shades of grey here, it’s mindboggling.
This book is so much more than just a rape case. It’s about wealth and power, abuse in all its forms and sibling relationships and how they can be easily manipulated, as can that of any relationship, really. Secrets abound and the book takes some unexpected twists that definitely surprised me.
I’m glad I gave this one a chance and I really loved the writing. I definitely will be checking out what else this author has written and would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good court drama/family drama with a thought-provoking plot.
Audio thoughts:
Marin Ireland does a phenomenal job narrating this one. Even with the different points of view, she manages to give everyone their own unique perspective and is able to infuse just the right amount of tension and emotion into her voice as needed.
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