ebook review: Opening Belle

A whip-smart and funny novel told by a former Wall Street insider who reveals what it’s like for a working woman to balance love, ambition, and family in a world of glamorous excess, outrageous risk-taking, and jaw-dropping sexism.
In 2008, Isabelle—a self-made, thirty-something Wall Street star—appears to have it all: an Upper West Side apartment, three healthy children, a handsome husband, and a high-powered job. But her reality is something else. Her trading desk work environment resembles a 1980s frat party, her husband feels employment is beneath him, and the bulk of childcare and homecare still falls in Belle’s already full lap.
Enter Henry, the former college fiancé she never quite got over; now a hedge fund mogul. He becomes her largest client, and Belle gets to see the life she might have had with him. While Henry campaigns to win Belle back, the sexually harassed women in her office take action to improve their working conditions, and recruit a wary Belle into a secret “glass ceiling club” whose goal is to mellow the cowboy banking culture and get equal pay for their work. All along, Belle can sense the financial markets heading toward their soon-to-be historic crash and that something has to give—and when it does, everything is going to change: her marriage, her career, her world, and her need to keep her colleagues’ hands to themselves.


My Review:

I'm not sure what exactly was supposed to happen in this book, but I stopped reading about 25% through. I simply didn't see anything happening in the story besides Belle complaining about her lazy husband, judgmental ex, and creepy coworkers. It got boring.

The character if Belle herself was fine enough. A mother with a high stress job and a number of kids made me picture her in my mind as Laura from the Mysteries of Laura. This kept me reading until I realized I wasn't seeing much development beyond that. It ended up feeling like the author picked a character out of a hat but didn't have any real plot in mind.

I'm sure this book is a great fit for someone with more patience. From what the synopsis can tell me there's supposed to be a love triangle ahead between her husband and ex husband. But those who know my reviews know I don't count "love triangle" as an actual plot.

My Recommendation: Skip it.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.