We Could Be Beautiful by Swan Huntley

Has it been Hades hot where you live? If not, consider yourself the luckiest person in the world, because the weather out here has been like living inside the oven, and I'm not ready for that. It cooled down a little for the last week, but that's all we got. It's about eighty degrees right now, cloudy and humid, and I want to die. Or at least live in a cold shower. One thing that helps me get my mind off the sweltering heat {and how disgusting I feel because of it} is reading, and this week, I've got a good one for you guys.

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? 

I requested this book from NetGalley after reading the synopsis because it sounded interesting and I've been into mysteries lately. It took me a few tries to get this book going, though, because one thing kept throwing me off: Catherine West, the narrator of this story.

Catherine is a...brat. There is no other word for her. She's a horrid, selfish, snobby brat...and that's the way she's supposed to be. She's been raised in a family that never wanted for anything, and when her biggest problem is whether to get that McQueen dress in blue or green, you know she has it made. The first quote of hers that I highlighted was, "The first thing I wanted to do was complain about the nachos, but Vera was actually fat. She wouldn't understand." At one point, I made a note that only said, Could she {Catherine} get any worse?

She did, and it was kind of wonderful.

Catherine is so concerned with her outside appearance and how other people view her, so she knows that she needs a husband that will complement her perfectly. Enter William Stockton, the most perfect of perfect men. He seems to do everything wonderfully and he only wants to love Catherine to the best of his ability, which seems to mean an endless amount of anything she wants. Catherine, for her part, changes some of her habits and aspects of her personality in order to accommodate William. In short, they are the perfect couple and nothing can tear them apart.

Dun dun dunnnnnn.

I don't want to say that the ending was predictable, because it really wasn't, but you do start to piece out the puzzle that is William Stockton. It starts off with a strange mannerism, a little tic in his personality that maybe, just maybe, could be nothing. Then there are the weird questions that come up at the oddest times, the fact that Catherine's mother practically falls to pieces whenever his name is mentioned. When the end does come, you're adequately prepared, but it's still a shock. I think I was 100% correct on one secret, but another one came out of left field for me, so there you go. 

Besides, the novel isn't really about the mystery that is William Stockton. I saw this book as being about Catherine and how she isn't truly satisfied with her life. She has no job really to speak of {she owns an artisanal card shop {if that makes any sense} and lives off her trust fund. But when even that comes into some trouble, she realizes that she has to make some changes in her life. Some are not so good, and some are for the better. It's interesting to watch this character that you absolutely loathe at the beginning become something of a...person. She's not exactly a good person, but she is better, and for that, I have to give her credit. She makes the best out of a terrible situation, and begins to understand that maybe it's not the outside that counts. She says, "You are so paranoid and you have always been so paranoid and you think the world is out to get you when really the world doesn't give a shit about your silly little life."

It makes you think.

The other characters that populate Catherine's life are just as spectacular, especially Catherine's best friend {???} Susan. She's another trust fund baby with her own bonsai shop {honestly, do these people own anything that isn't quirky?}. She doesn't take to William right off the bat, but she's a bit insane herself, so I was never really sure if I was supposed to trust her or not. Marty, the wedding planner, is a card, and I know that makes me sound like an eighty year old, but there really is no better word for him. He's so over the top and exaggerated that no word seems good enough for him. Then there's Dan, sweet, sweet Danny boy the masseuse. He comes to Catherine's every week for her massage and becomes a friend, even though she's constantly worried that he's only pretending to be her friend because she pays him. 

We Could Be Beautiful ended up being an awesome book. Just remember, Catherine is supposed to be that shallow and vapid and rude and out of touch. She's supposed to be a huge brat. And I know that Swan Huntley did an amazing job at writing Catherine because when bad things happened to her near the end, I didn't find myself thinking, That's what you get. No, I found myself thinking, Oh, poor girl, how is she going to get out of this one?

Because she always does.