Santorini Sunsets
Available August 2, 2016
Thank you to NetGalley.com and to the publisher for the ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
I may be giving away spoilers in this review…
Oh to be a WASP. Not the bug, but the incredible rich, beautiful, well-connected, and perfectly mannered people who inhabit New York’s Upper West Side and Hamptons. To be able to look at your wife who has just confessed of sleeping with someone else 10 years prior and say, “Okay, let’s go make love.” Or to be able to look at your husband who has just confessed to pretty much blowing through all of the money and almost had to sell your family summer home and say, “Okay, let’s go make love.” These characters have about as much depth as a vinyl record so don’t go reading this story in search of substance. If you’re looking for beautiful, repetitive descriptions of the location, food, and clothing that this is a perfectly fluffy book for you. Just try not to look for anything resembling feelings, a heated conversation, or anything emotional since every character in this novel acts like they’re emotionally crippled.
What I loved: I loved the character of the younger sister Daisy but I wanted so much more. Why was she so afraid of life, love, everything? Was she not used to having any attention to her or her life since her perfect sister seemed to hog the spotlight constantly? She had such potential for evil (couldn’t you see her as having an affair with the groom but torn because she loved her sister), for greatness (her Santorini inspired designs become the hit of the fashion world), for realness (she jumps from job to job because of some deep dark secret). Instead, she comes across as timid, jumpy, and awkward – and Daisy is pretty much the best of the bunch. Please learn how to do your hair in another style – it’s not healthy to wear your hair in a ponytail every single day, even if it’s tied with a different colored ribbon.
What I didn’t love: If you’re going to create a foundation to better the world, here is a newsflash for you: Even if you’re rich – you’re going to need other people’s money to help change the world. If you don’t take money, you have to finance everything on your own and then you will not have enough money for a new roof for your summer home (the horror!). Not once was a fundraiser mentioned for this foundation. I agree with not take corporate financial donations for the reason’s mentioned in the story, but its silly not to take individual donations because they are not family. Last time I checked, only 1 of the 4 people worked in that family.
On another note, last time I checked with my friends that are of Greek heritage, marriage is an extremely sacred institution in Greece as well as their priests. And the majority of their priests are of the Greek Orthodox denomination so they won’t marry anyone who are not Greek Orthodox, even if you’re frickin perfect Brigit Palmer. You may want to change that to Nathaniel finds a visiting Presbyterian/Catholic/Episcopalian/Hindu/Whatever priest/pastor/minister/whatever to marry them on a whim. Or better yet – have the Palmers bring their minister from home to conduct the original wedding and since he’s still in town, he can conduct the second ceremony.
What I learned: Ceviche is spelled with a C, not an S. Oh snap, I already knew that. Please fix the typo.
Overall Grade: B-
