Book Review: Upper East Bride by David L. Kirby

 

 

 This book was quite entertaining to read. I thought it would be more like a Sex and the City type but it reminded me some of Cinderella meets Devil Wears Prada with a twist of Desperate Housewives and The Undoing.

Many of us picture life in New York City as glamorous as it can be, and Megan's story makes a great job by adequately portraying life in the Great Apple to be anything but for many of its inhabitants. At the beginning, Megan is a middle-class Midwestern girl out of collage trying her luck in the city that never sleeps, however she meets a rich guy and there you have it, a modern Cinderella story with no glass shoe, living a dream fantasy life of an upper east bride (hence the title) and all the changes such role involves.

However, even when no glass shoe was left behind when the clock bell rang, Megan finds things might not be as rosy as she would have figured. No spoiling here, but in the middle of that process she finds herself involved in the typical gossip and swirl of vanities typical of the members of the New-Yorker upper class.

I enjoyed the tales and how even when life changes around Megan, she tries to keep her own personality afloat, even if at a certain extent she falls prey of the vain lifestyle she's now part of - and it is totally understandable. The author makes a great job keeping her interactions credible and organic, as a contrast with her counterparts and the people she's closest to. I also enjoyed how Kirby intertwined these fictional characters with actual celebrities and it felt quite realistic.

I mentioned The Undoing (the HBOMax series, not the book) here not because there's a sordid crime like in that series, more because I feel it shows how sometimes we think of people in the upper class as free from any issues known to mortals. Perhaps this is not a way to justify the excesses they commonly fall into, more like understanding this as part of their human condition. Regardless of one's opinion about wealth distribution, and how ridiculous some of the "struggles" of the rich might be, reading this book is a way to be curious, not judgmental, and our main character realizes that too. At the end, Megan realises that a golden cage, even if made of gold, nevertheless is a cage so she proceeds accordingly. Totally recommend reading this book to find out how she did it!

Upper East Bride was released on August 13th, 2021 both in physical and digital formats. Thank you NetGalley and David L. Kirby for the ARC!