#BookReview: She Regrets Nothing by Andrea Dunlop

she regrets nothingAbout the Book

In the tradition of The Emperor’s Children and The House of Mirth, the forgotten granddaughter of one of New York’s wealthiest men is reunited with her family just as she comes of age—and once she’s had a glimpse of their glittering world, she refuses to let it go without a fight.

When Laila Lawrence becomes an orphan at twenty-three, the sudden loss unexpectedly introduces her to three glamorous cousins from New York who show up unannounced at her mother’s funeral. The three siblings are scions of the wealthy family from which Laila’s father had been estranged long before his own untimely demise ten years before.

Two years later, Laila has left behind her quiet life in Grosse Point, Michigan to move to New York City, landing her smack in the middle of her cousins’ decadent world. As the truth about why Laila’s parents became estranged from the family patriarch becomes clear, Laila grows ever more resolved to claim what’s rightfully hers. Caught between longing for the love of her family and her relentless pursuit of the lifestyle she feels she was unfairly denied, Laila finds herself reawakening a long dead family scandal—not to mention setting off several new ones—as she becomes further enmeshed in the lives and love affairs of her cousins. But will Laila ever, truly, belong in their world? Sly and sexy, She Regrets Nothing is a sharply observed and utterly seductive tale about family, fortune, and fate—and the dark side of wealth.

My Review

She Regrets Nothing started off very strong for me. I was immediately interested in the Lawrence family and their very complicated dynamics. Laila seemed like a lost little bird, and I was wishing her the best when her cousins showed up at her mother’s funeral, and she quickly moved out to New York. Liberty, Nora and Leo were all very unique in their own ways, and it was fun seeing Laila start to adapt to her new life. But probably before the halfway point, my interest started to wane. Laila quickly became extremely unlikeable, and it seemed every few chapters she would undergo a major personality change, and it made it hard to keep up with her. The ending definitely took a very dark twist that I actually did not see coming, and somewhat redeemed the book for me after it became a bit stale. Not a favorite, but one that was thought-provoking.

3 stars

I received a review copy in exchange for a review