The Recessionistas by Alexandra Lebenthal

Book Description:
It's the day after Labor Day, 2008, and the elite universe of New York's Upper East Side is about to unravel along with the economy. Socialite Grigsby Somerset is barely aware of her changing world, and has no idea her investment banker husband Blake is about to enter into a devil's bargain with hedge fund owner John Cutter. As autumn unfolds, Grigsby's fairytale life starts to unwind. Street-smart Renee Parker has been hired as John's executive assistant and is convinced that something is amiss with her new boss. Renee enlists her friend Sasha Silver, CEO of Silver Partners, to help her decipher what is happening. They soon discover that John is nearly ruined, except for the assets he is hiding in the Cayman Islands from his wife Mimi, and has concocted with Blake a scheme to redeem himself. This tale of expulsion from a modern-day Garden of Eden captures what happens when economic decline spells ruin for Manhattan's pampered elite.

My Thoughts:

This book was ok. It follows a series of people of the 'elitists' of New York through their lives and chronicles what happens to them. Grigsby is the envy of all her friends and EVERYONE who is anyone wants to be close to her. Sasha is a working mom who is being taken for granted and getting the raw end on several deals. John is divorcing Mimi and he and Blake, Grigsby's husband, are making a deal to save face. The financial market tanks and they go with it!

I had a hard time getting into this book. Each chapter is about someone new but they are all intermingled in each others' lives. The author gave lots of details which is generally good, but it seemed monotonous in this book. She obviously knows much about the market and what goes on, but it did not translate well into a fiction book (for me anyway). The characters are very well developed and it is very interesting how all their stories are related.

I rate this book a 2/5. I was hard to get into, but got better the farther you go.

Thank you to Hachette Books for the review copy of this book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.