Julie's Review: The Heiresses

Author: Sara Shepard
Series: Heiresses #1
Publication Date: May 20, 2014
Publisher: Harper
Pages: 320
Obtained: Amazon Vine
Genre:  Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: Delicious fun
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab!

Summary: You know the Saybrooks. Everyone does. Perhaps you've read a profile of them in People or have seen their pictures in the society pages of Vogue. Perhaps while walking along that choice block on Fifth Avenue, you've been tempted to enter the ornate limestone building with their family name etched into the pediment above the door. The only thing more flawless than a Saybrook's diamond solitaire is the family behind the jewelry empire. Beauties, entrepreneurs, debutantes, and style mavens, they are the epitome of New York City's high society. But being a Saybrook comes at a price;they are heirs not only to a dizzying fortune but also to a decades-old family curse. Tragedy strikes the prominent family yet again when thirty-four-year-old Poppy, the most exquisite Saybrook of them all, flings herself from the window of her TriBeCa office. Everyone is shocked that a woman who had it all would end her own life. Then her cousins receive an ominous threat: one heiress down, four to go. Was it suicide . . . or murder? In the aftermath of the tragedy, the remaining heiresses;Corinne, the perfectionist; Rowan, the workaholic; Aster, the hedonist; and Natasha, the enigma—wrestle with feelings of sadness, guilt, and, most of all, fear. Now they must uncover the truth about their family before they lose the only thing money can't buy: their lives. The Heiresses is a whip-smart mystery that simmers with the wicked sense of humor and intrigue that made Sara Shepard's number one New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series a must-read, must-watch phenomenon. ~powells.com

Review: I haven't ever read or watched Ms. Shepard's Pretty Little Liars, so I was not biased when I requested this book. I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed The Heiresses. Am I a bit disappointed that it will be a series, a bit but just because I don't want to get sucked into another one.

The Heiresses quickly sucks you in and it never lets you go. There are a lot of characters but you quickly figure out that who the important ones are and who the bystanders will be. Poppy, Natasha, Corinne, Aster and Rowan are the centerpiece to this novel. They are "the heiresses" that someone is after. Each one has a chapter from their point of view and this lends insight to their relationships as only they can. All of them were extremely close as children, but then something shifted. Natasha disowned herself from the family without telling anyone why and Aster separates herself from the family by maintaining a partying lifestyle.

I enjoyed getting to know all of them. Each one has their flaws but each one is human and relatable. I wouldn't say I have a favorite because each of them is so unique. I do love to see character growth in the novels I read and this one had that in spades. Each of the heiresses finally came into their own towards the end of the novel, but the one who made the most significant change was Aster. She truly blossomed and found her way, even if it is having to work a job.

The story moves along at a quick pace, which keeps you on your edge of the seat. Who is trying to kill them? Why? Who keeps leaking insider photos and information to the website following their every move?

What Ms. Shepard does so well is she keeps the story shifting to suspects. You find each of them plausible and just when you think "ah, that's the person", she makes you re-think everything.

Of course since it's a series, it ends on a note that left me wishing I had the next one already in queue. I am definitely looking forward to The Heiresses #2.
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