enjoyed this book a lot. will read more of this author and their books. i was grateful to get a copy of it. Thanks so much.

Rather than a traditional, by the numbers rom-com, this delightful read takes a clever, satirical look at the rich and famous. It was witty and engaging from start to finish! I truly think this one is underrated and I hope more readers will give it a chance and grab a copy.

Megan O'Malley jets to the bustling heart of NYC from her quiet midwest town of Ypsilanti, Michigan determined to make it big as a journalist. Even with calling in a favor from her best friend, the best Megan can manage is a serving job at a trendy high society restaurant. During her first night on the job, she serves Sexy Rexy - Manhattan's most eligible bachelor and two upper class matrons who appointed themselves as Rex's guardians. Through the inevitable whirlwind romance and wedding, Megan works to conform to Manhattan's standards for the Uber-wealthy, and realizes her worst enemies are supposed to be her best friends.

I started this book thinking it was going to be another sweet romance, so I was delightfully surprised when it was a complete satire on the lives of the rich and famous. It definitely put me in the mind of a very updated and modernized Patrick Dennis book (author of "Auntie Mame" and "The Joyous Season"). Definitely grab this book if you are in the mood for LOL and snark.

Upper East Bride is a boldface commentary on the extravagance, waste, and vanity of New York City wealth, and a satire on the small-town-all-american-girl-comes-to-NYC-to-make-her-dreams-come-true trope.

From the cover and the blurb, one may not expect this to be a who-dunnit, so for that I was highly disappointed as I had been expecting a more lighthearted romantic comedy. This book is marketed at the wrong angle, and might not find success from that alone.

This book is a comedy in the traditional archetypal sense, not the modern cinema sense. More like Shakesperean, less Adam Sandleran. Not very ha-ha. But the irony and sarcasm are ripe.

There is not much to say about the main character, as I found her flat, predictable, and passive. Everyone else however stole the show, and alas, redemption for the Upper East Bride.

I found it loaded and awash with stuffy paragraphs that drug on too long. I skipped many places, and often found myself looking at the page count to see if I was making any progress. This definitely could have been 100 pages less. Less would have been more with Upper East Bride.

I did enjoy that wealth and class were under the microscope here. Manhattan is akin to Gotham, I’m sure most humans would agree on this much. Upper East Bride definitely plays on this, and is at times bravely dark (again, something we would not assume from the marketing).

I give three stars because it is more than romance, more than who-dunnit and more than what it looks like. I’m also only giving it three stars because it is doing too much in too many different directions.

This was almost like a portfolio for Kirby to display his research (or perhaps personal experiences) into the old-money of Manhattan, writing expertise, and ability to write with transparency about the world in which we live. I recommend Upper East Bride to the seasoned reader who has patience and time and time and patience because it. Is. Wordy!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of Upper East Bride

Thank you Netgalley and David Kirby for the opportunity to read the book in exchange for an honest review. Anything set in the “Upper Easy Side” of NYC is an auto-buy for me (thank you OG Gossip Girl). This rags-to-riches contemporary rom-com was laugh out loud funny and I truly enjoyed Megan’s character. It’s a fun read as long as you get that the novel is supposed to be satire, and you feel the callouts to NYC’s elite. There were some parts I found a little cringey at times and I found myself rushing to get it done. For that I wasn’t able to give it more than 3 stars.

I didn't put this on my shelf, so I'm not sure why it's there, and I can't get rid of it. I may read it someday, but I need to get rid of this from my shelf, because it is bringing my % down. I wish the author all the best, and I am rating it 5 stars, because I can't leave it unrated or give it a bad rating for no reason.

:)

DNF @25%. From the description, I really thought I was going to enjoy this book. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me in pretty much every possible way, to the point where I couldn't even keep reading. The writing style was confusing, and the transitions didn't seem to make any sense. I think there were simply too many POVs, and it was just too much. There was also not a single likable character. I get that some characters weren't supposed to be likable, but even the ones that I think were supposed to be, I just didn't care about them. Everyone seemed so one dimensional and flat, and I truly didn't care about what happened to any of them. And then I was also bored because even 25%, nothing was really happening, and the issues with the writing and characters only made it worse. Not to mention there are a whole bunch of possible triggers including racism, classism, and xenophobia, which if it was done well, could have been ok, but it was done so poorly with exaggerated stereotypes, and it just was really bad.

This book was so funny and a breath of fresh air. The characters were likable and the writing didn't feel forced or cheap. I really enjoyed the concept of the book and it was a perfect rom com to enjoy!

What a riot of a book. It was unbelievably funny. It makes great fun at high society in this rags to riches story. Just the book to read to cheer you up.

This book is a confection much like a 10 tier wedding cake. Megan is a fish out of water Midwesterner who meets a hedge fund manager and is thrust into a world she never dreamed of. She does not fit into this world, and the moneyed class she has no experience with try to send her back at every turn. But Megan perseveres and ultimately has the last laugh. Just a fun, escapist read.

This book made me laugh out loud. Not the ha-ha kind of laugh, the doubled-over belly laugh, kind of laugh. Megan is a midwesterner, turned New Yorker. She meets Rexford "Sexy-Rexy" Bainbridge III, who proposes to her to the surprise of his socialite friends. They then try to make Megan one of their own, but everything comes crashing down.

A fast paced rags to riches to rags again romp through New York high society. This is a fun book with funny moments, a quick read, but I did not find the characters particularly likeable so for that reason I give it four stars.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I wanted to enjoy this so badly as it first felt like The Royal We but set in NYC. This was not that. Every character in this was unlikeable and made the stupidest decisions in history. The book also occurred in a very short period of time (especially considering the major life events that happened). I wish I could recommend this but I struggled to finish it due to how much I hated every single character.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4284616596

If you are looking for a Roller coaster ride into the highest level of New York society, this is definitely your kind of book. It is a rags-to-riches-to back to rags story of a journalist, and how she spends a year in New York with surprises at every turn. The characters and events are not realistic or relatable, but they are deliciously and wickedly funny. You will laugh out loud as you turn the pages, i could not put this book down!

** thanks to Netgalley and the production team for allowing me an arc copy!**

*Thank you to David Kirby, NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Sometimes you just need a LOL funny, easy-to-read book. While this book is neither deep nor captivating, it is exactly what I needed after 18 months of isolation. This is rags to riches to rags to triumphant novel about a girl who arrives in NYC to become a famous journalist but becomes an Upper East Bride to NYC's most wanted bachelor, sexy Rexy. It is so spot on with the caricatures of the people who live in NYC with money. Another reviewer used the word absurd to describe it and it is absolutely that. Completely absurd yet relatable to someone who lived on the UES for many years. Upper East Bride is ridiculously funny, interesting, and witty at the same time. I read it in two seatings and loved it. Absolutely hilarious!

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!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC. The Upper East Bride isn't typical kind of book I read, but I am really glad I requested it. The Upper East Bride is a satirical, hilariously funny glimpse into the life of the haves vs. the have-nots in the Upper East side of NYC. Megan is a mid-west girl who arrives in NYC with the usual big hopes and dreams. She lands a job as a server in a preferred spot for the hoity toity people of the Upper East side society. As luck would have it, she meets the mega-rich, most desired bachelor in the city, who takes a liking to her. A marriage, a baby and dealing with the "ladies who lunch" of her part of the city provide for plenty of laughs and satire. David Kirby's account of the alleged doings of the people in NYC that have WAY too much money is one of the most enjoyable books I've read all years.

I mostly enjoyed the book. It’s a quick, fun read. Sometimes I thought it got a little boring with some descriptions, etc. but the characters were pretty fun and that always plays a large part in the enjoyment of a book for me. Grateful for the opportunity to read via NetGalley.

What a trip. This book is a riot. I couldn’t put the thing down. Not usually my cup of tea, but the way the high society is portrayed is amazing.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Upper East Bride by David L Kirby is a funny social commentary that will appeal to fans of Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians series. Who hasn't wanted to peek into the lives of Manhattan's richest elites? The story revolves around Megan O'Malley, who moves to New York to pursue a career in journalism. She soon catches the eye of Rexford Bainbridge, III, a socialite and one of the most eligible bachelors in the city. Their whirlwind romance is on the front pages and every gossip column, but can Megan acclimate to a life that she isn't used to? Rex has a lot of high-society friends who don't take kindly to newcomers from the lower echelons, and they make it their mission to turn Megan's life into a living hell. Will Megan be able to find her happily ever after?

Here is an excerpt from a fictional gossip column in the beginning of the book:

"It was one of those fairy tale weddings-of-the-century that makes New York go gaga.
Speaking of Gaga, she actually showed up, proof of the nuclear charisma of the media-darling groom, that gorgeous venture-capitalist, philanthropist, and most-eligible bachelor, Rexford James Bainbridge, III, 29, better known in the columns as “Sexy Rexy.”
...
Sadly, for Gaga, the late-summer heat was not her friend. Her pancetta leggings, though radiantly matched with a tunic woven entirely from crushed abalone shells and shredded Three Musketeers wrappers, began to wilt.
As far as The Gleaner could tell, nobody cared. Not even a somewhat greasy Gaga, nor any number of Vanity-Fair-worthy denizens of Gotham and beyond... could yank the limelight away from the Cinderella bride, young Megan O’Malley, 24, of Ypsilanti, Michigan."

Overall, Upper East Bride is a funny and interesting take on a modern-day Cinderella Story. I was reminded of the opulence and name-dropping in Crazy Rich Asians, which I also enjoyed immensely. I do have to warn you though I don't consider this book a romantic comedy. There is some romance and some comedy, but if you're looking for a light, fast rom-com to read in between books, this might not be the book for you. I would categorize this book as satirical social commentary instead. Also, it took me a long time to finish this book, but that is because I enjoyed it and wanted to savor every sentence. Since I really enjoyed reading this book, I'm giving it 5 fun-filled stars. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of satirical takes on Manhattan's elite, I highly recommend that you check out this book, which is available now!