It's the summer of 1999 in Greenwich Connecticut, 17 year old Rachel goes to spend the summer with her wealthy aunt who is healing from an injury and to help take care of her young cousin.

I think I liked this one more in theory than in actual execution, so I'm finding it difficult to review. The writing was fine, but the storytelling was lacking. I knew there was a "big thing" destined to happen, but not much that led up to it.

Still, it was entertaining and kept me wondering how different pieces were going to fit together. I really wanted to strangle these characters 😂 but I did like the lines it drew around wealth, privilege, and race, and the aftermath of making the wrong decision.

🎧 Narration by Imani Jade Powers was fantastic. Definitely recommend going the audio route.

This was a very intense read. It was the innermost thoughts of a teenager forced to spend the summer with her wealthy aunt. Her obsession with her aunt and uncle and their babysitter leads to poor choices and a catastrophic result. The fall out follows the narrators through the rest of her life and causes her to continue to make poor choices. This is a devastating read.

Kate Broad does a skillful job of navigating these complex themes, making the book both engaging and thought-provoking. Greenwich is more than just a coming-of-age story; it’s a sharp examination of race, privilege, and class. While I didn’t particularly connect with every character, the narrative itself was strong enough to keep me invested. I definitely found it worthwhile and interesting.

Greenwich was one of those reads that I feel like I am still processing. There were sections that I could not put down while others left me questioning their purpose. Young seventeen year old student, Rachel, has a dual purpose spending her summer at her aunt’s house in Greenwich. Her younger sister is very sick and her aunt who is recovering from an accident needs help with her young daughter, Sabine. Their wealthy lifestyle is very different from Rachel’s and she seems to bond with the babysitter, Claudia. The dynamics between every character in this story, except for Claudia and Sabine, seem so very awkward.
Rachel’s forays into drinking alcohol and becoming infatuated with her aunt’s pain pills are so very sad, as is her confusions about her feelings for Claudia. The focus on those issues alone would have given this story more depth. I feel like I never got to know the real Rachel. There is a portent of a dark cloud hanging over them from the very beginning.
Years later Rachel continues to be affected by the events that happened in Greenwich. Having grown up in northeastern Connecticut I grew up with a picture in my head of the residents of Greenwich, which clearly matches their depictions in Kate Broad’s book.
Many thanks to Kate Broad, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this just published book.

I read this book in 24 hours- I truly could not put it down! With the foreshadowing of something tragic to come early on in the book, I had to know what was next. Part coming of age, part social commentary, the story follows Rachel who is spending the summer at her wealthy aunt and uncle’s home in Greenwich, when she strikes up a friendship with her young cousin’s nanny.
I think fans of Such a Fun Age, Little Fires Everywhere and The Guest would like this book!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Greenwich releases July 22, 2025

I definitely think the comparison to Celeste Ng lead to having false expectations.
At no point in the narrative was I hooked or invested, and I can’t see the author’s purpose in villainizing and incarcerating a young queer Black woman… am I supposed to sympathize with the white privileged woman abusing opioids and her sorry attempt at an apology after facing years of guilt?
There was no nuance or meaningful commentary in regard to the marginalized communities the author purposely targeted, nor was there sufficient character growth shown from those that harmed the Black character.

Set in the summer of 1999, Greenwich follows 17‑year‑old Rachel Fiske, who arrives at her wealthy aunt and uncle’s estate in Greenwich, Connecticut, ostensibly to assist her aunt’s recovery from injury—a welcome escape from her troubles back home
Fragmented and emotionally adrift in a world of privilege, she forms a charged and intimate friendship with Claudia, the Black, recent‑college‑graduate nanny. When a tragic accident occurs, the family unites to protect their social standing by pinning blame on Claudia. Rachel, the sole witness, is torn between speaking the truth and safeguarding her future—and what she chooses has devastating consequences.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this digital e-arc.*

3.75 stars rounded up. Rachel is a frustrating character. At the beginning of the novel she is 17 and naive. A terrible thing happens, and things get very confusing for Rachel. She is pressured, but also makes some bad choices. She continues to make bad choices, partly because she feels guilty about her first bad choice, and wants to be punished and then forgiven.

The first part of the novel, when Rachel goes to Greenwich, to her aunt's house for the summer, and meets Claudia, is well-written. You know something bad is going to happen, but you don't know what, but the pace keeps going until you do. I thought the style of writing helps the reader feel what Rachel is feeling that summer. The middle drags a bit as Rachel is at college, where bad decisions keep being made. But the ending? I understand why so many readers just want to smack Rachel. She just doesn't seem to have made any progress at all. She's basically stuck at 17-18, obsessed with Claudia, and thinking there is a way to fix everything that happend (Yes, I'm deliberately not mentioning what happened - no spoilers). This is really how the novel explores race, class, and the privilege of the wealthy elite. Even though one would think Rachel would know better at 38 years old, she does not entirely understand how her decisions have consequences, and that she can't have the redemption arc she wants.

"Summer, 1999. Rachel Fiske is almost eighteen when she arrives at her aunt and uncle’s mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her glamorous aunt is struggling to heal from an injury, and Rachel wants to help—and escape her own troubles back home. But her aunt is oddly spacey and her uncle is consumed with business, and Rachel feels lonely and adrift, excluded from the world of adults and their secrets. The only bright spot is Claudia, a recent college graduate, aspiring artist, and the live-in babysitter for Rachel’s cousin. As summer deepens, Rachel eagerly hopes their friendship might grow into more.

But when a tragic accident occurs, the family turns on Claudia in a desperate bid to salvage their reputation. Caught between her upbringing and her feelings for Claudia, her desire to do the right thing and to protect her future, Rachel must make a pivotal choice. She’s the only one who knows what really happened—and her decision has consequences far beyond what she could have predicted."

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

GREENWICH may well be the book of the summer for 2025. This coming of age novel presents a fascinating analysis of class in America, with perfectly written nostalgia and the squirming descriptions of young love, it is punctuated by searing heartache. Kate Broad’s debut forces us to consider justice, and will have you asking yourself, ‘What would I do?’ This would make for a great book club pick!

38 year old physician Rachel Fiske narrates this story about the summer she lived with her stunning aunt Ellen, an advertising executive, her mercurial uncle Lawrence, a hedge fund manager, and their three year old daughter, Sabine, in their sprawling mansion in tony Greenwich, Connecticut. From the opening pages, the reader is aware that something happened that involved the police, lawyers, and media vans, but the tale unwinds slowly.

Rachel was eager to escape Cambridge after being ostracized by her friends, and she eagerly took her mother’s place assisting her aunt Ellen, who was recovering from a spill from a horse, while her mother attended to her younger sister Jules, who was undergoing cancer treatments. Rachel quickly establishes a friendship with Claudia Meadows, the 21 year old Black woman who was Sabine’s very competent nanny. Rachel eavesdrops on Claudia’s calls with a friend as Claudia recites details of her dates, she pilfers her aunt’s secret cache of pills, and she pries into her uncle’s shady business dealings and the porn sites that he visited daily featuring women who looked much like Claudia. Rachel became accustomed to the tension in her aunt’s marriage, and the way that both her aunt and her uncle did what they wanted without a second thought to Sabine.

Broad details the rot impacting the seemingly bucolic landscape, describing the “fetid water, the slippery rocks . . . the layers where Elle’s makeup clumped in her pores and along her lashes, making her look not luminous but cakey and strange.” But it takes too long before we reach the pivotal tragic accident and how Rachel must reckon with desire, responsibility and loyalty. Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley for an advance copy of this perceptive debut.

Kate Broad's stunning debut novel, GREENWICH, is a haunting, complex, and moody slow-burn domestic suspense, family drama, and coming-of-age story, both atmospheric and introspective, with highly charged themes of class, sexuality, power, race, and identity, offering a glimpse into the darkest consequences of privilege.

Brilliantly exploring how our actions shape our common world, and how the stories we tell ourselves about those actions influence their meaning.

Audiobook...

Immersing myself in both the e-book and the audiobook, I was captivated by the talented Imani Jade Powers' performance. Her narration perfectly captures the mood, setting, and essence of each character, making for an engaging and captivating listening experience. I highly recommend the audiobook, which brings the story to life.

About...

Rachel (Boston) decides she wants to visit the summer with her wealthy aunt and uncle in Greenwich, CT and their lovely estate before college.

She has made some mistakes, and her mom is too busy with her younger, sick sibling and thinks it will be a new adventure.

Her aunt Ellen has suffered a fall from a horse, and she is in a lot of pain. She was supposed to be there to help out; however, did she help out?

Her uncle is so obsessed with business that her glamorous aunt is taking pain pills (which Rachel gets into), and the three-year-old toddler, Sabrine, is being cared for by the live-in nanny, Claudia (black).

Claudia is not much older than Rachel, but she appears to be more mature and focused, and knows her place. She does not want to lose her job, as she is dedicated and needs the money.

On the other hand, Rachel is bored and is enamored and obsessed with Claudia.

However, things get out of control and a tragedy occurs. What happens thereafter will change the trajectory of their lives.

My thoughts...

GREENWICH is an impressive debut and is prime for the small or big screen. Rachel is not a likable character and seems always to play the victim. The author delves deep into her character and how she sees all the characters through her eyes, offering a psychological depth that will keep you intrigued and engaged.

Narrated from the unique perspective of Rachel, now 38, as she unveils the events of that fateful summer in Greenwich. This narrative choice adds a layer of intrigue, as we see the summer that changed her life through her eyes.

The book is quite hypnotic, as you are drawn into a mystery that unfolds, a tragedy, and the circumstances that led to it, along with the fallout, while exploring the dark underbelly of privilege and power, negligence, and corruption.

GREENWICH is a deeply psychological and heartbreaking read, with a strong takeaway message. Serving as a cautionary tale, leaving the reader both warned and reflective, and adding a thought-provoking depth to the reading experience.

From race, class, privilege, guilt, the weight of secrets, regret, power, betrayal, obsession, female friendship, social expectations, identity, and the devastating consequences of actions, the novel delves into a myriad of thought-provoking themes. The choices we make shape who we become. Mistakes can have life-altering consequences.

'Greenwich' also explores the themes of grief, justice, and the deeply flawed nature of humanity. It poses intriguing questions about motives and the lengths people will go to protect their secrets, leaving readers in a contemplative state.

The cast of characters is profoundly flawed and richly complex. Kate Broad has delivered a remarkable and insightful debut—ideal for book clubs and further discussions.

Recs...

GREENWICH is a must-read for fans of 'Saltburn', Celeste Ng's 'Little Fires Everywhere', 'When We Were Bright and Beautiful' by Jillian Medoff, and Sara Koffi's 'While We Were Burning'. If you enjoyed the complex characters and gripping plotlines of these novels, you'll find 'Greenwich' equally compelling.

An author to watch. If this is a debut, I'm eager to see what comes next.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio, as well as #MacAudio2025, for providing an advanced reading and listening copy, allowing me to share my honest thoughts.

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JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: July 22, 2025
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17 year old Rachel Fiske spends the summer with her wealthy aunt and uncle in Greenwich, Connecticut. She’s there to help her aunt, who’s still recovering from an injury that’s left her with chronic pain, but instead she becomes obsessed with the slightly older nanny Claudia. When tragedy strikes, Rachel faces an important choice.

I personally love rich people behaving badly and unlikeable characters and both of those abounded in this book. It’s a really interesting story about class, wealth, and race. The narrator, Rachel, isn’t particularly likeable but she’s also 17. There’s a lot to examine here in terms of privilege and accountability. The ending is slightly open ended, but I personally really liked that - we don’t know what Rachel is going to choose, and it honestly really could go either way.

Read this if you: liked Such a Fun Age and/or enjoy The Guest.

Rachel just graduated from high school, and is feeling lonely after a falling out with her friends. She goes to Greenwich to spend the summer with her wealthy aunt and uncle and their three-year-old daughter Sabine. Laurent is deeply focused on a business deal and spends most of his time out of the house (or on his phone), and Ellen flits back and forth between work, her social activities, and her bedroom. Ellen is suffering from a back injury, and Rachel finds a hidden cache of painkillers that may or may not be affecting her aunt’s judgement. Rachel spends most of her time with Sabine and Claudia, Sabine’s twenty-two year old nanny, and quickly finds herself becoming fixated on their relationship. After a tragic incident that is hinted at throughout the book finally occurs, Rachel is put in a position that tests her personal integrity as well as her loyalty to her family.

This was a solid debut that perfectly captures the way it feels to be in that liminal space between childhood and adulthood, wanting to understand what is going on around you but having such a limited set of experiences that it is almost impossible to do so. Broad’s writing perfectly encapsulates Rachel’s experiences while also leaving the reader open to thinking about how the adults’ experiences of the same events likely differ dramatically. Even though there was not a ton of plot, the pages turned quickly as I wanted to find out what the tragedy was and how it would impact the characters.

I really enjoyed this book but I would have preferred the pacing to be just a touch quicker. There wasn’t enough story here to justify 300 pages, and the writing was just ever so slightly overdone. But even so this was a promising debut and I look forward to reading whatever she writes next.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC of Greenwich.

2.5 rounded up to 3.

This book is mostly an examination of privilege, social class and racism. The story paints the picture that the MC, Rachel comes from such a vastly different world than the black nanny, Claudia. The entire story is pretty slow. We know something bad happens, the foreshadowing is everywhere in the beginning. But it takes most of the book to figure out what that is. The ending is so anti-climatic, it's disappointing. This next sentence might be spoilery; but Rachel learns not a thing from her experiences with Claudia and the book ends with her being just as selfish at the end as she was in the beginning.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Kate Broad for access to this eARC!

Something that I love in a novel is when it presents itself in one way but ends up having some very poignant cultural messages present throughout. That was definitely the case with Greenwich. This novel focuses on seventeen year old Rachel Fiske as she spends the summer with her aunt, uncle, toddler cousin, and the nanny, Claudia. What begins as a coming of age story focusing on friendship, belonging, and a dash of queerness, this book takes a sharp turn when a tragic event happens and turns everyone's world upside down. This event sheds light on the class and racial disparities among certain characters in the novel. I had an idea what was going to happen to Rachel and her family, but I think that Broad was able to manifest it in a super complex and nuanced manner. Rachel was not the most likeable protagonist but I think that's what made this book work. Her flaws and biases could be relatable to readers in a way that might make them change some of their own outlooks on classism and racism.

I think the queerness in this novel and Rachel's moral ambiguity could have been expanded on. There were moments where Rachel's character did not seem as fleshed out as she could have been. However, as a debut, I was enthralled and really impressed overall.

Cannot wait to see where Kate Broad goes from here!

Thanks to the St Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for ebook, physical, and audio review copies of Greenwich in exchange for my honest opinion. I binged this debut over the weekend, starting with the audiobook and then switching to the physical copy for a few chapters before returning to finish with the audiobook, due in part to the great narration by Imani Jade Powers which really brought the story to life.
Set in 1999 mostly in Greenwich, CT, the book follows Rachel, eighteen and about to leave to attend Swarthmore (my college’s rival!), as she stays with her aunt and uncle over the summer before her freshman year. Her aunt is struggling after an injury, and Rachel is led to believe she can help out with the toddler. However, there is a live-in babysitter already, and Rachel is captivated by Claudia - both her personality and hearing about her college experiences. Their friendship is exactly what Rachel has been missing after some friend drama at home, one of the reasons she jumped at this opportunity to leave Cambridge for the summer.
The beginning of the book foreshadows a tragic accident, and it takes nearly two thirds of the book to find out what that is - I think I would have been more frustrated if I were reading it rather than listening to that much suspenseful build up. However, the accident and the aftermath were extremely engaging, and I had trouble setting the book down. The characters are complex, and the plot is heartbreaking. I am impressed this is the author’s debut novel, and I definitely recommend checking it out after publication.

A coming of age novel that turns on a tragedy compounded by obsession, secrets and lies. Rachel is spending the summer with her Aunt Ellen as a sort of second caretaker in addition to Claudia the nanny for three year old Sabine. Rachel's had a tough senior year of high school and at home this interlude before college is meant to help her as well. It doesn't work that way. Ellen's husband Laurent, a hedge fund banker turned real estate developer, is difficult, Ellen has a problem, and Rachel is feeling adrift. Claudia is her bright spot but then....This leans in on issues of family dynamics, racism and classism especially after the tragedy. Know that there are some twists here. I liked how the story unfolded, liked the characters (well, not really Laurent and Ellen but they are so real), but was a bit mystified as to why a mansion did not have air conditioning. And I wondered about the title. All of that said, this captivated me due to the writing and the careful plotting. It's an admirable and accomplished debut. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

While some readers might appreciate it, I didn't find this particular book to be impactful for me.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

GREENWICH
BY: KATE BROAD

This has to be one of the best debut novels I can recall ever reading for I thought it very deeply captures in the powerful narrator who is describing her complexities of how it must feel like to be isolated from the human connection we all seek. The loneliness of this seventeen year old, on the cusp of turning eighteen who volunteers to go in her mother's place to help out her glamorous, but somewhat checked out emotionally, and physically Aunt Ellen's opulent home in Greenwich, Connecticut, during one Summer, in 1999. That is how I as the reader felt about our narrator, Rachel Fiske who experienced the longing for both social connection, with the twenty-one year old Claudia who she is the nanny to her three year old cousin, Sabine. Rachel is also longing for that same internal, and geographical escape from the shame she feels by her three best high school friends recent rejection for her use of poor judgement, which aren't we all capable of self absorption at that age of still searching for our identities? There is a definite paradox in Rachel's self awareness, at times to the point of lacking how to relate to her family in an honest fashion, since I felt both her lack of self confidence when her inner self critic in her mind judges her as a hypocrite, but enough good judgement to notice something off about her Aunt Ellen's superficial perfect appearance, but not being emotionally or physically present. In a different more glaringly obvious way her Uncle Laurent is also neglectful of their daughter with a more ominous insensitivity to the point of sociopath in how he regards every one except those businessmen and political men he's involved. Where Aunt Ellen is claiming pain from an injury that should have been healed by now, the denial that Rachel's whole family including her mother who, is Aunt Ellen's sister is palpable. I'm amazed at the lower ratings who didn't find this as flawlessly written, who seemed to zero in how either how much blame they put solely on Rachel, which technically speaking she is the only eye witness to the tragedy that's foreshadowed from the very beginning in more ways than just one victim. If you read the synopsis you already know that Claudia is unfairly the one who this family closes ranks, and self delusional, or dishonesty seems vividly portrayed by this erudite, highly talented Author, Kate Broad in this most spectacular first novel, called, "GREENWICH." As an older reader, I can understand why some readers despise Rachel, but I don't think that it's that simple, since a part of me sympathizes with her for she's only almost eighteen who at her age she is younger, and who clearly isn't the only one responsible for what transpires. That's what makes this character driven, electrifying narrative psychologically complex, that there is plenty more mature adults who because of their age being parental figures to Rachel are just as culpable, if not more so, because shouldn't they know better right from wrong? Isn't it more self delusional, and dishonest, or are they so guilt ridden by denial, or grief stricken that they are selfishly lacking morals and ethics because it's too painful to take responsibility for their own actions of neglect? It seemed to me their motives of railroading Claudia were most closely aligned towards self preservation, and their lack of accountability seemed that they were more concerned with their reputations than owning up to their own participation in the outcome of the tragedy. I think that yes, I know what Rachel did was wrong definitely, but the adult and parent in me sees that there's plenty more wrongful actions by her Aunt and Uncle, and even her parents who at their ages should be held to a higher standard of responsibility for truthfulness, and ultimately accountability. Therein lies the brilliance of this hauntingly, beautifully written novel with depth, that I would be lastly inept of not highly emphasizing the equally realistic theme including that the White privileged, wealthier individuals held more shame, and power for the lack of racial equality is still systemically invalidating in this country. I do think what Claudia lacked in wealth, and privilege she was much richer when it came to love and support from her happier family. I also don't know if those who read this are in some reviews that rated this lower, because they all blamed Rachel, at least the ones I read, everyone seemed to not grasp that she was not the only one who was behind the horrible unfair initial outcome of Claudia's circumstantial fate at all. I can't help but wonder when I remember reading one lower review that I read calling this too long. I totally disagree, since anybody who is familiar with Literary fiction understands it is rich in character development, but this author managed to accomplish an excellent achievement for the genre. She in my opinion wrote an addictive, highly intoxicating narrative that is outstanding in her insightful realistic prose. It's reflective of the emotional landscape of her intimate and perfectly sketched narrator using Rachel's voice looking back in time as she foreshadows that something dreadful already happened which none of this review is spoiler territory since right in the beginning this story informs the reader of that fact. I'm also astonished although masterfully plotted with this substantial premise I expected those low reviews that were rated low which I respect their right to voice their opinion. However, I don't agree with the ones who called this Young Adult, it's absolutely not, it is very much adult orientated. This in my opinion is unfair to this author's command of language, and I guess maybe because this novel, "Greenwich," deserves to be recognized for its literary merit. I'm uncharacteristically and maybe this isn't like me to comment about other readers that I read that gave the low reviews that called the writing uneven, or the other ones that I read that rated it low because it was slow in their opinion, which again I respect. I hope that they don't discourage other readers from picking this up, since I really loved this, and it's exquisitely written, and deserves to reach as wide of an audience as possible. I don't agree with those low reviews that I stated above. I found this to be so expertly written that I highlighted many passages which I as an older reader identified with, and I wish that I had copied them down in my notebook, since I have so many highlights I will have a difficult time locating them. I found this to be a highly reflective demonstration of an example of how Rachel did grow as a character and most of those highlights were pearls of wisdom that I as an older reader resonated with. This is probably going to be one of three novels that are top favorites so far this year, with this being number one winning the Olympic Gold Metal. The two other contenders are Wally Lamb, and Joyce Carol Oates, which were much more emotionally draining since they were heavier for me personally. That's no small feat to win my first prize considering they are much more experienced authors with this being so spectacular I could reread this right after I finished it. This struck a chord with me in my empathy for Rachel, in how she reminded me of how easy it is to be influenced by being almost eighteen, and being unsure of yourself. I understood her reasons for doing what she did, as wrong as it was. When you're her age and not yet an adult who has individuated from your parents, even though she was responsible when it came to her recognizing that Sabine was getting neglected by her her Aunt Ellen, and Uncle Laurent, she showed maturity. Yet, she felt so unsure of herself regarding confidence by facing rejection by her peers, and perhaps she didn't get all of her needs met with her parents unintentional neglect by caring for a seriously, potentially terminally ill child. This perhaps is my cue for defending the author's lower reviews calling it unevenly paced or slow. My reasons are the dynamics of Aunt Ellen, Uncle Laurent, Rachel and Claudia's actions in how they related to one another was more than sufficient regarding intriguing day to day life in an affluent locale to which this erudite Author KATE BROAD, portrayal to be spot on as far as the atmospheric setting. Claudia lives on the premises which are extravagant, and every aspect opulently wealthy, including the Country Clubs. that this dazzlingly talented author, has exceeded my highest expectations delivered authenticity. Furthermore, her character development of all of the characters was nothing short of stunning. In the novel's character development of Rachel, after recent rejection that she received from her closest high school three best friends, and within her own family surrounding you can definitely understand her dichotomy of knowing better that her Aunt Ellen, seemed to spend her time at home upstairs alone in her bedroom instead of being interested in being a typical mother enamored by spending her time at home interacting with three year old only daughter and child Sabine. It seemed that she had plenty of time to plan that fourth of July party for the Governor and his family, yet when she wasn't working part time she was involved with priorities enough to cause suspicion in Rachel to furtively whether out of first curiosity Rachel discovers something that we as readers at least figure out why Aunt Ellen is prefers to isolate in her closed door bedroom instead of showing any affection or interest in playing with her only child. Rachel feels that isolation I mentioned above by her Aunt Ellen, but witnesses when they go out to the Greenwich boutiques when she first arrives how when she spots something in the pond, that Aunt Ellen seems too spaced out to notice her daughter follow Rachel to witness what Rachel at least tries to shield her cousin from. Subsequently, when she tells her Aunt Ellen and she makes a phone call to her husband Laurent he's cold, abrupt and dismissive of his wife's concerns. Rachel and the reader get a birds eye view of the cruelty that her Uncle Laurent is capable of.

This was an EXQUISITE debut that is my TOP FAVORITE READ in so long I can't remember. I know the area well, and almost moved there. Very polished writing that I never see in a debut, or rarely so Innovative and Unforgettable. This is Flawless! Some unlikable characters. (No pun Intended) I can still love a book, even when some characters do the Unthinkable! I'm an outlier that saw some understandable reasons to empathize with her. FIVE SPARKLING STARS!

Publication Date: July 22, 2025

Thank you to Net Galley, the very Astute Author Kate Broad, St. Martin's Press for generously providing me with my SPECTACULAR ARC, in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own, as always.

#Greenwich #KateBroad #StMartinsPress #NetGalley

Thank you Netgalley & St. Martin’s Press for an eARC ♥️

It's 1999, and Rachel—awkward, eighteen, and running from some vague hometown drama—gets shipped off to her rich aunt and uncle's mansion in Greenwich. At first it's all poolside cocktails and designer everything, but you can feel the rot beneath the glamour. Her aunt's doped up on painkillers, her uncle's all fake charm, and Rachel's just... there, floating through this weird limbo between childhood and adulthood.
Then comes Claudia. THE Claudia. The family's babysitter/artist/absolute vision who actually sees Rachel. Their chemistry?? Off the charts. The stolen glances, the late-night talks, the way Rachel's entire world starts tilting toward her—it's that perfect blend of tender and electric. I was fully kicking my feet at some scenes. ❤️‍🔥
But then (because of course) everything goes horribly wrong. Without spoilers: something terrible happens, and watching this wealthy family immediately circle the wagons to protect themselves is both rage-inducing and way too real. The way they throw Claudia under the bus had me yelling at my book. And Rachel—stuck knowing the truth but terrified to speak up—oh, my heart. 💔
❗️The writing is *so* immersive—you can practically smell the chlorine and sunscreen
❗️Claudia and Rachel's relationship is everything—messy, sweet, and so painfully real
❗️That late-90s setting!!! The music, the clothes, the pre-social-media tension
❗️An ending that punched me right in the gut (in the best way)
Fair warning: You'll finish this and immediately need to text someone about it. I'm still not over it. 😭