Alice Storm has been estranged from her family for years. But when her father unexpectedly dies, Alice reunites with her mother and siblings at the family’s island estate. There, they learn that their inheritance comes with a catch: each person has a specific task to complete over the course of the week. And who is overseeing these tasks? Jack Dean, the sexy stranger Alice had a one-night stand with, who just happens to be her father’s right-hand man.
This book was messy and full of family and sibling drama, and I liked it a lot. While the main story revolves around the siblings striving to complete their tasks, I thought it was really about them trying to figure out who they are without the family name. There’s a lot of grief and plenty of inner struggles to work through as they’re forced to come back together as a family.
I also thought this was a great book to read in the summer, thanks to its island setting. The island felt so real that it made me want to spend a week there. I especially loved the descriptions of Alice’s castle-turret bedroom. Give me an island estate and a cozy turret room and I’m in.
I loved all the name-dropping and little nods to real-life billionaires, too. I kept trying to imagine Alice and her family hanging out with Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. This is very much a story about rich people behaving badly, and I know that, in today’s economy, it can be a little hard to read about people worrying that they won’t get their billionaire inheritance or that their kids won’t be able to keep attending private school. But honestly? I was entertained.
My only gripe was the constant storm metaphors and double meanings. There are literal rainstorms, the family’s last name is Storm, and the book really, really wants you to notice both of those things. I got it.
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