The first section of WESTERN ALLIANCES really had me hooked: The general plot points and overall story elements were super interesting, as I love a story celebrating the slippery, naughty declining lifestyles of the rich and famous. I think in execution the delivery was a little overwritten in terms of language and detail. I could see this being adapted quite interestingly into a fun movie. But I kept finding myself lost in the small details and losing sight of the plot.

Wilton Barnhardt's 'Western Alliances' is a sprawling novel brimming with wit and insight. A captivating exploration of politics and culture, it offers a rich tapestry of characters and a thought-provoking narrative. While its ambitious scope may overwhelm at times, the depth of its storytelling and Barnhardt's sharp prose make it a rewarding read for those willing to embark on its journey.

I had a hard time with this book and just could not get into the story. I was unable to finish this book and did not provide a review since I did not finish.

This one is definitely a slow burn as far as reader engagement goes, but ultimately worth it.

I was about halfway through the book before I truly became invested in what was happening, which I suppose isn’t ideal (especially for readers who aren’t hesitant to DNF), but I thought the second half was excellent, and after reading it it’s easier to appreciate what came before.

Some of this is because there are truly no likable characters as they appear early in the story, though later almost all of them grew on me immensely. And while some of Roberto’s personal issues became a bit tedious and overly central to the story in a way that bored me, I loved the travel and art woven into the plot.

Parts of the book almost read like travel narrative, and I mean this in a good way. I loved the choice to often send the characters to less popular and less frequently written about destinations in Europe, as it makes for more interesting reading if you are yourself already well-traveled and/or read a good bit of travel related fiction or travel narrative centered on Europe.

This terrific novel -- often hilarious, often pathetic -- follows the life of Roberto Costa, a twentysomething Brown grad who travels around Europe seeking sexual adventure and relief from his wealthy Rhode Island-born Portuguese American family.

Bobby's father, Salvador, is a financial savant, a University of Rhode Island grad with his own show on CNBC, the punnily named "Costa: Doing Business! But Sal is also loud and ill-clad, in eye-catching colors, and there's something shady in his past.

There's also sister Racquel, aka Rachel, with whom Bobby is in an eternal competition about finding the best European sights of all kinds. And mother Lena, Sal's ex-wife and a grifter whose Rhode Island accent, as rendered by Hewitt, is someithing to hear.

Barnhardt, a former Sports Illustrated reporter who has written several previous novels, is from North Carolina but has done impressive research. He sprinkles the book's Rhode Island sections with knowledgeable references to "East Prov," the East Side, the Riviera restaurant and New York System hot dogs. Bobby's European wanderings, both touristy and sexual, make up the bulk of the story, and are equally full of vivid descriptions of sights and people in a myriad of countries.

And if Hewitt stumbles a bit in her Rhode Island dialect -- saying chourico as "shu-REE-soh" instead of "shu-REECE," making it "Fall Rihv" instead of "Fall Reev" -- she is impressive in a wide range of languages from all over Europe. She's straightforward when need be, but downright hysterical in the comedic clinches.

This family drama sounded interesting and the cover had me intrigued but it was a little too 'rich people' problems for my tastes and I just couldn't really get into it. I ended up DNF'ing around 38%. Recommended for fans of books like Pineapple Street or The nest. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

A darkly funny character study of the absurdly rich Costa family set during the 2008 financial crisis. If you love family dramas heavy on the drama, you'll probably enjoy reading about how this family happily screws each other over time after time. I happened to start this read around the same time I started watching Succession, and I definitely understand the comparisons. I am not one for understanding business terms, so I feel like listening to the audiobook as opposed to reading a physical copy helped me a lot. I love a good satire, but I feel like this one won't be super memorable for me, which is why I haven't rated it higher.

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the advance copy for review.

I enjoyed this book and narrator. It centers around the absurd and dysfunctional Costa family. They have money until the 2008 financial crisis. There are some similarities to the shows Succession and Schitt's Creek. You follow brother and sister around Europe as they figure out how to come to terms with their loss. This story is full of dark comedy. At times it reads like a travel blog through Europe which I found interesting.

I initially started reading this book in the physical form and I was so confused. It felt like I’d started the story in the middle of everything. Then I got the audio and listening made it a lot more easy to follow. The narrator was EXCELLENT. This family is witty and spoiled and selfish. Their European escapades were beautiful to picture. Most of their relationships (which each other and outsiders) were pretty sad. I liked the interactions between Sol and Roberto the most- their father/son dynamic was sweet and interesting. There’s some unique sex scenes that were maybe unnecessary, but this whole book is a satirical rollercoaster spanning decades and every little detail added to the layers of somewhat quirky nonsense. It kind of reminded me of all the wild stories Alexa tells in Schitt’s Creek about her escapades when they were still rich… and I don’t think this family ever really came to grips with the financial crisis they (and all of the US) were facing. This book is political and funny and I’d say if you like that hilariously fall-from-grace and flounder storyline, you’ll definitely like it.
3.5 rounded up because the audio narrator was so great!

There at a couple of tv shows this book reminded me of.
Even though it had similarities it was still distinctively different. It made me laugh! I loved the escape it provided and enjoyed it.

I really wanted to enjoy Western Alliance by Wilton Barnhardt but unfortunately this one was not for me. I never saw the show Succession which this book is compared to but know many love the show. I could not get into this novel at all and had to DNF at 100 pages. It took me a long time to get to this part and I really could not continue the story. I felt I did not connect with the characters, their situations or their humor.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for gifting me with an advanced audio copy of Western Alliances by Wilton Barnhardt. In exchange I offer my honest review.

This was my first time reading this author’s work, which I found really delightful. The prose was sharp, smart and the right amount of satire and bite. What I did not enjoy was the overly pretentiousness of the art and history lessons, coupled with the lengthy discussion of young Roberto’s sexual failings. I didn’t think they added anything but unnecessary pages to the otherwise hilarious and tantalizing story of the dysfunctional Costa clan. This book set in 2008 during the financial institutions collapse, finds the Costa’s much like HBO’s Roy family scheming, backstabbing and scamming each other all in the hopes of acquiring the family fortune. However with the markets about to crash there may not be any fortune left to fight over. Roberto, the dilettante son, spends his days wandering across Europe meeting up with old moneyed acquaintances, perusing ancient ruins and disastrous past relationships, while his sister and her girlfriend think up ways to extort money from Sol Costa, the family patriarch. Then there’s Lena, the ex-wife who doesn’t care who she harms as long as nothing will curtail her lavish lifestyle.

Audio narration by Caroline Hewitt was outstanding!

Touted as a humorous version of Succession I had high hopes for this one. However, expectations did not meet reality in this family drama of money, deceit and the wedge it can drive.

Succession-esque in the fact that the family is rich and the relationships between members are similarly frail. But, the story lacks engaging plot and any sort of likeable character. At times too over the top, this European jaunt was a long winded road to financial freedoms.

I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be posting a full review. I found the story uninspired and uninteresting and the characters unbelievable, at best. Thank you for your consideration and even with a book I didn't want to continue listening to, the narrator was fantastic.

𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀
By Wilton Barnhardt
Out 8/1/2023
Thank you @macmillan.audio for my gifted ALC
⭐⭐⭐💫 (rounded to 4)

A darkly-funny portrait of a wealthy family during the 2008 financial crisis.

This is going to be the perfect book for someone. And though it wasn't necessarily the perfect book for me, I can still appreciate it for what it is! Narrator Caroline Hewitt delivers a 5⭐ performance.

As a person who reads over 100 books a year, I truly believe that the activity should be considered a pleasure. Despite promises on premises, I got everything but. The listening was difficult, and at moments I'd say even painful. I was promised a family drama taken straight from the HBO show. What I got was a bunch of vulgar, sexual blurb around some info dump about characters in the middle of the scene, to the point of forgetting about it altogether. This bombardment had morning to do with the plot, and I kept finding myself in need of rewinding to make sure I got it correctly. It's not my definition of fun. On top of all the nonerotic descriptions of private parts of the human body, I also got a hinch of weird metaphors and comparisons. I felt like I wanted to dnf the moment I heard a character was complemented as skinny like they just escaped Auschwitz. And I leave it a that and let y'all skillet simmer on that fact alone and how inappropriate that is. This is one star for me.

Thank you St Martin's for the review copy of Western Alliances by Wilton Barnhardt; audiobook copy from MacMillan audio.
Western Alliances is a witty, humorous set of adventures with the Costa family. I wanted to like this, I could tell this is a funny and observationally acute writer, which usually works for me but this is a situation with characters who I did not quite connect with... What was meant to be funny was a little flat as I could not feel a real connection with the characters.
I felt more like I was dropping into a story already in progress, catching a book or show mid series where characters had established patterns and relationships and I could not catch up. For me the focus on financial/business themes also sometimes distanced me from engaging with the book.

I will say that the narration for the audiobook was excellent, I think it is what made me stick with the audio longer than I did the physical book and I am glad that I got to listen to this. The book itself still is not a win for me but the voice acting was really well done.

I loved Lookaway Lookaway and hoped I would feel the same about this one, but unfortunately iI did not have the same reaction. Though some of the author's sardonic wit that I so enjoyed previously was present here, I never really got caught up in the novel.