Daughter of a Promise was a really interesting look into the have and have nots in the high finance world. The writing was quick and easy to read

Bets tells this story in a love letter to her son, Sol. We never meet Sol and part of the mystery of the book is why Bets is writing to Sol. Is she telling the story now because he’s not old enough to understand and she won’t be there when he is old enough? Bets story is one of a young college graduate living in a completely different world than she grew up in. It also spans pre and the beginning of COVID. I loved Bets as the female protagonist and related to her joys and struggles. A very good read that will tug on your emotions.

This is the coming-of-age story of Betsabé Ruiz, a recent college graduate, originally from Florida and Cuban. She is about to enter the very white, male dominated world of investment banking on Wall Street. That is pretty much all I needed to know before I knew I wanted to read this novel. I enjoyed reading as she navigated her new adult life. Learning the subway, learning to share a studio apartment with an OCD roomie, new hire training at the shiny new company. She starts having feelings for her boss and is conflicted about that. Then… COVID hits. I was unaware of how much I did not want to be reminded of this point in time or the political climate. Some traumas aren’t quite ready to be seen again. I will say it did add to the story of Betsabé’s growth and finding her identity in the sea of New Yorkers. I really enjoyed the journey in this one and might have shed a few tears when she was with her family. It’s a beautiful story.

I love the idea of a book written to a child.

Though not a business major, Betsabé Ruiz finds herself as one of the two people from her college to be invited to join First Providence, a famous company on Wall Street. She is originally from a clan in Miami and her name means ‘daughter of a promise’. Having grown up in a home where money was scarce and her mother and grandmother worked through Thanksgiving to get vacation around Christmas, she felt that she owed it to herself and her family to pursue a career where she could become financially independent fast. I enjoyed how Bets relationship with her family is portrayed through the story.

Moving to New York for the job on Wall Street was life changing for her. She entered an industry where there are few women in positions like hers, experiencing the challenges of balancing solidarity with personal values. She became friends with people whose lifestyles were so unlike what she knew.

I like the lessons that Bets sprinkled through the book for her son, Sol. I particularly loved the one about friendships in adult years. That it takes courage to talk about conflict.

There is merit to this story and I enjoyed the parts that I was able to make time for.

Many thanks to the publisher for sharing a digital review copy of this book with me for an honest review.

This was ok. I enjoyed the setting of New York but I had issues with the writing and some of the character work. I wanted more.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. The story of Bets a young woman from Florida who obtains an entry level position in a corporate company is a coming of age story. Bets is recruited from her college to work n a company, she has no real background, studies hard and teaches herself during orientation and is chosen for an entry position. The story involves Bets, her experiences living in NYC, working extremely hard long hours, her relationships with colleagues, basically trying to find herself. This was an interesting, complex , current day story, highly engaging and interesting.