Emma Rosenblum’s “Very Bad Company” Makes for a Very Good Beach Read

Emma Rosenblum’s “Very Bad Company” Makes for a Very Good Beach Read https://ift.tt/WpVigfG

Before you head off to your preferred vacation location this summer, be sure to grab a copy of Emma Rosenblum’s sophomore novel, Very Bad Company, and prepare to be fully immersed in the chaos and lifestyle of the rich and infamous. And for those who like to read books with their ears, many reviews have declared the audiobook narration by January Lavoy to be top-notch; some went as far as saying she was the “star of the show.”  

When Caitlin Levy is offered her dream job as events coordinator at new ad-tech startup Aurora, she feels like she can’t pass it up. When she’s offered an un-negotiated starting salary of a whopping three million dollars, she knows she can’t. The catch? She sincerely has no clue what her job entails. “Though she’d chatted with John about the company and its amazing tech, she was still unclear as to what she’d be doing in her role. When she’d asked what he envisioned for events at Aurora, or similar examples he could point to, he went all blustery and weird, changing the topic and looking off into the distance.” Although unsettling and unorthodox, Caitlin hopes to find out during the bougie, all-expenses-paid retreat with the rest of the C-Suite executives from Aurora, including her new boss and company co-founder and CEO, John Shiller – a man whose outrageous wardrobe is bested only by his insane obsession with Winston Churchill.

So, how does this book about CEOs, the unrelatable wealthy upper class, and business retreats on the beach in Florida stack up with other fun summer reads? Very well, because Rosenblum packed so many twists and turns, unexpected catastrophes, and deliciously insubstantial hilarities into this book that makes it the perfect storyline to get lost in.

Told from the point of view of quite the cast of characters, we soon learn that what seems like a dreamy and luxurious getaway turns out to be anything but. When the very first chapter opens with the company’s CEO going to view a body in the morgue, you know this isn’t any old corporate retreat. And that’s just one of the many, layered storylines. We soon find out that it’s not only the company’s CEO, but every character is full of secrets that could cause the entirety of their company to crumble. That’s not to say these characters aren’t charming in their own right, though. Despite their unsavory behaviors and lackluster response when one of their own turns up dead, it’s hard not to root for them in some capacity. Very Bad Company includes all the basics: idyllic setting, drama, secrets, an unsolved mystery, and not one but multiple clandestine romances. What’s more, we have beachy adventures, luxury accommodations, and grossly engaging competitive behaviors, all told through the perspective of multiple characters you love to hate.

Not every book has to be a Pulitzer winner — some books are meant to be a sweet treat for your brain, a palate cleanser of sorts, and Very Bad Company is just that. Don’t get me wrong, Emma Rosenblum knows her stuff. Her wisdom, wit, and savoir-faire are abundant in every sentence and storyline, but she offers the perfect amount of intrigue versus fluff in her writing, and it makes the book both engaging and a fast, fun read. Sure, the ending is a bit predictable, the characters aren’t always easy to stomach, and the bourgeois setting isn’t relatable, but this is the point. It’s all entertaining, and then some. Not to mention, you top it off with feminist undertones, self-deprecating dark humor, and a bit of karmic retribution, and you’ve got yourself your next best beach read.

FICTION
Very Bad Company
Emma Rosenblum
Flatiron Books
Published May 14, 2024