Book Review: Buying In - Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile

Media Type: Ebook
Title: Buying In
Author: Laura Hemphill
Publisher: New Harvest
Pages: Hardcover, 304 pages
Release Date: November 5, 2013
Source: TLC Book Tours
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Genre: Contemporary Fiction

HDB Rating: 2 Keys to My Heart

Recommended to: Readers who enjoy contemporary fiction, with realistic characters and situations.

Add it on: Goodreads / Shelfari / Amazon / B&N

Bright, ambitious Sophie Landgraf has landed a job as a Wall Street analyst. The small-town girl finally has her ticket to the American elite, but she doesn’t realize the toll it will take—on her boyfriend, on her family, and on her. It isn’t long before Sophie is floundering in this male-dominated world, and things are about to get worse.

With the financial crisis looming, Sophie becomes embroiled in a multibillion-dollar merger that could make or break her career. The problem? Three men at the top of their game, each with very different reasons for advancing the merger. Now Sophie doesn’t know whom to trust—or how far she’ll go to get ahead.

Set inside the high-stakes world of finance, Manhattan’s after-hours clubs, and factories in the Midwest and India, this is the high-powered, heartfelt story of a young woman finding her footing on Wall Street as it crumbles beneath her. Written by an industry veteran, Buying In tackles what it means to be a woman in a man’s world, and how to survive in big business without sacrificing who you are.

I’ve mulled this book over in my head for a few days and I’ve come to a conclusion. Buying In just wasn’t a book for me. It’s well-written. The characters are extremely realistic. Unfortunately it’s that extreme realism that made it a tough read for me. Buying In almost seems to read more like non-fiction than fiction at times, and that’s something I wasn’t expecting.

I can honestly say I did learn a lot while reading Sophie’s story though. I’m sure we all have a basic idea of how tough it is to be a woman in a male-driven industry. We all understand that it takes a lot of sacrifice. Laura Hemphill creates a character who is living this first hand. Sophie has given up her social life, her love life, and even her family for this career. She constantly has to make difficult choices between the career she wants, and the life she already has. Sophie’s life felt real to me, and I felt for her because of it.

What was tough for me is how much of this book is actually industry based. There were quite a few times where I just felt like I was reading a handbook on finance. Discussions of projections, mergers, and plenty of other field related jargon made it so that I had a tough time getting through some portions of this book. I liked Sophie’s story. I even felt for her coworkers. Still, I couldn’t get past the fact that I had no interest in what they did for a living.

I know that there’s definitely a reading group that this book will target. Laura Hemphill knows the industry like the back of her hand, and it shows in her writing. Readers who enjoy learning about the high-stakes world of finance will be drawn in by the cutthroat nature of Sophie’s world. As I said, this is a really well-written book. Sadly, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion.

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