Disastrously Fabulous

When a woman discovers her husband’s infidelity, she begins a soul-searching journey through past relationships in this debut novel.

Crystal is a beautiful and intelligent woman who knows what she wants and is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve her goals. She enjoys an opulent lifestyle in a fabulous New York high-rise with her financier husband, Burt, and her three children. Her situation is perfect, until the morning she discovers nude photos of another woman on Burt’s phone. Faced with irrefutable proof of his adultery, he offers a half-hearted denial but she knows the truth. Before she can plan for her future, she reflects on her past aspirations and attachments. The daughter of Jamaican immigrants, she grew up in a hardworking family of modest means. Longing for the glamour of the city, she parlays her beauty into triumphs in the modeling and pageant worlds. Her life lessons come in the form of five pivotal romantic relationships. From her first love, Barry, a smooth-talking charmer with a secret, to her unfaithful husband, these liaisons offer Crystal insight into the dynamics between men and women and the lies people often tell in the name of love. Prince’s briskly paced romance delivers a colorful heroine navigating the choppy waters of success and passion. The novel’s strongest element is Crystal, who has a vivid personality. A woman of limitless ambition, she learns some important tactics on the way to achieving fame and fortune. But the tale seems more like an extended outline than a fully shaped narrative. At a slender 113 pages, the action jumps from Crystal’s discovery of her husband’s affair to flashbacks detailing her early struggles and romantic dalliances. But Prince never lingers long in any particular section, despite offering tantalizing tidbits that could be expanded further, like Crystal’s experiences as a pageant contestant. Crystal is surrounded by a large group of family, friends, and romantic conquests, but their trajectories are limited, and key details, like last names, are missing.

A fast-paced and sincere but underdeveloped romance about a wealthy wife’s former lovers.