Review - The Luxe
The Luxe
by Anna Godbersen
release date 11/20/2007
433 pages
Chapter length: short
2 out of 5 stars
According to the publisher: "Pretty girls in pretty dresses, partying until dawn. Irresistible boys with mischievous smiles and dangerous intentions. White lies, dark secrets, and scandalous hookups. This is Manhattan, 1899. Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattan's social scene. Or so it appears. When the girls discover their status among New York City's elite is far from secure, suddenly everyone--from the backstabbing socialite Penelope Hayes, to the debonair bachelor Henry Schoonmaker, to the spiteful maid Lina Broud--threatens Elizabeth's and Diana's golden future. With the fate of the Hollands resting on her shoulders, Elizabeth must choose between family duty and true love. But when her carriage overturns near the East River, the girl whose glittering life lit up the city's gossip pages is swallowed by the rough current. As all of New York grieves, some begin to wonder whether life at the top proved too much for this ethereal beauty, or if, perhaps, someone wanted to see Manhattan's most celebrated daughter disappear... In a world of luxury and deception, where appearance matters above everything and breaking the social code means running the risk of being ostracized forever, five teenagers lead dangerously scandalous lives. This thrilling trip to the age of innocence is anything but innocent."
I have wanted to read this book forever. As I've mentioned on here previously, I'm a huge fan of Gossip Girl, and this book was reviewed as having a similar feel; Gossip Girl, but set in the Gilded Age. Since I have a soft spot for trashy books about rich people behaving badly and I love historical fiction, I really was expecting to love this book. Unfortunately that was not the case.
While I know that in a book of this nature, with all the drama that comes with wealthy young adults, there was bound to be someone that I didn't like, but this went beyond that. For me, there was truly not a single likable character in the entire book. There was literally no one in this book that I was rooting for. In my opinion, if you don't give at least a few of the characters a heartwarming backstory that explains their bad behavior, it's just not going to work. You can't have a book in which the entire cast could be considered the villain.
I still gave this book 2 out of 5 stars because I believe the plot and setting really had the potential to be great. The cover, summary, and general premise of the book are all very appealing to young women and I will give the author and publisher credit for that. The Luxe is definitely a case of a great idea dragged down by poor execution.
I also chose to judge this slightly less harshly than I normally would because this is the first book in a series of four. I will not be moving forward to the other books, but perhaps the characters are better developed and become more likable in the sequels.
Overall I was disappointed in this book, but it does have quite a few positive reviews out there, so maybe it was just not for me.
by Anna Godbersen
release date 11/20/2007
433 pages
Chapter length: short
2 out of 5 stars
According to the publisher: "Pretty girls in pretty dresses, partying until dawn. Irresistible boys with mischievous smiles and dangerous intentions. White lies, dark secrets, and scandalous hookups. This is Manhattan, 1899. Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattan's social scene. Or so it appears. When the girls discover their status among New York City's elite is far from secure, suddenly everyone--from the backstabbing socialite Penelope Hayes, to the debonair bachelor Henry Schoonmaker, to the spiteful maid Lina Broud--threatens Elizabeth's and Diana's golden future. With the fate of the Hollands resting on her shoulders, Elizabeth must choose between family duty and true love. But when her carriage overturns near the East River, the girl whose glittering life lit up the city's gossip pages is swallowed by the rough current. As all of New York grieves, some begin to wonder whether life at the top proved too much for this ethereal beauty, or if, perhaps, someone wanted to see Manhattan's most celebrated daughter disappear... In a world of luxury and deception, where appearance matters above everything and breaking the social code means running the risk of being ostracized forever, five teenagers lead dangerously scandalous lives. This thrilling trip to the age of innocence is anything but innocent."
I have wanted to read this book forever. As I've mentioned on here previously, I'm a huge fan of Gossip Girl, and this book was reviewed as having a similar feel; Gossip Girl, but set in the Gilded Age. Since I have a soft spot for trashy books about rich people behaving badly and I love historical fiction, I really was expecting to love this book. Unfortunately that was not the case.
While I know that in a book of this nature, with all the drama that comes with wealthy young adults, there was bound to be someone that I didn't like, but this went beyond that. For me, there was truly not a single likable character in the entire book. There was literally no one in this book that I was rooting for. In my opinion, if you don't give at least a few of the characters a heartwarming backstory that explains their bad behavior, it's just not going to work. You can't have a book in which the entire cast could be considered the villain.
I still gave this book 2 out of 5 stars because I believe the plot and setting really had the potential to be great. The cover, summary, and general premise of the book are all very appealing to young women and I will give the author and publisher credit for that. The Luxe is definitely a case of a great idea dragged down by poor execution.
I also chose to judge this slightly less harshly than I normally would because this is the first book in a series of four. I will not be moving forward to the other books, but perhaps the characters are better developed and become more likable in the sequels.
Overall I was disappointed in this book, but it does have quite a few positive reviews out there, so maybe it was just not for me.
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