19th century Gossip Girl
Catty girls fighting over guys, yay! I have to say I was hoping for more Victorian chills. None of the characters were likable. Some people say the ending was predictable, but it surprised me. Overall, it was disappointing and the writing wasn't too good ( )

I find it hard to believe that all the high society teenage girls running around turn-of-the-centry NY were having these violent love affairs and scandlous relationships. A lot of the plot was way too convienent. Not my favorite -- too much fluff and not enough substance. ( )

Luxe, by Anna Godbersen is a story as old as time: love. This book takes place in the mid 1800s and it about two sisters, Elizebeth and Diana Holland. Their family had always been extremely wealthy until the death of their father. As these two girls struggle to keep their rich physique we are introduced to new characters: Will, Henry Schoonmaker, Penelope Hayes and Lina Broud. Will(whose last name is never given) is the stable hand on the Holland estate. Henry is the very rich and royal elite man of the story. Penelope is Elizebeth's best friend. Lina is the Holland's maid. This story is full of twisted love triangles, it begins with Elizebeth having a secret romance with Will, even though Lina has been in love with him since they were little. Later in the book Henry's family offers for him to marry Elizebeth in order to save the Holland fortune, but as always their is a conflict. Diana(Elizebeth's younger sister) is in love with Henry and he feels the same for her. The other issue is that Elizebeth is completly in love with Will, so they hatch a very complex plan. Elizebeth falls into a river with only one witness and everyone thinks she is dead, even her family. At midnight she climbs out of the river and Will takes her so they can run away together. Once this happens Diana and Henry are able to build their relationship, but of course there is a problem Penelope wants to marry Henry for his money and will do anything to get her way. This is where the first book ends, the other books in the series are: Rumors, Envy, and Splendor. I highly recommend reading them all.

I personally love this book. There was never a dull moment and every page had a new story. It was slightly hard to follow at times because the 1st person author switches between 4 characters: Elizebeth, Diana, Henry, and Lina. I liked the fact that the reader is able to see all different points of view especially because of all the different emotions and pain. It is slightly advanced for younger readers mainly because of the reading difficulty not the content. I would certainly recommend adding this book to your reading list. ( )

This review was a long time coming. I just couldn't make my mind up about the book. I kept changing my mind as to whether or not is was even worth reading or not.

The Luxe follows the Holland sisters, Elizabeth (which I didn't enjoy) and Diana (which I absolutely loved), as they discover that their lives will not be continuing in the way they have enjoyed for most of their life. Both girls are put in a position of family before self and while outwardly they react similarly, their inner thoughts are quite different.

I've decided that "most" of it was worth reading. The characters were what was throwing me off at first. They are split about 50/50 between well written, dynamic people, and static, boring words that make up a person. The characters that drew me in were what kept me reading the book, and what also made me put the second in the series on my Christmas list to see if the remaining characters get any better (I'm a sucker for second chances).

The plot had a somewhat predictable path, but the story was very fitting for the time period it depicted, and moved along at a nice pace that kept the story moving forward (at least when it was focused on one of the characters I liked).

3/5 ( )

Gossip Girl in a bustle. Actually, even less intelligent. If that's possible. ( )