80 of 88 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intoxicating from start to finish!, November 19, 2007
The year is 1899. While women and young ladies are supposed to be demure and proper in each and every thing they do; so is not the case for many of those living in New York City. Four young women, to be exact, who are committing different forms of wrongdoing, which would certainly turn heads and cause whispers in upper class society. Things that would leave them shunned. But, as long as no one finds out, I suppose it doesn't really matter. If those secrets are revealed, however, things may not be as...peachy keen as they are now.
Eighteen-year-old, Elizabeth Adora Holland, is the girl every gentleman wants to be with, and all the girls want to be. As far as society goes, Elizabeth is the ideal up-and-comer. She's demure, polite, pure, and breathtakingly beautiful. What society doesn't know about, however, are her late-night trysts with a certain member of her staff. Trysts that seem harmless and loving to Elizabeth and her...admirer; but would turn heads and cast her out of the inner circle in mere moments. When she is betrothed to the most sought-after bachelor in New York City, the world practically stops as wedding preparations begin. Unfortunately, Elizabeth's heart isn't in it, instead, her conscience and her true love take over, causing her to question her impending marriage. But with a horrible secret haunting her family, there is little she can do to save herself from a lifetime of misery, without taking matters into her own hands and doing something drastic.
While Elizabeth is the perfect model of society; her sixteen-year-old sister, Diana, is practically anti-proper manners and living. Diana would rather spend her days reading romance novels, and kissing random boys, than acting proper. She dreams of being a heroine, who is rescued by a dashing gentleman. When she learns of the impending trouble facing her family, she relishes it - believing it will bring her some excitement. Certainly not as much excitement as her secret affair with someone else's future husband, of course.
Penelope Hayes may be viewed by society as an improper floozy-esque young lady; but what she lacks in manners, she certainly makes up for in ravishing clothes, gorgeous looks, an estate that turns heads, and a bank account that leave people drowning in a puddle of their own drool. On the outside, it appears that Penelope and Elizabeth are best friends; but for those on the inside, it's quite obvious that Penelope's loath and jealousy of Elizabeth dominate their relationship. Especially when Elizabeth steals the man of her dreams away from her. Now she plans on destroying her future, no matter what it takes. As they say..."keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."
Lina Broud has always been an outsider looking in at the privileged world of high society. As Elizabeth's maid, she once shared a close friendship with her employer. But times have changed. Elizabeth is too busy to be friends with someone beneath her, and Lina is too proud to go on serving someone so ungrateful. Luckily, Lina has some juicy gossip about Elizabeth. Gossip that could finally permit her entry into the glamorous world of high society. The question is whether or not she's capable of betray her childhood friend for a little cold, hard cash. It's amazing what type of effect money can have on someone.
I am beyond shocked to learn that this is Anna Godbersen's debut novel. From page one, her lavish descriptions of old time New York City, and high society hooked me; while her gossip-loving, well-dressed characters reeled me in. The scandal and mystery wrapped inside this charmed world, of course, didn't hurt the story at all. Rather, it added another dimension to the tale, making it incapable for the reader to put it down. While Elizabeth is a good girl doing bad things; and Penelope is a bad girl doing bad things; and Lina is a spiteful servant you can't help but dislike; Diana comes off as the most diverse, multi-dimensional character - at least in my eyes. Diana is the epitome of a girl gone wrong. She doesn't take direction from her elders, she spends her days devouring books, and she has no problem with smoking, or kissing random men. Her free spirit is overwhelmingly delightful; and, mixed with the characters of Lina, Penelope, and Elizabeth, Godbersen has woven a tightly knit story that leaves the reader craving more. And with a cliffhanger that would leave anyone salivating, there's no doubt in my mind that people won't be racing to the store for the next installment. Intoxicating from start to finish!
Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer
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41 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
If only the book were as good as the cover, December 17, 2007
I wanted to love THE LUXE. I really did. And I only liked it.
The book begins at the funeral of Elizabeth Holland, 1899 Manhattan's ideal young lady of the upper class. She presumably drowned in the Hudson; her body has never been recovered. This should make for a really interesting book, exploring her death and the possible causes and how everyone reacts, right? Unfortunately, this book is not about Elizabeth's death but the lives of five teenagers living in upper class Manhattan.
Elizabeth does not want to marry Henry Schoonmaker and he doesn't want to marry her, but neither have a choice. Elizabeth's family is faced with ruin if she doesn't marry; Henry, who is quite a scoundrel, is faced with being disinherited. But Penelope Hayes, daughter of a newly wealthy family, wants Henry for herself and will do anything to get him, and servant Lina Broud, who hates her mistress Elizabeth, might prove dangerous.
The characters are all stereotypical or boring. There's absolutely no thought behind the characters of Penelope, Lina, and Henry. They are exactly what you'd expect to find, and there's nothing about them that makes them stand out. Elizabeth is just dull, and the adults too have very little personality. Only Diana Holland, Elizabeth's rebellious and slightly immature younger sister, shows any potential for developing into a memorable literary character. I will read the second book, but mainly to find out what happens to Diana.
And then the writing...Godbersen tried to make her writing stand out by using vivid words, but honestly in the end her writing just seemed stilted. She seemed to do a lot more telling than showing, and sometimes she added details in places where they disrupted the story. Overall, the writing made what should have been an exciting book hard to get into.
This wasn't a bad book. I did enjoy it, but it's not as good as I was expecting.
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63 of 76 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
What year is it? Oh really, 1899? Yeah, right., November 23, 2007
I normally dislike writing negative reviews, but in this case I feel absolutely inspired to. I received this book as an Advanced Readers copy from the Harper Collins First Look program, I am I truly expected to be blown away by what promised to be an excellent historical portrayal of teens at the turn of the nineteenth century. Instead, I felt like the characters in the book had been plucked from some modern day series like the Gossip Girl books. I am sure there are plenty of naughty girls of the upper crust in any time period, but it seemed to me that all the girls were lacking in the basic decorum of the time.
That is not to say the book was on the whole terrible. The descriptions of the lavish way of life certainly inspired me, placing me within the glittering late Victorian world. My main qualm was the characters. To me, they just didn't seem to embody the spirit of the age. I am not a prude, to be sure, as I read things that have sexual depictions, but the casualness of the depicted sex left a bad taste in my mouth. I could not care much for any of the characters because they seemed so bratty and duplicitous with their so-called friends. There wasn't even a good loathing hate that can come from an excellent depiction of a villain, just a dislike for everyone.
Perhaps I should have thought twice about wanting to read a book that talked about the bad girls acting bad and the good girls also acting bad, but I suppose I just wanted the book to be something else. So while I have been a little scathing, there is certainly an audience for this book, if you like the kind of modern melodrama with plenty of sex and betrayal along with a dose of "friendship." And there are beautiful descriptions of the luxury of the times which are quite impressive and vivid. A mixed bag for me, but sure to be a catch for those who like this sort of thing.
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