***Review*** The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

On the Back of the Book

Imagine if you will, New York City, 1899

Society's elite: the glamour, the grandeur, the glittering parties, the most handsome beaux, the most beautiful debutantes... the rich girl, the humble boy, the forbidden love, the stolen glances, the whispers, the scandal, the mystery, the revenge.

You are cordially invited to step into
The Luxe
Where the secrets are dark
and the sins are delicious...
R.S.V.P.

Pre Read Thoughts

Confession time! I've read this before, but in my defence it was years ago. This was a cover book. I fell in love with the girl's dress. It's so pretty and if I lived in the 19th century I'd want to be the girl in that dress. Saying that, my cover is too busy for my taste, it's got all these swirls and flowers and butterflies on it and it ruins the effect of the dress. Hence why I haven't used it. The RRP is  £6.99 which is more than reasonable. I also want to point out that I love how the synopsis is set out, it's so cool, it creates intrigue.

Post Read Thoughts

I first read this book a couple of years ago and I adored it. Now though it didn't really grab me as much as it did then. The story was essentially Gossip Girl except the frocks were bigger and iPhones didn't exist. The pace of the story was a bit hit and miss, the first 200 and something pages were dull, less would have been more. The author's style of writing got old pretty quickly, too much time was spent on materialistic things as opposed to the plot.

The characters are from Gossip Girl. I can prove this:

The Luxe  - Gossip Girl
Elizabeth   - Serena
Penelope  -  Blair
Henry      -   Nate
Diana      -   Vanessa
Lina        -    Jenny

I know that looks like a list but if you've either read or watched Gossip Girl you should know the character traits of each character. My favourite character is Diana. I love how vibrant and full of life she is. The others are pretty boring and generic and I didn't really connect with them.

Overall I quite like the book. I don't think it's a particularly strong opening to a series but not many YA books are now. I found myself wanting to know less about Elizabeth the society girl and more about Elizabeth the person. Her attitude to Will as she describes him contradicts the way she feels, this annoys me. I wanted this story to be different from Gossip Girl but with Alloy Entertainment involved, how could it be?

My Rating

3 stars - I should probably give it less but because this book brought me joy at one point in my life I've decided to be generous. This is a definite must for Gossip Girl fans. However if you're looking for an interesting insight into the workings of upper-class New York in the 19th century, you're looking at the wrong book.

A Final Note

Sex is eluded to. The author cuts away before anything really happens though, but to be on the safe side I recommend this for 14+.