The Luxe
User reviews
After the death of her father Elizabeth Holland (darling of society) is made to marry since her father left them in a lot of debt. She is deeply unhappy about this since she has long since been inlove with the Coach boy Will (this is her secret) Since society would never let them be wed.
Henry who spent the summer having relations with Penelope is also being force to wed by his father who has threatened to cut henry from the will. Hes sick of his son's play boy ways and thinks the perfect wife for him would be Elizabeth!
Penelope who is friends with Elizabeth is extremely angry as she wanted to bag Henry for herself and will do anything to have him!!
What she doesnt know is Henry has no interest in Elizabeth, has lost interest in Penny and now is looking to Diana... who's Elizabeth's much younger sister whos loud spoken and free Spirited.
SO MUCH DRAMA I loved it! Strong start to this historical series
The Luxe tells the somewhat-soapy (as in soap opera) story of four young women in turn-of-the-century New York. There's lots of intrigue and drama, as well as a lot of romance and more drama, which makes for an entertaining read. Given that, you might think this book (and its sequels) would lack much merit. Not true! In addition to the riveting storylines, author Anna Godberson also includes copious amounts of SAT-worthy vocabulary and a good amount of historical information. There have been some accusations of inaccuracy in this regard, but the context is engaging enough that it may inspire readers to do some research on their own. I've given this book to several students at various levels of reading ability (I'm a teacher), as well as passing it along to my (adult) best friend-- everyone has loved it and gone right on to read the subsequent titles.
If you are a girl, aged 13 to 18, and love intrigue, period books, scandal, luxury, romance, illicit affairs, and a mean beyotch or two to hate, READ THIS BOOK.
The Luxe is for people who like this sort of thing, but if you don't I wouldn't tell you to rush to your bookstore/library and get this book. I couldn't put this book down, and had it finished in 3 days. The cover is beautiful, there are lavish descriptions of all the nice things rich people had back in 1899, and the story (though predictable) leaves you wanting more. In criticism: the characters are not really all that likable. Elizabeth is a bit of a bore, and if she wasn't having an affair she'd be a total sap. Lina Broud was alright at first, but she is a beyotch in training to the master: beautiful, cunning Penelope Hayes, who will stop at nothing to get what she wants, which is Henry Schoonmaker (who I think is OK on teh character front, even if he is a man-slut), though he is engaged to Penelopes "BFF" Elizabeth, but Henry is really in love with Elizabeth's little sister Diana (who is the most dimensional and likable character in the whole thing) The whole situation is pretty screwed up.
Also, I didn't like how EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER had such a lax attitude to premarital sex. It didn't overtly offend me (I actually thought it was interesting) and the sex wasn't graphic (if you are truly naive you may miss the references) but it just didn't seem realistic to me.
All in all, I enjoyed this book, and will definetly be reading the sequels (which I haven't read yet)
What a great book! Set in the year 1899 in New York City. The author creates a dramatic story that has all the elements of a romantic novel. I really liked reading about the high society lives of five very different teenagers. All of them struggling with internal conflict in a world where rules and obligations to family prevail. It is a definite page turner and I can not wait to begin its sequel Rumors.
Mystery, Scandal, Romantic Intrigue... just a few words that describe the exciting lives of The Luxe elite.
It's Manhattan, 1899, the year an angelic bride-to be is lost, an event that shatters the delicate balance of her world, and allows havoc to break free in the lives of those closest to her. The girl is Elizabeth Holland, and at this point in time she's alive, but not quite well. She's rich, beautiful, and unbelievably lucky. Everyone loves her and it would seem all she'd have to do to keep her charmed, fabulous life would be to marry the perfect man and bask in the light of her wonderful life. But for Elizabeth, who everyone sees as the poster child of morals, and good conduct, her life is anything but easy, and when her family life takes a turn for the worse, Elizabeth takes the troubles that her mother so willingly puts on her shoulders, and does her best to remain the perfect girl in everyone's eyes by doing exactly as she's told, even if it breaks her heart in the process.
Enter Henry Schoonmaker, the handsome bachelor that any girl would marry in a heartbeat, who by his fathers insistence, courts Elizabeth who is in love with another man. But with Henry being her only considerable proposal, since her family has run into money troubles, she chooses to accept not wanting to see her family end up in ruin because of her.
At the same time, her sister Diana is being charmed by Henry, while he's trying to shake off the love of Elizabeth's "frenemy," Penelope Hayes, who takes Elizabeth's old maid Lina Broud under her wing in hopes of using her for information that could ruin Elizabeth's reputation and knock her off the top of the social ladder, making her the richest girl in Manhattan and bringing Henry back into her arms.
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This was a pretty good book, though at the time I was reading it I was reading so many things that I felt like I never really got into it. :P But it was good! And It was exciting so I will definitely be reading the next book! :D
I give it 4 out of 5 stars just because I'm not sure I thought it was great. =/ But it was good!
*reposted with permission*
The Luxe tells the story of five teenagers in Manhattan in
1899. Elizabeth Holland and younger sister Diana Holland are completely
different. While Elizabeth is proper, Diana is rebellious. However,
Elizabeth has a dark secret. Henry is the most wanted bachelor of
Manhattan. Elizabeths best friend, Penelope Hayes, is jealous of
Elizabeth. Then there is Lina Broud, Elizabeths servant. Lina dreams
of being a society girl herself. Due to family issues, Elizabeth must
marry the gorgeous Henry Schoonmaker who she has no desire to wed.
Things get more complicated when Elizabeth learns that Penelope is in
love with him. However, Henry is in love with an entirely different
girl&
Honestly, I was not sure if I would enjoy this book. I usually do
not read Gossip Girl-esque books. They just dont seem like something I
would like. I decided to give The Luxe a chance because I
heard so many good things about the series and my friend wanted to see
if it was a book I thought she would like. Most importantly, I
absolutely love the pretty dresses on the cover. heh.
Overall, I liked The Luxe. Hands down, my favorite
characters were Diana Holland and Henry Schoonmaker. Together, they
saved the novel from being unenjoyable. I loved Dianas rebellious
streak. It made her interesting. Lina and Penelope just seemed
desperate to me, and that was a big turn-off. Elizabeth was an okay
character. While I know Godbersen purposely chose not to make Elizabeth
too exciting (that was Dianas part), Elizabeth was just too
boring. Even her secret could not compensate for the rest of her
boringness.
Now let me just talk about the romantic Henry Schoonmaker. I was
definitely head-over-heels for him. I mean, just look at his last name.
Schoonmaker. It almost looks like Swoonmaker. I cant wait to read more
about him in the series.
And is it me, or would this make a great TV show?
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