Merry Wanderer of the Night:
the luxe

The Luxe series has come to a close for me. I read The Luxe as part of my YA Challenge before my twentieth birthday, and became surprisingly obsessed with the stories of the high class Manhattanites of 1900. I read Rumors at the beginning of the summer and didn't spend too much time waiting to start Envy. And now I've read Splendor. And finished it. And I am very sad. This review will contain spoilers (so if you haven't read the series check out my reviews of the first three books!), but I'm really writing a love letter to The Luxe series. Because I loved it, I really did.

I was initially attracted to the series because the covers had pretty dresses on them and the characters promised to be catty and intense. I didn't expect to like any of the characters in the novel a whole lot, but quickly fell in love with Diana because she was a dreamer, a nonconformist, and she loved to read. Diana has made a lot of really stupid decisions over the course of the series, her obsession with Henry Schoonmaker is pretty stupid by itself. But she never did anything I wouldn't do, so I forgave her. In Splendor we find her chasing Henry to war, dressed as a boy in an attempt to join the army-- but at the beginning of this novel we find out this plan failed. I was a little disappointed Diana didn't get to be a boy for awhile, but wasn't bothered by it for too long. She has a flair for finding herself in the middle of a good story. And for those of you who have read the book, I love the decision Diana made by the end of Splendor. I wouldn't have changed it a bit.

As for the other characters, I think Anna Godbersen really filled everyone out. I actually found myself feeling sorry for Penelope at one point whereas in the past I've really just seen her as a villain. Elizabeth was, as always, the least interesting character in the novel, although there was some excitement with Teddy Cutting. Lina is self-centered and gets what is coming to her, but we see a good side of her and can understand why she has turned on her old self for wealth.

Overall, while many people see The Luxe series as junky, YA books, I feel the need to disagree. The Luxe series continues to have more depth with every book. It represents problems young adults have to this day such as following your dreams, representing your family, getting what you want but being a good person. And even though the characters are catty and conniving, and the book is incredibly fun to read, Godbersen is still a skilled storyteller. No, she is a skilled writer. She can hold suspense, she can make your heart ache, she can make you squeal with excitement, she can make you fall in love with characters over the course of one year and four books. When I finished Splendor I cried. Perhaps I am still grieving, because when I finished the series I didn't simply feel like I had finished a series, I felt as if I had finished a relationship with one of my best friends.

The power of reading I suppose.

I give Splendor an A, and I give the entire Luxe series and outstanding A.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

This review is of the third book in The Luxe series, so it will contain spoilers if you haven't read the first two books in the series. Interested in my thoughts on those? Check out my reviews of The Luxe and Rumors. I still say The Luxe series gets better and better as you go on and Envy

is the best yet in the series. Splendor, the final book is all I have left. I'm trying to savor the anticipation but at the same time I just really want to know what happens next! So when we left The Luxe girls in Rumors Henry and Penelope are married, to the great dismay of Diana Holland since Henry was clearly in love with her. Elizabeth Holland is very sad because her husband and former chauffeur has passed away, and her mother is trying to pass her off to a new suitor so the family can have money again.

Basically everyone is unhappy in this book. Literally everyone is unhappy. And I love Diana even more in this book because she is actually trying to do something about it! I loved how everyone was unhappy because from the outside all of these people seem to have perfect lives, but they're all actually completely miserable and I think that is a great thing to consider. No matter how good something appears from the outside when you experience it, it might not be that great. There were times in the book where she acted stupidly to try and make Henry feel guilty for what he did to her, but what teenage girl hasn't done that before. Honestly, the Diana-Henry-Penelope thread takes up the majority of the book and it was so intense, that at one point when I was reading on my lunch break I forgot my sandwich at the restaurant because I was so upset with Henry. And if that doesn't make you want to read this book, I don't know what will.

The ending is the biggest cliffhanger yet and while part of me thought, "Yeah, I'm so sure that would happen," part of me just thought, "These books are so awesome!" The ending really comes from nowhere, I was shocked by it. You can probably tell by my verbal typing diarrhea that I still don't know what to say about it. I just honestly can't praise these books enough.

I give Envy an A.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

I put off reading the second book in the Luxe series for awhile because I wanted to the savor the end of the first book. Luckily the beginning of Rumors by Anna Godbersen drew me right back into the dramatic ending of the first book. This review will not spoil anything in Rumors, but it will assume that you have read the first book in the series.

At the beginning we are reminded that Elizabeth Holland is dead, of course we know that she actually is not dead. Instead she has traveled to California to meet her lover and her family's former footman Will. Will has it in his head that he will strike it rich with oil. Elizabeth loves Will and wants to believe in him, but her wealthy past and good sense tells her this might not be the case. She has a lot of time during the day to think about her life back in New York as well, so Elizabeth isn't as happy as she thought she might be. She takes solace in the fact that she still has her engagement ring from Henry Schoonmaker. If things ever got too bad, she could always sell that.

And back in New York Elizabeth's sister Diana is desperately in love with Henry. Henry, however, doesn't know that Elizabeth is still alive. When he finally comes out of mourning he can't wait to get back to Diana, but his best friend Teddy assures him that he cannot fall in love with Diana. It just wouldn't be right. This gives the semi-evil Penelope the perfect opening to win Henry's attention... or bribe him for it.

I love, love, loved 89% of this book. This of course is a completely false percentage because I'm horrible at math, but we'll say that is how much I loved. There was so much of Diana in this book that I couldn't put it down. I just adore Diana. Elizabeth was a little flaky to me. I was so annoyed with her faithless attitude towards Will. Poor Will though... such a dreamer. My two biggest complaints about this book are Lina Broud and the ending.

Lina Broud is a side character. She used to be a maid and is also in love with Will, but when she is fired from the Holland household she lies about her past to everyone she meets. In this book Lina is climbing the social ladder in a completely idiotic way. Basically I thought there was too much Lina in this book. Her character is annoying. She is unappreciative (which makes no sense because she used to be a maid) and kind of full of herself. I liked her more in the first book when she was genuinely in love with Will. You will see in this book that she is not.

The ending, you'll have to decide that for yourself.

This novel earned a B.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.