Review of The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

Tile: The Luxe (Luxe Series #1)

Author: Anna Godbersen

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: 2007

Format: e-boork (nook)

Pages: 464

Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattan’s social scene. Or so it appears. When the girls discover their status among New York City’s elite is far from secure, suddenly everyone—from the backstabbing socialite Penelope Hayes, to the debonair bachelor Henry Schoonmaker, to the spiteful maid Lina Broud—threatens Elizabeth’s and Diana’s golden future.
With the fate of the Hollands resting on her shoulders, Elizabeth must choose between family duty and true love. But when her carriage overturns near the East River, the girl whose glittering life lit up the city’s gossip pages is swallowed by the rough current. As all of New York grieves, some begin to wonder whether life at the top proved too much for this ethereal beauty, or if, perhaps, someone wanted to see Manhattan’s most celebrated daughter disappear...
In a world of luxury and deception, where appearance matters above everything and breaking the social code means running the risk of being ostracized forever, five teenagers lead dangerously scandalous lives. This thrilling trip to the age of innocence is anything but innocent.

 My Take: I tried so hard to love this book! I finally had to admit to myself that I was forcing my why through it, which was keeping me from other books that I would really enjoy reading. I found the story line to be very predictable. There are just so many unlikable characters in this book that I could tell they were not going to be loyal to anyone but themselves and what they truly wanted. This may change later in the story, I didn't make it far enough to really say. 

My biggest beef is that I just didn't like anyone. I found the characters all so catty and self-absorbed (gentlemen included) that I found myself just rolling my eyes at everything they did. I only felt mildly sorry for Elizabeth and Will, but even they got on my nerves. 

This book is probably just a little to teenagey for my taste. With no vampires, werewolves or magic powers to dilute the drama, I found my attention wandering whenever I tried to read this book.

I also found the characters actions to be extremely predicable which made it hard to sit and "watch" them do things I already knew they were going to do. I didn't make it to the end of the book but from the synopsis and the 200 or so pages I actually read, I feel confident that I could predict the ending, which is just no fun.

I usually really enjoy historical fiction as a break from the paranormal and dystopian worlds I usually live in but I just couldn't form any sort of meaningful attachment to any of the charters or the story to make it worth continuing to read it.


My Rating: DNF