The Luxe

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

My rating:  5/5
Summary (from Goodreads):  In the self-contained world of young Gilded Age Manhattan socialites, Elizabeth and Diana Holland reign supreme. Or so it seems. Scratch the surface, though, and you can detect festering jealousies that threaten to topple them. Elizabeth suffers a more literal fall when her carriage overturns and she is carried away by the swift East River current.





My review:  What a twisted story!  That's all I can say!

Why do I say that?  If you've read the book, you'll know what I mean.  In short, though: Elizabeth is to be married to a man, Henry, that her best friend Penelope hopes to marry.  Elizabeth doesn't want to marry Henry, but it's not her choice.  Meanwhile, Penelope is doing everything she can to stop their wedding.  Henry, though, is in love with Elizabeth's sister.  Elizabeth is in love with a man named Will, which is forbidden, because she is high up on the social scene and he's just a servant.  Elizabeth's maid, Lina, also like Will a lot and eventually she becomes fired because she becomes so cruel to Elizabeth.


See what I mean when I say it's a bit twisted?  I loved it!


I loved the set of characters in The Luxe.  Because it switched between them all, I got to see how each one of them was feeling, and they were all very different.  I'm still not sure who was my favourite out of them all.  Elizabeth was probably my favourite if I had to choose one of them, because she was so caught up in all of these problems.  She wasn't sure what to do about everything that was happening.


I really felt as though I was there in New York in 1899.  The description was in vivid detail, and I felt as though the author knew what she was talking about when it came to the 19th century.  I can honestly say that it's the best historical fiction book I've read.


I loved the ending of The Luxe, and I can't wait to read Rumors!