Book: The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

Pages: 433 (Hardcover)

The Luxe is about the Holland family in Manhattan during 1899.  The Holland sisters, Elizabeth and Diana, discover that their family is poor after the death of their father.  Elizabeth has to choose between true love and an obligation to help her family by marrying Henry Schoonmaker.  However, Elizabeth is believed to be dead after her carriage overturns near the East River and her younger sister Diana is left to pick up where her sister left off.

It was okay, and it only got interesting the last 3 or 4 chapters.  I loved the idea of a novel set during the Gilded Age, on a time when appearances and the social structure and code rule all.  But good lord, this book was boring!  It really didn’t feel like it was set in 1899- like the characters were pretending that they had gone back in time, instead of actually living during the Gilded Age.  It felt fairly shallow, and the characters had no depth- Diana does get some points for having a little more depth than everyone else, but the characters overall didn’t feel too developed.  Godbersen seemed to rely on stereotypes and cliches- it was pretty predictable, and Elizabeth certainly didn’t turn out to be the nice girl that was portrayed in the prologue.

I love the idea of the novel, and the cover was absolutely beautiful, but it didn’t grab my attention at all.  The only reason why it’s getting a 2 out of 5 is because I liked the cover and the fact that each chapter was preceeded by a short blurb of how people were supposed to act or a piece from the local (and fictional) newspapers.