I have recently discovered an inner passion for Gilded Age novels, after a whirlwind affair with Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy about a year or two ago. *Heaves a sigh of nostalgia* However, when I decided to give The Luxe a try, I did not expect to love it as much as I did. It took me awhile to even commit to checking it out of the public library. In all honesty, it was the cover that did it. (Admit it, you know where I'm coming from!) It didn't take me long to decide I loved the book, the prologue was ROCKIN'! Long story short, Shay-la found a new series, and here's a short review of the second Luxe novel:
Warning: if you have not read the first Luxe novel, please don't be angry with me for ruining it for you with this review...make sure you read The Luxe before you tread any further...
Book #2 starts off right where #1 so kindly left off. Henry is lovesick for Diana, and Elizabeth is widely believed to have died. While New York mourns its fallen Holland star, said star is living--quite happily--in California with her lover/formal coachman Will. However, circumstances are much less than favorable back home, and Elizabeth finds she cannot continue her life of bliss. Her correspondent, the younger Miss Holland, is in a heartbreaking state, only a shadow of the formerly vibrant Diana. Their family is in financial ruin, her mother is on the verge of death, and fate is determined to keep her from her only love, the "widower" Henry Schoonmaker. However, it seems things are going to get less favorable for the sisters, especially at the hands of conniving Penelope Hayes, who has a few tricks up her fabulous sleeve...
I loooved the book. I can see how it would not be for everybody, especially in the less-than-gripping beginning, when I could just not seem to get into the story. Don't get me wrong, the prologue was enough to make me want to flip to the end, but once the actual story began, I couldn't get into the groove. After page 60 or so, though, I devoured the book in a couple of sittings.
What I really liked was, well, most things. I adore all of the characters, first of all! Godbersen has the inconvenient gift of smearing the lines between protagonist and antagonist, making you simultaneously abhor and empathize with certain characters, i.e. the society wannabe Lina, who I secretly want to succeed, but also of whose methods I generally disapprove. I really like Diana, who despite her unwillingness to conform is beautiful, passionate, and simply awesome. Penelope...hmmm...that's all I can really say for her. There is a new character introduced, on whom the entire Holland residence now depends, Mr. Cairns, an obnoxious guy who I really wanted to just off a couple of times...
The romance between Henry and Diana, while quick and at times too passionate to be believed, was still fiery and delicious in this book. The secret lovers have morphed into love-starved pitiable things, so every bit of contact they get turns into a kind of secret affair, passing feelings and thoughts with only their eyes. Diana and Henry are the couple I have been rooting for since the beginning, and I love their secret romance!
Elizabeth and Will? Eh, I could take it or leave it. I will say, I like them together better than apart, as I was never Team Liz. She is kind of a prude, and definitely the foil of Lion-hearted Diana.
Penelope is her old self in this book, still fighting for Henry with all she has, through any means possible. Speaking of which, Lina, aka, Carolina has managed to find her way into the society pages at last. Her gossip money is dwindling, and her salvation comes from Mr. Longhorn, an old dude of whom I grew particularly fond. What do I think of Lina? She's a pitiful creature who only wants the opportunities that were presented to her once-betters. I can see where she's coming from, and I sympathize with her. BUT she is becoming more and more venomous, much like one Miss Penelope Hayes. Between these two characters, readers get a giant dose of love-to-hate syndrome.
I'm not gonna give it away, but the end DID make me cry. I stayed up for a while thinking about the conflict I was left with in the end. The next day, I rushed out for #3.
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