The Luxe: A Young Adult Historical Romance Mystery of Love, Betrayal, and Dangerous Secrets in Gilded Age Manhattan (Luxe Novel Book 1)

I didn't think I'd like this book after reading the first few chapters, but I kept reading. It gets to be a rather enjoyable, if dramatic, story. Some of it is predictable if you have read stories about history in the last few centuries or know anything about the society at the time the book is set in the late 19th century. I won't bore you with a plot summary as I know other reviewers are fond of doing that. I wish the book had had chapter demarcations. Chapter demarcations make it so much easier to see how close you are to the end of a chapter or to find a stopping place when you need to do so. I may come back and read the rest of the series at some point, but I don't think I'll read it right now. If you enjoy historical fiction and you don't mind a great deal of emotional drama, you might just like this one. Give it a shot.

I read this book in two days and am pleasantly surprised by how much I really enjoyed it. It completely reminded me of the CW show Gossip Girl. Penelope couldn't been a better Blair Waldorf and Liz a better Serena( personality only). The writing was great and I enjoyed the newspaper clips and etc at the beginning of each chapter. It added something extra. I like period stories and books of this nature so, for me this was a great read. I didn't find any lulls in the book were it just dragged. I can't wait to read the next book.

Wow, this book was a surprise to me. I figured that the historical details might be lost in a typical young adult novel but I was wrong! The historical aspect of this book was so detailed and added so much depth to the story. I loved reading about these rich-kid type teens and how their lives were, living in high-society New York City. The plot and storylines were scandalous and enticing. Each chapter is follows one character and the book jumps back and forth between then throughout. It was fun to read about one character, then see how his or her actions affects one of the other characters.Overall, this was a great young adult story with lost of plot turns and forbidden love. But the historical details made the book really enjoyable to read and so out of the ordinary and different in a world of vampire loves stories!

The Luxe is like Gossip Girl set in 1899. It was so rich in social history and scandal. You get to know characters from different social classes and even a few historical figures. The prologue more or less tells you what's going to happen at the end of the novel. Normally, I don't like being spoiled like that but in this case, it gave a sense of doom to the whole thing. I was intensely curious as to how the story would unfold. I kind of saw the twist at the end coming, but the story itself held enough surprises that I enjoyed reading it. The point of view changes frequently, but since the story is told in third person, it's easy to tell which character your are seeing the events through. It was easy to follow and enjoyable to see the same events from different angles. What I found most unique about this book was that by the time you got to the end, you knew so many characters so well that you could start to see the same event from all their points of view, even when it's just being told by one person at the time. In one scene a character would be the villan, and in the next you would empathize with them and see them as the hero. In fact, by the end of the book you could say that all the characters were a villan and a hero in their own way. I didn't find myself incredibly moved or amazed, but it was entertaining to read.

I love this book! Those were my first 4 words that I thought after finishing this novel. It centers around Elizabeth Holland's world from her true love (someone her family would not approve of) to her betrothed (someone she doesn't care for but will marry as a duty to her family), her little fiery sister Diana who realizes that she doesn't have to go very far to quench her thirst for adventure, Elizabeth's lady's maid Lina who despises Elizabeth, and lastly Penelope Hayes, Elizabeth's bff with an ulterior motive of her own. Nothing is what it seems that fall in New York and the mystery deepens as the tone is set from page one at Elizabeth's funeral and then hops to a couple weeks earlier and the twisting and turning of events that led to Elizabeth's untimely demise.

I really enjoyed this novel and am looking forward to its sequel. The author initiates the intrigue right in the Prologue. Throughout the novel, I was trying to guess how the Prologue came to be and was extremely surprised by its ending. While the book offers a "Gossip Girl" type atmosphere within Society; I was most fascinated by the striking differences between the time periods.

This novel had everything I like, romance, drama, scandal, backstabbing friends, murder, and mystery. I didn't realize this book is part of a 3 book series when I downloaded it as a free book; however, I am hooked so I will definitely keep reading. Hopefully books 2 and 3 are just as good as this one.Luxe is about Elizabeth whose mother demands that she marry a wealthy man, whom she is not in love with, and whom her best friend and sister are both in love with. Liz is in love with someone else who requests she move West with him to begin a new life.

Okay - it wasn't great fiction. BUT - it enthralled my 16 year old daughter, who is not a great reader. She read it cover to cover and asked for the rest of the series. I enjoyed her stopping mid page, and telling me about the characters. I enjoyed her enthusiasm the the gusto with which she devoured the book.So if you have a teen who loves historical times, romance, intrigue and drama but perhaps lacks the intellectual depth to really pursue Jane Austen or the like - then this series really wouldn't be a bad choice.

J'ai été agréablement surprise par le 1er tome de cette série, qui se déroule dans la haute bourgeoisie new-yorkaise en 1899, où les couples se font et se défont au rythme des bals. L'intrigue est originale, les personnages attachants, on se retrouve transportés à la fin du XIXe siècle, et puis tout ceci est tellement romantique que bien sur on en redemande !! Le niveau d'anglais est assez facile et on se prend vite à l'histoire. J'ai passé un très bon moment, j'attends de lire la suite avec impatience.

really enjoyed this book - part of a series

I finally have all The Luxe series in hardcover. Thank you for completing my collection. :)

THE LUXE is the story of a young elite American woman, Elizabeth Holland at the end of the nineteenth century.Elizabeth's world is one of ballrooms, parties, servants and duty - manners are meant to be the making of a young lady, and Elizabeth prides herself in always maintaining her manners before anything else. This even includes her own happiness, for although Elizabeth has a secret love with her coachman, she is duty bound to wed the most eligible bachelor, Henry Schoonmaker, to save her family from poverty.Unfortunately for Elizabeth, Henry also has some secrets of his own - one of them being an affair with her best friend and rival, Penelope Hayes. The other is his admiration for her younger sister, Diane Holland.Unfortunately for all parties concerned, their world is also habitted by servants; and they are often the ones who know most of what is happening within a household. Elizabeth's servant, Lina, hides a love for the very coachman that Elizabeth has been courting, and so it is only inevitable that, in the end, all these secrets shall start to be revealed.But, the real twist and concern of THE LUXE is the events leading upto the death of Elizabeth Holland, just before her marriage. As all these strands unravel, the reader is able to witness the true dealings of the higher classes, showing that they are no different to the rest of the world.What I loved about THE LUXE was Godbersen's ability to make their world so real and so relevant. Although I cannot say that Elizabeth was my favourite literary character, she seemed real enough, making you care about her story. And, as you can tell from the short synopsis that I have given, the depth of the story and how each character may be affected by another was also well managed - to say that THE LUXE had a love triangle would not be accurate; there are many more sides.For a quick, easy read, THE LUXE would be well recommended for young girls or women who wanted to slip into another time, but one which still explores the complexities of the human heart and family obligation.

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