Thoughts on The Luxe

Yesterday I finished reading THE LUXE by Anna Godbersen. This book has been out for a while, I think it was published in 2007, and I'd seen it around on book store shelves but was always hesitant to pick it up. It was the cover - almost too beautiful. It had to be disguising an awful book, right?

Or so I thought. Last month I caved and bought the book to read while supervising my little sister's birthday party. I read the prologue and first chapter, and then set it down. I read it casually, here and there, for a few weeks until really getting into it last week.

And OMG. What a ride.

The adage "don't judge a book by its cover" goes both ways. Just because a book has the most gorgeous cover ever, don't assume it's only there to cover up a sloppy, awful book! Sometimes good books get amazing covers, too!

I was completely sucked in. THE LUXE is about two high-society sisters in turn-of-the-century Manhattan, Elizabeth and Diana Holland, who rule the social scene. Their father has recently passed away, and it's becoming ever more clear that to save their family financially, Elizabeth has to make a good marriage. The pressure is on.

I don't want to say much more than that - there's a lot I could spoil very easily. There's so much drama (New York rich girls, hello?), the tension makes the book impossible to put down. I'll admit that I wasn't really sold on it in the first quarter of the book, but let me say that this: once you make it 1/3 of the way in, THE LUXE will not let you go!!!

The characters are what make it so amazing. Writers and readers are always harping on about how the characters are the most essential component of a novel, yadda yadda, and I agree with them, but I never really got it until this book. The five main characters, Elizabeth, Diana, Penelope, Henry and Lina, are so incredible real. I loved all of them, but that's not to say they don't have flaws. They have huge flaws, but are unbelievably loveable because of those flaws. I feel the same way about these characters that I feel about my best friend - I don't like how she obsesses over her boyfriend and is never punctual, but I love her anyway. These characters lie, cheat, keep terrible secrets, but I love them because they're so real.

I care so deeply about what happens to them that I rushed out and bought the second book, RUMORS, yesterday... and I'm almost halfway through now. Why didn't I buy books 3 and 4, too?! How could I have been so stupid?!

I also have Anna Godbersen's brand new novel, BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS, in my TBR pile, and I'm so, so much more excited for it now!

5/5, for shizz.