Rumors by Anna Godbersen

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Number of pages: 423
This was such a great sequel to The Luxe! Once again Anna Godbersen fills her books with suspense, romance, back stabbing, and beautiful descriptions of New York, and all the people in it, during the year 1899. 
Just when you think one thing is going to happen there is a major plot twist and the story turns in a completely different direction. Not many authors can do this very well, but Anna Godbersen succeeds and her stories have, so far, kept me on my toes. 
There's not many times when I'm reading a book and I want to rush all the way through just to see what is happening next. It has to be a VERY good book for that to happen, and I found myself doing that with this series. The books are long, but they so easy to read and so much fun to read that you don't even notice how long they are.
In this second installment in The Luxe series, we follow all the same main characters, as they either fight for there way to the top of the social ladder or try to overcome forbidden love. Anna Godbersen writes her stories in such a fresh way, that you are never sure which characters are going to succeed or not, and there are a few times when your loyalties to certain characters change, due to their actions throughout the story.
Often times when there is a plot twist that is not good for a character I found myself rooting them on and hoping that everything would be all right for them. That's when you know a book is good; when the characters almost seem life-like and you support them like you would any of your best friends. 
In the first book, I said that I didn't like how the characters didn't seem to be talking in a way that would have fit for 1899, but in this book the conversations and thoughts of the characters seemed to fit more with the vernacular of people who actually lived in 1899 (maybe more research was done on Ms. Godbersen's part). Nevertheless the story is still excellent either way! This time around it just seemed more believable. I hope the next book also has flawless speech like this one did, but is also easy to read. Anna Godbersen has the ability to incorporate both into her novels, which is also a hard feat to master.
As usual, this book ended on a complete cliff-hanger and I can't wait to see what will happen in the third book! I'm going to my local library to pick it up so my questions about the different characters can be answered and I can stop wondering what will happen next!
See you soon!
Paige

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The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 433
I think I tried reading this book once a couple years back and for some reason I could never get into it. So, I decided to try picking it up for a second time and I'm so glad I did! I don't know why I didn't like this book the first time because it was such a fantastic read this time around!
I flew through this book and was constantly picking it back up again because it was so good! There was always so much suspense and I wanted to know what would happen next. Every time I thought something would be resolved, a new problem or situation occurred that added more complexity to the plot and added even more depth to the characters.
This had equal parts suspense and romance set in New York in 1899. Elizabeth Holland is doomed to marry a man she does not love but she is forced to do it for circumstances beyond her control. She feels deeply conflicted, not only because her best friend Penelope is in love with the man she is going to marry, but because Elizabeth loves another man, whom she cannot marry due to societies regulations. 
This book has a massive love triangle er...more like a pentagon. Be ready to be kept on your toes for who loves who, who hates who, and who is bound by which circumstances. This is a book that you really have to concentrate on, but it won't seem like a chore because the plot is so intense and captivating that you'll remember all the characters special foes and woes from the very beginning.
The one thing I didn't like about this book was the language. No, there wasn't any cursing, but this book is set in 1899 and the vernacular was a little too...loose too be believable. The narration sort of made up for it however, by throwing around words like "abhorrent" here and there but the characters never would have talked like that in 1899.
I guess I can see why the writer, wrote it that way however, because it is so much easier to understand and young adults would not have to struggle with the reading. This leads to a lower reading level, but a much faster read too.
I loved this book and I cannot wait to read the second one (which I just picked up at my brand new library today!!!) Hopefully the second book will be as jam packed with suspense, love, and adventure as this first one was!
(And I absolutely LOVE the cover! Usually YA books have girls in pretty dresses on the covers for no reason but this one actually makes sense! It's so beautiful and elegant!)
See you soon!
Paige

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