Review of Anna Godbersen's The Luxe

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
Reviewed by Suzanne, Teen Services Librarian

Gossip Girl meets New York City's Gilded Age in The Luxe. Author Anna Godbersen's debut is a page-turner from beginning to end. Full of romance and scandal, The Luxe is a murder-mystery rocking high society.

Elizabeth Holland, back from Paris, is betrothed to Henry Schoonmaker, the city's most eligible bachelor. Unfortunately, their union is not based on love but on convenience. Instead of planning and celebrating, there is cunning and scheming abound. Everyone has a secret and The Luxe is crammed with lust, love, envy, greed, and hate.

The packaging of this book is fabulous—from the cover photography to the carefully chosen typesets inside. Godbersen's meticulous research into this time period is obvious to and appreciated by the reader.

Between the spectacular cover, however, were some faults. The Luxe was extremely predictable. Godbersen leaks too many clues too early, and by a quarter of the way in, the reader is able to (correctly) predict the ending. Also, for a 433 page book, the characters are not deeply explored. They are familiar stereotypes which lets Godbersen off the hook from creating a back-story. The only deviation from the bland cast is Diana Holland, whose complicated spunkiness is a delight.

Nevertheless, this book is a juicy read. If you want to be entertained, The Luxe is an ideal choice. Godbersen is currently writing a sequel which I am certainly looking forward to reading.

To read more about The Luxe visit Harper Teen. The library owns one copy; it can be reserved through NIOGA.