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The Luxe
Godbersen, Anna.
Teen Fiction GODBERS
From Publishers' Weekly:
With a quote from The Age of Innocence as an epigraph and an enthusiastic blurb from the creator of Gossip Girl on its back cover, this lavishly produced debut makes no secret of its twin influences. The story opens in 1899 with the funeral of Elizabeth Holland, a well-bred beauty said to have plunged to her death in the Hudson River. The narrative then travels back several weeks, tracing the relationships and events that have led to the somber assembly. This tangled web includes not one but two sets of star-crossed lovers; an upstairs/downstairs romance; a scheming social climber; a bitter servant girl; and oodles of money, all set in a Edith Wharton via Hollywood vision of Old New York. The dialogue has its clunky moments, and the plot twist that drives the tale is telegraphed from the very start, but readers caught up in the fancy dress intrigue are unlikely to mind much: it's all part of the dishy fun. Needless to say, the ending paves the way for at least one sequel. Ages 14-up. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
From Library Journal:
The Gilded Age was never so yummily tarnished. Elizabeth and Diana are the beautiful and (unbeknownst to their circle) recently impoverished offspring of the well-heeled Holland family. Opening at Elizabeth's funeral, the story unfolds in a taffeta whirlwind of social engagements, secret lovers, and startling betrayals. Elizabeth enjoys a hot affair with the stable boy, while her younger sister pines for Elizabeth's fiance, the roguish Henry Schoonmaker. For fans of The Age of Innocence (starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder, 1993) and the Gossip Girl TV series (launched in 2007). Why It Is for Us: The parties, the dresses, the bitchery. With well-developed characters and surprising plot twists, Godbersen's series is better than most adult romances, minus the spicier bits. [Also in the series: Rumors (ISBN 978-0-06-134569-2. 2008) and Envy (ISBN 978-0-06-134572-2. 2009).] (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Godbersen, Anna.
Teen Fiction GODBERS
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From Publishers' Weekly:
With a quote from The Age of Innocence as an epigraph and an enthusiastic blurb from the creator of Gossip Girl on its back cover, this lavishly produced debut makes no secret of its twin influences. The story opens in 1899 with the funeral of Elizabeth Holland, a well-bred beauty said to have plunged to her death in the Hudson River. The narrative then travels back several weeks, tracing the relationships and events that have led to the somber assembly. This tangled web includes not one but two sets of star-crossed lovers; an upstairs/downstairs romance; a scheming social climber; a bitter servant girl; and oodles of money, all set in a Edith Wharton via Hollywood vision of Old New York. The dialogue has its clunky moments, and the plot twist that drives the tale is telegraphed from the very start, but readers caught up in the fancy dress intrigue are unlikely to mind much: it's all part of the dishy fun. Needless to say, the ending paves the way for at least one sequel. Ages 14-up. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
From Library Journal:
The Gilded Age was never so yummily tarnished. Elizabeth and Diana are the beautiful and (unbeknownst to their circle) recently impoverished offspring of the well-heeled Holland family. Opening at Elizabeth's funeral, the story unfolds in a taffeta whirlwind of social engagements, secret lovers, and startling betrayals. Elizabeth enjoys a hot affair with the stable boy, while her younger sister pines for Elizabeth's fiance, the roguish Henry Schoonmaker. For fans of The Age of Innocence (starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder, 1993) and the Gossip Girl TV series (launched in 2007). Why It Is for Us: The parties, the dresses, the bitchery. With well-developed characters and surprising plot twists, Godbersen's series is better than most adult romances, minus the spicier bits. [Also in the series: Rumors (ISBN 978-0-06-134569-2. 2008) and Envy (ISBN 978-0-06-134572-2. 2009).] (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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