Ok guys, I am officially OUTRAGED. I'll tell you why in a second, but first the facts of Envy, then opinions...:
Title: Envy
Author: Anna Godbersen
Publisher: HarperCollins
MSRP (Hardback; USA): $17.99
Pages (numbered): 405
Rating: * * * * */5!
By FAR the best Luxe book yet. I just finished it, and I slammed the book closed. Reason for infuriation, as previously mentioned? DRAMADRAMADRAMA!!!! My head is spinning. I feel all gushy about the book, but I'll remain a critic for your sake, 'k?
SYNOPSIS (COURTESY OF AMAZON):
Jealous whispers.
Old rivalries.
New betrayals.
Two months after Elizabeth Holland's dramatic homecoming, Manhattan eagerly awaits her return to the pinnacle of society. When Elizabeth refuses to rejoin her sister Diana's side, however, those watching New York's favorite family begin to suspect that all is not as it seems behind the stately doors of No. 17 Gramercy Park South.
Farther uptown, Henry and Penelope Schoonmaker are the city's most celebrated couple. But despite the glittering diamond ring on Penelope's finger, the newlyweds share little more than scorn for each other. And while the newspapers call Penelope's social-climbing best friend, Carolina Broad, an heiress, her fortune—and her fame—are anything but secure, especially now that one of society's darlings is slipping tales to the eager press.
In this next thrilling installment of Anna Godbersen's bestselling Luxe series, Manhattan's most envied residents appear to have everything they desire: Wealth. Beauty. Happiness. But sometimes the most practiced smiles hide the most scandalous secrets . . .
Jealous whispers.
Old rivalries.
New betrayals.
Two months after Elizabeth Holland's dramatic homecoming, Manhattan eagerly awaits her return to the pinnacle of society. When Elizabeth refuses to rejoin her sister Diana's side, however, those watching New York's favorite family begin to suspect that all is not as it seems behind the stately doors of No. 17 Gramercy Park South.
Farther uptown, Henry and Penelope Schoonmaker are the city's most celebrated couple. But despite the glittering diamond ring on Penelope's finger, the newlyweds share little more than scorn for each other. And while the newspapers call Penelope's social-climbing best friend, Carolina Broad, an heiress, her fortune—and her fame—are anything but secure, especially now that one of society's darlings is slipping tales to the eager press.
In this next thrilling installment of Anna Godbersen's bestselling Luxe series, Manhattan's most envied residents appear to have everything they desire: Wealth. Beauty. Happiness. But sometimes the most practiced smiles hide the most scandalous secrets . . .
PLOT: Wonderful plot- perfectly planned, complicated, and twists your heart in just the right way. It just keeps throwing me for a six every chapter. (Australian term I ripped off from The Year of Secret Assignments... :P)
CHARACTERS: I love the characters. Even when I have sheer and utter hatred- like I do for Penelope, e.g.- they're awesome. And I love how the book is omnicent and takes turns focusing on the different characters so you really get a lot more out of it. My favorite character, I think, was at Lina- and towards the end of the book I favored Elizabeth more.
START/ENDING- Great, unique prologue- it's about a bird, soaring through New York, and it shows events happening at the end of the book through the bird's view- but you don't know who it is, or exactly what's happening, and the bird flies off to another character. The ending was a bit too abrupt- I turned the page and saw the acknowledgments, and that made me MAD. They're killing me until October. But I guess it's excusable since it's a series and that's how the roll... *sigh*
SETTING: You'd think this would be a bit boring, considering it's just high society, but I love the setting. It's not like a regency romance, and how boring they are- it has fantastic, enchanting details that draw you in, make you feel like you're there, like you're Lina out on the streets alone, Penelope taking desperate measures, and Elizabeth grieving.
WRITING: Great writing to- see Setting! However- and this is my ONLY complaint- It was a bit pretentious and dragged-out at times. And if I had to hear about the colors of someone's sage colored eyes or their bee stung lips again, or about every stitch of the dress the wore, I was going to scream. But that was rare and compared to the rest of the book, it's acceptable.
OVERALL: I think I've made it very clear that I loved it! Have you read this series yet? WHY NOT? Go, go now, go get it! Please :) You definitely won't be sorry.
