Book Review | The Luxe Series by Anna Godbersen

The Luxe is not the sort of story I usually enjoy reading. I totally thought it was some sort of steampunk/fantasy thing set in 1900 at first, which, you know, sounded like the coolest thing in the world to me. It didn't take me long after picking it up that I realized I was very wrong. This whole series reads like a novelized soap opera... but, surprisingly, I sort of liked it.

| goodreads |

I read through the first two books very quickly, and while there were some problems with the plot and characters, I just brushed it off. The writing was absolutely beautiful, especially when they were describing the clothing. Seriously, Anna Goberson could've been a fashion designer, because she could describe clothing exceptionally well! I also grew very attached to the adorable relationship between Diana and Henry.

My heart was extremely broken after the ending of the second book, Rumors, so I had to snatch Envy up from the library as soon as I possibly could... That was when things started to get a bit rocky between me and this series.

While I did have problems with the story and plot before, in Envy it got even worse. Nothing seemed believable to me, and all the other characters, besides Diana and Henry, annoyed me so much. They didn't feel real and weren't very likable. Lina and Penelope especially pushed my buttons, which was a shame because I wanted to like them.
Lina's story could've been interesting, she was just so terrible, I wanted to poke her eyes out. And while Penelope was amazingly evil and a perfect villain, she kept ruining Diana and Henry's relationship, which was not okay with me.

I almost didn't want to move on to Splendor, because I feared it would get worse, but I had to finish. Alas, I was correct.

It was okay, don't get me wrong, I just had a hard time following what was going on. Too much was happening and it felt like a mess at times. There were rushed relationships that weren't believable at all, weddings and break ups that didn't make a lick of sense, and terrible, terrible endings. I was left with more questions than answers.
But Anna's beautiful descriptions and writing pulled through and helped me to at least enjoy finishing the books.

All in all I would give this series a solid 3 stars, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves this time period, or TV dramas. I seriously think this story would make an excellent TV show!