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Feb 02, 2011

PurpleBootz13 rated it:

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13 comments like (15 people liked it)

May 06, 2010

liz rated it:

I picked up this series of books several months ago to fill my head with nonsense after Lariann died. Reading was a good distraction from the trauma of real life.I read a lot of books the months following, but these are the only ones I have decided I want in my personal collection. The Luxe, Rumors and Envy were a joy to read.

These books follow the life path or 4 young women between 1899-1900 as young New York City Socialites: Elizabeth, Diana, Penelope, and Carolina and their trials More...

7 comments like (14 people liked it)

Apr 15, 2011

Anne rated it:

Everyone in Splendor is searching.

Diana in Cuba. Henry in the military. Elizabeth in the marriage she chose over abortion. Carolyn who has bought her own mansion-next-door to the man she hopes will fulfill her wildest dreams. And Penelope. In the entirely foreign position of New York’s DISAPPROVAL.

The ultimate lesson in the ultimate epic of Ana Godbersen’s Luxe series is this. There is one person you can never escape from.

Yourself.

As EVERYONE has t More...

11 comments like (8 people liked it)

Aug 31, 2010

Maren rated it:

A total guilty pleasure book series - 1900 Gossip Girl, basically. I liked it, but I was kind of bummed out with the ending. I can see where the author was trying to go, with the Edith Wharton comparisons, but it was sad that Henry, specifically, didn't get to be happy.

4 comments like (9 people liked it)

Oct 24, 2010

Alicia rated it:

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6 comments like (11 people liked it)

Nov 24, 2009

BoohBear rated it:

rated: pg-13 definitely
ok. wow. that. was. almost. the. best. book. ive. ever. read. ok so this is the fourth book of the luxe series so if you haven't read the third or second or first books, do not read this review... it would give away the things that happen in the previous books.
so elisabeth was in quite a predicament in the last book, she was pregnant with her dead husband's baby but no one knows that he was her husband, they think he was her kidnapper. in envy, she marries sno More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 22, 2012

Kaitlyn rated it:

This entire series has been amazing. I loved every chapter, every page, every word. The finale to the series didn't fail to impress me.

"New York-that city made of canyons between tall buildings, and ornate houses filled with glittering things that might trap a girl forever-was nothing more than a few dots on an infinite landscape."

All the loose strings were tied, and there were no questions to be asked. Sure, there might be outrage at the characters for them More...

0 comments like

Nov 26, 2011

Graili rated it:

First of all I just have to The Luxe series always had a lot of promise, since the beginning. The one problem was that Anna Godbersen had far too many plots lines. I'm not going to bash these plot lines, they were all pretty good, but she should have picked one of them to be central, while the others, secondary. That being said, Splendor had an excellent conclusion to ALL of these plot lines.
The book developed everything perfectly, though it was a little predictable at spots was still defin More...

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Aug 04, 2011

Amanda rated it:

Anna Godberson's Luxe series comes to an end with Splendor, the fourth installment. After coping with their escalating personal issues, Godberson's group of turn-of-the-century New York socialites forges ahead into a new world where old secrets return, new alliances are formed and the gilded age starts to lose its glitter.

Penelope Schoonmaker (nee Hayes) throws herself into the social web of New York and while trying to live down the scandals of her husband Henry's military adventure, More...

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Jul 28, 2011

Japmeet rated it:

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0 comments like

Jul 24, 2011

Roxy rated it:

I love this series and this fourth installment is just as addictive as the rest but i was SO disappointed with the ending!

So much of the last 2 books has been building up the relationship between Henry and Diana. And the reader wants it all to work out for them. The obstacle of Penelope becomes easily removed and all should be simple for the young lovers to really be together which is what the reader has been waiting for. I undertand the motivation of the move to Paris but for Dian More...

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May 27, 2011

Meghan rated it:

I think I have a love/hate relationship with this series. Okay, maybe love is too strong a word. Yay (sort of) for Carolina, a character I never really liked and don't really care about. Yay for Penelope who is out of character when she pushes aside appearances, exposes herself to censure very much earned by her behavior, and learns a lesson in humility.... but not really because all these people don't really seem to have consequences to any of their actions. And Diana? She abandons the only thi More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 06, 2011

Claudia rated it:

I love the Luxe series and Splendor was a joy to read. Normally books from way back when aren't exactly on my radar, but it was really interesting to read a series about high society in New York. Splendor was incredibly good and I'm sad the series has finally come to an end.

First of all, Splendor is the first book of the series the Luxe. The Luxe is basically following the lives of four women (Elizabeth, Diana, Penelope, and Carolina) in New York City around the late 1900's. Beautifu More...

0 comments like

Mar 22, 2011

aleee rated it:

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0 comments like

Feb 24, 2011

Adria rated it:

I loved The Luxe, Envy and Rumors, but this book was a huge disappointment to me. So much of the plot just seemed overdone like Elizabeth's situation with her new husband. And it seemed like no one except Lina got what they deserved. Penny got exactly what she wanted, in guessing that she really didn't want to <marry> the prince. I think she really just used him as he used her as a way to try to tell Henry she didn't need him anyway. And Henry was so cheated from the happiness he should ha More...

1 comment like

Jan 05, 2011

gina rated it:

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 03, 2010

Caroline (Words & Whispers) rated it:

This series had been winding down since the first book ended, and this books ends where I suppose it should have. I loved The Luxe and Rumors and Envy managed to keep me hooked, but Splendor was a little too much melodramatic plot twists and forced endings. While Penny remains as evil as ever, she ends ups with what she really wanted, and Carolina, the former lowly maid Lina, who I personally was starting to forgive and beginning to root for again, lost a lot of what she was gaining. Carolina's More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 21, 2010

Angela rated it:

I'm kind of shocked that I'm giving this book one star, since I have been in love with the series thus far. Ann Godbersen's writing is as beautiful and captivating as ever in SPLENDOR and some very satisfying things do happen in it, but the ending was so disappointing that I felt as if I'd wasted my time getting attached to her characters. Here are the things about the way this book ended that bothered me.

1. The Snowden/Elizabeth plot line didn't feel completely developed. I want More...

8 comments like (21 people liked it)

Sep 11, 2010

YA Reads rated it:

When the young Diana Holland follows Henry Schoonmaker, the love of her life, to war, what are the chances that she’ll actually find him? Diana isn’t concerned with chances, though. The whole world has been stacked against them right from the beginning, and they’ve managed to battle through it all. What’s stopping her this time? No, chances are not important. All that matters is that she finds Henry. She must, she will make sure he knows how she feels, propriety and marital conventions be damned More...

1 comment like

Jul 13, 2010

Einna rated it:

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1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Jul 14, 2010

Kelli rated it:

This was a great conclusion to a fantastic series. I am totally satisfied with the resolution of Elizabeth, Lina, Claire, Teddy, and Snowden's stories. The ending of Diana and Henry's stories, as well as Penelope's to some extent, left me so, so disappointed. It's been two days since I finished Splendor and I can't shake the sense of melancholy that settled on me after finishing it, all due to the bittersweet ending for Diana. It didn't make me not like the series, but I think I would have l More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 22, 2010

Madison rated it:

I love these series! they are a wonderful storie about 4 girls and how they live in 1900 New York where there is everything tht happens today in society (rumors, scandals,etc.). the derris are very good I like how the point of view changes and the chapters begin with an excerpt from a gossip column or a handbook which is much like what the gossip girl books due and is a gossip girl book to some extent just put in the 1900s.

I wa disappointed and shocked about the ending. especially More...

0 comments like

May 31, 2010

Sue rated it:

I loved this series. There was something about all of the characters that I really liked. They all grew up in a world where status, reputation and old money meant everything but the world is about to change and all the rules are about to be rewritten. Each of their characters is deeply flawed. They are selfish, vain people who believe their own p.r. As a matter of fact, they're the ones creating their own p.r. by selling their stories to the gossip columns. But each of the characters is try More...

0 comments like

Mar 28, 2010

Francophilex rated it:

I was very satisfied with the final installment of the Luxe saga. While some readers may be disappointed, I believe that the fate of all the characters was very appropriate. Sometimes living happily ever after and getting the girl/guy are mutually exclusive. Godbersen managed to deliver the romance and intrigue we've come to expect from this series, along with historically accurate details. The pace of the book kept me up all night to finish it, and I loved that the author managed to give us a g More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Feb 03, 2010

Sarah rated it:

***Spoilers***
Stupid, stupid ending to the series. I wasn't that invested in the series and I still managed to be dumbfounded by how poorly it ended.

The only character that ends up with a remotely happy ending is Elizabeth. I actually really enjoyed her pairing with Teddy, although their story and the resolution with Cairns was a bit too... I don't know... something. Too quick? Too predictable. I'm not sure.

I can't really deny that Lina got her just desserts, a More...

3 comments like (10 people liked it)

Jan 27, 2010

Libby rated it:

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4 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 02, 2010

stephanie rated it:

so. here's the thing: despite the fact that i still don't understand or really like lina and never found her appealing, i think all the strands of the series are wrapped up perfectly.

(i also love the fact that it's davis barnard that believes in diana's writing in the beginning, which ultimately leads to the perfect ending - barnard pride, people!!)

it isn't the perfect ending for everyone, at all. but it's so wharton-esque it kind of creeps me out. the last scene of henry an More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 31, 2009

paige rated it:

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3 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 29, 2009

Devon rated it:

*****SPOILERS******

Hey, I have to say that the first three books in this series were to die for. I mean, I read them over the course of a week- Christmas week to be exact. I mean, I went out of my way to find each book and bought the last two (rare, for me) because I couldn't wait for the library to get them to me.

But this one was good too, well- up to the last few chapters. Teddy and Diana were a couple that I very much related to, and I thought that it was downright sh More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Nov 24, 2009

Virginia rated it:

SPOILERS

To explain my rating, I would give this book five stars right up until the last ten pages or so, which were horrendous.

"The Luxe" has been a beautifully crafted series, replete with gorgeous historical details and a sparkling world full of fascinating characters. At the center of this world, there were Diana and Henry, the core romance of the saga. After everything these two went through to be together, it is not just downright stupid that they would n More...

1 comment like (8 people liked it)

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