It's been some time since Elizabeth Holland's mysterious death entranced the New York socialites. And now, It's her younger sister Diana that they have their eyes on. Since Henry Schoonmaker, the young bachelor Elizabeth was engaged to before her death, is now available, he's also one of the people in the spotlight. The other is the wily Penelope Hayes whose main goal is to bring down the Holland family and claim Henry for her own. Besides, they've known each other all their lives, so it's only right. But what people don't know about is Diana's secret affair with Henry and the fact that the Holland's large fortune is dwindling after Diana's father died a short time before Elizabeth. But is it really proper for a young man to be in the minds of so many women so soon after his fiance's death even if the engagement wasn't one based on love? And with rumors of Elizabeth still being alive floating around, things get complicated. Will we ever learn what really happened to Elizabeth? And who will claim Henry in the end?Yum, yum, yum. This book was just as delightful as the first one in the series which I am really happy about. Sometimes, you get an amazing first book and then a really bad sequel, but in the Luxe series, that is not the case. Thankfully. I completely loved hearing more about all of the scandal surrounding the families that I had come to know and love in the previous book. I think one of the things that is the best about this series is that Anna Godbersen has the perfect writing style to go along with the storyline. She knows how to write so that even the language aspect of the book draws you into a world that's far from your own. Also, the plot was really amazing. There were a ton of twists and surprises that left my mouth open, and my mind scrambling. But in a good way of course. These were nice and luscious twists that were completely plausible but at the same time unexpected. The ending especially nearly wrenched me apart. I almost cried! Yikes! It's a little wierd to confess to crying over a book that's purely fluff made for enjoyment. But it's the kind of book that gets you to relate to the characters and actually care about what happens to them. That's definitely one of the parts that keeps me coming back for more. I feel like I'm actually in the turn of the century New York, which is saying something because not only do I have no idea what New York's like, I do not in any way know what anything around that time period would be like. But the book is such that you can't help but be drawn in. And although this series is completely fluffy, I still love it to pieces and I can't wait for the next book, Envy. If you haven't read the first book, The Luxe, you had better go and pick it up soon!
Oh, and happy Fourth of July!!! Go out and watch some American fireworks for me! :P
