Review: RUMOURS by Anna Godbersen *****

"December 1899, New York City.

Manhattan has bid farewell to its brightest star, the dazzling Miss Holland. Yet the rumours about her untimely demise continue. Meanwhile, her sister, the irrepressible Diana, has been seen in the company of not one, but three eligble bachelors. Might there be a fourth? In High Society reputation is everything. The Holland family simply can't afford to be the subject of such wicked whispers. Heaven forbid that they should fall so spectacularly from grace . . .
There is a very fine line between truth and love, lies and hate. And all is about to be gloriously revealed."

This is the second book in the brilliant Luxe series and you can read my review of the first one here. I've said before that I love the coveres for these books, but I really don't understand why the blurbs are so vague? For those of you that are unfamiliar with the series but curious about it, I can tell you that the story revolves around four main female characters in their teens (16-18): Elizabeth & Diana (sisters), Penelope (Liz's (ex) BFF) and Lina (Liz's (ex) maid). They live in New York in 1899 when apperances were everything so there's a lot of deception and betrayal and revenge going on in the background. There are two main love interests in the book, Henry and Will, who are shared among the four girls, which obviously causes a lot of drama. You'd be surprised to see what the girls are willing to do to get what they want ...

As you can see, I couldn't help but love the first book and that was pretty much the case with the sequel. The first one ended with a bang and I thought the beginning of the secone one was a bit slow, but eventually the story picked up and the ending was just mindblowing! Good thing I already have the next book waiting on my bookshelf, otherwise I'd go mad waiting for it since I can't wait to see what happens next!

As you can probably tell even from my review, these books are very action packed. There is just so much going on and the plot twists are enough to make your head spin. I may not protest violently if someone described the characters as slightly cartoon-like, but I suppose that's also partly why the story moves so fast. But whatever these books lack in character development, they make it all up with the beautiful setting and wonderful writing. I love the fact that these books are set in 1899 and as I mentioned before, I delight in reading about all the dresses and the lifestyle of the rich of those times. I can't say if the author's portrait of New York in 1899 is completely accurate, but I certainly find it believable and very enjoyable and really well written so kudos to Ms Godbersen.

I've stated in my review of the first book that I'm aware of the fact that these books are no literary masterpiece, but they make for wonderful escapsim and they are such fun to read, despite their minor flaws. I can't help but adore this series and I still strongly recommend it to everyone!

overall rating: 5/5
plot: 5/5 | writing: 5/5 | characters: 4/5 | cover: 5/5

ps: You can also watch the trailer for this book below, although I can't really say I'm a big fan - it just doesn't do the books justice and they're so much better than portrayed in this clip. But feel free to see for yourself ...