| The Luxe | 
 enlarge | Author: Anna Godbersen
Publisher: HarperCollins
Category: Book
List Price: $9.99
Buy New: $5.52
You Save: $4.47 (45%)
New (41) Used (11) from $4.34
Avg. Customer Rating:  53 reviews
Sales Rank: 111262
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 464
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.3 x 1.3
ISBN: 0061345687
EAN: 9780061345685
ASIN: 0061345687
Publication Date: October 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New book, never read. Very minor (if any) shelfwear. Ships promptly. From smoke free home.
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Product Description
Pretty girls in pretty dresses, partying until dawn.
Irresistible boys with mischievous smiles and dangerous intentions.
White lies, dark secrets, and scandalous hookups.
This is Manhattan, 1899. Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattan's social scene. Or so it appears. When the girls discover their status among New York City's elite is far from secure, suddenly everyone—from the backstabbing socialite Penelope Hayes, to the debonair bachelor Henry Schoonmaker, to the spiteful maid Lina Broud—threatens Elizabeth's and Diana's golden future. With the fate of the Hollands resting on her shoulders, Elizabeth must choose between family duty and true love. But when her carriage overturns near the East River, the girl whose glittering life lit up the city's gossip pages is swallowed by the rough current. As all of New York grieves, some begin to wonder whether life at the top proved too much for this ethereal beauty, or if, perhaps, someone wanted to see Manhattan's most celebrated daughter disappear... In a world of luxury and deception, where appearance matters above everything and breaking the social code means running the risk of being ostracized forever, five teenagers lead dangerously scandalous lives. This thrilling trip to the age of innocence is anything but innocent.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 48 more reviews...
 One Luxury You Can Do Without November 28, 2008
Teen girls wearing the latest fashions, parties lasting until dawn, secret trysts, love affairs that defy the social rules and Manhattan as a backdrop. It sounds like the latest installment from the Gossip Girl series (also published by Harper Collins and Alloy Entertainment), but this is the year 1899 and this is the new series called The Luxe. The story starts out interesting enough- with the funeral of society's queen bee, Elizabeth Holland. Her carriage turned over and her body disappeared into the East River. Was it an accident or on purpose? Dishing out equal parts Gossip Girl, Edith Wharton and Upstairs/Downstairs, the teens' behaviour is a bit too 21st century for the 19th century world they inhabit. Teen girls may become more interested in the fashions, social class conflicts, the roles of females and customs of that era. A history or English literature teacher may have the readers read novels from that era to get a better grasp of that era's social mores and class conflicts. As a reader of Harper's other series, Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, Private, The A-List and Private, this one is better than all of the other series with the exception of Pretty Little Liars which makes this novel slightly better that mediocre as far as characters, but at least I'm not reading plugs for the latest luxe phone, designer label or luxury car. Gossip Girl fans will most likely embrace this series, especially the blurbs from the novel's gossip rag that precede the beginning of several chapters. The novel does contain historical details about 19th century Manhattan, but it won't be appreciated by readers who don't pay attention in history class. At least the site for the book gives some insight on some of those historical references, although it would have been more beneficial to include them in the novel, along with photographs and maps from that era.
 A Little Luxe with Your Tea and Crumpets? November 24, 2008
The Luxe is a must read for anyone who has read Gossip Girl, It Girl, or any other scandals-in-society books. Taking place at the turn of the [last] century in New York, readers follow the young Diana Holland and her older sister, Elizabeth, through the year 1899. Diana, the slightly rebellious 16-year-old yearns for Henry Schoonmaker--the Don Juan of NYC. Elizabeth, the prim-and-proper society girl yearns for their stable boy while planning a wedding to Henry. There is, of course, a backstabbing best friend (because every book needs one)a few disloyal servants, some reckless carriages, and one secretly very, very poor family.
Spectacular. October 29, 2008
Since this is a personal review and not a description of the book, I will limit the amount of description as much as possible.
The moment I saw this book at the Border's Store, I knew I had to have it. Especially after reading the brief description of it on the inside flap. I was certain that this book would be amazing, and I was not let down in the least.
From the start of this book, I was caught up in late 19th, early 20th century society in New York with gossip and scandalous love affairs galore. Most of the characters are intriguing in this story, although Elizabeth, the character that seems to be the main center of attention, did not intrigue me as much as the others. Even when her surprising secrets were revealed, I still remained somewhat disenchanted. But thankfully, the story focuses on other characters as well, like her sister Diana, the maid, and the delicious Henry Schoonmaker.
I think that this book is quite well-written, and the plot grabbed me from the start and did not let go. I still need to read the sequel!
I recommend this book to most people, although probably more girls, especially if you're a fan of historical fiction.
Also, if you've read this, take a look at the book A Great and Terrible Beauty! Which is just as amazing (if not more)!
The Luxe October 17, 2008
i loved reading this book! i was addicted to finding out what happened at the end, it was so good! every chapter i thought was important to the book even though in the begining of some, it went slow but somthing always happend and i love this book!
Wonderful read!! History, romance & mystery galore October 6, 2008
I love this book! Those were my first 4 words that I thought after finishing this novel. It centers around Elizabeth Holland's world from her true love (someone her family would not approve of) to her betrothed (someone she doesn't care for but will marry as a duty to her family), her little fiery sister Diana who realizes that she doesn't have to go very far to quench her thirst for adventure, Elizabeth's lady's maid Lina who despises Elizabeth, and lastly Penelope Hayes, Elizabeth's bff with an ulterior motive of her own. Nothing is what it seems that fall in New York and the mystery deepens as the tone is set from page one at Elizabeth's funeral and then hops to a couple weeks earlier and the twisting and turning of events that led to Elizabeth's untimely demise.
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