Rumors by Anna Godbersen Review

WARNING: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BELOW

“The value of secrets is ever fluctuating although ladies who have been in society for a long time learn that a secret kept can be worth more than a secret told.”- Rumors, Anna Godbersen

After bidding good-bye to New York's brightest star, Elizabeth Holland, rumors continue to fly about her untimely demise.

All eyes are on those closest to the dearly departed: her mischievous sister, Diana, now the family's only hope for redemption; New York's most notorious cad, Henry Schoonmaker, the flame Elizabeth never extinguished; the seductive Penelope Hayes, poised to claim all that her best friend left behind including Henry; even Elizabeth's scheming former maid, Lina Broud, who discovers that while money matters and breeding counts, gossip is the new currency.

As old friends become rivals, Manhattan's most dazzling socialites find their futures threatened by whispers from the past. In this delicious sequel to The Luxe, nothing is more dangerous than a scandal . . . or more precious than a secret.

This is the second book of The Luxe series, a series I never intended to be more than a guilty pleasure series, much in the same way The A Circuit was, though hopefully of higher quality. Regardless, I was unimpressed with the first book, The Luxe. I read it back in December and gave it a 6/10, because I admired Godbersen's ability to sufficiently imitate the writing style of the Turn of the Century, but didn't like any of the characters or really get sucked into the plot. I felt nothing for neither Will and Elizabeth nor Henry and Diana (in truth though, I had a hard time actually liking any of the characters), and it took me a surprisingly long time to get through. Because of that, I admit to putting off reading this book, and while I was thrilled to get to the second book in the Bright Young Things series (which I'm loving so far- sad that there's only one more book left), I wasn't too keen to pick this one up. But I'm glad I didn't completely write this series off, because this book is different than The Luxe. Perhaps simply because I read it at a different time, or maybe it's because I felt that we were finally getting to the actual story. The first book felt very much like a set-up for the rest of the series, but it was much easier for me to get into this book.

While I still care little for both Will and Elizabeth, and I confess to skim reading many of their parts, I did enjoy Lina's and Penelope's and even Diana's storylines. The drama and social intrigue worked better in this book than it did in The Luxe, and I liked the additions of characters such as the Gamesome Gallant. I think my two favorite points of view were Lina's, because I enjoyed watching her climb to the top(and will probably enjoy her inevitable tumble down even more), and Penelope's, because I do love reading from the point of view of scheming bitches. Diana's point of view did work better for me in this book, probably because she (mostly) lost that inane "oh, being poor is so romantic" mindset. Elizabeth was still bland as a blank piece of paper in this book, but again, skim reading. And I could skim read without guilt while reading her parts, because nothing important happened at all. Honestly though, both of the Holland sisters are so selfish. I feel bad for Louisa, because neither of them actually care that their finances have fallen apart and that they could help her, but they don't.

I can't say I was as crushed by the ending as a lot of people are, since again I really didn't like either of the pairings, so that didn't impact my enjoyment of the book. In fact, I admire Godbersen for what she did. Something like that took guts most authors (Anne Blankman) don't have, especially when it comes to romantic pairings. I'm still not as in love with this series as I am with Bright Young Things, and these books are no works of literary art, but when it comes to fluff books I happen to like lengthy descriptions of beautiful and especially historical clothing, Gossip Girl-esque storylines, and everything that has to do with the Gilded Age and the many rules of etiquette and society during that time. Even if there are some historical inaccuracies... But that's for another post.

7-7.5 out of 10