K. Nichole

The Luxe, by Anna Godbersen; Young Adult, 433 pages

I was initially drawn to ‘The Luxe’ by its unusual and striking cover art. Unfortunately, there is nothing inside the book that I haven’t seen before. ‘The Luxe’ gave me exactly what I’d expect from books in this genre. If you’re a fan of these types of books (and oh boy there are a lot of them), you will not be disappointed by it. Just don’t expect anything more than Gossip Girl with ball gowns. In fact, almost every character has their Gossip Girl equivalent (and with the blessing of Gossip Girl creator/”writer” Cecily von Ziegesar on the back cover, I’m hardly surprised). There’s the spiteful brunette Blair-knockoff Phoebe—though here Phoebe has sharper claws, and absolutely no redeeming qualities. There’s blond goddess Elizabeth, living a seemingly perfect life, but who has a somewhat scandalous side that is in such contrast to her public personality, it makes you wonder sometimes if, and especially how, they’re really the same person.

As for the ending: you’ll probably see it coming from the less-than-subtle opening chapter, which tries to create intrigue by beginning with the end, Elizabeth’s funeral, but fails rather miserably. The only intrigue created is who is going to pair up with who, but after everyone gets paired up, the last 100 pages of the book become a chore to get through (I found myself skimming).

Bottom Line: Every time I pick up one of these books, I hope for it to be a little something more than just a run-of-the-mill romance series / Gossip Girl knock-off. Something a little smarter. Unfortunately I did not find that in The Luxe. It is however, a fun summer read if you’re a fan of the Gossip Girl-style series.

Rating:2.5 / 5

Although its nothing new, The Luxe is still an enjoyable summer read.
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If you’ve read this book, I’m curious to know what you think: Did you find the book as predictable as I did?