Mini Review: The Luxe, by Anna Godbersen

Title: The Luxe
Author: Anna Godbersen
Publisher: Penguin (UK)/Harper Collins (US)
Release date: 2008
Genre: YA historical
Source: BookMooch

Description (from back cover): Imagine, if you will, New York City, 1899... 
Society's elite: the glamour, the grandeur, the glittering parties, the most handsome beaux, the most beautiful debutantes... the rich girl, the humble boy, the forbidden love, the stolen glances, the whispers, the scandal, the mystery, the revenge. 
You are cordially invited to step into The Luxe, where the secrets are dark and the sins are delicious... 

My thoughts: A sort of turn of the century Gossip Girl, 'The Luxe' introduces us to a cast of young men and women coming of age in 1899 Manhattan. Beginning with a newspaper obituary and then the start of a funeral for one miss Diana, readers get a quick who's who of the young elite. It was a bit of an info-dump, but it made it very easy to flick back and forth later and find out more about characters from their names. The story then jumps back a few weeks, to where Diana is alive. I enjoyed reading about the pretty dresses and fancy parties - I'm still a girly-girl at heart ;-) Of course behind the parties there are other problems and a lot of rivalries. The story gets to that part quickly, and I was keen to find out what happened to cause the funeral just a few weeks later.
There were a few pages where I skipped forward because it was clear what was happening and I wanted to get to the good bits. I thought it was a good story overall, and I would like to read the sequel when I can get hold of it.
 6/10

~Ailsa