I very much look forward to her downfall. Her motives and thoughts were much more juicy and gripping than any other character, as she plots to marry Henry Schoonmaker, Elizabeth's jilted fiancée, and fights to the top of the social ladder. It should be an enormous decision, to desert your family and, granted, a loveless courtship to chase after a man the reader has had no introduction to.

She fails to describe any of the harsh realities of moving and living in the West, making Elizabeth's choice to fake her death and move out West on her own seem easy. The character seems content to spend her days in California opening jam jars and learning to cook. Godbersen writes Elizabeth as a saint, with no selfish desires or struggles within her. I would normally empathise with such a decision, but it was hard to care for the character's anguish when neither had much of a personality. Everyone seems to have their own agenda and secrets, yet one of the massive flaws with these books is that it is hard to sympathise with these schemes.Įlizabeth and Will seem only to want a quiet life in the West, but the former remains worried about her family and insists on visiting her ill mother. Each character has travelled a little further since the first book, and their decisions intertwine as the book progresses. Characters - scheming Penelope, passionate Diana, desperate Lina, brooding Henry, honest Will and ex-socialite Elizabeth - are all somehow caught up in this judgemental and glamorous world.Ĭarrying on from The Luxe, Rumours continues its glossy narrative and dramatic storylines. In Rumours, this period is one of scandals and secrets, fashion and feuds, all played out behind the stiff mask of the rich Upper Class.

Shallow characters are balanced by interesting plot lines and good settings. Summary: Continuing on from The Luxe, Rumours charts the scandals of six New York socialites and servants in 1899.

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen