Bright Young Things
Ratings11
Average rating3.5
The year is 1929. New York is ruled by the Bright Young Things: flappers and socialites seeking thrills and chasing dreams in the anything-goes era of the Roaring Twenties. Letty Larkspur and Cordelia Grey escaped their small Midwestern town for New York's glittering metropolis. All Letty wants is to see her name in lights, but she quickly discovers Manhattan is filled with pretty girls who will do anything to be a star. . . . Cordelia is searching for the father she's never known, a man as infamous for his wild parties as he is for his shadowy schemes. Overnight, she enters a world more thrilling and glamorous than she ever could have imagined—and more dangerous. It's a life anyone would kill for . . . and someone will. The only person Cordelia can trust is Astrid Donal, a flapper who seems to have it all: money, looks, and the love of Cordelia's brother, Charlie. But Astrid's perfect veneer hides a score of family secrets. Across the vast lawns of Long Island, in the illicit speakeasies of Manhattan, and on the blindingly lit stages of Broadway, the three girls' fortunes will rise and fall—together and apart. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Luxe comes an epic new series set in the dizzying last summer of the Jazz Age.
Series
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1 primary book2 released books#1 in Bright Young Things
Bright Young Things is a 2-book series with 1 released primary works first released in 2010 with contributions by Staci Hart, Anna Godbersen, and Emmanuelle de Maupassant.
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So, this book was really good but not great (hence the 4/5 rating.)I've been dying to read this book for ages and I'm so happy I finally did. I really enjoyed the first two books in [a:Anna Godbersen 548551 Anna Godbersen http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1208628164p2/548551.jpg]series [b:The Luxe 13620250 The Luxe Anna Godbersen http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1355132100s/13620250.jpg 1243729]but I think I actually enjoyed this book more!
I've been sitting here for about 30 minutes with this window open, trying to figure out how exactly to go about reviewing this book. Bright Young Things is one of those stories that took me a while to be invested in, but once I was it was with fervor! I'm just stumbling a bit on how to describe precisely what about it didn't sit right with me. This will likely be a rambling review, so if you are afraid, don't read on. If you are brave, well away we go!
First of all, I loved the character development that Anna Godbersen put into place in Bright Young Things. Each and every character that is brought into the story is fleshed out beautifully, and as a reader you really get to see deeply into their lives. My favorite character was definitely Astrid. Her carefree attitude and her ability to talk her ability to use her silver tongue to talk her way out of situations was fabulous! Honestly, it was her character that I believed in the most, and understood the most.
The other part of this book that I really loved was the setting. The “Roaring 20's” has fascinated me since I was younger. I love how this was such a time of change, such a time of progress for women. Sure, a lot of it was still seen as scandalous by the older generation, but these women were brave and bold. They did, said, and wore what they wanted despite the consequences. It's amazing! Anna Godbersen manages to bring this time period to life with beautiful clarity, and show it to the reader in different ways through they eyes of her various characters. It was a delight!
However my love for this book was hampered by some of the decisions made by the characters in the storyline. Perhaps if I had grown up during this time period I would understand, but it seemed to me that there was so much selfishness within Cordelia. Her character especially drove me crazy. Some of the scenes just felt forced and slowed the plot down for me. That being said, the overall progress of the story was very slow for me until I neared the end of the book. Yes, I understand a lot of it was used to build characters. Still, it was tough for me to get immersed fully in the story. It wasn't until the end that I was caught up, and reading fervently to find out what happened. The ending was fantastic, and I'm looking forward to seeing where this series goes next.
As you can see from my rambling review, I have mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed it overall, but it wasn't one of my favorites of the year. I do believe though that if you have an affinity for historical fiction and a love of Contemporary fiction combined, you'll fall in love with this book. It's already been affirmed for me by some other readers I've talked to. My point is that this book may not have been my cup of tea, but that doesn't mean you won't love it! Definitely give it a read.
