Publishers Weekly
11/26/2018
Set on the cusp of the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, this historical melodrama by Godbersen (the Luxe series) is chock full of gossip, glitz, and a searing Upstairs, Downstairs dynamic between the serving class and the wealthy. Newly rich and social-climbing Emmeline has landed Chicago’s most eligible bachelor—to the dismay and jealousy of the other young women around her, and despite the fact that Emmeline is still in love with her childhood sweetheart, a boxer named Anders. Meanwhile, her best friend turned ladies’ maid, Fiona, also secretly pines for Anders, and the two have since struck up a relationship following Emmeline’s engagement. With the wedding just days away, Emmeline schemes to run away with Anders, breaking Fiona’s heart, even as Godberson’s early promise to tell the “real” story of the Great Chicago Fire adds the momentum of coming doom for everyone involved. The author’s talent for creating flawed, maddeningly selfish high-society personalities is on full display in Emmeline, as is her knack for drawing sympathy for social underdogs such as Fiona, the real heroine of this love-triangle novel. Readers will root for Fiona and hope that she prevails with Anders, despite the possibility that their futures might just burn to the ground. Ages 14–up. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
Praise for The Luxe series: “A big, sumptuous tale of catty girls, dark secrets and windswept romance unfurls in this compulsively readable novel of late–19th century New York City socialites…Readers will clamor for this sharp, smart drama of friends, lovers, lies and betrayal.” — Kirkus Reviews
Praise for The Luxe series: “Mystery, romance, jealousy, betrayal, humor, and gorgeous, historically accurate details. I couldn’t put The Luxe down!” — Cecily von Ziegesar, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Gossip Girl series
Praise for The Luxe series: “Skillfully plotted and full of decadent detail. Godbersen captures the drawing–room sensibilities and society flair of Wharton, Thackeray, and James without burdening readers with their posh literariness or social critique.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“The action-packed ending leads to an apogee that will appeal to lovers of soap operas. Danielle Steele for the younger set.” — Kirkus Reviews
“A steamy romance set amid the tragic Chicago fire of 1871 that will intrigue fans of dramatic, swoony historical fiction.” — School Library Journal
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Praise for The Luxe series: “Skillfully plotted and full of decadent detail. Godbersen captures the drawing–room sensibilities and society flair of Wharton, Thackeray, and James without burdening readers with their posh literariness or social critique.
Cecily von Ziegesar
Praise for The Luxe series: “Mystery, romance, jealousy, betrayal, humor, and gorgeous, historically accurate details. I couldn’t put The Luxe down!
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Praise for The Luxe series: “Skillfully plotted and full of decadent detail. Godbersen captures the drawing–room sensibilities and society flair of Wharton, Thackeray, and James without burdening readers with their posh literariness or social critique.
Kirkus Reviews
2018-06-24
The days leading up to and including Chicago's Great Fire of 1871 are the backdrop for an eternally twisting love triangle.A brief, intriguing introductory note from the three protagonists implicates the triangulated friends in the cause of the fire. (As the excellent afterword mentions, Mrs. O'Leary's cow has long been cleared of culpability.) Unfortunately, there are many pages of relationship angst preceding the fire itself. Readers who enjoy romance novels may relish those pages, which veer between the third-person-intimate viewpoints of Emmeline and Fiona, the only nonstock characters. When they were younger, Emmeline, Fiona, and blue-eyed Anders were playmates in a grittier part of Chicago, where Fiona's stereotypically poor-but-honest-and-loving-family-with-a-now-disabled-father still lives. Fiona now lives with Emmeline, supporting her own family by working as Emmeline's lady's maid. Emmeline's father—having worked his way up in the world—is ecstatic that his 18-year-old daughter is about to marry Frederick Arles Tree, son of a banker. Anders—who has kissed each of the girls once—has meanwhile become a boxer. Will the vacillating Emmeline marry Freddy? Will Fiona reveal her secret yearning for Anders, who once pledged his troth to Emmeline? There is one tasteful, steamy sex scene and a plethora of descriptions of clothing and furniture. The action-packed ending leads to an apogee that will appeal to lovers of soap operas. Everyone is presumed white. Danielle Steele for the younger set. (historical note) (Historical fiction.13-17)
