From http://www.goodreads.com/: Jealous whispers. Old rivalries. New betrayals. Two months after Elizabeth Holland's dramatic homecoming, Manhattan eagerly awaits her return to the pinnacle of society. When Elizabeth refuses to rejoin her sister Diana's side, however, those watching New York's favorite family begin to suspect that all is not as it seems behind the stately doors of No. 17 Gramercy Park South. Farther uptown, Henry and Penelope Schoonmaker are the city's most celebrated couple. But despite the glittering diamond ring on Penelope's finger, the newlyweds share little more than scorn for each other. And while the newspapers call Penelope's social-climbing best friend, Carolina Broad, an heiress, her fortune—and her fame—are anything but secure, especially now that one of society's darlings is slipping tales to the eager press. In this next thrilling installment of Anna Godbersen's bestselling Luxe series, Manhattan's most envied residents appear to have everything they desire: Wealth. Beauty. Happiness. But sometimes the most practiced smiles hide the most scandalous secrets. . . .
My Review: The change of scenery did wonders for the cast of characters, and their drama! The vacation to Florida, while vicious in its intentions, had a wonderful impact on most of the characters, even if those impacts seemed negative. The life changes that were discovered or occurred during the vacation, set the stage for more than a few drastic measures. Elizabeth learns to breathe again, just to find herself the potential liability all over again. In the end, she seems to grasp the concept of balance in her life, between her wants and needs and those of her family. Diana’s heart is sent through a rollercoaster over and over and she isn’t sure she will be able to hang on. When she is about to let go, she does something crazy enough that only Diana could do. Penelope is as rotten as she always is, but for a few moments shows that she might actually have feelings buried somewhere in that cold black heart of hers. Even with Penelope’s antics in this book, Carolina Broad is so close to taking the “mean girl” title from her. She has such contempt for those she used to work under for treating her as a servant but she doesn’t fully realize that she is now the person she started out hating. Yet, she just brushes that thought off with the haughty notion that she was never meant to be a servant and thus from the beginning she should have been treated as the high-class lady she pretends to be.
This has probably been the most enjoyable book in the series for me so far. The characters have already been well explained, actions documented and their true definitions deduced so that the plot could really develop and deepen.
Finished: March 21, 2010. 2010 Count: 21!
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