elliemcc11's review against another edition
3.0
This is a Young Adult novel, the first in a series I believe. I read it as a standalone novel and it seemed to work fine as that.
I got it as a freebie on Kindle and was attracted to the historical time period (1920s) and the fact the story was mainly set in New York. I am also a big fan of the TV show Boardwalk Empire and mention in the story blurb of Prohibition and drink smuggling, which the show also covers, made me see some similarities and made me even more interested.
The characters were interesting and quite sassy, and generally believable and overall I thought it was an interesting, not too complicated read, covering an interesting time in history.
I got it as a freebie on Kindle and was attracted to the historical time period (1920s) and the fact the story was mainly set in New York. I am also a big fan of the TV show Boardwalk Empire and mention in the story blurb of Prohibition and drink smuggling, which the show also covers, made me see some similarities and made me even more interested.
The characters were interesting and quite sassy, and generally believable and overall I thought it was an interesting, not too complicated read, covering an interesting time in history.
bak8382's review against another edition
3.0
When Letty and Cordelia left Ohio for New York City, they had high hopes for their new lives. Letty wanted to be a singer and dancer, and Cordelia was looking for the father she never knew. Along the way Cordelia meets Astrid, who like them is drifting towards something bigger. Although the city isn't everything they thought it would be they all move one step closer to their destinies by the end of the story.
The prologue sets the stage for this story: "one would be famous, one would be married, and one would be dead" (3). It's fairly obvious, early on, who's going to fulfill each destiny, but it's still fun to go along for the ride.
The prologue sets the stage for this story: "one would be famous, one would be married, and one would be dead" (3). It's fairly obvious, early on, who's going to fulfill each destiny, but it's still fun to go along for the ride.
katyrc's review against another edition
2.0
Listen, I picked this up because I wanted some 1920s historical fiction after reading Lair of Dreams. I had no idea what I was getting into and to be honest right now I'm still not sure what this was. It read like a soap opera, which I expected, but it didn't have any charm: the characters were whiny and I couldn't strongly differentiate their voices, the setting wasn't special (it felt like you could have changed New York to any other city and most descriptions would have still made sense, mainly because there wasn't much of that - not to mention the glaring lack of realism in diversity of the characters, especially for 1920s NY). The drama was interesting, but in a comedic way I don't think was deliberate. I found myself confused a lot, trying to figure out how we'd just gotten from point A to point B so illogically - the last quarter of the book went at such a speed and got so dramatic but I couldn't figure out why the hell anyone was doing what they were doing. But, if I'm honest, it was a quick read and a break from whatever the hell is going on with the world, so I might consider picking up book two (with waaay lower expectations) for a bit of fun.
trinitybaumann's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
mandasachs's review against another edition
3.0
It was ok. I don't feel the need to read the other books.
kricketa's review against another edition
4.0
bright young things begins another delicious historical fiction series from anna godbersen, this one taking place in 1929. completely enticing.
imawriter23's review against another edition
4.0
It's always pleasurable to read Godbersen's books. She has that unique style of writing and story-telling that makes every character, every scenery, every setting and every moment jump out of life. I just love the way she describes people, places and things. It's very imaginative and incredibly vivid. I read The Luxe before but I liked this story better. I guess I was smitten by the "Romeo & Juliet-ish" twist to the plot as well as the predictability of some characters. This is the type of story wherein you couldn't really relate to any of the main characters but you still feel empathy towards them. You can almost feel their emotions surging through as if they were yours. I personally liked the story of friendship between Cordelia and Letty - how these two country bumpkins stepped out of their comfort zone and bravely took on the challenge of living in the big city. They both experienced happiness, success, fame, love and failure but in the end, they still ended up together as they share their agony and heartaches.
Astrid is one delightful character for me. She surprises me the most. Although the last part of the book was sort of "I saw that coming", I think she still has some sort of facade that she's concealing pretty well. Charlie is a bastard but I like him out of all the boys too (although Thom Hale & Luke were the ones who induced girlish squeaks of excitement from me ^^). I just like Charlie's dignity and how protective he is of his family. He may be a player but I think he really loves Astrid. I was a bit annoyed at Letty during about 60% of the book. I just don't like her irritatingly innocent & naive personality. She makes me wanna roll my eyes several times. But I guess she learned her lesson at the end.
The death at the end was quite unexpected although I've been apprehensive of the events that followed afterwards. I kinda saw it coming too. Like deja vu. It didn't ruin my excitement upon reading it though. It was a compelling and fun read. I like the fact that on the surface it seemed to be the success and sob stories of the three girls when i kinda see it as the story of rival families and the desire to grab the upper tier of the society mingled with complicated love affairs, nasty secrets, friendship, broken dreams and promises, and family relationships. It was like a complete set of meal and I couldn't ask for more. ^^
Astrid is one delightful character for me. She surprises me the most. Although the last part of the book was sort of "I saw that coming", I think she still has some sort of facade that she's concealing pretty well. Charlie is a bastard but I like him out of all the boys too (although Thom Hale & Luke were the ones who induced girlish squeaks of excitement from me ^^). I just like Charlie's dignity and how protective he is of his family. He may be a player but I think he really loves Astrid. I was a bit annoyed at Letty during about 60% of the book. I just don't like her irritatingly innocent & naive personality. She makes me wanna roll my eyes several times. But I guess she learned her lesson at the end.
The death at the end was quite unexpected although I've been apprehensive of the events that followed afterwards. I kinda saw it coming too. Like deja vu. It didn't ruin my excitement upon reading it though. It was a compelling and fun read. I like the fact that on the surface it seemed to be the success and sob stories of the three girls when i kinda see it as the story of rival families and the desire to grab the upper tier of the society mingled with complicated love affairs, nasty secrets, friendship, broken dreams and promises, and family relationships. It was like a complete set of meal and I couldn't ask for more. ^^
bibliophile24's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic book! I'm so excited to see there is a second book, because the characters are still with me. I've been wondering all morning what might have happened to them next. I'll be reading more by Anna Godbersen!
shrrawat's review against another edition
3.0
I'll start this review off by saying that I have not read the Luxe series, nor have I ever heard of it before reading this book. Therefore, there will be no comparing or contrasting between the two, nor will there be critiquing on the author's usual style, as I am not fully acquainted with it yet.
That being said, I will say that I enjoyed this book. I have long been fascinated with the Roaring Twenties, seeing as it was a time of wealth that was broken by The Great Depression. When I saw "Bright Young Things", I was intrigued as to how Godberson would portray this time of glamour and mystery.
The beginning was marvelous. Godberson, I felt, accurately captured the big city dreams in small town hearts in her characters of Cordelia and Letty. While I did have an issue over Cordelia leaving her husband with no notice, it really was a small annoyance in the big scheme of things, because it at least led to dramatic character development.
The middle was where it began to drag. There was an awful lot of melodrama, too much to bear. I couldn't help but feel that what the characters thought was love was actually mere infatuation, seeing how they were able to forget them the next moment in favor of the material world. It got so bad that I actually contemplated setting this book down once and for all. Only the historical aspects of this book kept me going.
And I'm glad it did, because the ending was well worth waiting for. Here at last, I see the drama that Godberson is so famous for, and I can appreciate the characters more as they finally become disillusioned about the city and it's people. Only one minor thing irritated me, but again it is so small it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.
Overall, "Bright Young Things" is a great historical read. Although there are a few parts hard to swallow, it is worth following through to the end. However, whether this is true throughout the series is a question that I am not yet sure I want to know the answer to.
That being said, I will say that I enjoyed this book. I have long been fascinated with the Roaring Twenties, seeing as it was a time of wealth that was broken by The Great Depression. When I saw "Bright Young Things", I was intrigued as to how Godberson would portray this time of glamour and mystery.
The beginning was marvelous. Godberson, I felt, accurately captured the big city dreams in small town hearts in her characters of Cordelia and Letty. While I did have an issue over Cordelia leaving her husband with no notice, it really was a small annoyance in the big scheme of things, because it at least led to dramatic character development.
The middle was where it began to drag. There was an awful lot of melodrama, too much to bear. I couldn't help but feel that what the characters thought was love was actually mere infatuation, seeing how they were able to forget them the next moment in favor of the material world. It got so bad that I actually contemplated setting this book down once and for all. Only the historical aspects of this book kept me going.
And I'm glad it did, because the ending was well worth waiting for. Here at last, I see the drama that Godberson is so famous for, and I can appreciate the characters more as they finally become disillusioned about the city and it's people. Only one minor thing irritated me, but again it is so small it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.
Overall, "Bright Young Things" is a great historical read. Although there are a few parts hard to swallow, it is worth following through to the end. However, whether this is true throughout the series is a question that I am not yet sure I want to know the answer to.