A review by shrrawat
Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen
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.