Splendor audiobook

I picked up this series of books several months ago to fill my head with nonsense after Lariann died. Reading was a good distraction from the trauma of real life.I read a lot of books the months following, but these are the only ones I have decided I want in my personal collection. The Luxe, Rumors and Envy were a joy to read.These books follow the life path or 4 young women between 1899-1900 as young New York City Socialites: Elizabeth, Diana, Penelope, and Carolina and their trials and tribulations and the rise and fall of their stars. I fell in love with the characters and found myself rooting for them in their times of triumph and sad for them in their times of need. I was sad to discover, after reading Envy back in June that it was not in fact the last book and I had to wait until October to read Splendor. I pre-ordered the novel several months ago and have just been waiting and waiting for it to arrive. I received Splendor in the mail on Tuesday afternoon and finished this book at 12:38 am this morning. As a whole, it took me less the 7 hours total to get through. It has been a while since I have been so involved in a book that I haven't been able to put it down. I am horribly tired today and can hardly keep my eyes open, but I made the choice to stay up and now I'll pay for it. Was staying up that late to read worth it? Probably not, but I enjoyed myself.All of the Luxe books have been incredibly addicting and I found myself truly caring about Elizabeth, Diana, Henry, Teddy and the rest of the cast again. I found myself cheering out-loud at one point and nearly heart-breakingly sad at another. Most of the time I was reading this I had a cheesy grin upon my face because I was so immersed in the lives of the characters. I loved Loved LOVED the fact that not everyone got their happy endings. Books like that really get on my nerves sometimes, but this one wrapped up nicely. This book was a good ending to the series - everyone pretty much got what they deserved. Now I find myself wanting more. I want to learn about the lives that were changed by the choices and decisions that were made, I want to know more about Teddy and oddly enough, I want to know more about Aunt Edith. I want the back story to how Elizabeth's father knew. I want more of these characters. This is a book that would probably transition well into movie format, and I'm sure that they would be so much better then the Twilight movies, heck, you could probably cover all 4 books in a 2 hour movie. How about someone makes Luxe instead of wasting time turning The Host in to a movie.

A total guilty pleasure book series - 1900 Gossip Girl, basically. I liked it, but I was kind of bummed out with the ending. I can see where the author was trying to go, with the Edith Wharton comparisons, but it was sad that Henry, specifically, didn't get to be happy.

** spoiler alert ** *******Splendor (Luxe book 4) SPOILERS********I just finished reading Splendor and I have to say I loved it for the majority of the book & then I felt soooooo disappointed at the end. Did anyone else feel that way? I mean, what is the point of everything Diana & Henry went through to be together for them to not be together in the end? The ending just left me saying What???? I am a sucker for happy endings & the ending just does not sit well with me. I am happy that Teddy & Elizabeth lived happily ever after & I felt Penelope got her just desserts from the Prince of Bavaria. I actually felt a little bad for Lina when everything came out right before the wedding. She had actually started to grow on me even despite her previous sins, although I do think Leland deserved to know the truth. I thought maybe he would forgive her. I am glad that Claire was able to have a better life in the end. I just wish Henry & Diana had somehow managed to marry & then relocate to Paris together at some later date. Honestly, Henry had a lot of business he needed to wrap up. I am upset that Diana couldn't give him more time. Knowing that Henry & Penelope lived their lives together in a loveless marriage for the rest of their lives makes me ill. I wouldn't care about Penelope, but Henry really became a wonderful man through the course of the books & he deserved a better ending than that!!!!

While I am saddened that this addiciting and pleasurable series is now over, I was pleased by the ending of this book. My initial assumptions about Elizabeth's new husband, Snowden Cairns, the former business partner of her father's, proved correct, as he was certainly not the knight in shining armor he seemed to be in the last book; however, his shocking treatment of a with-child Elizabeth was not quite as expected, and I am glad that the former Miss Keller found happiness elsewhere, as it was much deserved. Her younger sister, Diana, proved to be the adventurous one, and it was uplifting to watch her rove the world to find her love, Henry, and to see that she has a maturity beyond her 17 years, as she truly knows herself and what will make her happy in the long-run. I also enjoyed the continued ruination of Penelope, as that pretentious woman desrves everything that happens to her. As for Carolina Broud, the former Holland maid pretending to be a high society girl, it seems that she too can survive anything, even if it is loss bigger than any she could imagine. Godbersen's painstaking attention to historical detail and the florid way she crafts sentences makes me look forward to other books in the future.

This was a great conclusion to a fantastic series. I am totally satisfied with the resolution of Elizabeth, Lina, Claire, Teddy, and Snowden's stories. The ending of Diana and Henry's stories, as well as Penelope's to some extent, left me so, so disappointed. It's been two days since I finished Splendor and I can't shake the sense of melancholy that settled on me after finishing it, all due to the bittersweet ending for Diana. It didn't make me not like the series, but I think I would have liked it even more had Diana's story ended differently. Fans of romance, historical fiction, and fans of YA in general will enjoy the Luxe series. I highly recommend it! Just One Gripe: Godbersen uses several of the same phrases multiple times in Splendor. "Bee-stung lips," "a hat of magical significance," calling Central Park "verdant," these are the main offenders that spring to mind. This is a small gripe, but it was obvious enough for me to notice.The Best Thing About This Book: The poetic justice that befalls the "bad guys." I love it!Appropriate for a younger audience: YesScore: Characters: 5/5Plot: 5/5Setting/Imagery: 5/5Originality: 5/5Ending: 3/5Total Score: 23/25; 4.5 stars

Splendor is the fourth and final book in The Luxe quartet where everything comes to a head as the characters fight and manipulate to get what they want. Will everyone have a happily ever after? “He believed that he wanted to be like the Schoonmakers, to own yachts and Fifth Avenue mansions and be written about in the papers, and he could not comprehend what Henry had only recently begun to understand, that all of that only meant that it was rather difficult to do what one actually wanted to do, or love the woman one was actually in love with.” So in this final instalment, Elizabeth, newly married to her father’s old friend, begins to discover some secrets about her father’s death that will affect her life. Diana has left Manhattan to try and find Henry and meets him where he is stationed where they are reunited. But they must decide what their future is going to look like together and how it is going to come together. Penelope has given up on her marriage to Henry and has her eyes set on a prince, and a different kind of title. Carolina is in love with Leland and it looks like there are wedding bells in her future, but a stranger from her past could threaten to ruin everything. “There had been a time when she would have hidden her shoulders—they were big and bony, and in the summer they were darkened by freckles the same way her nose was—but she had learned not a few things since inheriting the mighty fortune of her late benefactor, Mr. Carey Lewis Longhorn, and among them was that a girl, if she is clever, owns what she already has.” This instalment was jam-packed with yet more drama, which is the signature for this series. Drama, secrets, lying, betrayal, backstabbing and treachery! There was so much of that in more in this final book and I loved every single minute of it. This whole series was so delicious! They were light books, trashy as hell at times but I didn’t take them seriously. I wasn’t going into this series expecting to be wowed but I was really entertained and enjoyed the hell out of the ride it took me on! “For the great majority of Carolina’s life, she had felt a constant mute frustration that events would never go her way, but then, all of a sudden, her luck had changed, and now it seemed every charmed second was sure to unfold in her favor.” Let’s talk about the characters one by one and the endings they got. So, Elizabeth. She begins to discover secrets about her father’s death and learns that her new husband basically had something to do with both her father’s and Will’s deaths and sets out to reclaim her inheritance and her life back. With the help of Teddy (who finally returns from war!), she manages to best Snowden, kill him, which leads her to finally be with Teddy! After everything she has gone through, I’m really happy that Elizabeth got a happy ending, especially with Teddy! Teddy is literally such a sweetheart and he deserves the world and I’m really happy he finally got what he wanted as well. I can’t express how much of a wholesome and loveable character he is! “Perhaps it was the weather up high on the open ocean, or maybe the little tremors over what she had done, but Diana was experiencing a heightened sensitivity to everything at just that moment. She believed it to be born of a profound relief that this kind of marriage was not her own fate, in the way that colors appear especially bright to a person who has just cheated death.” Penelope! Oh she is literally one of my favourite characters in this series because there is no end to her backstabbing and treachery, especially when she has a goal in mind. But I think Penelope got was coming to her in the end, because she was played by the prince just like she played some of the characters in the book. And she’s left in the end with what she wanted, to be with Henry. The ending she got felt most fitting for her character. Let’s be honest. Penelope and Henry deserve each other and although it wasn’t the happiest of endings for her, it was the one that felt like it made the most sense. I couldn’t imagine it ending any different for her. “I’ve been walking for hours asking myself, if you had told me from the beginning that you were a maid, and not an heiress, would I have fallen in love with you in the same way?” Now he did finally bring his face up, so that the natural light of the high window could fully illuminate his features, so that his eyes were cast directly at her. “I think I would have, Carolina. I think I would have loved you anywhere.” Carolina! So, Carlolina and Leland finally confess their feelings for one another and plan to get married. However, Tristan shows up which complicates things and leads Carolina to finally confess to Leland the truth about her past. The wedding is called off and although Tristan says he still loves her, ultimately he is unable to forgive her for her lies and so their relationship ends. I felt really sad for Carolina because I really wanted things to work out for her and Leland because they were so cute together and I’m actually shocked that Leland wasn’t able to forgive her. I genuinely though that she was going to get a happy ending with him. But the ending Carolina got was also fitting, in that she found herself back with her sister, supporting one another, and I think that’s important as well. “The city of Diana’s birth grew miniature in the distance, like a diorama for schoolchildren. It was manageable that way; she could explain everything she had seen and done there. In time, she would: There would be intricate novels of drawing room betrayals and love that couldn’t be.” Diana and Henry! Oh, these two had their ups and downs in the whole series and I’m not going to lie, these two bored me halfway through the series because the back and forth just got tedious. When they were reunited so early on in the last book, I had a feeling something was going to happen to keep them apart, and I was right! But it wasn’t anything bad. Henry confesses everything to his father, who then dies, and Henry is left as the sole inheritor to everything. So he proposes to Diana who has had enough of living in Manhattan and cannot stomach it anymore and wants to leave for Paris. She tells Henry to stay in Manhattan and that will never forget him and then they part ways. It was bittersweet because after all that they had been through in the series, they didn’t end up together, but it also felt really realistic as well, and I feel like Diana developed really well as a character as she feels more mature in this final book. “Only from this place was she able to see how limited the city was, after everything, and how wide open the world could all of a sudden become.” Overall, Splendor was a really fun and satisfying conclusion to what was a very entertaining series. It had plenty of drama and secrets and I had so much fun being along for the ride!

** spoiler alert ** First I must say, that I believe Godbersen held true to her style...creating an unrelenting draw in the reader to devour the story as well as the unexpected twists and turns. She knows how to create a page-turner. However, I can't help but speculate how much that has to do with the fact that I grew to love these characters in the previous three books because Splendor, in and of itself, did nothing to create a lasting impression of these characters or the situations they found themselves in. I was left feeling some what disappointed after reading Splendor. It seemed that the 400 pages were just not enough to delve into ALL of the characters' stories (Elizabeth, Diana, Penelope, Henry, Teddy, Carolina). The story seemed hurried along and I felt like it barely skimmed the surface of any of these characters, especially with Elizabeth and Teddy (who was almost non-existent). I wish we would have gotten more of them specifically. I found it odd that she reverted back to that perfect society girl since it seemed clear how she had detested that life since it was what kept her and Will from being together. I also thought it was confusing that her father had put her and Will's name on the property deed together. Had I not already grown to love (or hate in Penelope's case) these characters in the previous books, Splendor would not have been the page-turner it was for me. I finished reading it and felt short-changed...I wanted more! More Details! More Elizabeth! More Teddy! More for Henry...a happy ending, one where he gets Diana! This series is not for the weak-hearted.

** spoiler alert ** Everything has to come to an end. In this conclusion of the The Luxe series, our favorite rich and spoiled socialites do drastic decisions that will define their lives forever.It starts very slowly until it reaches the first 120 pages. All the delicious backstabbing from Envy made me hungry for more, and surprisingly, Splendor defeated that hunger. In more ways than one. Elizabeth Holland's new husband isn't what he seems. How is he connected to her dad and Will Keller? (view spoiler)[I was suspicious of his involvement with Will Keller's death since the beginning--and I was right!--but the reasons on why he did it are very gasp-worthy. Besides, Teddy Cutting saves the day and Elizabeth and him live happily ever after. (hide spoiler)] and besides, why is he acting so nice of all sudden? Diana Holland made a plan to get Henry Schoonmaker back. (view spoiler)[Cut her hair to look like a man. (hide spoiler)] Unfortunately, the plan backfired and her and Henry were returned to New York. Even if their love for each other is very strong, is Diana willing to be his mate despite him being married to Penelope Hayes? (view spoiler)[Answer: No. She cut him like a bitch. A really reasonable bitch. (hide spoiler)] Henry is willing to get Diana with him. Will he succeed?(view spoiler)[N.O. (hide spoiler)] Also, Penelope is tired of Henry's mooning over Diana. When a prince arrives on New York, she feels that Henry doesn't "schoon" (bad pun) her anymore. Will she get her fairy tale ending? (view spoiler)[If a guy who is engaged is searching for you without no explanation, honey, it means he wants to fuck you. And nothing else. (hide spoiler)] Meanwhile, Carolina Broud might be in luck. She's in every newspaper and Leland wants to marry her. Unfortunately for her, Tristan, her ex-flame, isn't willing to just forgive and forget. How will he go? (view spoiler)[So far that her wedding with Leland got cancelled. Not to worry, because her scheming ways actually paid off. Her and Claire become the new social elites and the beginning of a new era. (hide spoiler)]I warned you. It contained a lot of spoilers. But, never mind that! This was a satisfactory ending to an historical guilty pleasure. Although the ending was really bittersweet, I was satisfy with the resolution. And besides, not everything has to have a happy ending. And that's the way I like it.BONUS!!(view spoiler)[Since Carolina Broud is going to be the future of the socialite world of New York, will this mean that a spin-off will be on the works? Not that it needs one, but I might read that in case that happens. (hide spoiler)]

** spoiler alert ** I thought the endings for each and every one of the major characters were absolutely perfect.The main issue for a lot of people unsatisfied with what happened is that Henry and Diana didn't end up together. People said since they fought so hard to be together, it was completely out of character for them to break up. I, however, think it was completely realistic. The fact is that BECAUSE Diana went after Henry half way across the world, she came to have the desire for the kind of freedom that New York couldn't give her, and that desire rightfully became what was most important to her. Same with Henry- during his time away "at war" and then with his father's death, he gained a sense of responsibility that also became more important to him than Diana. Not to mention, the couple was always very spontaneous. The manner in which they left each other, with Diana just suddenly deciding to board the ship by herself, couldn't have been more in character. Anyway the truth is that in real life, these types of endings exist. I for one would have been extremely disappointed if the author just gave everyone an unrealistic, typical happy ending.