Envy by Anna Godbersen

Title: Envy (Luxe #3)

Author: Anna Godbersen

Publisher: HarperCollins

Release Date: 1/1/9

Pages: 405

Reviewed by: Pat

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 Thoughts

I've only started reading the Luxe series this year and I am in love with this series. I've only read Luxe, Rumours, and Envy. And Envy has to be my favorite from the three. It took me a couple of chapters to get into it but I started wanting to read more after that. I also love the change of setting. From the city of Manhattan to the beaches. It felt good to have a change of scenery in the book and I wanted to see how they interacted with each other in a different environment.

One of the things I loved when reading this was how all the characters were brought together. I liked seeing how they acted and behaved around one another. I loved how Anna Godbersen played it all out and I was pretty excited to see what was going on. My favorite characters in the series have to be the Holland sisters, Elizabeth and Diana. I was glad to see some sisterly love in this book because I felt that they didn't get to interact with each other much in the first and second book. Though I didn't like her in Luxe and Rumors, I seem to have grown a soft spot for Carolina Broad. I thought I wasn't going to like her in this book but then I grew to love her. I also found myself going against Penelope Hayes. I liked her in the first two books but reading this made me kind of think 'Don't do that Penelope. Don't ruin this', but all her schemes add a bit more drama to it. I also found myself scolding Henry Schoonmaker in my head. I would always think 'Don't just stand there, so something!' or 'Watching the things happening to Diana won't get you anywhere. Or the girl'.

The last two chapters of the book somehow made me want to cry (Good thing I didn't or my sister would've noticed). I was thinking about what was happening in the final two chapters and I suddenly felt like bursting into tears. This doesn't usually happen to me when reading books but I'm glad I showed a bit of emotion reading this. I think this was the best book from what I've read so far of the Luxe series. It was beautifully written and Anna Godbersen's creativity has wowed me once again. Even though it took me some time to get into it, I'm glad I enjoyed it. I can't wait to read the fourth and final book, Splendor.