Envy is the third instalment in The Luxe series. It picks up right where Rumors left off, with enough scandal to drive even the calmest of readers’ crazy.

Mr Henry Schoonmaker – one of New York’s most eligible bachelors, and the love of Diana Holland’s life – has a new wife, and he’s not one bit happy about it, either. How could he be, when the love of his life is not the woman to whom he is now legally bound? Henry can’t even bring himself to look at Penelope with affection so how is he going to fulfil his physical requirements as a husband? As Henry drinks himself stupid night after night, hoping that the alcohol will numb his senses and dull the pain, Penelope’s scheming ways continue evermore.

Diana Holland – the real love of Henry’s life, and the reason he married Penelope in the first place – is hurting. Although Henry told her that he married Penelope to protect her, that Penelope had threatened to tarnish Diana’s wholesome reputation by telling all of New York that Henry had taken her virginity out of wedlock, seeing him with Penelope all the time is a painful matter indeed. Now that he is no longer in the market for a wife, Diana is doing everything she can to put her feelings for Henry behind her, but love is relentless and he haunts her everywhere she goes. Will she be able to stay away from him, especially when he is asking her not to?

The new Penelope Schoonmaker is watching Henry and Diana with hawke-like eyes. She is no fool and she can see the way the pair of them still look at each other. It makes her sick to the stomach to think of her husband’s eyes searching for someone else in the crowd, but honestly, what did she expect? She bribed him into marrying her in the first place. Penelope knows all too well that the only way she will keep her man is by bribing and manipulating him further. But will Henry put up with it for much longer? If the love of your life was slipping through your fingers, what would you do to be with them?

Elizabeth Holland finds herself in quite the predicament indeed. Mourning the loss of her husband, and former servant, Elizabeth finds herself attracting the attention of a one Mr Teddy Cutting – again. Elizabeth feels alone, in despair. Will she warm to Mr Cutting’s affections this time around? Only time will tell. Elizabeth is honest with Mr Cutting about her feelings for him – that the timing is all wrong and she’s still in mourning. But then something happens, something that will ruin the Holland’s forever if Elizabeth doesn’t find a way to fix it. Being with Mr Cutting suddenly seems like a magnificent idea…

And Carolina Broad is up to her usual tricks. I hate Lina so much that I can’t even bring myself to write anything about her.

Envy delivers the goods. After reading Rumors I wasn’t so sure that Anna Godbersen would be able to top her effort – but I was wrong. She writes brilliantly and reading her work is effortless. Henry’s character is developed further in this instalment and he steps of the pages of Envy like a radiant, shining light. I find myself wondering how much more of Anna Godbersen’s scandalous world I can take. I can’t wait for Splendour (the fourth novel) and I know I’ll re-read Envy obsessively until I get my hands on it.

Praise for Anna Godbersen, who has successfully reignited the 1900’s and made it totally cool to be all proper and old school. I love everything about this series - absolutely everything! This would make one hell of a killer television show.

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Set in the same world as her previous series, The Study Series, Maria V. Snyder tantalizes readers with another complex, masterful story set in a magical world so convincing that she’ll have you believing that it’s actually real. Being a huge fan of The Study Series, I opened Storm Glass with huge expectations. It didn’t take too long for me to realise that Maria V. Snyder was not going to disappoint me, either.

Opal Cowan is good with glass. Really good. There is only one other person in all of Sitia that can equal her talent, and that’s her father. She has been living in The Keep for the last few years trying to learn the art of magic, but magic, it seems, is not one of Opal’s stronger points. She did successfully help Liaison Yelana trap a whole bunch of evil souls once, but since then Opal hasn’t had a whole lot of luck learning how to use magic. The other students at The Keep call her a One-Trick-Wonder. Consequently, Opal is a bit of a loner.

But Opal underestimates her abilities and lacks the self-confidence required to identify and nurture her talents. You see, Opal isn’t just good with glass – she’s incredible. She has created a communications system for the Master Magicians out of ‘magical’ tiny glass creatures. Master Cowan believes in Opal, even if she doesn’t believe in herself, and when the Stormdancers orbs start shattering, killing Stormdancers in the process, Master Cowan orders Opal to accompany her on a mission to their caves to investigate the reason the orbs are shattering.

The recipe for the Stormdancers’s glass orbs is a big secret, and the glassmakers in their tribe are the only ones that know it. But Opal is smart and figures it out quickly. Then the glassmakers that know the recipe start dying – or rather, they’re murdered – and Opal finds her life in danger. Ulrick – a fellow glassmaker and good friend – appoints himself as Opal’s bodyguard. But Ulrick has a vested interest, you see. He’s hopelessly in love with Opal and would do anything to keep her safe. Opal feels a little spark with Ulrick, but there’s no raging fire, if you know what I mean.

Then there is Kade, a Stormdancer. When it comes to Kade, Opals insides explode like fireworks. But Kade isn’t interested in Opal – he’s too caught up in mourning the death of his twin to notice anything else. Would it be wrong of Opal to enter into a relationship with Ulrick – someone she only has luke-warm feelings for – when she feels so strongly for someone else?

The true scope of Opal’s power is astonishing, but she seems to be the only one who can’t see it. So when she’s kidnapped and forced to realise her power for herself in order to save her own life and the life of the one she loves, the outcome will leave readers gaping in amazement.

Storm Glass is a lesson in confidence and demonstrates that in order to reach one’s full potential, you must believe in yourself first and foremost. In this suspenseful page-turner Maria V. Snyder explores the depths of human relationships and evidences that love, honesty and compassion are far more powerful than magic ever could be. Opal is a bit of a door-mat and at several points throughout the novel, I found myself wishing that Opal would just grow a pair already. I’m happy to report that she does.

This is one for the underdogs of the world. You can be great, too, if you just believe in yourself first.

Storm Glass is scheduled for release on April 28, 2009.

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Rumors is the second installment in The Luxe novels and is every bit as scandalous, juicy, and naughty as the first.

Society in Manhattan, New York City is in mourning for they have just lost their darling girl, Elizabeth Holland. Lizzie’s body never was recovered from the Hudson River and no one seems capable of understanding how a girl drowns in a river without a body turning up. The gossip columns start printing murmurs about her death being a hoax and suddenly the whole city is questioning her whereabouts. Only a very few select people truly know what happened to Lizzie on that ill-fated day, however, and not one of them is breathing a word.

But Lizzie has been corresponding with Diana, her sister, to assure her that she is not dead but that she must keep this news a secret. In her letter, Lizzie gives Diana and Henry her blessing, wishing them well, and warns Diana to keep a keen eye out for Penelope. Unable to keep this glorious news to herself for long, Diana eventually shares her secret with Henry, who responds most excitedly. You see, Henry and Diana are unable to announce their relationship to anyone, as society deems it highly inappropriate for a man in Henry’s position to be cavorting with his supposed dead fiancés sister. But now that Henry knows Lizzie is actually alive, chasing a true love of her own, he wants nothing more than to announce his love for Diana to all of society. But doing so will mean that Elizabeth’s cover will be blown, and Diana isn’t having any of that…

What will become of their forbidden romance, and will Diana and Henry betray family confidences in the hope of finding happiness in each other? You’ll be surprised, my friends, very surprised indeed.

Meanwhile, Penelope catches wind of Henry and Diana’s secret affair and decides that she must put a stop to it before another Holland girl manages to snatch Henry from her greedy fingers. Penelope is more devious than any Gossip Girl character ever created and proves to readers that she is without a doubt, New York’s most evil creature alive. Blair Waldorf could learn a thing or two from this hellspawn. But it’s not Penelope’s devilish plan that floored me – it’s the fact that Henry agreed to go along with it, that he is so blinded by Penelope’s conniving ways that he can’t seem to see through her flawed plan to find an alternative solution. Those rooting for Henry’s happiness will be deeply disturbed by the events which unfold in this instalment. Is there a resolution for Henry, or is he doomed to live his life according to the wishes of others, forever?

If The Luxe was completely unputdownable (as I suggested it was), then Rumors is entirely infuriating – and it’s so, so good. Where The Luxe was a little slow on the uptake, Rumors gets straight into the action, right form the get go. All the passions, the feelings of love and hate that I experienced in the first installment increased threefold during this read. I yelled, I groaned loudly, and I harrumphed constantly as I read.

Godbersen’s words flow effortlessly across the page, allowing a clear and complete picture of each individual scene to play out in my mind. Rumors is an emotive, gripping read that left me with absolutely no fingernails at all.

This is pure teen chick lit in all its glory and I can see this series quickly becoming every teenage girl’s best friend. I can’t wait to get my hands on the third novel.

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Love a good scandal? Then you’re going to love this. The Luxe is like Jane Austen meets Gossip Girl, and there is not one part of that combination that I don’t adore. Set in the 1900’s, this tale is overflowing with love, betrayal, deceit, and all those other juicy things that made the books we love so perfect. With New York as its backdrop, The Luxe follows the lives of five individuals whose lives are more intertwined than one could possibly imagine.

Elizabeth is the eldest of the Holland daughters and is now of marriageable age. Since her father died, the Holland family has been suffering financial difficulty and Lizzie’s mother thinks its time she married her daughter off to a nice rich family who can provide a life of security and wealth for the Holland’s once more. When her mother arranges for her to be married off to Henry Schoonmaker – the most eligible (and wealthiest) bachelor in all of New York – despair clutches at Elizabeth more than one could possibly imagine. You see, Elizabeth has been having a secret affair with someone else – someone that, if her mother ever found out, she would be forbidden from seeing ever again…

Lina knows Elizabeth’s secret, however. She’s a servant in the Holland household, and Elizabeth’s own personal maid. Lina sees Lizzie sneaking out of Will’s room one night and her heart shatters into a thousand tiny pieces. Lina always wanted Will to herself and is horrified to learn that Lizzie – the perfect girl who has everything – has the one thing in the world she wants more than anything. Lina is a vindictive girl who will stop at nothing to attain her glory, or her man.

Lina is a bit like Penelope in that sense, which is why is it entirely unsurprising that their paths eventually meet. In a moment of fury, Elizabeth fires Lina and within the hour, Lina finds herself homeless. As she’s walking on the sidewalk, Penelope’s carriage trots alongside her and the two get chatting. Lina knows exactly who Penelope is and strikes a deal with the malicious woman in red that can only lead to Elizabeth’s demise. You see, Penelope has it bad for Henry and is horrified to learn of his engagement to her friend, Elizabeth. But with Lina’s help, Penelope orchestrates a plan to put a stop to their engagement and steal the bachelor for herself.

Henry, however, isn’t interested in Penelope in that way. Sure, they’ve had many a night together and they’ve done things that unmarried people simply should not do, but Penelope isn’t the kind of girl he could ever see himself marrying. But neither is Elizabeth. Henry – like Elizabeth – is forced into the arrangement by his parents. Then one day whilst calling on his fiancé, Henry is introduced properly to her sister, Diana, and is immediately taken by her brash persona. She’s beautiful, in an artistic way, and is everything he wants in a woman. Henry embarks on the pursuit of his life – to make Diana fall in love with him.

And she does. Diana is not a flip person and is taken by surprise that her feelings for Henry are so strong. He’s rude, unapologetic and ridiculously over-confident. But she wants him – badly. But he is destined to marry her sister, who is in love with someone else altogether. The whole thing is a bit of a mess and Diana finds herself in the stickiest of situations.

As the lives of New York’s elite become more and more tangled, you’ll be unable to put the book down. Anna Godbersen writes with a beauty so rich it is as if she actually lived in New York during the nineteen century.

Godbersen’s characters are dynamic and successfully incited emotions in me so powerful that I actually had to get up off the couch and pace while I read. I fell in love, learned the true power of what it feels like to hate, and became a complete slave to the pages the further I got into the novel.

Each page oozes with elegance, and like most guilty pleasures in life, is positively addictive. Watch out for the cliffhanger ending, though, as it will leave you breathless beyond your wildest dreams. Thankfully the second novel, Rumours, is in stores as we speak, with the third installment on the way…

Girls everywhere will love this novel. Jane Austen, eat your heart out!

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P.S - We’re actually reading The Luxe for our bookclub choice this month. Click here to join the discussion.