Vixen (The Flappers #1) - Review

flappers. girls in rebellious dresses. and boys with dangerous intentions.

gangsters. speakeasies. and forbidden love.

it's 1923. "and anything goes".

Vixen was a roller coaster of secrets, alcohol, and dangerously invigorating love triangles. The first Flapper book in a whirlwind series encased so much and covers the grounds of crazy ex-besties, picture perfect couples with cheating scandals behind closed doors, vengeful souls, and partying far past bedtime.

I really enjoyed the teenagers and young adults in the book, but I couldn't bring myself to pick up the second book in the trilogy. The sporadic drama and topsy-turvy plot twists made me invest too much into the characters (more than I was comfortable with because I grew attached). If you think about it, that's not such a bad complaint about the book. Maybe one day I'll finish the series, but as for now, I'm remaining a one-timer.

Overall, historical fiction is my #1 favorite genre of these past couple of years, besides the few other dystopia and fantasy hits!

x3.5!

The Luxe Series - Review

scandal. secrecy. daring gowns. mysterious kisses. dangerous boys. the wealthy aristocrats of Manhattan, 1899.

This is The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen, within the gloriously prestigious setting of large penthouse suites and unctuous gala events. I followed the daughters of dwindling wealth, Diana and Elizabeth Holland. Diana, a sixteen-year-old, raven-haired, sultry-eyed beauty is the adventurous, wild kind. Elizabeth Holland, the eldest of the Holland sister duo, is the obedient and compliant one with many forbidden secrets rummaging beneath the iron of her skirt. Henry Schoonmaker, the rebellious son of a multi-million dollar empire constructed by his lineage, is looking for a little more danger than society is willing to allow him to handle. Penelope Hayes is the overly extravagant eighteen-year-old immodestly searching for the love of Henry in which she had almost grasped. Carolina Broud, planning her exposure into legitimate upper class society and will do what ever it take to get her name in papers even though the only thing she has to her title is being a house girl with her sister, Claire, for the Holland family.

And then there's society: the most scrutinizing and all-ears form of gossip and midnight chatter. Throughout the adventurous course of the series, these characters of the Luxe series embrace the whispers, the getaways, the glamorous balls, and ever-watchful eyes of people hoping to catch the next big talk of the city. With crazy, unimaginable plot twists and on-your-feet wit of these sporadic characters, I was always entertained! Godbersen kept me compelled by the angelic atmospheres, the perfectionist smiles, and innocent public personas, in conjunction with the scandalous escapades and dramatics occurring behind closed doors.

Pick this series up before Josh Schwartz, creator of the wildly successful Gossip Girl TV show takes the Luxe and puts it on the screen!

x4!

January Book Haul

The Innocents - Review

It's Gossip Girl meets Pretty Little Liars.

When sisters Alice and Charlie move into "wealthy-beyond-belief" step-father Richard Flood's summer mansion, Serenity Point, Connecticut couldn't seem more unlike these two girls. Confusing and astonishing mysteries of Richard's dead wife and daughter still haunt his world of champagne-tasting adolescents, town gossiping, and designer sportswear. Only now, this lifestyle of the rich and bored has been passed down to his two new daughters. They're suddenly introduced to Tommy, a boy still torn about his dead girlfriend Camilla. With that tags along Jude, an eye-rolling jerk still dealing with daddy-issue demons. But wherever there is Jude, there is Cybill, a bratty model-esque girl sucked into his world of mixed signals. The two sisters couldn't have been drawn in more. Not only that, but they begin to slowly drift away from each other, breaking promises of being eternally close-knit. 

And all because of a dead girl, Camilla Flood, who's spirit is more alive than anyone can fathom.

Fans of Pretty Little Liars will eat this enticing mystery read up and be scraping for more, watching Alice dig further into the supposed "suicide" of Camilla while attempting to mend broken-hearted and adorably handsome Tommy. But with the twisted and ever-changing turmoil of drama that reminds us of Gossip Girl, Charlie will find her attraction to Jude growing by the second, but stunted by Cybill's strange relationship she has with him. An aura of secrets and dark intentions loom over the mystic Serenity Point. Pick up this book when it releases because brand new author Lili Peloquin is offering us a to-be series filled with soap opera drama, murder mystery, and unique characters all searching for answers.

x3.5!

Venom - Review

It's the dazzling days of Renaissance in Venice, Italy. Gowns, heels, embroidered handkerchiefs, and a few wealth-wielders all grace the island of San Domenico in which the confined beauty and orphaned Cassandra Caravello is privileged enough to have a taste of. In the midst of peace, Cass finds herself drawn to jotting down her caged feelings in the darkness of cemeteries where the dead don't judge. But things begin to get complicated...and deadly. Especially when she discovers her dead friend's grave contains the wrong body!

Suddenly, dead bodies of young girls are missing all over town and with some snarky persuasion from "bad boy" Falco, she'll embark on a murderous mystery that could both reveal heart-jerking revelations and the reality of a man stalking her every whereabouts. The mystic nights soon become crowded with the brooding, blue-eyed artist Falco, dangerous Italian locations, and stolen gondolas across skinny waterways. Solving the murders and discovering who the grave-robber is as well as other deepening puzzles becomes a hassle for Cass who constantly worries about strict Aunt Agnese discovering her late-night adventures.

Did I mention she's engaged to a man of perfection in which she hasn't seen in three years? In "Venom", Fiona Paul raises the stakes with each chapter and forces your emotions to hop onto the roller coaster of secrets, lies, strangers, drunken kisses, and page-gripping chases. Cass gradually develops into a much stronger, much more confident female lead. Her easily admirable authenticity is what adds depth and reason to this action-packed, story-twisting debut. Just when you think you know who the culprit is, you've been outwitted by the warped minds of the numerous in-and-out characters. You've never been this paranoid about the true intentions of each person in this chilling first installment in the brand new historical trilogy. I could literally go on and on, but I'd spoil half the exhilarating story! I strongly recommend this to readers who've had a taste of "The Luxe" series by Anna Godberson, "Gilt" by Katherine Longshore, and anyone who has a knack for flowing gowns, sultry boys in masks, and a deathly villain with blood on their hands...

I give this novel five out of five beans!! It's a MUST!

x5!

Gilt = Impeccable

Gilt, gilt, and more gilt. I couldn't get enough of the rawness of this novel. It is literally one of the best written young adult novels based on history that I have ever read!

Cat and Kitty are sisters from another mister for life and plan on keeping it that way, regardless of their pipe dreams to be in the court of King Henry XIII. Yet one day, Cat is presented with the opportunity of a lifetime, in which she gladly excepts. Being shipped off to live in his gorgeous palaces, travel the country, and experience life as a privileged woman becomes a reality, and she eventually becomes Queen of England. Little did she know, as she drags Kitty into the world she's grown to become infatuated with, secrets and twists and lies and love etch its way underneath the bedsheets of these gossiping and frolicking youngsters. It becomes a power struggle, filled with roaring fights all the way to the very last pages--the edge--of what it means when you've gotten something you've always wanted, and can't let it go.

I give this novel five out of five beans, people! Stock this up on your book shelves this summer because it's going to suck you in to the world of aristocracy, ruthlessness, pain, sworn secrecy, and a dirtiness I've never felt or known until I picked this book up. The psychological attachments are mind-blowing and I can only imagine what experiencing life in the 1500s while being courted by one of the most infamous kings on the planet was like for a young, naive girl like Catherine Howard...

x5!