Splendor (Luxe Series #4)

Splendid, but rushed at the end..and heartbreaking.

Now i know that not everything can end perfect, but it's a book, and it felt that the first three books were a waste with the way Splendor ended. The characters seemed changed, they weren't the same characters i fell in love with. Diana made me so mad in the ending. And i actually felt bad for Lina. My heart was broken for Henry, and i still can't get over it. Even Penolope's story ended awful (although she deserved it). It seems the only person who got what they wanted was Elizabeth, and she was hardly in the book at all! I still refuse to believe that's the real ending.

It felt like Anna Godbersen tried to end it too quickly, and it left you dying for more. I was so connected to the characters, and so upset with how it ended, that i cried and was depressed for days, i even threw my book at my wall. Anna should have sucked it up and wrote at least another 50-100 pages to finish it properly. The end is heart breaking and it takes days to get over. Please, please don't read this book, it ruins the Luxe series.

8 out of 11 people found this review helpful.

Captivating series, somewhat disappointing ending

I don't want to spoil the book for anyone, so I will just leave out any details. The Luxe series is one of my FAVORITE series. This was the series that I would bite my nails while reading it. However, Splendor left me wanting more when there is no more to be had. It was very well done for the most part, except for the ending. The ending was rushed, not detailed and confusing. Things happened that left me asking myself what the heck was going on! It was not the ending that I wanted, first off, and secondly, some of the things seemed very unrealistic. I was expecting something brilliant, and it came off as the author seeming sick of writing the series so just kind of jumbling everything together for a rushed ending. I did enjoy the book up until the ending. Maybe it's because it wasn't the ending I wanted, but I do believe it could have been written in a better format.

7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

The ending broke my heart

I loved the first three books in this series and I could not wait for Splender.
I was terribly upset by the ending of this book. I do not want to give the ending away but I will say I am a romantic at heart and this book breaks your heart into pieces. I love to read and I believe I do enjoy it so much because most books take you away from everyday life and the hardships of reality and put you in a fantasy world of happy ending romances but when I read a series and it ends like this I am haunted for days because it feels like you personally just had your heart broken and it brings you back to reality.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Lackluster ending to the series (from The Tealeaf Review)

Thank God that's over with. I have finally finished the Luxe series, and I'm so happy I don't have to suffer through all these characters' depressing lives a second more. I found Splendor to be a very weak installment of the series, though not quite as rage-inducing as Rumors. It seemed slow, and yet rushed, all at the same time. It was a whole lot of muck to sift through for a very lackluster, unsatisfying ending. Even the prologue, which I've always found to be one of the best of it's predecessors, wasn't as good. It didn't hook me like the others - I didn't feel compelled to keep reading until I found out all about the cryptic beginning. At least the dresses didn't disappoint. As always, Diana is the closest to my heart. If I lived in 1900 New York, I would want her as my BFF. Her confidence is admirable, as is her courage. When she finally stood up to her mother, I was cheering (probably along with Aunt Edith in the background), because I've always disliked their mother. Her reunion with Henry was everything I wanted it to be - sweet, nervous, exciting. I wanted them to bask in the sunlight in Cuba forever. But alas, as always, these two just cannot catch a break no matter what. I was thoroughly disappointed with how their story arch ended, though I do applaud Diana for her remarkable independence and self-reliance. It's a wonderful trait in a character, especially one who exists in the society turmoil of the 1900s. I loved also seeing some true strength from Elizabeth in this one. However, the blurb led me to believe there was going to be a little murder mystery intrigue, but it was sadly lacking. Diana didn't even know about it! But, whatever. I'm just glad that at least one character ended up mostly happy. As for Penelope and Carolina - well, what else needs to be said about them? I was relieved to have Penelope drop her Henry-obsession for a while since it was getting a little old. In my opinion, she got what she deserved - to be used and left behind like she did so many others. And Carolina? She deserved everything to, mostly because I just didn't like her. At least she finally let her sister into her wealth, something she should have done so much sooner. But then, when did Lina ever really think about anyone else but herself until the very end? One of the most lackluster conclusions to a series I've ever read. I was thoroughly disappointed that I had to wade through all this depression and longing for almost nothing to work out the way it should. It you want a happy ending, read Luxe, the first novel, and imagine your own ending. While still beautifully written, it was just too much of a letdown to really enjoy it.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com

New York high society returns with Dina absent from town; she's taken up traveling to find her true love. He signed up for the army rather than deal with his new scheming wife. Will they find a way to be together after all?

Meanwhile, Dina's sister gains a new house and finally discovers something suspicious about her new husband. He's not very nice, but was she too late in discovering the truth?

Penelope's husband leaves her for the army, but she finds a prince visiting New York. He takes a keen interest in her and she might have mistaken Henry as the highest society. Who wants to be a lady when she could be a princess?

Carolina throws the biggest party of the year and everyone wants an invitation. In the midst of all the people she's worked so hard to fool, she finds herself lonely until a certain boy returns home. Could wedding bells be in her future?

There's love in the air and these girls are determined to find their happily ever after. They're not about to let anything stand in their way - including each other.

In the final book of THE LUXE series, love is won and lost, fortunes gained, and society whispers about these grand ladies as reputations dwindle and soar, and betrayals occur - all in the quest for happiness.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

A Bad Ending

I enjoyed all four of the Luxe series book untill I hit the end of Splendor. There was a huge three and a half build of what everyone held their breathe for, and when the time came, it ended with a dissapointing ending. The author says she was happy the way it ended, but be prepared to go against the author at the end.
Other than that, the book was just a wonderful to read as the other three. The writing of details made the scenes come to life were you feel you are sitting in on 1899 Manhattan.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

I cried on this one.

This one was absoluty the best. When i had finished it i fell on my couch with tears coming out. The ending was so sad espicially Dianas.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Loved the First Three, But...

This book wasn't as amazing and captivating as the first three. I do not want to give it away, but I did not like the ending of Diana and Henry at all, nor Penelope(though how much she irked me throughout the series), and Elizabeth seemed to have the only happy ending, and I did not even like her that much. It was one of theose books that, after you finish, leaves you feeling empty inside for the next few days upon finding out that your favorite characters, who began to seem somewhat real, all changed and didn't go the way you wanted. As I said, the first three were absolutely truly amazing, but this book left me wondering and wanting to read more from her, and left me feeling upset on a certain level.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

O.K. ending to an outstanding series

I'm a big fan of the series and I must be honest when I say that what first drew me to the books were the covers. I've always been told by countless teachers to never judge a book by its cover even though that's exactly what I did with the Luxe series. And fortunately, I'm glad I did. The whole series tells the story of four glamorous socialites living in New York during the early 1900s. This sounds like a shallow and superficial series but let me assure you, it is not.
Splendor is the captivating last installment of the Luxe series filled with unexpected and devious twists, new love and more decadence than ever before. The female leads range from cunning, adventurous Diana Holland and soft-spoken, proper Elizabeth Holland to calculating ruthless Penelope Schoonmaker (nee Hayes) and the scheming but innocent Carolina Broud (or Broad). The male leads are Henry Schoonmaker, Teddy Cuttings, Leland Bouchard, Snowden Cairns, and the Prince of Bavaria. While the ladies of the series command more of the reader's attention, the male leads cannot be overlooked. It is ultimately the gentleman's attention that these young ladies compete for and that drives them to deeds such as murder, adultery, and even leaving ones home forever.
The main thing that brought me back to this series was the reality of the plot and the characters. I could perfectly imagine the characters coming to life and going about their daily lives in old Manhattan. I could easily see Penelope and Carolina vying for the most attention by wearing "scandalous" dresses at the Opera and Elizabeth carefully planning out a life for her unborn child before accidentally uncovering chilling secrets regarding her father and the one person she ever truly loved. I could even see young Diana longing to be with the man she belonged with and Henry hating everyday he let his wife and family name influence the choices made for him.
While I loved the majority of the book, I must say that I was very disappointed with the ending. Compared to the luscious details and intricate plot of the rest of the book, the ending felt rather rushed and incomplete. I felt as if the author (Godbersen) had simply run out of ideas or just didn't know how to top off such a great series. I was expecting a romantic ending for Diana and Carolina but was left on the verge of tears (and not in a good way). The only character who got an even remotely satisfying ending was Elizabeth but it surely could have been elaborated on. I enjoyed this book overall but felt like the conclusion did absolutely nothing to wrap up a great series and left me with more questions than I started out with.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Unsatisfying yet you will devour the words to find out what happens

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, as I say this 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). It 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. It seemed that some of the characters (or least one for sure-without giving anything away) were a little out of character from the previous books. 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! I can't believe that this is the end of the road, I don't feel ready to say goodbye to these characters.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Interesting

It was an interesting ending to an interesting series. I enjoyed it.

I thought it had a happy ending...

I was sooo happy with the ending, I know that seems to be the big letdown for everyone but I disagree. If you would prefer a fairytale ending then this might not be for you. I was happy for direction of Diana's life as the book left it. I think its sad that we are all so conditioned the believe that a happy ending is only one in which we end up with prince charming in the castle living happily ever after. Isn't that kind of the antithesis of what Diana is all about anyway? I think her story ended true to her unconventional free spirit and sense of adventure, which is why we all liked her character so much in the first place.

So-So Series

I loved the first 3 Luxe Books. Yet this one was well confusnig. So many things boing on and really just werid while ok plot snd detail the end was just bad would not pay a dime iver $2 for ths book. And for 8 dolloars just to average snd pricey. Nook Gurl

Great series

I love theses books but the author should write another one so we can find out what happens to Diana...does she find love?...will Henry come after her?...do people suspect that Teddy isn't the father of Elizabeths baby?...Guess we'll never find out

Ignorance is Bliss, when it comes to the final book in this series

I can't really say much because to this day I'm still reeling over what happened. But it was a pretty depressing ending, and it ruins the whole series. I sorta wish I never read it, it just made me sad in so many different ways. The story arch felt rushed and I felt rushed, it wasn't a good mix. Im not sure how anyone else would feel and I don't want to reveal much, but if you primarily read this series because of the promised Diana/Henry love nest, then I suggest you just skip this book because it would only make you remorse in there... lost?... love. Just look up the ending to the mystery of the other characters and skip the parts about Henry and Diana, if you want to stay blissfully ignorant. Trust me I wish I had.

Loved everything but Dianas ending

This book was amazing but i could not understand the ending but my least favorite character 'carolina' i actually started to warm up to her. And i guess i just like happy endings because that did not happen for for one of the.characters it was a little bittersweet I felt so dissapointed in fact i wrote a diffrent ending for one of the characters but i loved the series and look forward to reading BYT

eh..

so threw out the whole series.... i couldnt put the book down,, but i was also irritated with it alot. but it was amazing.... if u r reading this seriea.. do NOT read this books last chapter and epilouge...the WORST ENDING EVER. its like anna got tired or writing. but i love her,, and i think she has real potintial.

Amazing

Read it its soooooooo good. Chick flick book

amazing

this was an excellent book, with an ending that was as unexpected as it was wonderful.

THIS RUINS THE SERIES.

OK, so I have basically devoured each book in this series, and LOVED them... up until the mid-end of this one. It was great in the beginning and all, and I got really excited because with these books, I honestly get emotionally involved with the characters. Anyways, so I read all the reviews of it on here before I read it, and was like "Oh, it can't really be THAT bad of an ending." It was. I HATE Diana now, (although, ironically, I am happy to see that Penelope and Henry will most likely stay back together.) The ending was so rushed, I was almost confused. Anna should have at least added another chapter, or changed the end. I am thoroughly disappointed.