Bright Young Things

Bright Young Things
by Anna Godbersen

The year is 1929. New York is ruled by the Bright Young Things: flappers and socialites seeking thrills and chasing dreams in the anything-goes era of the Roaring Twenties.

Letty Larkspur and Cordelia Grey escaped their small Midwestern town for New York's glittering metropolis. All Letty wants is to see her name in lights, but she quickly discovers Manhattan is filled with pretty girls who will do anything to be a star. . . .

Cordelia is searching for the father she's never known, a man as infamous for his wild parties as he is for his shadowy schemes. Overnight, she enters a world more thrilling and glamorous than she ever could have imagined—and more dangerous. It's a life anyone would kill for . . . and someone will.

The only person Cordelia can trust is ­Astrid Donal, a flapper who seems to have it all: money, looks, and the love of Cordelia's brother, Charlie. But Astrid's perfect veneer hides a score of family secrets.

Across the vast lawns of Long Island, in the ­illicit speakeasies of Manhattan, and on the blindingly lit stages of Broadway, the three girls' fortunes will rise and fall—together and apart. (description from Amazon.com)

I really enjoyed Godbersen's Luxe series and was very excited when I found out her new series would be set during the 1920s. I've been fascinated with flappers, Prohibition, and the "Roaring Twenties," since I was a teenager. Godbersen did not disappoint!

Her descriptions of New York City in the '20s can only be described as lush. What's really fantastic, though, is it's not the "Roaring Twenties" through rose-tinted glasses. There is luxury here, of course, but Godbersen also introduces the seedier underbelly of the setting. It is brilliantly done.

The three girls are all similar, yet different enough to be very interesting. As Diana, Elizabeth, and Penelope, were connected and their lives wove in and out of each others', so too will the lives of these new girls. So far, I love Letty's hope, Cordelia's bravado, and Astrid's je ne sais quoi.

The prologue tells you straight off that by the end of the year, one girl will be married, one will be famous, and one will be dead. At this point, I can't even begin to speculate which will be which...but I will be reading to find out!