Envy by Anna Godberson
Dec. 8th, 2009 05:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meganbmooreThe is the conclusion of Godberson’s The Luxe (aka “Gossip Girl does 1899) series. If this had an actual fandom, I suspect I’d be in the minority in that I liked how it ended. With one exception, Godberson avoids the expected conventional endings for all but one character, and that was the one character that really needed a conventional ending. I also thought that, with one exception, the four heroines all got good evenings that suited them.
The series starts off with fairly traditional “good girl, bad girl” divides, but that blurs as the series continues, and the more conventional romantic plotlines become less conventional as it continues.
I suspect most readers are disappointed that Diana and Henry didn’t get together, but I think I prefer it that way. I came to like Henry and Diana/Henry more than I expected to at first, but I agree with Diana that he’s too…“limited,” I suppose, for Diana and her dreams. Elizabeth deserved a break and got one, even if she did sometimes get a bit close to Tragic Damsel status. I especially liked that Carolina’s happy ending was being honest with and about herself. Unfortunately, while Penelope wasn’t as firmly in the category of “bad girl” as she was at first, she still largely got that ending in an unhappy marriage without trust. Unfortunately, I suspect that Henry and Penelope, as shown at the beginning of the series, probably would have worked out better than Henry and Penelope would have.
I’m very curious to see what Godberson will come out with next. Possibly the past Mrs. Holland hinted at in Envy, though I suspect she’ll take a break from this world now.
The series starts off with fairly traditional “good girl, bad girl” divides, but that blurs as the series continues, and the more conventional romantic plotlines become less conventional as it continues.
I suspect most readers are disappointed that Diana and Henry didn’t get together, but I think I prefer it that way. I came to like Henry and Diana/Henry more than I expected to at first, but I agree with Diana that he’s too…“limited,” I suppose, for Diana and her dreams. Elizabeth deserved a break and got one, even if she did sometimes get a bit close to Tragic Damsel status. I especially liked that Carolina’s happy ending was being honest with and about herself. Unfortunately, while Penelope wasn’t as firmly in the category of “bad girl” as she was at first, she still largely got that ending in an unhappy marriage without trust. Unfortunately, I suspect that Henry and Penelope, as shown at the beginning of the series, probably would have worked out better than Henry and Penelope would have.
I’m very curious to see what Godberson will come out with next. Possibly the past Mrs. Holland hinted at in Envy, though I suspect she’ll take a break from this world now.