Review for Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen

"It’s 1929 and Letty Larkspur and Cordelia Grey have escaped their small Midwestern town to chase big dreams and even bigger secrets. Amongst the glittering metropolis of New York City, they meet Astrid Donal, a flapper who has everything she could ever want, except for the one thing Letty and Cordelia have to offer—true friendship. Set in the dizzying summer before the market crash, against the vast lawns of the glamorous Long Island mansions and on the blindingly lit stages of Broadway, three girls will find scandal, intrigue, and romance. . ." I am a huge fan of Anna Godbersen's The Luxe series and have been anticipating the release of the first book in her new series Bright Young Things for the longest time. Bright Young Things is set in the roaring twenties and the book's prologue automatically draws you in by informing you that come the end of the summer one of our heroines will be famous, the second married and the third dead which immediately gets the ball rolling with you wanting to know which character will end up with what fate. I spent much of the book trying to figure out where things were heading with each girl but its impossible to predict. There are so many possibilities and honestly all three girls could end up with any one of those destiny's. The girls futures keep twisting and turning making it impossible to put your finger on what's going to happen next. Anna Godbersen certainly does a fantastic job of keeping you on your toes making me eager to get my hands on the next book- it's going to be a long wait! I felt that despite their similarities Bright Young Things has a very different feel to it of that of The Luxe series. Whilst Bright Young Things has the drama and glitz and glamour that The Luxe had the girls are very different. With Letty and Cordelia being from a small town they have a certain innocence to them that the Luxe girls didn't. They make mistakes and their not as sure of themselves which makes for interesting reading. I have a feeling that were really going to see these characters grow in each book as they settle into the big city. Bright Young Things also has a more mature feel to it, there's less scheming and bitching than the Luxe and these girls dreams are even more ambitious. The stakes are higher and so each girl has even farther to fall from grace. It took a while for me to get used to the differences as I really did expect Bright Young Things to be like another Luxe only set in the twenties, but once I did I was hooked and quickly fell in love with the girls of 1929. Bright Young Things is a fantastic set up to what I believe is going to be an addictive new series. Anna Godbersen describes New York summer time during the twenties beautifully. She has a real talent for capturing the era she's writing about making the big city come to life right in front of you. Her writings as gorgeous as a glitzy flapper dress and she has a unique talent for really defining her characters making each girl original and special. Once I got over Bright Young Things not being exactly like the Luxe I really enjoyed my time with Letty, Cordelia and Astrid and can not wait for the next book to see what the future holds for these girls. Recommended to anybody looking for an exciting, fun, addictive new series. My Rating 3.5/5 stars ***1/2 Thanks go to Penguin/Razorbill for sending me this book to review. Synopsis taken from Amazon