The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

Pretty girls in pretty dresses, partying until dawn.
Irresistible boys with mischievous smiles and dangerous intentions.
White lies, dark secrets, and scandalous hookups.
This is Manhattan, 1899.


Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattan's social scene. Or so it appears. When the girls discover their status among New York City's elite is far from secure, suddenly everyone — from the backstabbing socialite Penelope Hayes, to the debonair bachelor Henry Schoonmaker, to the spiteful maid Lina Broud — threatens Elizabeth's and Diana's golden future.

This is now a 4 part series, I am re-reading this series, I had stopped after book 2. The 3rd book wasn't out yet and the ending of the 2nd devastated me. It took me a little bit to get into the book, but, once you get hooked, you cannot put it down. The storyline is riveting, the characters pull you in, and when they are happy so are you, when their heart is broken so is yours. Godbersen delivers in this entire series.

The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum

Abby's senior year of high school is going according to plan: good friends, cute boyfriend, and college applications in the mail. But when Dante Alexander, foreign-exchange student from Italy, steps into her life, he turns it upside down. He's mysterious, and interesting, and unlike anyone she's ever met before. Abby can't deny the growing attraction she feels for him. Nor can she deny the unusual things that seem to happen when Dante is around. Soon Abby finds herself drawn into a mystery whose roots reach into sixteenth-century Florence, and she uncovers a dangerous truth that threatens not only her future but the lives of those she loves.

From start to finish, I loved this book, can't wait for the sequel in 2010. This book is definitely a cliff-hanger, but well worth it. I love the mystery of Dante, the uncertainty of Abby, their characters mesh so well and they are believeable. The only hang-up I had was the Truth conversation they had. You'll know what I'm talking about when you read it.