The Lucky Ones

The summer is ending and Cornelia, Astrid, and Letty are delving deeper into the life of bootleggers and movie stars.  Astrid is finding out that married life is not all it seems with Charlie running off on dangerous errands and confining her to the house more and more often.  Cornelia wants to live her life with flyboy Max Darby, but her families feud with the Hales reaches a point she can no longer ignore.  Poor Letty sees stars in her eyes and is drawn in by Valentine O'Dell and his pick up lines.  All the girls are changed by their summer, but they are all especially changed by the last party of the summer for Astrid's birthday when all the activities come to a dangerous peak.

I knew going in that this was the last Bright Young Things novel, but it didn't feel that way until the final chapter.  Even after that, there seemed like there were some loose ends that could become new stories, but the Epilogue sadly concludes the series with bittersweet memories as related by Billie, Astrid's step-sister.  

While this is a sad conclusion, it is a satisfying conclusion to the series none the less.  It is quite easy for the reader to forget that the characters are only 17-18 years old, which makes this a reasonable cross-over book.  Granted the themes in the book more closely relate to teen readers, the setting and time period are wonderfully drawn by Godbersen and will delight readers of historical fiction.  

While reading this book, I found myself longing for The Diviners.  After reading that book, I said that I likely wouldn't return to this series, but after a couple of free preview chapters, I was hooked, and due to a snow day, I was able to breeze through the book by the fire with some hot chocolate.  It was a wonderful way to pass the afternoon. 

I have greatly enjoyed Godbersen's telling of the 20's and the late 1890's in her previous series, The Luxe.  I wonder what she's going to come out with next.  I'm not anxiously awaiting her latest work like some other authors, but her books provide a wonderful escape, just light reading for a snowy day!

Happy Reading!