Review: Bright Young Things (Bright Young Things, #1) by Anna Godbersen

Title: Bright Young Things

Author: Anna Godbersen

Series: 1st in Bright Young Things

Pages: 389

Published: Available now from HarperCollins

ISBN: 9780061962660

Source: Personal Copy

Description: 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. 

I Give This ...

 

I was super excited for this one.  I really liked The Luxe series, so was hoping this would have the same appeal.  While, there are some similarities with the stories, I felt this one didn't have quite the same draw to it.

Oddly I had a harder time getting to know the characters.  I liked Cordelia in the beginning, although I think that she should have left before and not after the wedding.  But once they reached the NYC, it seemed her whole personality changed.  I was shocked that she could drop Letty just like that.  For a small town girl, she adopted the big city rich girl attitude way to easily.  I don't blame her for falling for the son of the enemy, but her actions after learning who he really was once again showed complete disregard for those around her.  Since the story seems to be told from her point of view the most, I struggled with it.

I enjoyed Letty the most.  While she had big dreams of being a star, she was really naive.  I think Cordelia really took advantage of that.  I admired her determination to not go home though.  She got a job, found roommates, etc.  She was really holding her own.  But, she's way to trusting.  Which is her one downfall and ended up costing her everything.  I'm sure in the big city at that time period, many young women were looking out for themselves.  I'm hoping the series will have a positive outcome for her.

I didn't think we got to know Astrid very well at all.  She seems more like a secondary character that has some time in the spotlight.  I thought she was going to be the spoiled little rich girl, but I gather that she's so much more than that.  She seems like she has some serious baggage and insecurities.  I curious were the story will take her.

Overall, it was a promising start to the series.  There's some interesting events that really help drive the story forward.  I just wasn't as enthralled with it as her previous books.  I also wasn't won over by the romance in the book.  I'm hoping for all aspects to pick up in the following books.  And hopefully the characters will become more well rounded.