July 22, 2009
True love. False friends. Scandalous gossip. Welcome back to Manhattan, 1899. As rumors fly about the untimely demise of New York's brightest star, Elizabeth Holland, all eyes are on those closest to the dearly departed: her sister, Diana, the family's only hope for redemption; Henry Schoonmaker, the flame Elizabeth never extinguished; Penelope Hayes, poised to claim all that her best friend left behind; even Elizabeth's former maid, Lina Broud, who discovers that while money matters and breeding counts, gossip is the new currency. In this delicious sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Luxe, nothing is more dangerous than a scandal ... or more precious than a secret. (Chapters, CA)
We left off in Manhatten, December 1899. Elizabeth Holland has just been reported dead, but Penelope and Diana know the truth; that Elizabeth faked her death to be able to run off to California to be with Will, the love of her life. Penelope now has full acess to Henry, her original prize, and Diana is able to release the guilt originally felt over being in love with her dead sister’s fiancée.
I liked Rumors marginally better than I did The Luxe, but admittedly only because there was more stuff happening rather than back story or setups for future events. As much as Elizabeth is seemingly supposed to be the heroine of the series, I enjoyed Diana's story the most. Perhaps it’s the hopeless romantic side of me, or perhaps I just don’t like backstabbing bitches.
I really liked the character development in this book, how you can see the development and different facets to everyone's characters, Henry's in particular. Each character’s story is crafted so well, and all interwoven just the right amount to be plausible and realistic. Though I can’t say I like Lina, I did enjoy the dramatic irony present in her story line with regards to Will and Elizabeth.
Overall, I loved this book, and am still thoroughly engrossed in the series. I would definitely recommend this series to teens and young adults looking for an entertaining read that’s not too heavy. Read The Luxe first though! The ending provided me with mucho excitement, and I am very excited to continue on with Envy and Splendor.
I really hate Lina. She’s such a selfish, naïve and terrible person; I almost find myself wanting to scream at her through the pages of my book. The whole time it was so obvious that Lina cared much more about herself and her increasing social position than she did Will or even her own sister, and frankly it disgusts me. Even when she meets Claire in the park, she is so focused on impressing her own sister, that she treats her as she would if Claire was her maid. Lina condescendingly gives Claire her muff, bragging that she can get others whenever her heart desires, and yet she so obviously regrets her decision immediately after. She is stuck between maid and socialite, and in my opinion will never be able to rise above that.
I felt so justified in my feelings towards Lina when she sees Will in the department store, and we see proof of just how self-centered she really is. She obviously never loved him – she may have had a puppy crush when she was younger – but became obsessively jealous when she found out about Elizabeth and Will. But then as her selfish nature would dictate, she is much more pleased with herself and her new social position to even consider talking to Will, and it is especially in this instance where we see just how strikingly different Liz and Lina are. Elizabeth gave up her money, family, friends and social life to be with Will, and she obviously loves him very much. Lina won’t even acknowledge her childhood friend because she is now “too good” to be on familiar terms with a stable hand.
I’m not finished dishing about Lina: her relationship with Tristan really pisses me off. Tristan actually gives me the creeps. And Lina is so desperate, that she doesn’t even care that Tristan stole all her money. Granted, it wouldn’t have been a good idea for her to make a fuss, given her social goals, but it just really bothered me when she didn’t react at all. I felt like Lina needed a good smack in the back of the head whenever Tristan came into the picture; he used and manipulated her so much, and she thought he was actually trying to help her. I felt that she deserved to be exposed, but of course that never happened.
The most despicable thing about her, though, is that she sold the story about Diana and Henry to Penelope in exchange for social priority and connections. Claire told Lina that in confidence, and she just turns around and sells her out. Admittedly it was clever, but I can’t appreciate that aspect because I just hate her so much.
Okay I’m done with Lina.
Even though The Luxe set up Elizabeth as the main character, I enjoyed her relative absence in this book. I love Diana, and I was really satisfied that she is the focus of Rumors, and I really felt as though I was riding along with her as she was living through these experiences. The little love letters exchanged between Henry and her, and the sweet and innocently romantic night they spent together in the greenhouse made my heart flutter, and I remembered what it was like to fall in love for the first time. Perhaps another reason why I hated Lina so much is that she played such a pivotal part in ruining Diana’s chances for happiness. The night she spent with Henry in her bedroom was so tender and beautiful, I felt as though there is no way for them not to end up together. I don’t care for Henry so much, but I love him when he’s with Diana. Diana is definitely one of my favourite literary characters. I have such a strong picture in my head of what she looks like and how she acts, and I always find myself wanting to read more of her.
As I mentioned, Elizabeth didn’t play much of a part in the book, and I was okay with that. I just found myself shaking my head at her when she and Will returned to New York. You faked your death, and that’s not something you can change your mind about. You abandoned your family to be with Will, and though I think that’s so romantic, you can’t just decide to go back to try and fix the mess you knew you were going to leave behind. That annoyed me a little. Of course, nothing good was bound to come of her return, even though she wanted to help. I didn’t expect Will to be killed though! That was probably the only part of the book that really surprised me. I never like to think ahead when I’m reading so as not to spoil any surprises, so maybe it was obvious to another reader, but not to me. I really felt heartbroken for Elizabeth.
I still can't figure out what's going on with Snowden and the Hollands as far as money goes. Is Snowden really their dad's old partner? Did the money he have really belong to Mr. Holland? Is it even legally his money, or is he actually some sort of crime lord? Snowden appeared in the book so suddenly; I really couldn’t help but be suspicious. Even by the end of the novel there is no character development, which makes me think that it’s not important anyway, he’s just supposed to be someone who comes to the Hollands’ aid, and you’re just supposed to accept that at face value. But I can’t help but still be a little curious…
Penelope. I don’t like her for being the one to ruin Diana and Henry’s lives (yes Lina helped, but she’s not important enough to receive full credit, since she really is Penelope’s minion). I spent the entire book waiting on the edge of my seat for her karma to catch up to her. Of course, it never did. I should say ‘yet’ seeing as there are still two books in the series to be read, and she has to have it coming for her somehow. I did appreciate that it isn’t predictable in the way that the hero always wins and the bad guy always gets what’s coming to him. It made for an exciting struggle between Penelope, and Henry and Diana.
You know I like the book, because even though I hate Lina, I really enjoyed feeling so strongly, and you know the book is well written if it can evoke such a strong feeling in me. The book ends with Penelope and Henry’s wedding, and a promise from Elizabeth to Diana that they will somehow get Henry back for her.
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