Book Review: Beautiful Days, A Bright Young Things Novel

By: Anna Godbersen

Published by: Harper Teen

To Be Released on: September 20th, 2011

Source: ARC from publisher to review

4 stars- I Really Liked It

Purchase from: Amazon| Barnes & Noble| Indie Bound

For the bright young things of 1929, the beautiful days seem endless, filled with romance and heartbreak, adventure and intrigue, friendship and rivalry.

After a month in New York, Cordelia Grey and Letty Larkspur are small-town girls no longer. They spend their afternoons with Astrid Donal at the Greys’ lush Long Island estate and their nights in Manhattan’s bustling metropolis. But Letty’s not content to be a mere socialite. She is ready at last to chase her Broadway dreams—no matter the cost.

Cordelia is still reeling from the death of her father at the hands of Thom Hale, the man she thought she loved. Now she is set to honor Darius Grey’s legacy . . . and take her revenge.

Promised to Cordelia’s half brother, Astrid is caught up in a world of dazzling jewels and glittering nights—and the sparkle is blinding. Charlie Grey is a gangster playing a dangerous game; and for Astrid, Cordelia, and Letty, the stakes could be deadly.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Luxe comes the second book in an epic series set in the dizzying last summer of the Jazz Age.- quoted from Goodreads

I'm so fascinated with this time period and really adore this series. In Bright Young Things I loved the way Anna brought the time period to life via the story of three bright young girls, Cordelia, Letty and Astrid. In this sequel, Anna does another fabulous job with keeping the feel of this era live with her richly detailed setting, her well written characters, surprising turn of events, great storyline and realistic character dialogue.

While the ending of the first book left me feeling a bit heart broken for each of the girls, Beautiful Days leaves me feeling both hopeful and cautious for them. There's a turn of events that leads each of the girls down a different path and in essence changes them, not necessary for the better or for worse, but they've each made decisions that I'm afraid will have disastrous consequences for one of them. I really do adore each of the characters. They each add something unique to the storyline.

Cordelia is trying to get over a broken heart, and help her brother run a new family venture, and in the process of all this she's trying to figure out her feelings for Max Darby, the pilot she saves at the end of Bright Young Things. There's of course complication as she's now the latest gossip in every newspaper around town. Not to mention that there's stuff going down between her family and the Hale Family. Did I mention Thom Hale is still in the picture. Anna definitely does a great job at stringing me along as I try to figure out Max and Thom's motives are. There's something about the two of them I can't quite figure out....

Speaking of figuring people out, Cordelia's brother Charlie is turning out to be quite the twisted character. There's definitely something about him that's alluring and a little off setting at the same time. Astrid and Charlie's relationship isn't as peachy as I was hoping it would be. In fact, it's a bit more volatile, which gave me a hint of that rage that seems to be simmering just below his surface. He's not abusive to her, but there's just something about him that puts me on guard.

Letty is the character my heart broke for the most. This poor girl is trying to juggle following her dreams of making it on broadway and her friendships with Cordelia and Astrid. Both girls are so pre-occupied with their own issues that they often times without meaning to brush Letty aside. I felt so bad that things between her and Grady didn't turn out the way I had hoped they would, and I'm really hoping there's more of him in the next book. Letty definitely deserves someone who can treat her right.

This is a great series. I really enjoy being whisked away into this swinging time period, and feeling like I'm apart of each of these girl's lives. I enjoy the way the character's stories are told. It's not hard to fall in love with them and feel like I'm apart of their lives as they learn to deal with the different turn of events and circumstances that are changing who they are. I'm really exited to read the next installment in this series. I think Anna's going to be throwing a few more curve balls into this series' plot line.

Be sure to join us tomorrow morning when Anna herself stops by to answer a few questions about this series!!