The Diviners

Summary:

" Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."
When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first."

What can I say about The Diviners? This is a really hard review for me to write. I'll just get it out there though... overall, I was disappointed. The book really wasn't what I thought it was going to be and I really just wanted MORE from it.

With that being said, I can see what Bray was doing here. She was building depth, a backbone; some would say. I can respect that. Had I have not read The Gemma Doyle Trilogy though, had this been my 1st experience with Libba Bray's writing, I most likely would not continue on with this series. HOWEVER. I know her writing and I know how good she is at writing paranormal historical fiction fantasy. So, I will give this series a chance. I just wish it lived up to all the hype I had given it in my head. 










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Ingenue (Book 2, The Flappers)

Summary:

"Power . . . love . . . scandal . . .There’s never enough to go around.
In the city that never sleeps, Lorraine Dyer is wide awake. Ever since she exposed Clara Knowles for the tramp she was—and lost her closest confidante in the process—Lorraine has spent every second scheming to make her selfish, lovesick ex–best friend pay for what she did. No one crosses Lorraine. Not even Gloria. 
True love conquers everything—or so Gloria Carmody crazily believed. She and Jerome Johnson can barely scrape together cash for their rent, let alone have a moment to whisper sweet nothings in the dark. And if they thought escaping Chicago meant they’d get away with murder . . . they were dead wrong.
Clara was sure that once handsome, charming Marcus Eastman discovered her shameful secret, he’d drop her like a bad habit. Instead, he swept her off her feet and whisked her away to New York. Being with Marcus is a breath of fresh air—and a chance for Clara to leave her wild flapper ways firmly in the past. Except the dazzling parties and bright lights won’t stop whispering her name. . . . 
INGENUE is the second novel in the sexy, dangerous, and ridiculously romantic Flappers series set in the Roaring Twenties . . . where revenge is a dish best served cold."

Plot: The plot was great, you pick up with everyone in New York for the summer. Gloria unrecognizable and  transformed from Debutante to a witty street girl. Lorraine working as a manager of a speakeasy and getting mixed up in the mob, Clara avoiding getting sucked back into her old life and Vera searching for her brother. It all comes together in the end, each of their stories eventually intertwining.

Characters: Everyone is pretty much the same, Minus Gloria who has a little more grit to her. Lorraine is still Selfish,annoying and getting into trouble. I love Clara and her ambitions and Vera is a little easier to like, since she comes of more soft.

Pros: Great Sequel, enjoying 20's read and good for a short summer read as well.

Cons: Nothing really, but I felt there was something missing I just don't know what.

Final Thoughts: I was happy to come back into the 20's with these girls and I enjoyed the fluffy read and liked the addition of a hired hit woman out to get Jerome and Carlito. I would have appreciated if that story line either had a better ending or continued on into the next book and/or was more prominent through the book. I also felt the ending was off, I just don't know why I feel that way. Overall, I would call Ingenue a good Transition book to book 3 and maybe a tad more stronger story..

Bright Young Things

Summary:

"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.Across the vast lawns of Long Island, in the illicit speakeasies of Manhattan, and on the blindingly lit stages of Broadway, the three girls' fortunes will rise and fall—together and apart. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Luxe comes an epic new series set in the dizzying last summer of the Jazz Age"

Plot: The plot is intriguing, fun and a little more mature. Although Godbersen shows a fondness for building her characters up, to see them fall, like she did in the Luxe Series. Right now it is working, and creates a page turning plot, that is not overplayed.

Characters: I really love these characters, there personalities are so vivid and the girls are all so likeable (so far) I mean Letty is a little annoying, but it's cause she is still naive. One thing I do like about Godbersen is her male characters are equally as well written. Although, I have yet to find a swoon-worthy male character.

Pros: fun, hard to put down, glamorous.

Cons: shows tendencies of writing like The Luxe Series.

Final Thoughts: I have been waiting to read this book forever! I had a few worries about reading this book though, one reason being I ended up not liking The Luxe Series written by Godbersen. Which was at times really good, but Godbersen's sense of justice was just twisted. Also, I had read Vixen which is another 20's themes book with 4 girls. So, I was afraid of similarities. As for my first worry, this book has the potential to go that way , but as far as being like Vixen the books do a good job at being very different. And I prefer Bright Young Things more. Being that this was Book 1 though, it was definitely a book that was just building up the whole story line for the series.
I also like that the book takes place in  1929 and in New York. As opposed to early prohibition and in Chicago. Which would be cool too, but it is always nice to  read a different point of view.  I don't know what else to say besides I can totally see why this book is a big hit.

Vixen

Summary:

"Jazz . . . Booze . . . Boys . . . It’s a dangerous combination. Every girl wants what she can’t have. Seventeen-year-old Gloria Carmody wants the flapper lifestyle—and the bobbed hair, cigarettes, and music-filled nights that go with it. Now that she’s engaged to Sebastian Grey, scion of one of Chicago’s most powerful families, Gloria’s party days are over before they’ve even begun . . . or are they? Clara Knowles, Gloria’s goody-two-shoes cousin, has arrived to make sure the high-society wedding comes off without a hitch—but Clara isn’t as lily-white as she appears. Seems she has some dirty little secrets of her own that she’ll do anything to keep hidden. . . .  Lorraine Dyer, Gloria’s social-climbing best friend, is tired of living in Gloria’s shadow. When Lorraine’s envy spills over into desperate spite, no one is safe. And someone’s going to be very sorry. . . . "

Plot: At first it was hard for me to get into this book, mainly cause I find similarities between the Luxe Series and this one. And although I have yet to read Bright Young Things (also, by the author of The Luxe Series) It also has 20's premise. But when you take the book for what it is, it has a nice intriguing story line, that is intriguing enough, but not unique.

Character: The three girls I enjoyed, you can't really dislike any of them too much. They each are there own person and Larkin distinguishes that pretty well, but telling each chapter in a different view point. She also, develops strong male characters and well as other supporting characters.

Pros: Fun, enticing and rip roaring 20's 

Cons: The insta- love, not enough build up between the characters. Also, on the page I was appalled to see a character using the phrase "Oh My Gawd..." Not my idea of proper 20's language. This instantly made me even more skeptical 

Final Thoughts: I feel the story line has already been done and it was pretty similar to Anna Godbersen's the Luxe Series. However, like i said when I read the book at face value and understood that it is hard to be completely original and you just need to add your own touch to it. Once, I did that I began to really enjoy the book. I fell in love with Jerome and Marcus (future MBBF's?) I felt I was reading a dirty love novel when they were each together with their leading ladies. Although kept quite G-Rated. I could feel their passion. The only thing was I wanted more build up. In general I wanted a little more build up. I didn't feel as if the book had enough description. It was set in the 20's but didn't feel like it was in the 20's much at all. Larkin did take her characters to interesting conclusions and the end of this book though and since I do like the girls, I am interested in seeing where these paths will lead them.