Splendor (Luxe, #4)

by Anna Godbersen

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

The Holland girls are still hanging in flux, Henry Schoonmaker is still toying with Diana's heartstrings and Elizabeth is beginning to embrace marriage to her father's business partner rather than being an unwed mother. Penelope and Henry's marriage is on the friz and Carolina's secret past is dangerously near the surface.

Overall, I enjoyed The Luxe series but even after a week to reflect on the conclusion I'm still unsure how I feel about it. But one thing I have agreed upon is the universal theme of unrequited love.

No matter how you spin it the ending of the Diana/Henry romance will satisfy a very small handful but at the end of the day I think Diana would have suffocated if she accepted an expected life of a Holland. Instead, Elizabeth chooses that route but only after a hellish ride with D. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Penelope and Henry really deserve each other and to live in unhappiness and regret. Carolina, finally gets her just desserts which I have been waiting for since book one and even though she still maintains her position in society, is reminded as to where she comes from and at least is denied what she most desires.

At the end of the day, Splendor was an appropriate conclusion to The Luxe series but at the same time I would have wished for a little more juice to splatter like a blueberry.