Rumors by Anna Godbersen is the second in the Luxe book series. I reviewed the first one, The Luxe, and absolutely loved it. This young adult book series has really shocked me and continues to do so. At first glance it appears to be just a typical YA love story and those just aren’t the type of stories I go for. However, it is so much more than just that. Yes, a lot of the focus is on the different romantic relationships but the books also focus heavily on family, friends and independent women. There’s also a heavy dose of drama, which I do thoroughly enjoy. Now for the plot…

*Spoilers*

The Plot

The second book begins with Elizabeth Holland (the oldest Holland sister who faked her own death in the previous book) out west in California with her love, Will Keller. Elizabeth and Will are happy and soon to be very wealthy because Will has found oil. However, back in New York, Elizabeth’s younger sister Diana is not happy. The Holland family financial situation is only getting worse and Diana and her lover, Henry Schoonmaker, are having to carry on their love affair in private while trying to figure out how to marry. Diana writes to Elizabeth and tells her that their mother is sick and about the financial straits that they’re in. Elizabeth and Will decide to return to New York to help the family however they can. Meanwhile, Penelope Hayes, Henry’s former lover, finds out that Henry and Diana have slept together. She threatens to ruin Diana’s reputation if Henry doesn’t marry her instead. Henry decides to marry Penelope because he loves Diana so much he doesn’t want her to be ruined. The two marry quickly, at Penelope’s insistence, and Henry doesn’t have time to even explain to Diana why he decided to marry Penelope. Around this time Elizabeth arrives home and finds out that a former associate of her father’s, Snowden Cairns, has been staying at the home and helped her family to get out of their financial crisis. Soon after Elizabeth and Will decide to head back to California since the family is okay but at the train station the police believe that Will is Elizabeth’s abductor. They shoot him; killing him instantly. Elizabeth returns to her family home in a state of a shock. The book ends with both sisters devastated and Elizabeth vowing to help Diana get Henry back.

My Thoughts

I really don’t have much to say about this book except I enjoyed it just as much as the first one. This book was definitely much more heartbreaking than the first. Will’s death was very upsetting because Elizabeth and he were so happy and everything was finally going great for them. I’m looking forward to seeing how Elizabeth develops as a character now that she’s suffered such a major loss. The same goes for Diana. Diana is easily my favorite character because she’s so spunky and just wants to be happy. However, she will do what she has to to be happy even if that means cutting people out of her life. I also hope that Penelope eventually gets what she deserves, haha. I love that the characters continually develop and change throughout the books. That makes them realistic and relatable which is something other books lack.

If it’s not obvious, I recommend this book but these are not books you can read out of order. Be sure to read The Luxe before Rumors. Let me know if you’ve read this series before or if you think you’d like to check them out! Thank you for reading and have a great day!