I waited to do a review till the end of the series. This series was an easy one to get into. I enjoyed the characters and the dive into the "rich" world of that time era. The story lines and the way the intertwined were interesting. Some points I felt I had figured out and then was surprised.

I felt as though the last book was rushed and she could have and maybe should have added another book to this. The ending of this story was disappointing. ( )

Interesting end to the series. The tidying up of all the story lines seemed to come quickly after a lot of rambling. I liked the book, just not as well as the first books in the series ( )

Lost my vote with the ending ( )

Oh I'm so sorry to see a lovely series such as this end. I love Anna Godbersen and her writing style. She created such a beautiful world I loved spending so much time in. I feel like now I have to say goodbye to such good friends and I loved all the endings Godbersen gave to her characters.

For me, this book was the most enjoyable of the series, maybe even the most shocking. That's one of the things I felt Godbersen did so well throughout the entire series. The problems her characters have to face don't seem so far-fetched for the time period and they read almost like a Jane Austen novel, if she had lived during the period.

I am looking forward to finishing Godbersen's other series, Bright Young Things but also hope that soon, Godbersen will write another historical fiction series since she does such an amazing job. If you enjoy historical fiction, this is such an amazing ride to be a part of and should check out these books.
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I started this series a while ago but didn't get around to actually finishing it until recently. I had about ten chapters left to read and now I wish I didn't finish it.

In this Gossip Girl-esque story that takes place in the 1900s all boiled down to what choices the characters are going to make to finally be happy. Dianna Holland must choose between society or her wanderlusting heart. Henry Schoonmaker is torn between his love for Dianna and his family name. And so on and so forth.

Will Elizabeth be content carrying her dead lover's child while trapped in a loveless marriage? Did Penelope finally find a way to reach a higher status in the arms of a Bulgarian Prince? Can Carolina finally put her past life in the past and find happiness wearing the name of one of New York society's oldest names?????

If I'm being honest the reason this book made me want to rip every page out one by one was the ending. There was no way I was going to be okay with the entire series as a whole after that. The rest of this review will be a terrible brain dump of all I hated about the ending.

I'll try to organize it in order of character arcs.
Henry: STUPID STUPID STUPID. So we find Henry stationed in Havana, Cuba basically living the privileged life only with a military uniform. When he reunites Dianna they continue their love affair until his superior officer sends him back home. He spends the entire book trying to find a way out of his agreement with Penelope but when he finally grows a pair and tells his dad off the old man croaks leaving him the Schoonmaker fortune. For some reason it stops him from running away to Paris with Dianna a plan, might I add, that was originally his. *pulls hair out*
Penelope: okay the bitch got what she deserved lol...and because Henry was so stupid in the end there so did he.
Dianna: actually I'm ok with where she ended up. Henry had been able to travel the world as a bachelor so why shouldn't she? Plus if he really truly did love her more than anything he would've packed up and followed her around the world.
Elizabeth: basically once Will died so did any hopes for a proper ending for this Holland sister's arc. Sadly she was involved in a crazy convoluted scheme where her second husband wanted to steal all of the Holland's riches. The fact that she preferred to keep her family's name clean instead of clearing her dead lover's name disgusted me and it pissed me off when she only ran into Teddy's arms just because he was still available and Cairins was a psycho.
Carolina: there's something about her that I never liked. The entitlement she always felt when she was a maid was really annoying. It sounds pretty bad but there's a difference between entitlement and wistfulness. She may have wished she was as rich as her Holland employers but she was so bitter and it really bugged me how she hated the love Will had for Elizabeth instead of her. Then she wiped him from her mind the minute a hot rich guy fell in love with her. I was slightly satisfied with how Leland left her but frustrated with the fact that she was still a venerated socialite. But hey, at least her sister was no longer being treated like a second class slave. ( )