Title:  Beautiful Days [Indie Bound] [Amazon]
Author: Anna Godbersen [website] [twitter] [facebook]
Genre:  Historical Fiction
Publisher: Harper Teen
Series: Bright Young Things
Format: Paperback (ARC)
Source: Publisher
Parental Advisory: alcohol, sex, criminal activity
Teachable Moments: self-esteem, bigotry, temperance

“From the second floor of Dogwood came a constant ringing of billiards, the cue ball hitting its mark or scattering the other fifteen.  The parlor there was always filled with Charlie’s gang, hanging around in undershirts and running the electric fans, waiting for night to fall and their real work to begin.  They slept odd hours on old mattresses in out-of-the-way rooms.  Meanwhile, the kitchen was ruled by a one-legged man whose specialties included egg sandwiches and spaghetti and meatballs.  All of this had always seemed novel and extraordinary to Astrid.  Now that she was a resident of Dogwood it was soon to change, of course.”

Summary (from the publisher):
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 the girls aren’t content to be mere socialites — they’re ready to chase their dreams, no matter the cost.  The beautiful days may seem endless, but Cordelia, Letty and Astrid are playing a dangerous game….and the stakes could be deadly.

Opinion:
Beautiful Days is a fantastic addition to Godbersen’s Bright Young Things series.  In fact, I enjoyed it so much more than the first which means I’m now officially hooked on the series and anticipatory for the next in line!

Wo what worked really well for me?

A great many things in fact.  The plot was tighter and allowed for the characters lives to intertwine more closely together, the further character development made everyone more appealing, and the romance was fun and interesting.  While book one felt a bit more melodramatic in tone Beautiful Days seemed to hit it’s stride just right.  Most of this better feeling for the series definitely comes from the fact that all of the different stories were infused together well.  It wasn’t a story that bounced from one place to another as much as it’s predecessor.  Most everything going on was in relation to everything else going on thus the transitions between them all were much more smoothly navigated.

So let’s talk about specifics.

I quite enjoyed the focus on the push and pull of Astrid and Charlie’s continually evolving relationship.  It shows how much Charlie stays the same while Astrid continues to develop into a stronger more capable person.  With each day she becomes more independent, free-thinking and self assured.  He, on the other hand, is a gangster who’s main characteristic is to be domineering.  He does have a heart and he genuinely loves her but he can be an ass to be sure.  They play well off each other and go to show that opposites really do attract.

On the other hand, Cordelia had a new love match in trick pilot Max.  Much like Astrid and Charlie their relationship had a fair amount of push and pull — she being a newly crowned queen of the social scene and he quite a bit lower on the scale.  His reasons for keeping her at a distance are well founded and allowed Godbersen to bring in the era’s less affluent side of life to the story which I appreciated.  Don’t fear, though, this budding love affair was not one that went to either extreme and it’s sole focus wasn’t on the disparity between them as much as it was about each learning more about how the other lived and adapting to it.  Further, Cordelia’s story centered far more on her becoming part of her father and Charlie’s business pursuits.  I found her intriguing and believable as a business woman and I liked that it opened the door to further distance in her relationship with Letty.

Letty, for her part, is still trying to make a go of it as a singer.  Her role in this story was about the same as it was in the first — she was attempting to fit in with Cordelia and Astrid’s lifestyle and trying to become a star.  Thankfully, in Beautiful Days she got several steps closer to the latter.  Several opportunities arose (and some fell) that allowed for career progression.  Interestingly enough one such opportunity makes it feel as though she might be the central focus of the next book.  Letty’s life isn’t all dire though, she wasn’t completely ignored in the romance department, she too had a fella.  I’ll let you read for yourself about how successful her reconnection with Grady was.

Finally, I’ll add that the gangster war over liquor was still going strong throughout the book as well.  It factored in amongst the larger whole of all three stories and was the one element that helps infuse them all together.

All three of the girls stories interested me, though there was a decided lack of Cordelia this time around.  This made sense to me since she was the primary focus of the first book. In this second book it was Astrid’s turn to be the starlet of the show and what a starlet she was.  The true and official socialite of the group Astrid was happy going to parties and planning her much anticipated life of wedded bliss with Charlie.  Unlike book one where I found her a bit pretentious, manipulative and overbearing this time around I thought her to be far more high-spirited and fun.  She was the girl who was so sweetly and cluelessly self-absorbed that it was endearing.  This isn’t to say she wasn’t caring of those around her because Astrid had a genuine love for Letty and Cordelia.  They are sisters to her and she wants to assure their happiness in all things.  It was just that she wanted to assure her happiness first.

I so enjoy the setting and tone this series as well.  It’s focus on the lusciousness of the era gave everything a larger than life persona.  From garden parties to speakeasies to the varied country clubs and estates every locale felt more grand and shinier than ever before.  Godbersen doesn’t skimp out on us though, she includes the more down-trodden sides of life too.  The underbelly of hidden criminal hangouts, seedy bars and the apartment style living of those less fortunate made appearances too.

Beautiful Days was a fun playful read that gives good perspective on the temperance era.  Filled with great characters and interesting plot it’s one to put on your burgeoning list of books to read.