Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Midnight in Austenland

Midnight in Austenland
By Shannon Hale
Bloomsbury, 2012. 277 pgs. Fiction

Charlotte Kinder is trying to move on with her life after a painful divorce from her husband a year earlier. While planning a vacation she learns about Pembrook Park, a Regency-themed resort of sorts where women come to play parlor games, take a turn about the gardens, learn country dances, and enjoy new associations with the attractive gentlemen housed at the estate. But Charlotte's vacation becomes something else altogether when she catches a glimpse of a corpse-like hand in a secret room.

Fans of the first book, Austenland, will enjoy this sequel loosely based on Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. If you're worried that this book will simply rework the plot from Austenland, you may be pleasantly surprised. This is a fun, quick read that will appeal to fans of Jane Austen and Shannon Hale.

BHG

1 comment:

Liz said...

I liked Midnight in Austenland more than the first! The repeat of a few silly characters is heartwarming. I like the new dynamic with a divorced woman trying to navigate love again. The mystery aspect keep the pages turning and the twists were so unexpected. I love a good (regency) romance and this one is endearing and so sweetly wrapped into the plot twists. When I really like a book and don't want it to end I finish it and then go back and read the last 50 pages to soak it all in again. I caught myself doing this with Midnight in Austenland and so you know it was a good one!

-LP