Thursday, June 4, 2009

Jane Austen Ruined My Life - Beth Pattillo

I love Jane Austen everything, and when I saw this book and read the first page, I knew it was coming home with me. I really enjoyed this story. It's easy to get into, the author's writing style is so relaxed and welcoming, and I wish the story hadn't ended. Persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen love story, and I'm so glad that the author chose to feature it the way she did in this novel. I wish I had my own Captain Wentworth!

Emma's story is uplifting, and I love how Beth Pattillo kind of paralleled her story with Jane Austen's in the book. I especially loved reading all the made-up letters and the fun tasks Emma had to complete. My favorite task was the last one at Chawton where Emma runs her finger across Jane Austen's writing desk when no one is looking. I can totally see myself doing that, and my heart beat even speeds up just thinking about such a rush! Oh man, to feel the power! I would love to visit all the places Emma went to during her research. Fun, fun!

The only thing I wish was different was the ending. I was hoping the author would have featured a little more about Adam and Emma reuniting in the epilogue. I was really rooting for Adam the whole time. Poor guy. Pattillo should have written more story so that Adam and Emma could get together again back in London and have a happily-ever-after. Those are always nice...but the final ending does suit the story and leaves the reader wondering what will happen next. Sometimes at the end of a really good book, it is nice not really knowing the rest. It made for a good "find yourself" type story, and even though there was not as much romance as I would have liked, it was still a satisfying, fun read. I'm definitely keeping it to read again in the future.

2 comments:

Heather said...

I loved this book! I'm with you on the ending though. I wish there was more, but it did make sense for the type of story/message she was trying to write. I wondered what happened with that guy Barry though? Something should have happened with him. I'm also glad th author put all the disclaimers at the end. I wasn't sure which parts were "true" and which weren't.

Angel said...

I'm glad you liked it. I was beginning to wonder. I don't remember what happened with Barry. I think it would be cool if all the stuff about Jane Austen was true, but too bad it's not.