Beth PattilloRezensionen

I had hoped to sympathize with the protagonist because I don’t actually enjoy Austen. The title, however, is misleading. I just couldn’t bring myself to care about anything that was going on here.

I devoured this book. I picked it up at 10pm, and finished it at 1am (I'm tired today). I just couldn't put it down. I really enjoyed the pace, the story, and the imagined life of Jane Austen.

Better than the other book I read by this author.
Two slightly antagonistic sisters follow their dying mother's wishes and go on a Jane Austen walking tour in England. Their goals are: find a place to scatter their mother's ashes, learn to get along better, find love (in Sense and Sensibility scenarios), and figure out what to do with their mother's last unexpected legacy to them: a diary purported to be Cassandra Austen's.
The Formidables, a secret society dedicated to keeping Jane Austen's private stuff private, enter the picture just as they did in the author's previous books.

This was a short, quick read. It was not a bad book, just different from what I was expecting, and didn't leave enough of an impression to make me want to keep it. I thought there might be a bit more mystery and suspense. Instead, the main character accepts fairly quickly that what she's being given is an original, unpublished Austen manuscript. She falls extremely quickly for the Mr. Darcy-like character, who is actually pretty two-dimensional. I would just call it light reading, no more.

Reminded me a lot of the early Mitford books by Jan Karon - but with a bit more reality. Great tie-ins with other classic books.

Nicely done tie of books, knitting, relationships. I certainly had a hard time finding these women as friends, amazed that they did not know some of the secrets being so small town. Liked using female children's books then their discussions of relating now to adult lives, use of knitting projects that related to the stories. Glad to see the behavior of the sister in love with a husband. Related to Hannah the teenagers story as realistic, as a librarian I laughed at the stereotype spinster and her stubborn ways.

Purely for a fun read

Claire takes her sister's place at a Jane Austen discussion in Oxford.
She leaves behind her needy sister and seemingly dull boyfriend Neil for the week.

Almost immediately after arriving she meets James. He is handsome but almost unfriendly at first.

She also meets Harriet who claims to have an original Jane Austen story called First Impressions. It was an early draft of Pride and Prejudice where Elizabeth has a different love interest.

Despite always claiming not to get the Darcy appeal, the combination of James and First Impressions are making Claire seriously reconsider her doubts about Darcy.

It's an enjoyable read. I didn't want anything heavy here, I wanted a nice light read and this fits the bill. Some plot points you'll see coming and others you may question. Why would Harriet tell Claire about First Impressions, she didn't even know her?
I honestly didn't care :) it was a fun read and it fit expectations in my opinion.

Emma Grant blames Jane Austen for her belief in "happily ever after," as well as her parents. Emma recently found her husband cheating with her teaching assistant on their kitchen table. To make matters worse, the TA accused Emma of plagiarism and her jerk of a husband sided with the TA.
She goes off to England and is complies with some "tasks" that an elderly woman sets to her. All having to do with Jane Austen and a gap in her life span that historians cannot account for.

This book wasn't horrible, but it isn't fantastic either. Get it from the library. There are a few spelling errors and one major Jane Austen faux pas regarding the family's surname of Mansfield Park.

Fans of Debbie Macomber will probably enjoy this, but readers looking for complex characters and an original storyline should look elsewhere.

There's a sub-genre of women's fiction in which a group of characters meet on a regular basis to discuss books, or knit, or sew, or quilt, and whose friendships then resolve problems being faced by one (or usually more) of the attendees. Beth Pattillo has moshed two of them together to create the Sweetgum Knit Lit Society, which both reads books AND knits items thematically related to the book-of-the-month.

There's a sullen teen, a foundering marriage, and not one but two members pining for men married to someone else, and all of them manage to resolve the issues and start on the road to Happily Ever After by the end of the book.

Can someone please write a good modern Jane Austen themed story for once? I'm tired of all these mediocre ones.

This book had me captivated from the beginning. A bit of mystery and romantic allure. I loved the attraction Claire had for this brooding Darcy type. The subtle tensions kept me reading. I loved the underlying mystery of the old lady with the Jane Austen manuscript. Everything was fine until the end. The character had changed, saw her life in a different light, but for some reason, that didn't do it for me. I'm not sure what I wanted, but it was lacking in drama. Still a thought provoking read. It made me think. Intuitive types would love this.

I heart The Sound of Music. Meaning that I had the movie (along with every other R&H) on constantly throughout my formative years. And while Her Perfect Earl definitely borrows some character elements, the book doesn't copy that story in the slightest.

Optimistic governess. Check.
Emotionally removed widower half-engaged to his second wife? Check.
A brood of children who are emotionally distanced from their father? Check.

About the only thing not present is the Nazi/WW2 story line. And singing. There is even a scene where the kids put on a play! Though theirs doesn't fare quite as well as the VonTrapp kids did.

For all of that, I liked these characters for themselves. Like I said, even though it blatantly shares elements with TSoM, it doesn't feel like it at all. You really want Esmie to get her school, and for Julian to get his head out of his bum the whole book. It took me a little while to warm up to Julian, but once I did, I quite liked him. However, I did wish there was more depth to their relationship regarding their love for researching and antiquities (we are mostly told this, not shown). It seems like such a big part of why they liked each other to be mostly skipped over. The ending was also a bit... sudden. Yeah... I'll put it like that. Big life changes in a short amount of time. So if that is a trope you don't like, stay far away from this book.

There is apparently an epilogue about the children on the authors site which I plan to look up as well. (EDIT: Here's the epilogue) While Her Perfect Earl wasn't genre-changing or anything, it was quite nice. And all the Sound of Music nostalgia it evoked didn't hurt either.

Note: After having read this, I realized it is a re-release of an older (2005) title by this author. So it's not so much a newly released book, as it is as newly released edition. Just an fyi.

ARC courtesy of Bell Bridge Books, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A short, quick read. Surprisingly thoughtful, especially considering I was expecting an entertaining but somewhat silly romantic novel. Can and should we reinvent ourselves given the opportunity?

"A missing manuscript....a secret society sworn to protect Jane Austen's legacy.....and one woman who has the chance to expose the truth about a certain Fitzwilliam Darcy...."

It was okay. Unrealistic in many ways and Emma wasn't quite likable enough to draw me in and Adam wasn't quite developed enough for me to like him. The Formidables and the drawing in of Adam by Mrs. Parrot were definitely quite interesting.

It was okay. Unrealistic in many ways and Emma wasn't quite likable enough to draw me in and Adam wasn't quite developed enough for me to like him. The Formidables and the drawing in of Adam by Mrs. Parrot were definitely quite interesting.

It was okay. Unrealistic in many ways and Emma wasn't quite likable enough to draw me in and Adam wasn't quite developed enough for me to like him. The Formidables and the drawing in of Adam by Mrs. Parrot were definitely quite interesting.

It was okay. Unrealistic in many ways and Emma wasn't quite likable enough to draw me in and Adam wasn't quite developed enough for me to like him. The Formidables and the drawing in of Adam by Mrs. Parrot were definitely quite interesting.

The end scene? Be still my swooning heart!

An easy read, enjoyable. Not great literature, would make a great chick-flick.

Ugh. I really wanted to love this story but, like the other Jane book by Pattillo, there was just too much patheticness going on. This story wouldn't have been so disappointingly predictable if it wasn't so much like her other one, Jane Austen Ruined My Life. If you've not read it, great. If so, go into this one knowing that it's pretty much the same story, different scenario.

There were several unbelievable parts, well besides the REALLY BIG unbelievable parts. The "old writing" doesn't sound anywhere remotely near Austen. Also, Claire is supposed to know pretty much nothing about Austen, yet she's able to say the manuscript, "had a certain quality that seemed so close to the original." Re-he-heeeeellly???"

I do have to say that I love the idea of a Jane Austen Secret Society and this book prompted me to apply for a JASNA chapter here in NW Arkansas.

I was annoyed that 150 pages in she suddenly has an epiphany about her relationship with her sister and her own co-dependent tendencies, etc., but there's not enough story there in the first 150 pages for the reader to share this revelation or even to say, "Thank God she gets it!"

Like I said, I do love the Jane Austen "Underground" idea and I think Pattillo could continue on with a great series---she just needs to be more diversified in her story lines. Seriously... even the dress in the cover art is too similar. Surely not every Austen fan walks around England in a cherry red backless, sleeveless dress? And...her heroine's boyfriend shows up out of the blue from the US---in BOTH? And...she's pursued by a fake suitor---in BOTH? Hello???

I am keeping this in my permanent collection, but only because I decided to keep the other one and I'm weird about having a matched set.

Pattillo's Austen inspired novels are the perfect rainy day reads that have just enough conflict to still keep them cozy. In Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart, Claire Prescott meets a kind -sometimes confused- elderly lady, who lets her read Jane Austen's first draft of Pride & Prejudice, First Impressions. It is quite ambitious to write in the voice of one of the most beloved writers of all time, but Pattillo provides many "chapters" and brings it to life. First Impressions is an entirely different and unexpected story, and I found it fascinating to partake in speculation of what the lost manuscript might be like.



Oh, and I mustn't fail to mention the romance. There is more than one suitor for the heroin to choose from, just as Jane Austen would have it.

Before a proper review begins...I must rant about something that really bothered me about this book. It's a tiny flaw, but it really gets to me.

If one says "I love Jane Austen, I will write a book about her life and novels..." then one should ensure that every tiny detail is correct. At one point in the novel, the main character (Emma) is talking to Adam about a home in a park and they say it possibly inspired the great homes in Austen's novels. Emma then says that the family in Mansfield Park did not appreciate the beauty of homes because they were too self-involved. That's all fine...but she calls the family the Rushworths. "But I can't imagine a family like the Rushworths living in someplace this elegant." Really?! You love Jane Austen and her novels, but you say that the main family in Mansfield Park is called Rushworth? Seriously?! You write a book about an academic who has dedicated her life to studying Austen's works and you have her say that the family in Mansfield Park is called Rushworth?! AND NO ONE EVER CAUGHT THIS TO CORRECT IT?! What?! The family that LIVES at Mansfield Park is the BERTRAMS! Rushworth is the doofus that marries Maria Bertram!

Ok...beyond that:

The book is like a lightweight Da Vinci Code for Austen fans. I also find it very difficult to understand how this woman can keep blaming Jane Austen for her sad love life when Austen wrote everyone of her leading male characters with flaws. Darcy his pride (and his prejudice against those with lesser means), Wentworth his inability to forgive Anne, and Knightley his constant need to correct Emma and treat her like a child. Yes...they overcome these flaws, but they exist! And...by the end, I was just over the main characters blindness to what she has right in front of her. Ugh.

Cute story...but it could definitely use some work.

Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Patillo was a pleasurable read ~ light and quick and a bit of an escape. English professor and Austen expert Emma Grant is heartbroken, after both her divorce and the collapse of her academic career, when an intriguing communication lures her to England. The bait ~ a possible cache of Jane Austen's unpublished letters. Her desire to inspect them is complicated by her renewed acquaintance with former best-friend and fellow English professor Adam Clark along with a series of Austen-related tasks that the guardian of the letters gives Emma. Yet through these tasks Emma learns about herself and her attitudes toward love, marriage and her place in the world. While the growing romance between the heroine and Adam is sweet, sweeter is the new sense of self that Emma gains. Written in the first person and includes some interesting Austen information, this is a book readers will drink down like a cup of comforting tea.