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Author: Shannon Hale
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publishing Date: February 2, 2012
Length: 272 pages
Summary: (From book) When Charlotte Kinder decides to treat herself to a vacation, she happily leaves behind all the complications of her life in America and heads to Austenland. The country manor Pembrook Park offers an immersive Jane Austen experience, complete with gentleman actors to provide just a suggestion of romance.
Everyone at Pembrook Park is playing a role, but increasingly, Charlotte can't be sure where roles end and reality begins. And as the parlor games turn a little bit menacing, she finds she needs more than a good corset to keep herself safe. Is the brooding Mr. Mallery as sinister as he seems? What is Miss Gardenside's mysterious ailment? Could that have been a real dead body in the attic? And could the stirrings in Charlotte's heart be a sign of real-life love?
My Thoughts: I have read a few of Shannon Hale's books and I have thoroughly enjoyed them. When I heard that she was writing a sequel to her lovely Jane Austen tribute, Austenland, I counted down the days until I could pick up a copy. The setting of the book is the same as the first book, but with a few new characters and a few loved old ones from the first book. The plot for this book was a little darker in the fact that this was a mystery with a few twists. The story line was clever, but it lacked some of the humor that made the first book so enjoyable. Two parts in the book however made me laugh until I cried so that made up for it.
This is adult fiction, so there are somethings to look out for. I admit, I wish I'd known about it. I am not bothered by a few swearwords (Heck, dang, dastard. All used very little) But the suggestive content at times were a bit nauseating.
All in all it was a cute story, but the first book is by far my favorite.
