Jane is hopelessly obsessed with Mr. Darcy from Pride & Prejudice, going so far as to allow it to color all her attempts at romance. A deceased relative bequeaths her a 3-week stay at an all-inclusive, fully immersive, Regency England country house, complete with Austenesque characters and romances and Jane goes with the intention of putting the fantasy behind her, once and for all.
I've seen this one recommended time and again, but i've never been that into romance or Mr. Darcy (as much as I love P&P) so I never made an effort to read the book. A few months ago, I ran across a copy at the book outlet and thought, why not?
I was immediately taken with the writing - the tone felt so very Austen! But it took a lot longer for me to warm to Jane; her constant berating of herself grew thin fast and at one point, I wondered if I'd finish. Luckily, that was just when Jane started finding her spine and things started getting interesting. Honestly, Pembrook Park was almost Machiavellian; Hale too, because she totally, totally fooled me. This was a 3.5 star read until that final couple of scenes. By the end of the book I not only liked Jane, but I respected her.
A fun read that ultimately surprised me.
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