Shannon Hale

A Novel

Austenland

Oh, man, that was so surprisingly good. I read it in a single day. I saw the movie years ago and remembered enjoying it and that was it. This was just delightful and though some parts in the beginning (apart from the incredible introduction which hooked me from the first sentence) were a bit disjointed, it was so well-written and fun and immersive. The ending was delectable and I'm so glad I found this book for three bucks in a thrift shop and got it on a whim.

Bethany

Sarah Sammis

I came to Shannon Hale by way of Rapunzel's Ravenge and while I was eagerly awaiting my chance to read the sequel, Calamity Jack (review coming) I decided to go back and read some of her novels. I chose at random Austenland.

I'm not a Jane Austen fan. I've never made it all the way through a book but I know the plots having seen many an adaptation. So I come to Jane Hayes, Austen fanatic and a Colin Firth (as Mr. Darcy) devotee. Whenever I hear Colin Firth mentioned as the reason why so many women apparently now swoon over Pride and Prejudice I have to scratch my head. I can never remember what he looks like. As far as the Mr. Darcy angle goes, at least I know who he is but he doesn't do it for me either (but Calamity Jack does).

But hey, I didn't read the book to swoon over Jane Austen, her books, her characters or the actors who portray them. I read it because Shannon Hale wrote it.

So anyway... Jane Haynes is given a trip to Austenland, an estate in England where she can live the full Jane Austen experience. She may be a fan of the books and the films but she's not ready to live them. She can't make witty conversation and she feels lost without her technology. She finds the whole experience boring, frustrating and infuriating.

In the middle of all of this is a Darcy inspired man playing a roll. There's an attraction but she can't decide if it's the fiction of Austenland or something deeper.

Austenland is a quick read but for me not the romp that Rapunzel's Ravenge or Calamity Jack was. It does have the usual plot points turned on their head and there's a wee glimmer of Jack in Jane's real world Darcy. I just wish I could have seen more of it.

Courtney

Colleen

A cute piece of chick-lit. I will admit that I saw the movie first. I did not even realize it was a book until I stumbled across it on goodreads. Many, many authors have rewritten Pride and Prejudice, and frankly most of those attempts fall short. (Too much imitation and not enough creativity.) But Austenland happily paid homage to the original work while still presenting fresh material.

Katherine Yang

Some entertaining/endearing moments, but development and plot twists were on the whole a little too muddled and contrived to avoid feeling sort of wrong. Also can't help feeling the characterisation were again enforcing damaging ideas about males/females/romance and I came away kind of confused as to what the actual point was?

Isadora Cal

It is a really fun reading. Honestly, I would give it 5 stars for the fun and excitment I had while reading it. But I have to say... it is not the best written text I've ever read. Also, sadly, I read it in Portuguese and the translation is awful. But still, the author sometimes got lost and mixed the narrators (the narrator and Jane sometimes were talking at the same time - I don't know how to explain).
But I would totally recommend it. Anyone who is slightly obsessed with Jane Austen can relate to Jane Hayes in this book.

Annie

Pop Sugar Challenge:
- a book set in a place you like to visit

For readers of Waiting for Tom Hanks and Well Met, a “gloriously satisfying” (Glamour) romantic comedy set at a Jane Austen fantasy resort from New York Times bestselling author Shannon Hale. Now a major motion picture starring Keri Russell and produced by Stephenie Meyer. Jane Hayes is a young New Yorker with a real romantic problem: no man she meets can compare to her one true love—Mr. Darcy from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort for Austen fanatics, Jane's fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined. Dressed in empire waist gowns and torn between a sexy gardener and an actor playing the brooding Darcy role, Jane finds herself mastering the rules of etiquette and of the resort’s flirtatious games. But when it’s time to bid Austenland goodbye, can Jane really leave her fantasies—and the two men who’ve played into them—behind? In this addictive, charming, and entirely delightful story, Shannon Hale brings out the Jane Austen obsessive in all of us.

Yulande Lindsay

A nice bit of fluff. Like sorbet after a heavy meal, this book was light and refreshing after some very intense fiction.

Sarah Escorsa

Samantha Alukas 

The second hand embarrassment is strong with this one. Am I the only one who finds the idea of people parading around in corsets and pretending to fall in love with paid actors wildly uncomfortable? 

A suitable fluff read for the Jane Austen enthusiast, unless you have an aversion to real-life historical re-enactments

Capucine Fachot

Entertaining book, quick read, I'm sorry to say this but I preferred the humorous tone displayed in the movie.

Alexandra Mellas

Originally posted here: http://raidingbookshelves.blogspot.co...

Original Language: English
Publisher: Bloomsbury Pub Plc USA
Country: USA
Publication Date: 2007
ISBN: 1596912855
Page Count: 208

Austenland is Shannon Hales first excursion into a Regency role playing holiday destination where everyone can (temporarily) find their own Mr Darcy. It's a new and exciting idea, but fails to live up to its real potential.

Jane is a boring protagonist. I can easily understand her obsession with all things Austen (especially Mr Darcy) but I can't understand how ridiculous it makes her. It's one thing to compare men to Mr Darcy, it's a complete other thing to expect a Darcy clone - wouldn't that be boring? And where does her embarrassment of her Austen obsession come from? I'm proud of my collection and would never resort to hiding anything in a pot plant.

I got sick of her complaining about not being able to find the right man - it's not something that happens overnight...exactly. Her 'confusion' between' Martin and Henry was irritating and irrational. It was obvious her attraction to Henry was a reflection of the antagonistic relationship between Lizzy and Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. The relationship between Jane and Martin is unrealistic, I can't stand how he treats her and how she reacts to him.

Speaking of which...the twists at the end (which I won't reveal in case others want to read it) comes from no where and adds nothing to the story. It just succeeds in making the cast, and the story, less likeable. I just can't stand Martin and there is no real character to Henry.

The world Hale creates in Pembrook Park is interesting and somewhat authentic - though Jane comments on a number of historical inaccuracies. The role playing seems like a fun, if not awkward, adventure and the characters are quite an endearing bunch - though Charming is as ridiculous and annoying a character as possible (anyone who says 'what what' more than once a book is an unsatisfactory character). 

I am very disappointed by Austenland. I love re-exploring stories in new ways but Austenland had none of the special magic of Jane Austen.

Raiding Bookshelves Rating: 2 stars

Judging by the cover: The manor house is quite pretty and provides a nice contrast between the modern and regency eras. It's nice but not fantastic.

Aleena Korell

Funny, quick read-- but I liked the movie better!

Megan

It was surprisingly funny and the dialogue was better than I expected.

Shawna Gavas

This was somewhere between 2.5 and 3 for me. This was the first book in the Austenland series and I had read the second book first. (you can read them as stand alones). I must say, I enjoyed the second one far more. I found it tough to make a connection with the main character Jane, and didn't like how the story was set up. Jane didn't really embrace Austenland which kind of ruined it for me, as I find the prospect of staying at a place like Austenland amazing. On the positive side, I liked the ending of the book far better than the second. Such mass confusion as to who was acting, who was real, who Jane would eventually end up with. I found it the saving grace of this book.

Alexis 

what to say about this book other than it was just okay. I didn't really care much for it. It was a very easy, short read. I didn't really connect with the characters in anyway, which is a shame because i love Jane Austen retelling's, especially the ones about pride and prejudice or Emma. I do enjoy the idea of going to a place to do cosplay.

Estefany 

Reseña

http://buscandoentrelibros.blogspot.c...

Christina Hnatov

Chelsea White

I saw the movie long before I read the book, so I already knew the plot and the twists. Generally I find there’s part of a book that’s been made into a movie that surprise me, but the movie was very faithful to the book (a pleasant surprise!). Rather than making me bored, it delighted me to no end since it’s so rare. Plus, it made for a quick read to help me reset and take my mind off of my ever present anxiety. I like that it’s not quite a typical romcom, but that there’s still a HEA.

JacQueline Roe

This was such a fun book, which celebrates and mocks all things Austen. I adored it and would have read the entire thing in one sitting if I didn’t have to work and love my family. Which, of course, I do love my family. But great book!

Meagan

I did this a little backwards. I first saw the movie (gasp) before even knowing it was a book. I own the movie on DVD and on my Amazon account, and it is watched at least once a week and I can quote it on command. The book was even better and gave my heart the ending I craved after the movie. This book was so sweet and absolutely perfect and an easy read. I wanted it to be 700 pages long because I never wanted to leave the story. one of my top favorites.

Aran

Oh dios mío. He visto la película unas cinco veces y nunca he encontrado una película que me haga sentir tan bien como Austenland. No importa lo mal que me sienta en ciertos momentos, si la veo se me pasa seguro. Y es que no hay película tan graciosa, romántica y perfecta para una romántica empedernida como yo.

No podía esperar a leer el libro, y qué puedo decir. El libro ha sido perfecto. Su adaptación en película fue fantástica y el libro no podía de ser más adorable, perfecto (y romántico!). Es que por favor, Mr. Nobley!!!!

Si habéis visto la película, no sé a qué esperáis para leer el libro, lo único que lamento es que me haya durado sólo dos tardes (es cortito). Pero lo he pasado tan bien! Jane es genial, original, fiel a si misma y quiere coger el mando de su vida y sentirse ella misma. Es genial, la adoro. Y Mr. Nobley, ah Mr. Nobley. Acabé la semana pasada Orgullo y Prejuicio y ÉL es el perfecto Darcy.

¿Cómo puede ser tan adorable? Es que ARGHHT ¿Dónde consigo un Mr. Nobley?

"And if I don't make you feel the most beautiful woman (view spoiler)[in the world every day of your life, then I don't deserve to be near you." —Nobley (hide spoiler)]

Como conclusión, sólo diré que he acabado el libro abrazada a él, y sin duda lo volveré a leer algún día. 

RECOMENDADO A TODO/AS.

McKenna Odom

When this book was recommended to me, I brushed it aside. I just knew it was going to be riddled with cheese and predictability. I’m happy to say I was quite wrong.

This book was a breath of fresh air. It was light and romantic and so funny. I caught myself chuckling out loud more than once. The chapters swap between days in Austenland and glimpses into Jane’s past relationships. The boyfriends are in numerical order from middle school all the way to present day Jane (early thirties). Seeing the progression of Jane’s love life made me appreciate and understand Jane all the more. She wasn’t this spinster who was too picky to settle. She was a woman with a romantic notion of who she wanted and she absolutely did not want to let it go. Any woman who is a fan of Pride and Prejudice will find Jane utterly relatable and endearing.

There was a level of cheese and predictability, but how can you not have a little cheese when you’re living in Austenland? It was kind of the point.

I recommend Darcy lovers everywhere read this book and enjoy it with a pint of dulce de leche ice cream.

Because her obsession with Jane Austen's Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice," is ruining her love life, Jane Hayes is delighted when she gets the chance to take a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women.

Emma

I saw the movie before I even knew there was a book, so I came into this knowing the story but excited to read it all the same. The movie was funny and cute, but I think the book does the story more justice. It's less cringe-y. Our protagonist, Jane, is relatable of course because who isn't more than a little hung up on the Darcy fantasy? "That was her problem, Jane decided- she'd always lugged around an excess of hope. If only she were more of a pessimist, she wouldn't have to grapple with these impossible whimsies..." A line that felt a little painfully too true. At least for me. It's a cute and sweet read if you're looking for a light romance and a strong woman shedding her insecurities and coming into her own to find empowerment. I for one am always a sucker for romance. There is a particular scene that I love both in the movie and the book where our two love birds escape to Jane's room and the kiss is the most absolute perfect thing I could ask for and the conversation through the key hole is just too cute for me. However, I still don't know how I feel about the intermittent interruptions to the main story with short glimpses of Jane's past boyfriends. On the one hand I do like knowing a little more about Jane's life (something we didn't get a whole lot of in the movie), on the other I don't know if I like the style of stop-and-go with the story. I don't enjoy being pulled out of a story like that. But that is such a small detail and not of dire importance. Overall, I loved the story and I loved the romance. Can I get a Nobley of my own now?

Austenland A Novel

Reviews