Summary from Goodreads:
Sixteen-year-old Liza Johnson takes fangirl to a whole new level of crazy when she decides to take dating advice from her literary hero: Jane Austen.
With the help of her best friends, Liza sheds her ancient-speak and complete Austen wardrobe for something a bit more modern in an attempt at finding her very own Mr. Darcy.
Enter Will, the new kid and Liza's Darcy incarnate. Add her BFF's ex to mix and the sexy Brit who kisses with an accent, and Liza is in trouble.
So, what's a girl to do? Without her mom to go to relationship advice, Liza turns to the only person she can truly trust with matters of the heart via her mother's copy of COMPLETED WORKS OF JANE AUSTEN.
It's too bad Austen's heroines have never played Spin the Bottle or Seven Minutes in Heaven. Liza's determined to find her true Austen-esque happy ending, but if she can't trust herself instead of books, she just might end up in her own tragic love story.
With the help of her best friends, Liza sheds her ancient-speak and complete Austen wardrobe for something a bit more modern in an attempt at finding her very own Mr. Darcy.
Enter Will, the new kid and Liza's Darcy incarnate. Add her BFF's ex to mix and the sexy Brit who kisses with an accent, and Liza is in trouble.
So, what's a girl to do? Without her mom to go to relationship advice, Liza turns to the only person she can truly trust with matters of the heart via her mother's copy of COMPLETED WORKS OF JANE AUSTEN.
It's too bad Austen's heroines have never played Spin the Bottle or Seven Minutes in Heaven. Liza's determined to find her true Austen-esque happy ending, but if she can't trust herself instead of books, she just might end up in her own tragic love story.
About the Author
Erin Butler is lucky enough to have two jobs she truly loves. As a librarian, she gets to work with books all day long, and as an author, Erin uses her active imagination to write the kinds of books she enjoys reading. Young Adult and New Adult books are her favorites, but she especially loves the ones with kissing scenes.
Erin lives in Central New York with her very understanding husband, a stepson, and doggie BFF, Maxie. She prefers to spend her time indoors reading and writing, but will venture out for chocolate and sunshine. She is the author of BLOOD HEX, a YA paranormal, HOW WE LIVED, a contemporary New Adult novel, and FINDING MR. DARCY: HIGH SCHOOL EDITION, a contemporary YA.
Author Links:
My Review
3 Stars
Well, to be completely honest I had mixed feelings for this book. Don't get me wrong it is a good book (hence my 3 stars), but I didn't fall in love with it.
I liked Eliza's spirit. She was a good friend, and I enjoyed getting to see her love of Jane Austen and her reasons for her obsession. I loved how she used Jane Austen's books and characters for advice and dreamed about her life as one of her characters. Even going to the point of Austen speak (which I may be known to have done at times) to wearing Jane Austen t-shirts.
I loved how there was more to this story than finding your Mr. Darcy, though at times it felt like there was a lot going on, it portrayed life, the author did a good job encompassing as many teenage issues as she could without completely overloading the reader.
What I didn't like so much. There was not only a love triangle, but a love rectangle (or diamond). That's right, three guys that she liked, or thought she liked. I don't mind a love triangle if done right but they drive me nuts most of the time, so you can imagine how a love rectangle made me feel. I just wasn't a fan of her indecision. Sure, she's a teenager, but I just felt like her falling for every guy who looked at her was a little much and may I hope, unrealistic?
I also felt like there was a lot of teenage stereotypes in this book. There was, as mentioned above, the falling for every guy who looks at you. The stereotypical teenager attitude done to an extreme amount of (unnecessary) drama. The jealous friends, etc.
I really liked what Eliza learned throughout the book - not all life lessons can come from a book, a book is not going to spell out life for you. Not everyone's perfect match is who/how they imagine they will be, and that's okay because your true perfect match will be so much better - for you.
Normally, it's pretty clear to me who the main character will or should end up with even if it's not clear to the character (which it usually isn't). I know which guy I like. I usually know whom the character truly likes. And it has always been that guy. Not so with this book. I was actually a little shocked at how the book ended at first, but after thinking about it I know that it is for the best and they ended up with the perfect match - for themselves. I'll kind of miss hearing Eliza ask Elizabeth Bennett and other Jane Austen characters for advice, but it looks like she no longer needs it!
I liked Eliza's spirit. She was a good friend, and I enjoyed getting to see her love of Jane Austen and her reasons for her obsession. I loved how she used Jane Austen's books and characters for advice and dreamed about her life as one of her characters. Even going to the point of Austen speak (which I may be known to have done at times) to wearing Jane Austen t-shirts.
I loved how there was more to this story than finding your Mr. Darcy, though at times it felt like there was a lot going on, it portrayed life, the author did a good job encompassing as many teenage issues as she could without completely overloading the reader.
What I didn't like so much. There was not only a love triangle, but a love rectangle (or diamond). That's right, three guys that she liked, or thought she liked. I don't mind a love triangle if done right but they drive me nuts most of the time, so you can imagine how a love rectangle made me feel. I just wasn't a fan of her indecision. Sure, she's a teenager, but I just felt like her falling for every guy who looked at her was a little much and may I hope, unrealistic?
I also felt like there was a lot of teenage stereotypes in this book. There was, as mentioned above, the falling for every guy who looks at you. The stereotypical teenager attitude done to an extreme amount of (unnecessary) drama. The jealous friends, etc.
I really liked what Eliza learned throughout the book - not all life lessons can come from a book, a book is not going to spell out life for you. Not everyone's perfect match is who/how they imagine they will be, and that's okay because your true perfect match will be so much better - for you.
Normally, it's pretty clear to me who the main character will or should end up with even if it's not clear to the character (which it usually isn't). I know which guy I like. I usually know whom the character truly likes. And it has always been that guy. Not so with this book. I was actually a little shocked at how the book ended at first, but after thinking about it I know that it is for the best and they ended up with the perfect match - for themselves. I'll kind of miss hearing Eliza ask Elizabeth Bennett and other Jane Austen characters for advice, but it looks like she no longer needs it!
I received a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are solely my own.
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