My Top 10 Favorite Books of 2017

I read 73 books last year, and while I enjoyed most of them, there are a handful that really stood out. Here are my top 10 favorites, with links to my reviews (in no particular order):

The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Darcy by Any Other Name by Laura Hile

The Honorable Mr. Darcy by Jennifer Joy

The Best Part of Love by A. D’Orazio

A Lie Universally Hiddenby Anngela Schroeder

T

he Darcy Monologues edited by Christina Boyd

Rules for a Successful Book Club by Victoria Connelly

These Dreams by Nicole Clarkston

The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen by Ada Bright and Cass Grafton

Honorable Mentions (in no particular order):

Wait for the Rain by Maria Murnane

Attempting Elizabeth by Jessica Grey

Darcy’s Hope at Donwell Abbey by Ginger Monette

Mendacity & Mourning by J.L. Ashton

A Most Handsome Gentleman by Suzan Lauder

What were your favorite books of 2017? Please tell me in the comments!

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Review: Christmas with the Book Lovers by Victoria Connelly

Source: Review copy from author

She’d been a little tempted to keep it herself, she had to admit. Indeed, she’d placed it on her shelf of beloved hardbacks just to see what it looked like. But wasn’t that the test of a really good gift? If it truly hurt you to give it away then you knew that it was a good present.

(from Christmas with the Book Lovers)

Christmas with the Book Lovers is the latest installment in Victoria Connelly’s series, The Book Lovers. It is set right after the first book, The Book Lovers, which introduced readers to the Nightingale family, which owns a trio of bookshops in the village of Castle Clare, and children’s book author Callie Logan, who moved from London to Owl Cottage in Newton St. Clare after her marriage ended and befriended Sam Nightingale, the owner of a secondhand bookshop and the founder of the village’s new book club.

In this novella, Callie is spending Christmas Eve with the Nightingale family at Campion House, and she is excited to experience the family tradition of reading ghost stories aloud, specifically those by M.R. James. Callie is intrigued by the family’s recollection of a first edition of a James book that Sam read from in the past and that his mother, Eleanor, swears is haunted. When eerie noises and shadows outside begin to make the family anxious, Callie second-guesses her gift for Sam.

So far I’ve loved every book in this series, and Christmas with the Book Lovers is no exception. This book is perfect for the weeks between Halloween and Christmas, merging spooky stories with yuletide traditions. I loved the idea of a haunted book, and with the entire Nightingale family present for the evening, there was enough banter and anxiety to keep me on the edge of my seat. As with every book in the series, Connelly makes the Nightingale family come alive, and I was envious of Callie because she got to be a part of the family and share in their traditions.

Christmas with the Book Lovers is a short and sweet tale that would be best enjoyed with a hot drink, a warm blanket, darkness outside, and the twinkle of Christmas lights inside. It’s a stellar addition to the series and one I would definitely re-read during the holiday season. I can’t wait to see where Connelly takes these characters next!

Disclosure: I received Christmas with the Book Lovers from the author for review.

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Review: Natural Born Readers by Victoria Connelly

Source: Purchased

‘Thank goodness for books,’ Bryony said. ‘They rescue us so many times, don’t they?’

(from Natural Born Readers)

Natural Born Readers is the third book in The Book Lovers series by Victoria Connelly. Although it can be read on its own, it builds on the previous books, so I highly recommend that you read The Book Lovers and Rules for a Successful Book Club first.

The series centers on the members of the Nightingale family, who own a trio of bookshops in the small village of Castle Clare. Natural Born Readers focuses on Bryony, who runs the children’s bookshop. Bryony is an outgoing, colorful, and passionate person, but she’s hurting inside and has been since her best friend and childhood sweetheart Ben Stratton left Castle Clare behind six years ago to travel the world. She couldn’t bring herself to go with him and didn’t understand how he could leave her behind. And then Ben comes back and seems to want to pick right up where they left off, but he broke Bryony’s heart, and she is determined for him to feel the same pain that he caused her.

Of course, there are things that Bryony doesn’t know, like why Ben was forced to leave Castle Clare, and since she refuses to talk to him, he doesn’t have an opportunity to tell her. Meanwhile, Bryony befriends her neighbor, Flo, an older woman who lives alone and spends her time gardening and caring for the animals on her property. Flo’s life is turned upside down when her great-nephew, Sonny, is dropped on her doorstep, and Bryony is there to provide support when Flo learns the reason Sonny has been left in her care.

Natural Born Readers is another fantastic installment in the series. I can’t get enough of the Nightingales, their Sunday gatherings, their love of books, and their close bond. I liked that Connelly presents the different viewpoints of each character so you can really understand them and their motivations. I wanted to smack Bryony at times and tell her to just tell Ben how she feels, but it was realistic that she wasn’t willing or able to welcome Ben back with open arms after so many years. Bryony and Ben are far from perfect, and I loved that Connelly showed their strengths, their weaknesses, and their mistakes. I can’t wait to see what happens next in this series, as there are still some Nightingales left with stories to tell! Stay tuned for my review of Christmas with the Book Lovers, a novella set between books 1 and 2.

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Review: Rules for a Successful Book Club by Victoria Connelly

Source: Review copy from author

Wasn’t reading about other people’s mistakes a welcome relief from living your own? To know that countless other people out there — even if they were fictional — were making great fat miserable mistakes was wonderfully reassuring because it meant that you were not alone.

(from Rules for a Successful Book Club)

Rules for a Successful Book Club is the second installment in Victoria Connelly’s new Book Lovers series. It features the characters from The Book Lovers but is a standalone novel. The focus this time is on Polly Nightingale, a member of the Nightingale clan and Sam’s sister. She spends a lot of time helping out at her siblings’ bookshops and is helping Sam establish his book club in the village. When she’s not at the bookshops or her part-time teaching job, she is a single mother to six-year-old Archie.

Polly’s family worries about her since the disappearance of her husband, Sean, three years ago. Without knowing what happened to him, whether he is dead or alive, Polly is in limbo, afraid to move on with her life. When Jago, a younger musician, enters her and Archie’s lives, Polly isn’t ready to let herself feel again. Slowly, Jago tears down the walls she has built around her heart, but eventually Polly will have to deal with the past, with the truth, and figure out what is best for her son and herself.

I absolutely loved The Book Lovers, and I found myself even more in love with Rules for a Successful Book Club. Again, Connelly focuses on the strong bond of the Nightingale family, especially their love and concern for Polly. I can’t imagine what Polly endured not knowing what happened to her husband for so long and how she managed to get through each day. I couldn’t help but admire her courage, not only in allowing love back into her life but also in overcoming her worries about the thirteen-year age difference. This time, Connelly tackles some serious issues, but she manages to balance it out with plenty of lighthearted and romantic moments, not to mention the hilarious banter among the book club members.

I was so sad when this book ended; it’s been several weeks since I finished it, and I still find myself thinking about these characters. Connelly made them come alive, and I really wish there were a way to jump into the book and become part of the family myself! Needless to say, I can’t wait to read the next installment, Natural Born Readers, and the upcoming Christmas with the Book Lovers. This was definitely one of my favorite books of 2017!

Disclosure: I received Rules for a Successful Book Club from the author for review.

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Review: The Book Lovers by Victoria Connelly

Source: Review copy from author
Rating: ★★★★★

‘A good book lives forever,’ he said.

‘I sometimes think it’s easier to love a book more than a person, don’t you think?’ she said. ‘A book doesn’t change — it remains constant and perfect no matter how many times you read it.’

(from The Book Lovers)

The Book Lovers is the first in a new series by Victoria Connelly, whose writing I have loved since I discovered her Austen Addicts series several years ago. This was the first non-Austen-inspired book I’ve read by Connelly so I didn’t know what to expect, but oh my goodness, it was fantastic!

The novel centers on Callie Logan, a children’s book author who leaves the fast pace of London to settle in Owl Cottage in Newton St. Clare. She’s going through a divorce and needs to rediscover her creativity, and a small village where everyone knows everyone seems like just the place to heal. She soon meets the wild adventurer Leo, who takes her hiking through the woods and cooks her meals from ingredients he has foraged, and Sam Nightingale, the owner of a used book store who is trying to start up a book club and is dealing with relationship troubles of his own. Callie forges a friendship with both men, as they each bring something different and needed into her life.

I loved how Connelly introduced such an exciting cast of characters in the Nightingale family, including Sam, his sister Bryony, who owns a children’s bookshop, his parents, and his grandparents, especially the grandfather who is always hanging around Sam’s shop. This is a close-knit family who gets together every Sunday for dinner, and the love they have for one another — even when they get on each other’s nerves — is infectious. I loved how they welcomed Callie with open arms, and how Callie — whose parents are cold and distant — blossomed in their presence.

I couldn’t put this book down, and the characters felt so real to me that I thought about them when I wasn’t reading and couldn’t wait to jump back in and find out what happened next. The best part is they are standalone books, so no cliffhangers, but you’ll want to dive into the next book right away. Stay tuned for my review of book 2 later this week!

Disclosure: I received The Book Lovers from the author for review.

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Review: At Home With Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly

Source: Review copy from author
Rating: ★★★★☆

‘Shall I tackle her now?’ Warwick asked Katherine.

‘I don’t like your use of the word tackle,’ Katherine said.  ‘It sounds like you’re going to get her in some sort of head lock.’

‘I wish I could,’ he said, ‘then maybe I could make her see reason.’

‘You haven’t got to make her see reason,’ Katherine said, ‘only the joys of Jane Austen.’

‘Isn’t that the same thing?’ Warwick asked with a lopsided smile that still melted Katherine.  ‘Leave her to me.  You go and buy yourself a book or something in the shop.’

Katherine laughed.  ‘I don’t need any encouragement to buy books.’

(from At Home With Mr. Darcy)

Quick summary: In the 6th installment of Victoria Connelly’s Austen Addicts series, At Home With Mr. Darcy, Dame Pamela Harcourt of Purley Hall is hosting a Jane Austen Holiday in Derbyshire, the home of Mr. Darcy.  Connelly brings back characters from her previous novels and novellas — newlyweds Warwick and Katherine, Robyn, sisters Roberta and Rose, the moody Mrs. Soames (who brings along her daughter, Annie), and the endearing Doris Norris — for a trip to Chatsworth House and Lyme Park, which became Mr. Darcy’s grand estate, Pemberley, in the movie adaptations of Pride and Prejudice.  But the Janeites are in for some trouble in the form of journalist Melissa Berry, who knows nothing about Jane Austen and doesn’t understand why people remain so interested in her novels today.  The gang sets out to show Melissa the relevance of Austen’s work in the present day and to make her fall in love with Austen herself.

Why I wanted to read it: I’m a big fan of the Austen Addicts series.  (Check out my reviews: A Weekend With Mr. Darcy, Dreaming of Mr. Darcy, Mr. Darcy Forever, Christmas With Mr. Darcy, and Happy Birthday, Mr. Darcy)

What I liked: I love that Connelly has continued this series.  I love these characters, and every time I read a new installment, it feels like I’m catching up with old friends.  Connelly made me feel like I was on holiday with the Janeites and actually visiting the homes with them.  There was a hint of romance for one of the characters, and I couldn’t help but laugh at what happened to another character.  I loved the side stories about Katherine and Warwick settling into their Georgian manor and Robyn’s husband, Dan, trying to take care of their cottage, their toddler, and his horse riding center on his own for a few days.  But most of all, I loved all the talk about books and all-things-Austen, especially the conversation between Robyn and Katherine, a doctor of English literature, about whether Chatsworth was Austen’s inspiration for Pemberley:

‘You think it foolish to try and find the real Pemberley?’ Robyn asked.

‘Not foolish, exactly,’ Katherine said.  ‘I think we all carry it inside us, don’t we?  We each have our own individual version that no film director can really create for us.’

What I disliked:  This novella was delightful and entertaining, and the only thing I disliked was that I finished it so quickly.

Final thoughts: At Home With Mr. Darcy (and the entire Austen Addicts series) is a pure delight for Jane Austen fans.  Readers will want to start from the beginning to fully appreciate these characters and their Austen obsession, but it won’t take long to catch up because only the first three installments are full-length novels.  I may not own any Mr. Darcy trinkets or be able to quote extensively from the novels, but I connect with these characters through a shared love of reading.  Connelly shows that Janeites are proud of their love of Austen but also are able to poke fun at their obsession, and she highlights the sense of community among the Janeites.  At Home With Mr. Darcy is lighthearted and fun, and I really hope Connelly plans on continuing the series.

Disclosure: I received At Home With Mr. Darcy from the author for review.

© 2014 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

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Review: Happy Birthday, Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly

Source: Review copy from author
Rating: ★★★★☆

‘Can you believe Pride and Prejudice is two hundred years old?’ Robyn said.

‘Mr Darcy is doing very well for his age,’ Dame Pamela said with a little chuckle. ‘Pleasing women for two centuries is no mean feat!’

Everybody laughed and Warwick proposed a toast. ‘Happy Birthday, Mr Darcy!’ he said and they all echoed his sentiments, clinking their glasses with each other as they did so.

(from Happy Birthday, Mr. Darcy)

Happy Birthday, Mr. Darcy is the fifth installment in Victoria Connelly’s Austen Addicts series, reuniting readers with their favorite characters from A Weekend With Mr. Darcy, Dreaming of Mr. Darcy, Mr. Darcy Forever, and Christmas With Mr. Darcy.  The wedding of Dr. Katherine Roberts, a professor who lectures and writes about Jane Austen, and Warwick Lawton, an author of Regency romances, coincides with the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice, so it’s quite fitting that they are to be joined in marriage at Dame Pamela Harcourt’s Purley Hall — the estate where they met at a Jane Austen conference.

With Dame Pamela, her brother Dan, and his wife Robyn taking care of all the details, Katherine and Warwick should have little to worry about.  But Warwick’s unlucky-in-marriage sister, Lily, keeps telling him that walking down the aisle is a big mistake, and Katherine is worried about what marriage will mean for her career and her identity.  Although Austen’s novels always end with a happily ever after for the main characters, Katherine uses the novels to question whether she is making the right decision — and while Robyn and Dan try to get the lovebirds down the aisle, they face a problem of their own.

Connelly does a wonderful job portraying Katherine’s pre-wedding jitters; it was totally fitting for an Austen professor and Janeite to use the novels as a sort of guide to love and marriage.  Of course, taking Austen’s words out of context and focusing on the fact that she never married is a recipe for disaster on one’s wedding day!  I only wish this had been a full-length novel, with more time to develop Katherine and Warwick’s relationship after its rocky beginning, flesh out the obstacle in the path of Robyn and Dan’s happiness, and even focus more on Dame Pamela and her most ardent fan, Mr. Piper.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Darcy is a fun and quick novella, with appearances from such characters as Mia Castle, Doris Norris, and even the formidable Mrs. Soames.  To fully appreciate this series, I think the novels and novellas should be read in order, but they are all page-turners with endearing characters, a good mix of humor and drama, parallels to Austen’s novels, and even hilarious discussions among Janeites about the novels and the movie adaptations.  I’m always happy to revisit these characters, especially when Dame Pamela is throwing the party, and I can’t wait to see where Connelly takes them next!

Disclosure: I received Happy Birthday, Mr. Darcy from the author for review.

© 2013 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

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Review: Christmas With Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly

Source: Review copy from author
Rating: ★★★★☆

There was another round of applause and then Higgins got to work with the silver tray, distributing glasses of the cocktail which Dame Pamela had named the Fitzwilliam Fizzer.  There was also a non-alcoholic alternative that Dame Pamela called a Pink Bingley but it wasn’t proving quite as popular as the Fitzwilliam Fizzer but it got everybody talking about cocktails.

‘I think a Wicked Wickham would slip down rather nicely,’ Roberta told her sister Rose who had the good grace to blush at such a suggestion.

‘What about a Tickling Tilney?’ Doris Norris suggested.

‘Or a Wentworth Wallbanger,’ Roberta said.

(from Christmas With Mr. Darcy)

From this passage, it’s easy to see that Christmas With Mr. Darcy is a lot of fun, and even though it’s a bit early for seasonal reads, the chilly fall weather should help get you in the right mood.  I’m not a big fan of seeing Christmas trees, ornaments, etc., on display before Halloween, but how could I resist an early Austenesque Christmas?

Christmas With Mr. Darcy is the novella sequel to Victoria Connelly’s Austen Addicts trilogy: A Weekend With Mr. Darcy, Dreaming of Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Darcy Forever.  Connelly brings the heroes and heroines from each of these novels together for a special Christmas Jane Austen Conference at Purley Hall, hosted by Dame Pamela Harcourt, an actress known for her portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet, Marianne Dashwood, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and Fanny Dashwood in TV adaptations of Austen’s novels over the course of her career.  From the preparations for the conference to the discussions and activities, Connelly brings the conference to life and makes die-hard Austen fans wish they could enjoy such companionship.

Readers will catch up with Dame Pamela, Robyn, Dan, Katherine, and Warwick from A Weekend With Mr. Darcy, Kay, Adam, and Gemma from Dreaming of Mr. Darcy, and sisters Sarah and Mia from Mr. Darcy Forever, along with such unforgettable characters as Doris Norris and Mrs. Soames.  Connelly merges these characters together seamlessly, while incorporating new dramas.  Mia is worried that something isn’t right with her sister, Sarah, and Katherine is worried that Warwick is hiding something from her…again.  Dame Pamela is upset that her brother, Benedict, is coming to Purley Hall uninvited and wonders what trouble he’s gotten into this time.  Moreover, things are disappearing, and when Dame Pamela’s newly acquired three-volume first edition of Pride and Prejudice goes missing, chaos erupts.

I gobbled up Christmas With Mr. Darcy in just a couple of hours, curled up on the couch under a warm blanket, and I enjoyed it so much, I wish it had been a novel instead of a novella.  Although the mystery was pretty obvious, it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the Austen talk and the Christmas charm.  With all the discussions about Austen heroes and film adaptations, it’s clear that Connelly knows what it’s like to be an Austen addict.  I think you need to have read the previous three books to understand all the connections, so if you enjoy contemporary romances with plenty of Austen references and endearingly flawed characters, what are you waiting for?

I should mention that Christmas With Mr. Darcy was my very first e-book, which I read on my husband’s Nook Tablet. It was a mostly pleasant experience, just “mostly” because there’s nothing like the smell of a physical book. I don’t think I can give up the sound of turning pages and the scent of paper and ink…and I don’t think my husband wants to share his Nook. But I’m glad I gave it a try!

Disclosure: I received Christmas With Mr. Darcy from the author for review.

© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

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Review: Mr. Darcy Forever by Victoria Connelly

Source: Review copy from Sourcebooks
Rating: ★★★★☆

‘Good morning, ladies.’  A voice suddenly accosted them, and they turned around to see a gentleman in naval uniform.  Unfortunately, he was about sixty-five and had a bushy beard in which you could lose a whole battalion.

They nodded politely as he continued on his way.

‘I’m afraid that’s all that’s left for us,’ Mia said.

‘I think you’re right,’ Shelley said.  ‘Why is life a constant disappointment?’

‘Because we read fiction,’ Mia said, and Shelley nodded, knowing it was true.

(from Mr. Darcy Forever, pages 73-74 in the uncorrected advance copy; finished version may be different)

Mr. Darcy Forever is the third book in Victoria Connelly’s trilogy about Jane Austen addicts, following A Weekend With Mr. Darcy and Dreaming of Mr. Darcy.  Once again, Connelly has created endearingly flawed characters reminiscent of Austen’s, with all the mistakes and misunderstandings causing laughs and tears.  Sarah and Mia Castle are once inseparable sisters who haven’t spoken to each other in three years — not since they let a dashing stranger invade their girls-only holiday at Barton Cottage (the home where the Emma Thompson version of Sense and Sensibility was filmed) and come between them.  Now, the two are attending the Jane Austen Festival in Bath separately, and it just doesn’t feel right.

The sisters are similar to Elinor and Marianne in Sense and Sensibility in many ways.  Sarah, older by 9 years, is more like a mother to Mia, forced into that role when their mother abandoned them.  Like Elinor, Sarah is sensible and straitlaced.  She also suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder, and it has taken over her life; her need to constantly clean, organize, and control the situation has ruined romantic relationships and prevents her from relaxing.  Mia, like Marianne, is all heart.  She loves quickly and fiercely, and she says exactly what’s on her mind.  How could they let a man push them apart?  Is it possible for these very different women to put their hurt feelings behind them?  Will their love of Jane Austen reunite them?

I don’t know if I would dress up in Regency attire and stroll around Bath, but the Jane Austen Festival sure sounds like fun to me!  Besides the references to Austen’s characters and the various movie adaptations, I enjoyed how Connelly gave us a glimpse of the characters we got to know and love in the previous two books in the trilogy as they all convene for a variety of events celebrating all things Austen.  But what I loved most about Mr. Darcy Forever was the sisterly bond between Sarah and Mia.  Their relationship and all its ups and downs felt real to me, and with a little sister of my own, I could understand how Sarah felt the need to watch over and protect Mia.  I liked how Connelly alternated the chapters from the past to the present to gradually reveal the betrayals and secrets, but even when the story takes a more serious turn, she still manages to keep it light.

Mr. Darcy Forever is a sweet and charming tale about growing up and realizing that real life isn’t like what you read in a novel, but there’s nothing wrong about hoping for a happy ending.  Connelly not only shows how the written word has the power to unite people but also how it can help people cope.  One of my favorite parts was when Sarah thinks about how opening an Austen novel can put a smile on her face, no matter how distressing her life is at that moment.  I think that’s true for many people when it comes to their favorite authors, and I’m a firm believer that good books are the perfect escape from real life.  It was sad to realize this trilogy has come to an end, and while I hope Connelly isn’t done with these characters yet, she certainly finished on a high note.

Disclosure: I received Mr. Darcy Forever from Sourcebooks for review.

© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

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Review: Dreaming of Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly

Source: Review copy from Sourcebooks
Rating: ★★★★☆

Suddenly Kay got very excited at the thought of being able to watch some of the scenes being filmed.  She had a front-row view of the Cobb for a start, and she wondered if Teresa would let her get even closer whilst they were filming.  Maybe she’d be asked to be an extra!  Or maybe nasty Beth would twist her ankle during the scene on the Cobb steps, and Kay would stand in for her, doing such an amazing piece of acting that Teresa would be completely bowled over and recast Kay as Louisa Musgrove.  During the wonderful scene where she jumps down the steps into Captain Wentworth’s arms, she’d look deep into the blue eyes of Oli Wade Owen, and he’d fall madly in love with her.

(from Dreaming of Mr. Darcy, page 53 in the uncorrected advance copy; final version may be different)

Dreaming of Mr. Darcy is the second in Victoria Connelly’s series about Jane Austen addicts, following on the heels of A Weekend With Mr. Darcy.  The heroine this time around is Kay Ashton, a young woman stuck in a dead-end job who inherits some money and decides to make her dreams come true.  She buys and remodels a bed and breakfast in Lyme Regis, a seaside town that plays an important role in Kay’s favorite book, Jane Austen’s Persuasion, and she plans to spend her time finishing her book, The Illustrated Darcy.

Kay is all alone in the world; she’s unlucky in love, her father left when she was a child, and she’s still grieving the deaths of her mother and a close friend.  But her quiet days walking along the Cobb and enjoying the views of the sea are turned upside down when the cast of the new big-screen adaptation of Persuasion rent rooms at her B&B.  She befriends the shy and insecure actress, Gemma, who’s living in her mother’s shadow, and the equally shy and unlucky-in-love screenwriter, Adam, who encourages Kay to have her work published.

Kay is too busy falling in love with the dashing actor, Oli Wade Owen, who plays Captain Wentworth, to notice that her efforts at matchmaking Gemma and Adam are failing as badly as those of Austen’s beloved heroine, Emma Woodhouse.  The minute Oli winks at her, Kay imagines herself as his wife, ignoring everyone’s warnings not to get involved with him.  Kay is a daydreamer, and she lets her fantasies about fictional heroes interfere with real life.

Dreaming of Mr. Darcy is a fun novel, one that makes me think my obsession with Austen-inspired novels is actually not that bad.  I loved how Connelly worked in the Austen references and especially the focus on my favorite Austen novel, Persuasion.  Her characters were likable, aside from the obnoxiously self-centered actress, Beth, who flirts endlessly with Oli, and Gemma’s mom, Kim, who is desperately clinging to the fame that has followed her since her one successful part years ago.  Kay was charming, even though I wanted to smack some sense into her.  I could see how her daydreams kept her from feeling so lonely, but she was so blind to the potential for happiness that was standing right in front of her.  Adam’s grandmother, Nana Craig, was a treat; I love feisty old ladies and their eccentricities.  Nana only wants the best for the grandson she raised, and her penchant for bright colors even if they clash was hilarious.  Gemma coming into her own and Adam learning to fight for what he wants were perfect complements to the main story.

There are lots of romantic mishaps and misunderstandings in Dreaming of Mr. Darcy, certainly reminiscent of Austen’s books.  Connelly is fast becoming one of my favorite authors of modern-day Austen-inspired novels.  I definitely recommend this one if you love all things Austen as much as I do.  If you’ve been shying away from the Austen sequels and retellings because you’re wary of authors tinkering with Austen’s characters, then you should give this one a try.  Connelly uses original characters and plenty of humor to create lively new stories, and her love and respect for Austen’s novels shines through.

Book 1 for Explore the Many Genres of Jane Austen Challenge (Modern Adaptation)

Disclosure: I received Dreaming of Mr. Darcy from Sourcebooks for review.

© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

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