Definitely not Shannon Hale at her best. If I had read this novel first, I don't know that I would have gone back for any of her other books. The story is a little juvenile and predictable. I don't think I'd recommend it. ( )

Jane Hayes is obsessed with Mr. Darcy. More particularly Colin Firth’s portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the film version of Pride and Prejudice. Can you blame her? Really? But, it might have something to do with why the thirty-three yeah old Jane is still unmarried and single. Her obsession for Mr. Darcy keeps any "real" man from measuring up.Jane’s Aunt Carolyn is aware of her obsession. When Aunt Carolyn passes away she leaves Jane an all expense paid vacation to Pembrook Park, a resort that lets its guests live like the characters of an Austen novel. Jane has decided to use the vacation as the milestone. Once she has had her fun she will put Mr. Darcy behind herself, forever.Being myself, slightly obsessed with Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, I couldn’t help but be sympathetic for Jane. And I love the idea of Pembrook Park. How much fun would that be! As far as the story I really enjoyed it! It is a bit of a romance, but that made me enjoy it all the more! This was the first novel by Shannon Hale that I have read, and I really value her writing style. I will be reading more from this author, and I must buy a copy of this book, I am sure I will be reading it again! ( )

I'm finding that if I don't search the catalog beforehand and put audiobooks on hold, my local library's audio offerings are a little thin. At least, that's my excuse for listening to such a frivolous piece of unabashed chick lit as Shannon Hale's Austenland. I'd heard of it before, and thought the premise of a retreat to a 19th-century getaway complete with eligible gentlemen was a bit silly. But I've seen it recommended by some Austen fans and so, emboldened by the necessity of not being bored during my commute, I checked it out.

Jane Hayes, age 33, is a woman with a secret. She has a Darcy obsession, and the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth is her guilty pleasure. When her Aunt Caroline dies and leaves her a non-refundable vacation at an Austen-era resort, Jane decides to seize the opportunity to permanently squash her fascination with Austen's heroes. She tells herself that it will be her last hurrah before embarking on a more sedate and sensible life. Haha.

Once in Pembroke Park (or "Austenland," as Jane calls it), Jane is immersed in 19th-century culture, even down to her underthings. For three weeks she will eat Regency food, wear Regency clothes, converse in Regency speech, and flirt with Regency men. Jane is unsure about her part in the pageantry, but resolves to enjoy the time anyways. It's just a fling with a fantasy — right?

The tone is wry and funny, which I enjoyed except when it veered into crass humor. Then it just got tiresome. Each chapter opens with a story of one of Jane's old boyfriends. Some were funny, some were boring, and most were predictable. They all ran together after awhile.

I noticed a lot of padding too. Jane is constantly reminding herself of how she came to Pembroke Park to rid herself of her Darcy obsession by immersion therapy, she's now going to be a confident, relaxed woman, so-and-so is incredibly hot, etc. I don't mind hearing it a couple times but when this stuff is appended to every event in the book, it becomes annoying. And I'm not sure the whole idea of getting rid of an obsession by wallowing in it is all that sound to start with.

Despite the general fluffiness of the story, Hale does make a good point about how devastating fangurlism can be. I've never experienced it personally, but I can see how a fangurlish obsession with Darcy would make real love hard to find.

Really, the whole concept of Pembroke Park is disturbing. Hale writes near the end that it's a place where married women toy with the idea of having affairs. Nice. I'm not sure I could enjoy interacting with actors who were paid to pretend to like me. How could anyone really enjoy that? Unless you were always telling yourself that you were different from all the other women, that the handsome actors with period sideburns couldn't help but fall for you, etc. Ugh.

In the end, I'm not entirely on one side or the other with this book. Parts were funny and enjoyable and cute, but overall I walked away feeling like it cheapened Austen's works somehow, injecting them with modern lust and insecurity. I can see how some readers would love this little romp, but others would be completely turned off. I'm kind of left saying, "eh, meh." ( )

None of Jane's boyfriends have ever lived up to her expectations of Mr Darcy. When her great-aunt bequeaths her an in-period holiday at 'Austenland', she goes not knowing what to expect... as long as she doesn't turn out to be Fanny Price. Along the way, she learns a little about her self, but when the fantasy is over, which of Austen's heroes will she take home?

Forgettable chicklit.

After reading Hale's graphic novel Rapunzel's Revenge, I decided to try and get to one of her novels sooner rather than later. After a little coin flipping, Austenland made its way to my nightstand.

Austenland is an intriguing concept that is carried of rather well. From a high level, it involves a thirty-something single woman named Jane off for 3 weeks of "Live Action Role Play" (LARP) in a Regency House populated with servants, gentlemen and other women searching for Victorian style romance. I expected plenty of sappy moments and coming away with a sugar headache. Instead, I found a thoughtful and fun (albeit cheesy at times) romance that tries to get to the heart of romance while exploring unrealistic expectations and the joys and pains of obsessions.

Starting out the novel, I was worried that Jane would quickly become a stereotypical archetype...the 'unlucky in love' woman who obsesses over Pride & Prejudice (and other similar books), spurns men as vile and unromantic, and sets herself expectations that can never be achieved. By the end of the book, many of those traits were in fact proven out. However, Jane did progress through the novel and explored her own psychology to determine which of those characteristics were realistic and which should be abandoned.

Her path to discovery was humorous at times, frustrating at others, but in the end felt believable. I really found myself getting to understand and sympathize with Jane while at the same time wanting to shout at her that she was an idiot.

I absolutely loved the prefaces to many of the chapters in the book...many of the chapters began with a short description of each of Jane's "boyfriends" (of which I think she had 15). Most were a few paragraphs...one was just a sentence. Each was very insightful into her character and each was rather humorous...the kind of humor that is funny because you can see the reality behind the pathetic occurrence. As an example, one of these "boyfriend" descriptions tells about how she first saw the boy in class and they shared a glance and then, because he was too shy, she asked him out...to which he responded, "sure...and what was your name"....which promptly ended their "relationship".

As for the other characters, I felt that they were well portrayed, but I had some trouble (as did Jane) trying to sort out the behavior of the actors versus those of the person behind the character. I really felt Hale did a good job of keeping the true person at a distance while exposing glimpses of reality. The gardener was an interesting character who felt a little flat and, while I was surprised what happened with him, I was glad the way his story ended. I thought Mr. Nobley and the other gentlemen on the estate were well portrayed as proper 19th century gentlemen, but I would have liked to have seen more "behind-the-scenes" moments with them. We get one VERY brief scene where one of the characters is smoking behind a bush and talks about "getting back to work." I would like to have seen moments like that elaborated on a bit more.

The writing and the plot flowed along very nicely and it was a very fun read. Even though I am a heterosexual male, I did enjoy the book and can recommend it. However, I can't recommend it to everyone. For example, most of my friends (both male and female) would likely laugh at the suggestion and never make it beyond the first chapter. Others would certainly eat it up. I think that in order to enjoy this, the reader must first have an appreciation, if not a love, of Victorian literature and particularly Victorian romances. Having at least a perception of the obsession around Pride and Prejudice may also help.

So, two scores.
To those who don't like Victorian romances - 1 star
To those who enjoy Victorian lit, romances, or "girlie" books:

****
3.5 stars ( )