CBR18 Book 42: "The Fatal Unpleasantness at Netherfield" by Claudia Gray

Page count: 336

Rating: 4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Vintage for this ARC. This book is on sale now.

Jonathan Darcy is getting tired of his parents nervously hovering around him and keeping him from doing anything more strenuous than sitting in front of a fire, reading. So when a letter arrives from his aunt Jane at Netherfield, who is feeling rather inundated with Bingley's sisters and their spouses, and his mother is unable to go, he eagerly volunteers to go in her stead. He has not stopped thinking about Juliet Tilney, but his parents think it is best that they have no further contact.

Poor Juliet Tilney hasn't really been able to leave her home for months, and now it seems unlikely that she'll ever find a husband, certainly not Jonathan Darcy. So when she is unexpectedly called to Netherfield to assist Jonathan in yet another unsolved murder, she knows it's unseemly, because someone (in this case, Bingley's brother-in-law, Mr. Hurst), but she's just so happy to be reunited with him and investigating once more. She refuses to consider her grandfather's suggestion that she entrap the young man to secure her future. She knows she can never be accepted as a suitable daughter-in-law by the Darcys after the scandalous events in London. 

The young investigators find an unexpected supporter in Jane Bingley, however, who sees how much they clearly love one another, and is deeply saddened that Juliet's life has been so negatively affected because of a cruel prank. Jane still remembers the months she was separated from Bingley because of the scheming of his sisters and Darcy, and doesn't want any young couple to ever have to face anything like that. While she may be rooting for the young couple, Mrs. Caroline Allerdyce, Charles Bingley's sister, is still determined that her daughter, Priscilla, will be the future mistress of Pemberley, and keeps trying to push them together at every available opportunity.

I had to catch up with the previous two books in the series before I read this one, and I'm glad I did, as it meant I hadn't forgotten any major details from the previous two books that might be relevant in this story. I would absolutely not recommend anyone start with this book; it is very much a fifth book in a series, and if you haven't read some of the others, especially book 4, The Rushworth Family Plot, there will be plot lines that don't make as much sense.

While the previous book focused on characters from Mansfield Park, here Claudia Grey shows us the lovely and kind-hearted Bingleys many years into their marriage. Their daughters have moved away and are married, and now they are playing host to two of Bingley's sisters, with their husbands. When Juliet comes to help with the investigation of the poisoning of Mr. Hurst, Jonathan is noble enough to surrender his room at Netherfield and goes to stay with his grandparents at Longbourn, a place he has never felt at home, and he's determined that Juliet never realises what a sacrifice he is making for her sake. Even though all her five daughters found husbands (three of them even very well-off ones), Mrs. Bennett is still displeased about all sorts of things in her old age, while Mr. Bennett cares for little other than his books. Neither of them has any understanding of what they see as Jonathan's peculiarities, and he can never be at ease in that house.

Ms. Gray's authorial voice really is very close to Austen's own, and while you are aware that you are basically reading fan fiction about the continued lives of all of these characters, she captures the essence of them so well, and it seems like such plausible lives for these characters to have. Charles and Jane Bingley have clearly had a very happy life together, and still bend over backwards to help all of their various family members, even at the cost of their own comfort. With so many characters early in the series having been disapproving of either Jonathan, Juliet or their relationship, it was a great comfort to have these two characters wholeheartedly supporting the young couple and refusing to judge or blame Juliet in any way for her unfortunate circumstances. 

Having checked Ms. Gray's website, because it was unclear to me how long she was planning on continuing this series, it does seem as if she's contracted for at least one more book about our young sleuths. Without wanting to spoil too much, there was at least SOME romantic development in this book, and while I was frustrated for a while, I am now very excited to see where the next book takes our characters (I'm guessing they may have to solve murders among the characters of Persuasion, that's pretty much the only book that hasn't been featured much). 

Judging a book by its cover: Dare I hope, based on the silhouettes on the cover, that this book will finally have some sort of forward momentum in the glacially slow romance between our protagonists? Or is it a cruel trick from the publishers to fool me into committing to another book? 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

 

CBR18 Books 38-39 : "The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh" and "The Rushworth Family Plot" by Claudia Gray

The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh

Page count: 400 pages

Rating: 3.5 stars

Since Mr Jonathan Darcy, son of the esteemed Fitzwilliam Darcy, and Miss Juliet Tilney, daughter of Henry Tilney, have now solved not one, but two murders among their extended acquaintance, word has gotten around, and as a result, Lady Catherine DeBourgh has summoned the young Mr Darcy to come to Rosings Park to help her identify the person who is trying to kill her. He insists that Miss Tinley be invited as well. Both young persons are accompanied by their fathers, who, unfortunately, take an instant dislike of each other. Mr Tilney thinks Mr Darcy is a supercilious snob, while Mr Darcy thinks Mr Tilney takes things too lightly and jokes too much at inappropriate times, not at all a suitable manner of behaviour for a clergyman. 

Some of the people surrounding the dowager suspect she may be exaggerating the danger she is in. She claims her carriage was sabotaged, then someone tried to shoot her, and when this failed, they nearly pushed her down the stairs. As the two young people start investigating, it becomes obvious that someone is indeed trying to do away with Lady Catherine, and that their attempts are becoming more aggressive. Because Lady Catherine rarely leaves Rosings Park, it also means the culprit is someone very close to her, a family member or loyal retainer. Can our young detectives figure out the identity of the would-be murderer before they actually succeed in doing away with the old lady?

The Rushworth Family Plot

Page count: 336 pages

Rating: 4 stars

While Mr Jonathan Darcy and Miss Juliet Tilney have been very clear with each other about their mutual fondness and hopes for a future match, their fathers developed a mutual dislike during their stay at Rosings Park. General Tilney, Miss Tilney's tyrannical grandfather, who normally isn't known for his generosity, is incensed enough by the perceived snub of his grandchild by the Darcys, so he is determined she will make a grander match during the London season. Juliet and her authoress mother is ordered to London to purchase a new wardrobe of clothes for her, and find her an appropriate suitor.

Jonathan, meanwhile, is also in London, staying with the family of Edmund and Fanny Bertram, since his family had to return to Pemberley after his younger brother broke his arm. He knows his parents would like him to find some suitable young lady to court, but he has no intention of asking anyone but Juliet Tilney to marry him. However, the ambitious Mrs Allerdyce (who was Caroline Bingley before her marriage) is determined that if SHE couldn't be the mistress of Pemberley, then her daughter will instead. Jonathan may be a keen investigator of murders, but in social situations involving young ladies, he is far too clueless to realise he's being manipulated. 

Claudia Gray also reintroduces some of Austen's most scandalous characters (how can Mansfield Park be so painfully dull when it also has the dastardly Henry Crawford and the whole running off with Maria Rushworth, nee Bertram subplot). Maria Rushworth, now many years divorced, shows up in London with her aunt/companion in tow, along with a daughter who was clearly born out of wedlock. Maria swears that Rushworth is the father, but anyone with eyes can see the strong resemblance to Henry Crawford. Maria claims that she and Rushworth are going to reconcile and marry again soon, but lo and behold, it doesn't take long before Mr Rushworth is found brutally strangled in his townhouse. Jonathan and Juliet promise the Bertrams they will do their best to find the murderer before the scandal surrounding the whole thing further tarnishes the family.

I have long complained that Gray is being far too slow and dragging out the romance between Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney too much. I get that they are unlikely to surrender to the throes of passion while investigating murders (or attempted murder, in the case of Lady Catherine), but I would still have liked some stronger declarations from both parties. Gray keeps throwing obstacles in our young sleuths' way. In The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, both young people are accompanied to Rosings Park by their fathers, who are vastly different and dislike each other pretty much on sight. Their antipathy towards each other does not get better as the story goes on. 

In The Rushworth Family Plot both the elder Mr Darcy and Mr Tilney are safely away in their homes, and the only parental figure around is Juliet's mother, Catherine Tilney, now a famous author of Gothic novels.  She sees the warmth and attraction between the two and is very surprised by her husband's impression that Jonathan Darcy is cold and indifferent towards Juliet. She is very impressed with how he seems to genuinely listen and trade ideas with her daughter, never seeming dismissive or overbearing. She can see that they have a very good partnership while investigating and is convinced they would make a very good match. Unfortunately, because as soon as the parental disapproval may have been dealth with, there need to be other difficulties, Juliet is embroiled in a scandal of her own, through absolutely no fault of her own. Because of the careless and opportunistic acts of someone else, her reputation may be absolutely ruined. Jonathan Darcy, who is appalled by this turn of events, challenges the besmircher of Juliet's honour to a duel to prove her innocence. It all went a bit melodramatic, and I really hope Gray can let these two have a happy ending soon.

With Juliet falling victim to the Regency version of a manipulated photograph, which marks her as utterly unsuitable as a wife to anyone with taste, as well as Mrs. Caroline Allerdyce's scheming to get her daughter married to Jonathan, it just felt like too many things still muddying up the works.

One of the very fun things with these books is obviously how Gray takes the minor Austen characters from various novels and gives them more prominence. In The Perils of Lady Catherine DeBourgh, we see that Lady Catherine's sickly daughter in no way minded that Mr Darcy chose someone else. She has married his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam and seems mostly very happy with him. They are both very sad that their young son has been sent away to boarding school (because no heir of Lady Catherine is to be homeschooled), and there are certain communication difficulties leading to friction, but it all gets sorted out in the end. We also see how Charlotte and Mr. Collins are managing in their marriage. They now have two children, a son and a daughter, and there is something strange in the son's behaviour that neither Jonathan nor Juliet can figure out at first. 

In The Rushworth Family Plot, we meet Edmund and Fanny Bertram again (who were also supporting characters in The Murder of Mr Wickham), as well as Edmund's older brother, now the head of the family, his dog-obsessed mother, their vivacious non-scandalous sister, and, of course, Maria Rushworth and Henry Crawford. Fanny is deeply depressed after a failed pregnancy, and Edmund is unaware that she overheard the doctor say she is unlikely to ever bear children. Edmund's brother has been persuaded that selling their plantation in Barbados is the only humane thing to do because of the evils of slavery. He is also courting Caroline Allerdyce's eldest daughter. Gray does a good job of showing the readers that Caroline Bingley never really wanted Mr Darcy, only the wealth and prestige of being mistress of Pemberley. She has clearly been very happy in her marriage to Mr Allerdyce, but now that Jonathan Darcy is present and available in London, she can't help but scheme and manipulate to try to make her daughter mistress of Pemberley in the future instead. 

I have an ARC of the fifth book in the series that I need to read in the next couple of days (it's also why I finally needed to knuckle down and review these two books. I really hope that Gray is bringing the series to an end soon, I don't know how much longer I can wait for Jonathan and Juliet to get their happy ending. 

CBR16 Book 49: "Not Another Love Song" by Julie Soto

Page count: 384 pages

Rating: 3.5 stars

Smart Bitches Summer Bingo: Rock star or musician (this one has both)

Gwen Jackson started playing the violin at eleven and now, over a decade later, she is part of a popular ensemble orchestra and dreams of one day being famous enough to play solos and tour on her own. To pay the bills, she occasionally plays weddings on weekends with her roommate. Being told by the wedding planner that the bride wanted cello and piano, rather than violin, Gwen is forced to do her best and improvise, even though she's barely ever played the cello. She's even more flustered when the cello she's allowed to borrow belongs to Xander Thorne, popular rock star and master cellist. 

Gwen knows her performance is mediocre at best, and is painfully aware of the scrutiny of one of her musical idols. While she's loved Thorne and Roses, Xander's band for years, as well as played with him in the same orchestra for over a year, Xander doesn't seem to even know she existed prior to this wedding appearance. He certainly notices her afterward. Shortly after their first proper meeting, Gwen is promoted to First Chair at the Pops Orchestra, a position that Xander has wanted for years. He wants to despise this seemingly timid nobody but is forced to admit that she is very talented, and has every potential to become a star if she just learns to let go and forget about the audience watching her. 

While they initially dislike and distrust each other, there is also an undeniable attraction between them, and after a memorable evening when Xander invites Gwen back to his apartment to see his instruments (not actually a euphemism), it becomes clear that they collaborate beautifully together (and also really want to bang each other). Once their relationship becomes public, however, it turns out Xander's manager is less than thrilled, while Gwen's superiors at the Pops Orchestra want to mine it for ticket sales. Gwen and Xander also have very different ideas of where their career paths should lead. Will they be able to find a happy ending together?

I read Julie Soto's first novel, Forget Me Not, last year and mostly enjoyed the story of wedding planner Ama eventually reuniting with her lost love, florist extraordinaire Elliot. Both characters turn up in cameos in this novel as well. It seems that Soto, who like a lot of authors out there today, got her start as a fan fiction writer, and this book is actually a reworked Reylo fan fic that she didn't initially get a publishing deal for. There are obvious signs throughout the book that the protagonists are based on Rey and Kylo Ren, but I didn't mind it all that much. Obviously, this is a rivals to lovers story, and while it ended up being quite a cute romance, it starts out a bit rough, mainly just because I am never really a fan of the 'being mean and rude to the object of your infatuation' trope. Most of the book is written from Gwen's POV, with the occasional chapter from Xander's, so the reader is aware of how fascinated and besotted he is before Gwen is clued into the fact, mostly again, because he's rude, dismissive and outright unpleasant to her when they actually interact. 

Neither Gwen nor Xander have had the easiest time growing up. It also turns out that despite being from very different backgrounds (Xander's very privileged, Gwen's not so much so), the same woman actually taught them to play their instruments. Once Xander shows a more vulnerable side, he becomes a much less frustrating character. Part of what made this book so enjoyable was some of the supporting characters. Gwen's roommate and some of Xander's band members were a lot of fun. The villain of the story and their motivations could have been more nuanced and thought out, though.

In my review for Forget Me Not, I wrote that I hope Ama's photographer stepsister gets her own book. I still hope that, and I also hope that in the next story, the protagonists aren't Rey and Kylo Ren with the serial numbers filed off. 

Judging a book by its cover: I totally get why the author is excited to have this image on the cover of the book, it's a very memorable and sexy scene in the story. However, the cello in question is very clearly an electric one, which is NOT what is pictured here. I know that this might not matter to most readers, but I find it exasperating. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR16 Book 48: "A Ruse of Shadows" by Sherry Thomas

Page count: 368 pages

Audio book length: 13 hrs 3 mins

Rating: 3.5 stars

Smart Bitches Summer Bingo: the latest or last book in a series

CBR16 Bingo: fan fiction

This is book 8 in the series, and really not a good place to begin. Start with A Study in Scarlet Women. 

Charlotte Holmes, more used to solving murder mysteries, now finds herself questioned by the police, the main suspect in the murder of Lord Bancroft Ashburton. Inspector Threadles is concerned for her, but needn't have worried, Ms Holmes isn't going to let something as tiresome as a charge of murder keep her down.

In the present, the reader follows Charlotte and her questioning by the police. In various flashbacks, we are given insight into what has really happened, and how Charlotte, her beloved Ash, Mrs Watson and the rest of her gang have been working on a number of different schemes, some of which did involve Lord Bancroft. 

While I really enjoyed the most recent book in the series, A Tempest at Sea (or Lady Sherlock on a Boat! as I have cheerfully renamed it in my head), this one felt like more of a chore to read. No reader of this series is actually going to believe that anyone can stick a murder charge to Charlotte Holmes, whether she actually decided to murder someone or not, so the whole framing device of her being questioned seemed a bit tedious. Then there are the flashbacks, which are spaced out oddly, and keep illuminating different aspects of the story, which obviously doesn't entirely come together properly until the end. It probably doesn't help that this story referenced things that happened fairly early on in the series and I didn't entirely remember all the details, so kept being a bit confused.

As a big fan of Thomas' romances, I was pleased to see that the relationship between Ash and Charlotte is proceeding apace, and some very lovely declarations are made over the course of the story. I always enjoy Mrs. Watson and her niece, but have to confess that I care very little for Charlotte's sister Livia and her thwarted romance with the put-upon Mr. Marbleton. This whole book felt like filler, and since the plot seems to suggest that Charlotte is gearing up to take on Mr. Moriarty in a more serious manner in upcoming books, I am not exactly thrilled by the prospect. Nevertheless, Kate Reading's narration always make these a treat, so I'll probably be reading the upcoming books as well. 

Judging a book by its cover: Another woman in an expansive dress, seen from the back, possibly running from something or towards something. Is it supposed to be Charlotte? Who knows?

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

#CBR8 Book 54: "Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice" by Curtis Sittenfeld

Page count: 512 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars

I have mentioned more than once my immense fondness and love for the YouTube series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. I read the companion book about Lizzie, and the sequel of sorts, about Lydia. I was of the opinion that Pride and Prejudice had been modernised pretty successfully already. But as we have seen in the last few years with the many different iterations of Sherlock Holmes, in films, books and TV, a really good thing can inspire a lot of different interpretations.

Eligible is part of The Austen Project, which about 200 years after her death, pairs six contemporary fiction authors with the works of beloved Jane Austen, asking them to re-imagine them in a modern setting. Joanna Trollope has done Sense and Sensibility, Val McDermid has done Northanger Abbey, Alexander McCall Smith has done Emma, and Curtis Sittenfeld is tasked with giving us a contemporary literary twist on Jane and Lizzie (or Liz, as she's mostly referred to here), Bingley and Darcy. Set in Cincinnati, it has Jane being a yoga instructor trying to get pregnant with IVF, as she has yet to find a man she really likes; Elizabeth is a successful magazine columnist, conducting an affair with the married Jasper Wick; Mary is the eternal student, generally completely uninterested in any of her sisters' concerns; while Kitty and Lydia are cross-fit and paleo diet fanatics. Chip Bingley is a handsome ER doctor who recently participated in the popular reality show Eligible (think The Bachelor, you're clearly meant to), his ambitious sister Caroline is his manager and Fitzwilliam Darcy is his arrogant neurosurgeon friend, who can't seem to play well with others in a social setting.

The two eldest Bennet women (Jane is about to turn forty) move back home after their father has an accident and breaks his arm badly. It's clear that Mr. Bennet has badly mismanaged the family's finances, not helped by his oblivious wife, who relieves stress by shopping online and hoarding. Mrs. Bennet desperately wants one of her daughters to hit it off with Chip Bingley, and is delighted when he and Jane seem instantly smitten with one another. Liz, meanwhile, tries to get her father to understand that their huge childhood home needs to be cleaned, fixed up and put on the market. The three younger sisters need to leave the nest and fend for themselves, while the Bennet parents move into a more affordable apartment. Because Chip and Jane start dating, Liz frequently runs into Darcy, slowly beginning to wonder if their constant sniping is a sign of something else.

I'm not going to lie, I preferred The Lizzie Bennet Diaries to this, and just thought it was a lot more fun. The ways in which Sittenfeld manages to make the tale a lot more diverse in a number of different ways is cleverly done and I thought the inclusion of Ham was brilliant (although he is WAY too good for Lydia!). I thought the grand reveal of Mary's secret Tuesday night outings could have been revealed at a different point of the book than the very last chapter - it felt weird to have her get a tacked-on chapter at the very end, as an after-thought almost.

While it was a bit slow to start, I was fairly quickly drawn into the book, and due to the short chapters, I had devoured about two thirds of the book in one sitting, before realising that it really was quite late at night and I had things I needed to do the next day. So while there were parts of the book that dragged, and I really could have done without the spider infestation (!), I really did like the book and for people who haven't already discovered the YouTube series (what's wrong with you, don't you like awesome things?), it may even be the preferred version. I appreciated seeing the elder Bennet sisters as more mature and established women, but ultimately prefer grad student Lizzie.

Judging a book by its cover: What with this book being part of The Austen Project and published as serious contemporary fiction, I can only assume that the really boring cover is to assure people that while this book may be based on one of the most famous romances of all time, it's not actually a romance novel per se. It's perfectly acceptable intellectual reading, and as such, has a bland inoffensive cover. With a child's drawing of an expensive engagement ring pasted onto the cover for no good reason. Maybe the art director wanted to do a favour for their child/niece/nephew. Who knows? Romance novels have a lot of awful covers, but this is just boring and not particularly inviting. If I wasn't really curious about the Pride and Prejudice reimagining and had seen it favourable reviewed in  several places, I would never have picked up this book. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR7 Book 152: "Longbourn" by Jo Baker

Page count: 352 pages
Rating: 4 stars

Quick question - can you give me the name of a single servant in Pride and Prejudice? Despite having read the book multiple times and having just finished the audio version of the book, I certainly couldn't do it. Jo Baker has taken the classic novel and imagined what the lives of the invisible people behind the scenes, so to speak. The very essential people who wash the mud out of Lizzie's petticoats after she's been walking the countryside, who help the Bennett sisters do their hair, make the beds, empty the chamber pots, sweep the floors, cook the food, tend the horses, open the doors, run errands no matter the state of the weather, carry messages back and forth and make life so much easier for the main cast of Pride and Prejudice.

There's the housekeeper, Mrs. Hill; her husband, the butler; the maids Sarah and Mary (who because the middle daughter of the family is also a Mary is forever called Polly instead). There's also the mysterious and newly hired footman, James. Their lives' work is to make things as comfortable and effortless for the family they serve, but they have hopes and dreams and pasts of their own. Sarah, orphaned at an early age and taken into the household after a stay in the poor house, especially dreams of travelling and seeing the country, not content to be a servant her entire life. She's suspicious of James, the ruffian who showed up from nowhere and was suddenly hired on as a footman. All the other servants seem to adore him, and Mrs. Hill dotes on him, but Sarah's sure he's lying about his past and is determined to figure out what he's hiding. Both James and Mrs. Hill are concerned when Sarah seems to form an attachment with one of Mr. Bingley's handsome and exotically dark-skinned footmen.

The servants, like everyone else, hope the elder Bennett sisters will make good matches, and worry when Lizzie spurns Mr. Collins, who after all will be their new master at some point in the future. They all think it would have been easier if he married a Bennett daughter, but can see he should have set his sights on Miss Mary, who was a much more suitable match for him.

While the Bennett women and all their acquaintances seem charmed by the dashing Mr. Wickham, the servants are not so easily fooled by his looks and easy charm. They recognise a predator when they see one and when he shows a very worrying interest in little Polly, James forgets all his hard-earned instincts to keep his head down and steps in to protect her. Wickham shows just how dangerous he can be and causes great upheaval in the household. Both Sarah and Mrs. Hill are shattered by the aftermath.

The book is divided into three parts, and the third part is the one that's the most removed from the main plot of the source novel. In this part we discover more of Mrs. Hill's past, her connection to James the footman and why he wished to keep his past hidden from everyone. It offered a perspective on the Regency period you certainly don't see in the romance novels, not just because it concerns the lives of the working classes, but because it's easy to forget when reading about balls and dresses and courting that the Napoleonic wars were also raging at the time. While so many romances are populated by officers back AFTER the Napoleonic wars, with varying degrees of PTSD, they rarely show any of the realities of the actual fighting, and certainly not what it would have been like for the foot soldiers. Longbourn, however, doesn't shy away from such unpleasantness.

This book is a very interesting take on what I think of as "literary fan fiction". I really liked the different interpretations of the already known characters from the beloved novel, as well as a fascinating look at all those servants who get completely forgotten about, but were oh so necessary for the wheels of society to turn. At first, I was worried I'd find the book boring, but I pretty much raced through it, just as invested in the lower born protagonists that I was reading about Lizzie and her sisters finding love.

I'm not entirely sure I liked some of the choices Baker made in the book, however, and wish that Mrs. Hill's past could have been handled differently. I did like that Baker continued the story past the pages of the original, with glimpses of Lizzie's life as Mrs. Darcy and showed what life might be like for a maid at Pemberley. I can't really fault Sarah for the choices she eventually made, although I doubt I would have chosen the same if I were in her situation. There have been several very favourable Cannonball reviews of this in the past, I'm glad I finally got round to reading it.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR6 Book 72: "The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet" by Bernie Su and Kate Rorick

Page count: 400 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars

On the 30th of April 2012, internet geek goddess Felicia Day recommended a new YouTube series called The Lizzie Bennet Diaries on her YouTube-series The Flog. As a huge fan of most things Austen (I just can't with Mansfield Park, it's so boring), and as someone very interested in modern adaptations of classical works, not to mention willing to trust Felicia Day as I monthly tune in to her Vaginal Fantasy book club, I decided to check this thing out. I didn't really have a lot of experience with vlogs as a medium. With the exception of Ms. Day's own Flog, I hadn't really watched any. But I do know my Pride and Prejudice, and the concept intrigued me.

Having now pinpointed the date when Ms. Day first recommended the series, I can conclude that I started watching The Lizzie Bennet Diaries with episode 8: Charlotte's Back! I got hooked really early on. At first, there were two episodes a week, and I quickly grew to wait with bated breath for each one. Then I discovered that the creators weren't just doing videos, there were fictional accounts for most of the major characters on Twitter and Tumblr, Pinterest and other social media sites. Vivacious youngest sister Lydia Bennet started making her own video blog, so I got more content. Occasionally, there would be a Q & A video. If I was really lucky, I'd get up to FOUR videos in one week. Mondays and Tuesdays were seriously the best days of my week, because I'd get a new short video showing me the further adventures of Lizzie, Jane and Lydia Bennet, as well as Charlotte Lu. It didn't matter that I knew the source material. The creators, Hank Green and Bernie Su, twisted and adapted the story in such creative ways, turning Mary Bennet into the Bennet's Goth cousin, and Kitty became Lydia's cat. All of the parental characters and non-core cast were portrayed through costume theatre. This made it even more exciting every time a new actor actually appeared in the videos.

By the time they actually showed Darcy in person, with video 60(!), I would probably have given up a limb or at least a digit if that was what was required to keep watching the videos. The show lasted for more than a year, and I watched faithfully for most of it, so delightful with almost all the changes they made to the story. Giving Charlotte a much more prominent role, the way the story arc developed for Lydia - SO much better than in Austen's original. I contributed to the Kickstarter campaign and am now the proud owner of the full DVD box set. There was no way I wasn't going to buy this book, and because I loved all the characters, I was unlikely to dislike it.

With The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, Bernie Su, the creator of the show, and Kate Rorick, one of the main writers of the YouTube-series, who also writes romance novels as Kate Noble, are able to adapt and modernise the bits of Pride and Prejudice that they just weren't able to fit into the videos. They can show the Bennet parents' reactions to Lizzie turning down Mr. Collins' lucrative job offer, they can relate the awkward first meeting between Lizzie and Darcy at the Gibson wedding. Fans are able to read Darcy's letter to Lizzie after he declares his feelings for her, and she furiously rejects him. As a companion to the YouTube series, this book really gives rabid Austen-fans the full modernisation.

If you're not at least a fan of the YouTube-series already, or you're not all that happy about all sorts of fan ficcy interpretations of Jane Austen's works, then this book is not for you. The main reason I'm not rating the book a full five stars is that some of the scenes I'd sort of hoped to get Lizzie's more in-depth take on (as this is her personal diary, after all), namely episode 60 (where Darcy first appears and declares his love for her) and episode 98. In the story, it's also perfectly understandable that Lizzie may not actually have been able to write down her full feelings about the two events. And the videos are there for all to see. If I were Lizzie, I certainly wouldn't have prioritised writing in my diary after the events of episode 98 - but I'm not her. I'm a rabid fangirl, and I want details! Still, these are minor nitpicks, and I really did enjoy the book. If this whole thing was a bit to TL, DR for you, in conclusion, I would highly recommend The Lizzie Bennet Diaries with all the spin-off videos (all available for free on YouTube) and if you like those, this book.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR5 Book 61. "Fangirl" by Rainbow Rowell

Page count: 416 pages
Rating: 5 stars

Cather and Wren are twins (their mother hadn't planned on twins but always wanted to name a girl Catherine - so just split the name). Their whole life has been spent together, sharing a room, sharing interests, especially their love of Simon Snow (think basically Harry Potter, if Draco was his room mate, and also a vampire). Cath and Wren write fan fic read by tens of thousands of fans, while everyone awaits the release of the eight and final Simon Snow book. Cath doesn't really think much will change when they go off to college, but then  Wren declares that she wants to live in a different dorm from Cath, and spends most of her time having the crazy party girl freshman experience, leaving Cath anxious and adrift in a new and confusing place.

Cath isn't even sure she wants to be at college. She's worried about their father, who manages fine most of the time, when his girls remind him to eat, and do the dishes, and the laundry. His mental health really isn't as stable as it ought to be, and Cath doesn't think he should be by himself. For the first couple of weeks, she barely even leaves her dorm room, just holes up and eats energy bars, goes to lectures and continues her fan fiction grand opus. The only people she sees are Reagan (who seems very popular, but kind of aggressive and angry all the time), and Reagan's boyfriend Levi, who works at Starbucks and studies farming and is happy and cheerful all the time, winning even the bitterest of souls over with his charming attitude. Reagan decides to "adopt" Cath, and forces her to come to meals (where they quietly mock and make up stories about everyone else there).

There are other reasons Cath has trouble adjusting to college: her writing professor, who Cath admires greatly, is completely dismissive of and refuses to support fan fiction. She won't let Cath hand in anything even vaguely inspired by Simon Snow, and keeps pushing Cath to write things well outside her comfort zone. Wren keeps pulling away from Cath, and seems to spend most of her time getting dangerously drunk with her roommate. She also wants to reconnect with the girls' mother, who abandoned them the week after 9/11 to "find herself". Still scarred by the betrayal and remembering how much it affected their father, Cath wants nothing to do with her, or even to hear her mentioned. Finally, there's her father's health. Cath is right to be worried about her dad, who while he tries to sound chipper, really doesn't deal as well without his daughters as he'd like to think.

It's no secret that I love Rainbow Rowell. Attachments was one of my top 3 books of 2011, and if I hadn't been made so intensely uncomfortable by Eleanor's home life in Eleanor and Park, I probably would have given that five stars too. I literally screamed with joy when I saw that I'd been granted an ARC by St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. To say that my expectations were high was not an understatement. After completing it, I can say that Attachments is probably still my favourite, but this is a worthy second place.

I've been a fangirl of many things over the years, but I've never really understood the appeal of fan fiction, be it the reading or writing thereof. Obviously I'm aware that it exists, and that thousands of people around the world spend their time, like Cath in this book, on forums, and message boards and fan fiction sites. I'd rather just re-read the books I loved, or watch the TV shows, rather than reading someone else's interpretation of the characters and stories that I loved. Yet Rowell writes Cath so well, that while I was urging her to break out of her comfort zone and live and meet boys and use her considerable writing talent to create her own character and worlds, rather than stay safe in the world of the fantasy characters she loved, I could also understand why it was important and necessary for her.

I can also add the Simon Snow books to the list of fictional books that I desperately want to get my hands on. The first instance of being almost more caught up in the fiction within the fiction was probably when I read Misery by Stephen King as a teenager. I would have been completely hooked on those books. I was upset that they didn't exist. I love the fact that I can read Richard Castle's actual Nikki Heat books. The various excerpts from Simon Snow books in Fangirl (usually at the end of each chapter) made me desperate to read more. I suspect I would enjoy them more than certainly the later Harry Potter books.

This is becoming a really long review, and while I've written a bit about Cath, I've not really covered much about the other wonderful characters in this book. Wren, who so understandably wants to try to define herself away from her identical twin sister. Their father, with his manic ideas and so much affection for his daughters. Reagan, Cath's roommate, and of course, Levi, who I fell madly in love with, and have added to the list of my many fictional boyfriends and future husbands. If you've even vaguely enjoyed a Rainbow Rowell book in the past, do yourself a favour and read this one. If you haven't, this is a great book to start with, although I suspect you might need to have some affinity to fandom of some kind to really sympathise fully with Cath. While I was given this ARC, I will totally pay full price for the book when it's actually released in September, and begin my impatient wait for Rowell's next book.

#CBR5 Book 2. "Jane" by April Lindner

Page count: 400 pages
Rating: 3 stars

What if Jane Eyre was a young college girl forced to drop out after her parents' death, and take a position as a nanny to make ends meet, and save up enough money to finish her degree? What if Mr. Rochester was a world famous rock star with a tempestuous past working towards a comeback?

Spoiler warning! If you haven't read Jane Eyre, a novel that is more than 160 years old by now, this review will contain some spoilers, and you should probably skip it. However, you should also go find a copy of Jane Eyre and read it, because it's great.

Still here? Ok, then. Jane Moore is an art student at Sarah Lawrence, but can't afford to pay tuition after her parents die, leaving her almost destitute. She takes a position as a nanny at Thornfield Park, taking care of rock legend Nico Rathburn's daughter from an ill-advised and brief relationship with a French starlet.

Nico Rathburn seems demanding, gruff and arrogant at first, but is clearly pleased with Jane's efforts to take care of and nurture his daughter. Working towards the release of his new album and a subsequent world tour, Rathburn isn't even around that much at first. As he spends more time at Thornfield Park, however, Jane can't help but grow closer to him, even as he seems to be wooing the glamorous celebrity photographer Bianca Ingram to be his new wife. And what are all the strange noises coming from the restricted area on the third floor? Why is no one allowed up there? What exactly is Nico hiding from the world?

April Lindner is a professor of English at a University in Philadelphia, and says that Jane Eyre is her favourite novel, that she teaches at any opportunity given to her. So it's not a surprise that this is a very faithful adaptation of the classic novel. While there's not as much time spent dwelling on Jane's absolutely awful childhood, the modern take on Jane still had a pretty rotten upbringing, with self-centred parents more concerned about her older siblings. She's an art student, shy, introverted, plain (not as obsessed with her appearance as the original, God I want to shake that girl for all her whining about how unremarkable-looking she is).

Mr. Rochester has become Nicholas Rathburn, former bad boy rocker with all manner of womanising, alcohol and drug abuse and partying in his past. Now clean and sober, he's launching his comeback album and planning a massive tour with his band. Blanch Ingram is instead a sexy fashion photographer, and the mad wife in the attic is his deeply unstable, schizophrenic first wife who he refuses to have institutionalised.

Lindner clearly knows the novel so well that I'm pretty sure that if I could be bothered to go to the shelf and find my copy of Jane Eyre, I would find that the plot for each chapter is pretty much faithfully recreated, just updated to a modern setting. It's actually very well done, and I won't deny having been engaged by the story and swept along by the drama on occasion. I read the book in two days, so it's not like it was boring or a lot of hard work. I'm just not entirely sure why the adaptation needed to be made. Still, there were no zombies or ninjas or sea monsters or vampires, it's just a very accurate modern take on the novel for a young adult audience (although those faint of heart should know that there are some smexy times, if not very graphic - get ready to clutch your pearls). As someone who's very ready for that fad to be over now, I guess I should be grateful. I will also confess to being curious about the author's next novel, which is a modern take on Wuthering Heights. Maybe she can make me hate that book a bit less by modernising it?

CBR3 Book 95: "Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star" by Heather Lynn Rigaud

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Page count: 432 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Date begun: November 12th, 2011
Date finished: November 13th, 2011

In Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star, Jane Austen's most famous hero is not a repressed Regency gentleman, but the world famous guitarist and founder of rock band Slurry. He, his cousin Richard Fitzwilliam (on drums) and best friend Charles Bingley (lead singer and bass) are known for their wild partying, and seem unable to keep a support act for more than half a tour. They're about to embark on the biggest tour of their career, and need to find a new support act quickly. When they audition the girl band, Long Borne Suffering, featuring sisters Jane Bennett on vocals and bass, Lizzy Bennett on guitar and their best friend Charlotte Lucas on drums, they seem to have finally found what they're looking for.

Heather Lynn Rigaud takes the story of Pride and Prejudice and modernises it fairly successfully. Taking one of the most famous and beloved romantic classics and doing new things with it seems to be all the rage. This works better than some I've come across.  Mostly, I think the author took the characters of the original novel and gave them 21st Century personalities very successfully indeed. There's three separate couples who need to find their HEAs in this, and while I can totally see why a modernised version of the story needs to have sex in it, some of the sex scenes did seem a bit superflous, and got a bit repetitive after a while. A fun read, and a creative re-imagining of Austen's timeless classic, but again, I have to disagree with Publishers' Weekly that it was one of the best romances of the year. They clearly haven't read the same books I have this year.