Seeking Persephone by Sarah M. Eden

8 Stars

From the back cover: When Persephone Lancaster receives a marriage proposal from the ill-tempered Duke of Kielder, she refuses — and then reconsiders. The obscene sum of money he’s offering Persephone would save her family from ruin. With her characteristic optimism, she travels to the far reaches of Northumberland to wed a greatly feared stranger.

Lodged deep in a thick forest infested with wild dogs, the Duke’s castle is as cold and forbidding as the Duke himself, a man with terrible scars on his body and his soul. But the Duke’s steely determination to protect his heart at all costs is challenged by his growing attachment to his lovely and gentle bride. With caring persistence, Persephone attempts to pierce the Duke’s armor and reach the man beneath. Yet he cannot tolerate such exposure, and his repeated rejections take their toll. But when grave danger arises, the Duke realizes he must face the risk of revealing his true feelings or lose the woman he cannot live without.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Seeking Persephone, by Sarah M. Eden.  Ms. Eden is an LDS author and writes books set in Regency England.  This is the first book in a series based around the Lancaster family.  At only 280 pages it was a fairly quick read. Although it's set in Regency England, the descriptive language is not as difficult to read or understand.  It was sweet, clean, moved quickly and had interesting and witty characters.  I enjoyed the dialogue between characters, and insights into relationships.  I'm giving it 8 stars because it is definitely a chick book, and therefore won't appeal to all readers.  If you enjoy books from authors like Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, you'll probably enjoy this!

Austenland by Shannon Hale

7 Stars

"When her great-aunt bequeaths her a trip to a role-playing resort called Austenland, Jane must discover whether playing dress-up in Regency clothes can cure her of her [Mr. Darcy] obsession and help her find real love, once and for all." (Synopsis taken from the Superfast Reader.)

My Review:

This book was HALE-arious!

...

Ok, I couldn't resist. Sorry. Seriously, this book was a refreshing read and very funny. Perhaps only funny to those of us that get Austin-humor (when reading section to my husband; not so funny) I thoroughly enjoyed all the awkward moments and the regency air and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone that has seen or read Austin. It was clean and I loved the quirkiness of the main character.

Emma by Jane the Austen

6 stars (-2 because the first 300 pages are (almost) pointless)

We read this a few months ago so let me see if I can remember what its about. Rich girl thinks she's the bomb diggity. Rich girl is a brat. Rich girl tries to set up her not-rich friend with some rich dudes and fails miserably making everyone else's life...miserable...did I use that word already? Rich girl decides to be not so bratty but instead tells her not-rich friend off for liking on her man even though she would never admit he was her man. If you want to know the ending, you'll just have to read it. Better yet, watch the movie. This may be one of the few instances where I will say the movie was better.

Yeah, that about sums it up. If you can't tell, Emma is not my favorite person in the literary world. Although she is slightly higher up than Bella (of Twilight fame. As if there were any other Bella to confuse her for).

I think I like Jane Austen. She seems to be witty and writes great dialogue. However, I'm not too sure I want to read another Jane Austen book because Emma was SOOOOOOOO long. The story was alright and, as mentioned, the writing was good but every time Amanda or I started reading it just seemed to drag on...and on...and, you get the drift. In fact, when Amanda looked at our copy to tell me how long it is I was flabbergasted that its only 380-some-odd pages long. It seemed like there was so much more book while we were reading it.

I suppose that's my only complaint. It seems rather petty now that I look back on it but I very clearly remember feeling great disdain towards the first 300 pages of this book. When you're entrenched in 300 pages of blah to get to 80 pages of a good story that is well written, the clock ticks just a little bit slower. And that, my friends, is enough to knock poor Emma from her high horse.

Was I too harsh?

Austenland by Shannon Hale

7 Stars

"When her great-aunt bequeaths her a trip to a role-playing resort called Austenland, Jane must discover whether playing dress-up in Regency clothes can cure her of her [Mr. Darcy] obsession and help her find real love, once and for all." (Synopsis taken from the Superfast Reader.)

This was a GREAT book for anyone who loves chick lit. It's clean, it's funny, the heroine is quirky and likable, and it's a quick, fun read. There are a couple of "awkward" moments that some might not enjoy (*ahem, Ashley* ;D ), but it was still pretty recommend-able. The best part about it, to me, is that Hale actually manages to keep you on your toes about how it's all going to end. Ultimate moral of the story: Hale writes better youth-oriented books, BUT I'll continue seeking her out.