Synopsis:
When Charlotte Kinder treats herself to a two-week vacation at Austenland, she happily leaves behind her ex-husband and his delightful new wife, her ever-grateful children, and all the rest of her real life in America. She dons a bonnet and stays at a country manor house that provides an immersive Austen experience, complete with gentleman actors who cater to the guests’ Austen fantasies.

Everyone at Pembrook Park is playing a role, but increasingly, Charlotte isn’t sure where roles end and reality begins. And as the parlor games turn a little bit menacing, she finds she needs more than a good corset to keep herself safe. Is the brooding Mr. Mallery as sinister as he seems? What is Miss Gardenside’s mysterious ailment? Was that an actual dead body in the secret attic room? And-perhaps of the most lasting importance-could the stirrings in Charlotte’s heart be a sign of real-life love?

Review:
I did not realize just how enthralling I would find this book, and accidentally ended up reading late into the night to read to the end. I wasn’t sure that I would love this book, having started it previously and abandoned it, but I found once I was a few paragraphs in I was easily hooked. This book had all the regency and romance of the original Austenland, but with a huge mystery that left me needing to read to the very end. Warning: this book makes you want to keep reading and do nothing else until you reach the conclusion.

The book shifts between days in Austenland and days in the past in Charlotte’s past, finally catching up in the end to the modern day. I thought it was really unique to tell the backstory in such a manner, so that we were experiencing it with Charlotte as she considered things herself while on her vacation. Her gumption, change, and confidence are inspiring for anyone who finds that they have allowed themselves and their lives to move too far from what they wanted, or have allowed themselves to be too cowed by others that they shouldn’t have.

I loved how Charlotte fell into the mystery and wanted to just focus on that instead of letting the outside world and her real life problems fill her mind. I also adored how well everyone developed the characters are, and getting to see another side to Miss Charming that hadn’t been present in the original Austenland.

I highly recommend this book if you like the regency time period, Jane Austen, mysteries and a hint of romance.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯