The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen by Syrie James

The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen by Syrie James
Copyright 2012
Berkley (an imprint of Penguin) - historical/contemporary fiction
422 pp. including Reader's Guide

The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen is the story of Samantha McDonough, who discovers a letter written by Jane Austen tucked into a book.  This letter hints at the existence of a previously-unknown Austen manuscript.  The letter and a little investigation lead Samantha to a shabby estate called Greenbriar in Devonshire, where she meets the very handsome Anthony Whitaker, owner of the crumbling estate. Anthony is preparing to sell Greenbriar.  It's a wreck; he's really never lived there long enough to become attached to the place, his father was an icky old man who didn't have anything to do with him and Anthony just wants to dispose of it quickly.

Clearly, Samantha needs to convince him to hang on long enough for her to dig in the house to find the manuscript that she believes was left or stolen at Greenbriar.  Not exactly a challenging conflict.  Man who wants to get rid of house immediately shoos away Austen scholar with a burning desire to dig around in his shabby mansion.  They have to find that manuscript or the book is rather pointless, right?

Anthony is, of course, quickly convinced that he should allow Samantha to hunt for the manuscript after letting her in long enough to locate a guest registry that lists the Austens as visitors.  He is motivated by money; she only cares about the joy of adding to the Austen canon.  It doesn't take long for the two to find the missing manuscript.  And, when located, they begin to read the manuscript. At this point, the tone of the book changes as it becomes a "book within a book".  I didn't find the Austen manuscript particularly convincing (nor the letter, for that matter).  But, the Regency-era manuscript slowly grew on me as its plot began to sound typically Austenish.  

At that point, I shut off my annoying editor brain and simply enjoyed the story.  The "missing manuscript" might have contained some modern expressions and Americanisms but, in the end, the Regency portion of The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen was tremendously entertaining.  Eventually, I found the modern portion of The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen so dull that it was irritating when the modern story interrupted. 

The Regency story is about a rector's daughter, Rebecca Stanhope, who finds that friends are not always what they seem.  There is the usual hero with a secret agenda and the surprising true love, etc. - definitely a story built with a bit of Austen formula. 

The modern portion of The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen, unfortunately, was too predictable, too pat, far too easy for the heroine.  Discovering a letter and locating a manuscript within 2 days?  And . . . well, I won't spoil the ending but it also lacks decent obstacles.  The only conflict was so obviously manufactured that I would not have managed to finish the book if the modern portion had not taken a backseat to the historical.  

Fortunately, the modern story becomes the lesser portion of the book as Samantha and Anthony read the discovered manuscript and, in the end, I really enjoyed The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen.  The modern ending was predictable and trite, but I pretty  much didn't care, by that point.  I'd already had too much fun and would have happily closed the book without a wrap-up of the crappy modern portion.  I gave The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen 4 out of 5 stars at Goodreads.  The modern portion would get no more than a 2/5 if I were to rate it on its own and if I'd taken off points for style I would have given it a lower overall score, but entertain me and I'm happy.  

Recommended particularly to fans of Jane Austen who enjoy reading spin-off novels and readers who love Regency novels, in general.  A delightful Regency tale is what makes the book entertaining. The ridiculously predictable modern story's ending is okay, if only because it doesn't deviate from the expected.

In other news:

No malarkey, today.  I'm just recovering from a 4-day migraine.  If I have time and energy, I'll write a Tuesday Twaddle post, tomorrow.  If not, I'll just dive right into more reviews when I can.  

Here's a cardinal to appease you. Obviously, I mucked around with this one a bit, using the "posterize" feature from Picasa and altering the color a bit at pixlr.com.  Photo editors are like the grown-up version of play-doh -- so much fun to mess with.  

©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Forbidden by Syrie and Ryan M. James

Forbidden by Syrie James & Ryan M. James

Copyright 2012

HarperTeen - Young Adult/Paranormal

412 pp.

I wish I was on HarperTeen's mailing list. I managed to win my copy of Forbidden from Alyce of At Home With Books and it was such a pleasant diversion.

16-year-old Claire Brennan has never lived anywhere for long. It has always seemed as if her mother is running from something. But, she's been attending exclusive Emerson Academy for two years and she loves her school. When Claire begins having psychic visions, she's afraid to tell her mother. What is her mother running from? Why are strange things suddenly happening to Claire?

Alec MacKenzie is a Watcher, an angelic being whose job is to eliminate the Fallen when they become too dangerous. But, after over 100 years of doing his job, he's weary and just wants to give human life a try. He's had many years to learn a lot of information, so a school with a reputation for excellence seems like a nice place to hide and play at being normal. But, trouble follows. When Alec's godfather says there's a dangerous Halfblood roaming around Emerson, Alec agrees to help locate the Halfblood only if his godfather will guarantee not to turn Alec in.

Claire has a terrible crush on Alec and the feeling is mutual. But, Alec knows their love is forbidden. Is there a way for Alec to do his job and continue to spend time with Claire? Or must they be separated for eternity? Even worse, could their romance end in death?

What I loved about Forbidden:

I've been in a YA mood, lately, and Forbidden was just what I needed. It's got danger, forbidden romance, a dubious character or two (or four), and enough suspense to make the pages fly. The writing is also light enough for someone who is in the middle of working on preparing to buy a house and move. Haha. Had to throw that in. I do have a little trouble focusing on more intense reading material when I've got a lot going on, so young adult novels are particularly wonderful for such times.

I liked the characters and was swept away by the dilemma, the romance, and the paranormal elements. The lightness of the writing was very pleasant, since I've got a lot on my mind.

What I disliked about Forbidden:

Apart from answering with the word "Aye" instead of "Yes", Alec's dialogue does not make him sound like a Scot, but he is from Scotland. He pretty much sounds like everyone else in California and is most distinguished by the fact that he's lived a monk-like existence and has only eaten extremely healthy food. So, pizza and other foods are a shocking joy to him and, actually, his new food experiences and special abilities set him apart more than any attempt at a believable accent. I don't think that's a terrible thing, though, as a lot of authors overdo their attempt to make someone sound authentic, which ends up distracting the reader from the storyline. So, Alec's lack of Scottishness is a minor complaint.

Recommendation:

Loved it! Recommended to paranormal fans who like a clean, light read with plenty of romantic tension, solid writing and a nice plot. This is only the second book I've read with angels in it so I can't say how it compares to others but I enjoyed Forbidden. It can be a tiny bit sappy, at times, and there is a smidgen of love triangle -- which, of course, has become a bit of a tired, old thing in YA -- but I liked both of the male characters and very rarely thought, "Oh, come on!" That may be because I haven't read much YA, this year. Forbidden swept me away and entertained me. That's all I care.

And, the latest news:

Things seem to be progressing rather quickly with the house purchase. Those who know me well will understand when I say I'm most excited about the fact that the neighborhood we're planning to move into has sidewalks and the city has leash laws. The absence of both has been really frustrating because we both grew up walking and riding bikes in neighborhoods where dogs were fenced and not a threat to active people (and dogs were not threatened by cars, which I believe is equally important). I cannot wait to ride a bike in my own neighborhood!

The cats are going to probably be peeved, though. I just have a feeling. Cats aren't really thrilled with the concept of change. We shall see.

Happy Monday!

Bookfool, who is trying to stop admiring all the improvements she's made to the house she's planning to sell.

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.