The Library of the Seen

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Austen, Austenland. I wanna read, Austenland.

SYNOPSIS:

Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her love life: no real man can compare. But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane's fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined.

Decked out in empire-waist gowns, Jane struggles to master Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen;or maybe even, she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. It's all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to fall away, and the more she wonders: Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?

REVIEW:

Austenland was absolutely delectable! For anyone who has fallen head over heels for Austen's world and have longed to adventure back to that "simpler" time you will love Austenland. After completing the novel I was ready to pack my bags and take my own trip! (If only I had the wealth to fund the adventure). It is a romance for the hopeless and hopeful romantic, for the one who has given up on love all together, and for the reader who has read Austen so many times that they need something new without leaving the world they love too much.

The men were engaging and the women were entertaining and humorous. I will admit that I saw the film first and in doing so I could only picture some of the cast as I was reading, which speaks highly of the casting! Absolutely enchanting novel which I devoured quickly. I picked up Midnight in Austenland and read it right away since I didn't want to leave the world Hale has created. It made me want to reread Austen, or venture into other novels of those obsessed with Austen.

RATING:

WHAT TO READ (OR WATCH) NEXT

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Love Letters to the Dead Review

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SYNOPSIS:

Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to the dead—to people like Janis Joplin, Heath Ledger, Amelia Earhart, and Amy Winehouse—though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating the choppy waters of new friendships, learning to live with her splintering family, falling in love for the first time, and, most important, trying to grieve for May. But how do you mourn for someone you haven't forgiven?

It's not until Laurel has written the truth about what happened to herself that she can finally accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was—lovely and amazing and deeply flawed—can she truly start to discover her own path.

In a voice that's as lyrical and as true as a favorite song, Ava Dellaira writes about one girl's journey through life's challenges with a haunting and often heartbreaking beauty.

REVIEW:

Love Letters to the Dead was a beautifully written novel about what it really means to grow up. It delves into the complicated issues and circumstances that some young adults will face. Loss, pain, figuring out who you are and wanting acceptance. Ava Dellaira has a stunning voice and her characters feel more than people who exist in a piece of fiction, it's like they exist somewhere between fiction and reality.

When I was in High School The Perks of Being a Wallflower was passed around and people talked about how moving and true to life it was. Letters to the Dead delivered everything I expected Perks of Being a Wallflower to.

This is one for your bookshelf. Absolutely wonderful.

There is underage drinking and some sexual content in this novel.

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