I had intended to read Beth Pattillo's Jane Austen Ruined My Life this weekend as the third book for the readathon ... and then I fell asleep almost immediately after finishing the second book and woke up six hours later with only enough time to read the first three chapters.
It's the story of Emma Grant -- a former college English professor whose specialty is Jane Austen. Her marriage and career are both over and she's taken off to England thanks to a lead on Jane Austen's lost letters. Emma is hoping that finding them will reignite her career -- even though the person who claims to have them has sworn her to secrecy about their existence and will only reveal bits and pieces of what she knows after Emma completes certain Austen-related tasks.
It's like the scavenger hunt of my dreams!
As I spent most of Sunday resting my eyes from reading for 18 hours (and making a Jane Austen doll ... which you can see after the teasers), it took me a bit longer to get through than I had originally expected. There were some things that annoyed me -- like the ending (seriously ... what was that?!?) ... and Emma's simpering "woe-is-me" prattle throughout far too much of it. Happily, though, there were far more things that I loved -- like Adam, Mrs Parrot's quirkiness, and ooooooh so much Jane!
I had found the book in a three-book box set with two other Austen-related book by Pattillo and I'm definitely looking forward to reading them!
"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. "Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.
As promised:
12 Hours Later Update: Okay, I had to give the star back on Goodreads that I took away for the prattle and ending. It really wouldn't have worked as well without them and, considering the fact that hours later I'm still thinking about it this much, it definitely worked. Besides .... the ending? Is it really an end?
