Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale

Title: Midnight in Austenland (Austenland #2)

Author: Shannon Hale

Publisher: Bloomsbury 2012

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 272

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library; A to Z - M; Seriously Series

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?

A lovely little breezy book to start off the year right. I didn't love this one as much as the first in the series, but it was still a treat. We get to see some familiar characters (Miss Charming, Colonel Andrews, and of course Mrs. Wattlesbrook), plus some great new ones. Miss Gardenside was my favorite. I figured her twist out right away, but she was a nice character to follow. My main issue was with the main character. I wasn't huge fan of Charlotte, but grew to like her more as the story progressed. The murder mystery was a bit forced at times, but was still enjoyable. A nice companion novel to Austenland.

Austenland:

#1 Austenland
#2 Midnight in Austenland

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

Title: The Goose Girl (The Books of Bayern #1)

Author: Shannon Hale

Publisher: Bloomsbury 2005

Genre: Fairy tales

Pages: 400

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Telling tales; Mount TBR; Fall into Reading

How I Got It: I own it!

She can whisper to horses and communicate with birds, but the crown princess Ani has a difficult time finding her place in the royal family and measuring up to her imperial mother. When she is shipped off to a neighboring kingdom as a bride, her scheming entourage mounts a bloody mutiny to replace her with a jealous lady-in-waiting, Selia, and to allow an inner circle of guards more power in the new land. Barely escaping with her life, Ani disguises herself as a goose girl and wanders on the royal estate. Does she have the pluck to reclaim her rightful place? Get ready for a fine adventure tale full of danger, suspense, surprising twists, and a satisfying conclusion. The engaging plot can certainly carry the tale, but Hale's likable, introspective heroine makes this also a book about courage and justice in the face of overwhelming odds. The richly rendered, medieval folkloric setting adds to the charm. Anne O'Malley

I was wary at the beginning of this book. I haven't had much luck with retellings of fairy tales. They've been way too shallow with uninteresting characters and predictable storylines. I just wasn't loving them at all. And then Shannon Hale comes along and renews my faith in fairy tales. She crafts a beautiful growing up story of a shelter princess betrayed and left to fight on her own. I loved Ani (or Isi) and her fight to survive. I grew to love the other workers. I especially loved Finn and Enna. Great characters! Even though I figured I knew the ending, the story still kept me on my toes until the very end. I'll be sure to grab the other books in the series for next year's reading.

Books of Bayern

#1 The Goose Girl
#2 Enna Burning
#3 River Secrets
#4 Forest Born

Calamity Jack by Shannon and Dean Hale

Title: Calamity Jack

Author: Shannon and Dean Hale

Publisher: Bloomsbury 2010

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 144

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library

The sequel to Rapnzel's Revenge was definitely worthwhile. This time we see Jack's back story. How and why he ended up in the Old West with a goose. I liked Jack, but his story wasn't the best. All stupidity and running. But then once he met Rapunzel, he became a much more interesting character.

I liked the book once we caught up with where Rapunzel's Revenge left off. Then it started to progress like I thought it should. I liked the inclusion of other fairy tale style monsters and creatures. It was a nice touch. It started to make a lot more sense. If Rapunzel and witches and golden laying geese are in this world, why shouldn't other creatures? Made sense. The dialogue was fun. The visuals fun. Everything about it was fun. Definite fun 20 minute read.

Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale

Title: Rapunzel's Revenge

Author: Shannon and Dean Hale

Publisher: Bloomsbury 2008

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 144

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library

I absolutely adored this graphic novel. A great alternate story of the classic fairy tale Rapunzel. Meant for children ages 9-12, I was delighted to find that I enjoyed a children's book. I don't usually pick children's books, but this one was written by Shannon Hale. And I loved her adult novel Austenland. So I thought, why not?

The art s fun. Not too detailed to lose children, but with enough reality that it was visually appealing. Colorful and fun. The character facial expressions were especially fun.

As to the story, I loved the twists. We start with the "classic" Rapunzel story, but then it changes. She doesn't wait for her Prince to rescue her from the tower. This Rapunzel takes matters into her own hands and escapes. And starts a journey through her world to bring down her evil "mother" Gothel. Along the way she meets some fun characters, specifically her sidekick Jack (of "and the Beanstalk"?). A fun story to go along with fun characters and fun visuals.

Overall a very enjoyable 20 minute read. And I found that there's a sequel: Calamity Jack. Maybe I'll find out Jack's back story. I'll have to pick it up.

Austenland by Shannon Hale

Title: Austenland

Author: Shannon Hale

Publisher: Bloomsbury 2007

Genre: Jane Austen tribute

Pages: 208

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Contemporary Romance; February Romance Month; A to Z Authors: H

Jane is a young New York woman who can never seem to find the right man-perhaps because of her secret obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. When a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-obsessed women, however, Jane's fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become more real than she ever could have imagined. Is this total immersion in a fake Austenland enough to make Jane kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?

I tried another Jane Austen-esque book to finish my February Romance Month. And this one was surprisingly good. Basic plot summary: Jane, a Pride and Prejudice addict, has had such bad luck in the romance department that she convinces herself that she'll never find love. Her great-aunt Carolyn leaves her a trip to Pembrok Park, a Austen world immersion resort. Jane reluctantly goes, if nothing else, to once and for all rid herself of her Darcy obsession and resign herself to spinsterhood. Once there, Jane finds that the lines between and reality and play are very hard to distinguish. I won't give away the ending, but I will say that the book had me guessing til the very end.

The characters are likable (Jane), irritating (Miss Charming), devious (Mrs. Wattlesbrook), swoony (Colonel Andrews), mysterious (Mr. Nobley), and goofy yet adorable (Theodore). I felt for Jane as she tried to navigate Austen's universe, but a playacting version of Austen's universe. It almost became a mystery: who's who and what's their motivation. You never knew who was going to reveal something real or real sounding. The book reminded me of the movie Lost in Austen (one of my faves). Jane is completely out of place in Austen's world, but so desperately wants to belong there. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and can now add it to my library as I bought the book for a $1 at one of those crazy clearance sales I always seem to find.

Austenland

#1 Austenland
#2 Midnight in Austenland