Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Patillo

Please bear with me as I try something new... no Goodreads Synopsis!

What its about:  Emma Douglas is a good girl.  She's always done what was expected of her and believed in Happy Endings.  That is until the untimely end of her marriage and an unexpected gap in employment leaves her homeless and without direction.  Emma packs up everything she has and heads to England to learn more about her favorite author, Jane Austen in hopes of reviving her career and finding herself.

My thoughts:  This was a really fun read.  As you know I read Pride and Prejudice for the first time earlier this year.  I have yet to read any of her other works so some of the references in the book did not mean much to me.  I don't believe that this detracted from the story although I acknowledge that some parts might have felt more significant had I read Austen's work and known what the reference meant. 

The story contains all of the typical elements of a woman who has just gone through a nasty divorce and has set out on a journey of self discovery.  On this journey Emma discovers that she'd lost far more than she realized.  In a sense she goes through an awakening process that leads her to make some major decisions.  I think that the book definitely could have gone another direction and a lot of readers would have been more satisfied with the conclusion.  I like the way that Beth Patillo ended the story in a fashion atypical to the "divorced woman goes out to find herself and finds happily ever after."  This is not to say that Emma doesn't find this... its just not what you expect.

I will say this, if you enjoy good old fashioned chivalry set in a modern scene you will like this book.  It is a great lighter read that I will be keeping around to read again in the future.

Beth Patillo has a number of books out.  Please take a look at her website for more information.

Disclosure:  I received my copy of Jane Austen ruined my lift by Beth Patillo from Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists in the hopes that I would review it on my blog.  This is my honest opinion of Jane Austen Ruined my life.