BookTok: Manslaughter Park

* Book 3 in the Jane Austen Murder Mystery series * 

 

@yabooknerdlibrarian The perfect mystery book for #JaneAusten fans! #fannyprice #art #booktok #mystery #yabook ♬ original sound - Jennifer @YA Book Nerd 📚📚📚

Review: Sense and Second Degree Murder

 

Elinor discovers her father's body in his study. It looks like a heart attack. In order to protect her family, she spurs into action, taking control of the situation. 

Unbeknownst to his second family, he never made a will. Therefore, no monies have been set aside for her wife or their three daughters. John, their half brother and his wife inherit the house and everything in it.

Elinor and Marianne both have ambitions. Elinor wants to be a scientist while Marianne wants to continue their father's work as a detective. As they begin to talk about the circumstances of their father's death, their suspicions are aroused. Could he have been murdered?

When they are forced to move out of their childhood home, they lose precious belongings - including any evidence left behind. Now they must rely on the kindness of strangers and acquaintances to solve the mystery and to create a sense of belonging.

My Thoughts: I loved this Jane Austen reimagined murder mystery. The characters from the first book were mentioned, but this isn't a straight sequel. The Dashwood sisters were lovely - smart - and squabbled like sisters. I loved their ambitions, the romances, and their determination to solve their father's murder. This captured the emotions of the book beautifully and added some just desserts. 

Cover Thoughts: Interesting

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: Another excellent addition to your school and public library. Highly Recommended! 

Review: Trouble with Flirting

Franny's not attending the Mansfield Summer Theater Program as an actress - instead, she's helping her aunt (the costume designer) for the summer. She's trying to save money for college, but she's interested in acting. Her parents forced her to focus on school and sports - the tools most likely to earn her a college scholarship.  A sports injury changed that idea and she hasn't gone back to acting. This summer, she finds that she misses it.

Franny also finds herself reconnecting with old friends - Julia and Alex. She had a crazy crush on Alex during the 8th grade. She always wondered if anything could ever happen between them. Could this finally be her chance to find out?

Although Franny spends her days sewing, her nights and meal times are free. She finds herself drawn into a group of friends.Most of the group starting pairing off. Julia and Mary shamelessly flirt with Harry. He flirts back, but doesn't seem seriously about anything. As Franny gets to know the group, Harry starts paying attention to her. Will she have to choose between two boys?

My Thoughts: A twist and modernization of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park - fresh, flirty, and tons of fun! I'm always a sucker for a Jane Austen retelling and this one is fabulous. I love the theater take from Mansfield Park and creating a novel centered around that idea. It's cleverly done and easy takes most adults out of the equation. Plus, it's set in summer, which is the perfect time for a light romance.  I love Franny's cranky aunt - she complains all the time, but won't accept help most of the time. I like the fact that Franny was apart from the group - but close with them too. It made the situation very realistic. Plus, it made the separation more than just money, as in the original work. The secondary characters were great - snarky, catty, and full of themselves. I devoured this one!

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: My Library

Review: Jane Austen Goes to Hollywood

 *Comes out April 9th*

Hallie and Grace have just had their world turned upside down - again. Their father died, after he left them for another woman. When he remarried and had a new baby, he tore up his old will and didn't get around to making a new one.

Now, everything his current wife inherits everything. There are no funds for college and their house now belongs to their stepmother. She's giving them two weeks to vacate the premises.

Hallie, the eldest, is devastated. Grace, the practical one, attempts to fit the pieces of their lives back together. When a distant relative offers up a guest cottage, the sisters find themselves moving to Beverly Hills.

Hallie can't believe her good fortune. She falls in love with a musician, finds a set of friends, and hopes to break into the acting world. Grace meets a friend in high school while secretly pining away for Theo. Even though he's connected to her stepmother, she thought they might have had a moment - before she ruined it.  Can the two sisters make the most of their new home?

My Thoughts: It it's truth universally known that I'm addicted to Jane Austen inspired novels. As a result, I couldn't wait to read this adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. Luckily, a copy found it's way to me, thanks to the author and the publisher and to twitter.

While McDonald as updated and modernized the story, it's the same fantastic story of two sisters learning to live after the death of their father. There are differences, for example the sisters are been switched in ages. They still have a stormy relationship. I love their exchanges as they're pure sisters. They fight but their loyal to each other. I love the new touches to the story. I love the Hollywood setting. I love the moment when Hallie stands up for herself in a bar. 

I think this book might do for Jane Austen books as Clueless did for me - give new readers an introduction to her world. For those who aren't looking for a Jane Austen read, I think the cover and then the story will draw them in - it's a fun, romantic, drama filled read!

Cover Thoughts: Love it! I'm guessing this is Grace and Parker (The sisters' mother is black and their father was white)
Source: ARC from the Publisher