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