Midnight in Austenland: the Novel by Shannon Hale is the second book about Austenland, a magical place where the company is genteel and romance is guaranteed.
Although the place will be familiar to readers of Austenland, this book is definitely a stand-alone story. Of course, after enjoying Midnight in Austenland, a reader new to the elegant Pembrook Park (where time stands still) will certainly want to read the first book about it.
Successful businesswoman Charlotte Kinder, who has been unsuccessful in love, decides to treat herself to a vacation there. Extremely unhappy because of a recent divorce and because her relationship with her teenage daughter seems to be deteriorating, she is unable to relax and enjoy herself -- at least in the beginning.
Once she finds a dead body in a secret room, the possibility that there was a murder intrigues her and consumes her. The body has disappeared by the time she brings others to the scene.
And, to complicate matters, there is a murder mystery "game" that the guests at Pembrook are working at solving as part of the entertainment. No one really believes that there was really a body, so was she imagining things? Was it part of the "game?"
The story cleverly shifts between the present and short glimpses of the past that reveal scenes to show the reader just who Charlotte is and what parts of her past have helped mold her into the person dressing in corset, long skirts and using words like “bloody murder.”
But compared to solving a murder, finding true love can be tricky, especially if you are on an extremely expensive vacation where romance (and a marriage proposal) is included in the price. Is the love true or is it just part of the package?
Hale writes an engaging story full of emotion, humor and a little detective work. The characters feel real and their situations certainly seem real. Charlotte, the main character, is someone the reader wants to root for, and her masterful performance at the end of the two-week fantasy time in Austenland will have all readers nodding appreciatively.
This review is based on an advance reading copy provided by the publisher, Bloomsbury, for review purposes.
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