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beckalore's review
4.0
I think this is more like 3.75 stars for me. I’ve loved all of Lucy Parker’s books so much, but this one was weighed down with the mystery subplot and a lot of petty side characters. I still enjoyed the banter, and the romance was really good. So I’d still recommend it!
desertlover's review
4.0
"Whenever I think I know the story, you turn the page of me."
This was another splendid addition to the series. Despite all the Malfoy references, I still ended up loving Griff.
I can't wait for the next book.
This was another splendid addition to the series. Despite all the Malfoy references, I still ended up loving Griff.
I can't wait for the next book.
sheltzer's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
peytonm's review
5.0
Lucy Parker is such a joy to read! This book had a lot going on. I loved Freddy and Griff. The mystery of The Velvet Room was super fun and intriguing. The Austen murder mystery play was such a fun idea, and I enjoyed seeing the backstage preparation of it. I let out a big happy sigh after everything wrapped up. Mark of a great story.
anngarth8's review
I don’t think you can fall in love in a month. And the annoying thing is that they don’t have to fall in love for this story to work! They can fall in like; they can feel about each other a way they’ve never felt about anybody else so soon; they can believe that this relationship has potential and want to fight for that potential. Nothing changes in any of those worlds except that they don’t seem ridiculously naive.
hgoravec's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Number four in this series that I mainly started because the next and final book is an interracial couple. Listened to the audiobook, much of it on the drive to Pennsylvania. I find this enjoyable if forgettable, and it’s a series that is not super closely connected. So our heroine Freddie originally popped up in book 1, and her sister is introduced here who gets book 5. It does mean some of the larger arcs or Easter eggs are missed, but that could also be the audiobook nature as well.
For a book called The Austen Playbook, I was expecting the main couple to feel more Austen-y. Freddie and Griff are sort of enemies to lovers, sort of proximity. It’s also a good example of timing -Freddie is going through a career crisis and trying to decide what type of roles she wants to pursue, while Griff the critic has picked up on how this has affected her performances.
I mentioned this for the last book, but one of the things that bugs me about this series is that often you have younger women who need coaching by the man to reach the next level in their career, or some other support that she’s unable to provide for herself. So you end up with a woman who does change and grow, but with the impression she could ONLY have gotten there by men. While the men go through very little growth, generally because they are more established in their careers.
This is not the worst offender of the problem by far. Freddie is already questioning her career choices and Griff largely allows her to do her own thing. The more interesting side comes from the family history between the two that is woven throughout the book, so you’re unraveling a mystery while their rather predictable (but what romance novel isn’t) romance develops. The family mystery did not go in the direction I was expecting (Griff was actually the dead aunt’s kid) so those reveals were quite fun. And of course, they have to stay the night at an old manor due to the weather.
Basic, inoffensive, formulaic. This aren’t really insults, but I don’t really expect anything too deep. I am happy the next one is the final one and can put this series to bed
For a book called The Austen Playbook, I was expecting the main couple to feel more Austen-y. Freddie and Griff are sort of enemies to lovers, sort of proximity. It’s also a good example of timing -Freddie is going through a career crisis and trying to decide what type of roles she wants to pursue, while Griff the critic has picked up on how this has affected her performances.
I mentioned this for the last book, but one of the things that bugs me about this series is that often you have younger women who need coaching by the man to reach the next level in their career, or some other support that she’s unable to provide for herself. So you end up with a woman who does change and grow, but with the impression she could ONLY have gotten there by men. While the men go through very little growth, generally because they are more established in their careers.
This is not the worst offender of the problem by far. Freddie is already questioning her career choices and Griff largely allows her to do her own thing. The more interesting side comes from the family history between the two that is woven throughout the book, so you’re unraveling a mystery while their rather predictable (but what romance novel isn’t) romance develops. The family mystery did not go in the direction I was expecting (Griff was actually the dead aunt’s kid) so those reveals were quite fun. And of course, they have to stay the night at an old manor due to the weather.
Basic, inoffensive, formulaic. This aren’t really insults, but I don’t really expect anything too deep. I am happy the next one is the final one and can put this series to bed
bhnmt61's review
5.0
Freddy is an actress who is unwinding in a bar after a performance when she overhears a popular theater critic in the next booth trash her performance. Then she ends up with a role in a one night televised event that is set on a crumbling estate in Surrey, and the estate is owned by the critic. Sparks fly, complications ensue, family secrets are revealed, etc and it all ends happily, as romance novels do. But that is exactly what I wanted, so I devoured it. There are a lot of characters, which often annoys me, but for some reason I was able to keep them all straight in this one. My only major complaint is that the live show is a Jane Austen mashup and there isn’t nearly enough of it. I wanted to know way more. Four and a half stars rounded up.
isobel33's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
anhistorianabouttown's review
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I normally love Lucy Parker's books, but this one never grabbed me. However, I still love this series!
amlibera's review
4.0
This might be my favorite of Parker's romance novels set in London's theatre scene. Great characters, good romance, some terrific Austen references along with a kind of Bloomsbury group mystery/scandal that adds a layer that wasn't quite in the previous books.