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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.
esdeecarlson's review
2.0
2.5 stars.
I just didn't find the characters in this book all that compelling. The 'Hufflepuff/Slytherin' romance everyone's enjoying felt a little one-note to me, and honestly Freddy's personality, bumping between happy-go-lucky and hand-wringing, was a little grating to me. I also felt that Freddy and Griff clicked perfectly far too soon in the book, forcing the author to bombard them with outside aggravations.
And for a story that ends delivering a quote about how no one's really a villain, and everyone has many facets to themselves, this story had a cardboard cutout of a villain in Sadie, who just gave me a headache to read about. Perhaps it's because the story is told from Freddy and Griff's (both very shallow) points of view, but I found myself rolling my eyes whenever Sadie was introduced. The foreshadowing to the next book, which is focused on Freddy's sister Sabrina, felt heavy-handed and time-consuming as well.
I wish that the catty drama between the West End actors and movie stars had been cut significantly, and more time was spent slowly developing Freddy and Griff's personalities and relationships in the mystery hunt for the truth about their grandparents. I think the interpersonal drama between shallow side characters that bumble violently into the main storyline just isn't my cup of tea.
The story builds up to a big moral decision that Freddy feels she must make, but she's prevented from making that decision by other people finding out about the thing she must tell them almost immediately after she discovers it herself, which is a bit deflating. Her moral hand-wringing is also colored by an event from her past, which is hugely built up and then, once explained to Griff, immediately resolved. In fact, pretty much all conflicts between Freddy and Griff are immediately resolved, and solved by trust and true love. It makes for kind of a bumpy, unsatisfying story.
That said, the book has some fun qualities: the prose is hilarious, Griff's brother was a delight, and Tara's best friend Akiko was a breath of fresh air. I'm very open to reading more of Lucy Parker; I think Griff and Freddy just didn't do it for me.
I just didn't find the characters in this book all that compelling. The 'Hufflepuff/Slytherin' romance everyone's enjoying felt a little one-note to me, and honestly Freddy's personality, bumping between happy-go-lucky and hand-wringing, was a little grating to me. I also felt that Freddy and Griff clicked perfectly far too soon in the book, forcing the author to bombard them with outside aggravations.
And for a story that ends delivering a quote about how no one's really a villain, and everyone has many facets to themselves, this story had a cardboard cutout of a villain in Sadie, who just gave me a headache to read about. Perhaps it's because the story is told from Freddy and Griff's (both very shallow) points of view, but I found myself rolling my eyes whenever Sadie was introduced. The foreshadowing to the next book, which is focused on Freddy's sister Sabrina, felt heavy-handed and time-consuming as well.
I wish that the catty drama between the West End actors and movie stars had been cut significantly, and more time was spent slowly developing Freddy and Griff's personalities and relationships in the mystery hunt for the truth about their grandparents. I think the interpersonal drama between shallow side characters that bumble violently into the main storyline just isn't my cup of tea.
The story builds up to a big moral decision that Freddy feels she must make, but she's prevented from making that decision by other people finding out about the thing she must tell them almost immediately after she discovers it herself, which is a bit deflating. Her moral hand-wringing is also colored by an event from her past, which is hugely built up and then, once explained to Griff, immediately resolved. In fact, pretty much all conflicts between Freddy and Griff are immediately resolved, and solved by trust and true love. It makes for kind of a bumpy, unsatisfying story.
That said, the book has some fun qualities: the prose is hilarious, Griff's brother was a delight, and Tara's best friend Akiko was a breath of fresh air. I'm very open to reading more of Lucy Parker; I think Griff and Freddy just didn't do it for me.
alie374's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
rebroxannape's review
5.0
Set in the glittering world of London’s West End theatre and a country estate, this is a sparkly, light, and frothy romance between a scary theatre critic and one of his frequent targets, an actress who comes from a long line of theatrical leading lights. Freddy Carlton, our bubbly light-hearted heroine is torn between wanting to please her illustrious father, who wants her to be a “serious” actress like her grandmother, and her own love of musical romantic comedies, the genre in which she shines.
When she accepts a role in a new interactive live TV production called The Austen Playbook behind her father’s back, it throws her together with her nemesis, James Ford-Griffin, because it is to be filmed at a private theatre on his family’s estate. Not only has he been very rude when reviewing her serious dramatic performances but their grandparents had an affair that did not end well and the two families have been enemies since.
Taking an equal stage with the satisfying “opposites attract” romance, are numerous other plots, seamlessly woven together. We have family drama and reconciliation, imminent financial disaster, a plagiarism scandal that threatens to bring down a family and their legacy, professional rivalries, and many more!
This book was just delightful. The romance was solid and well-paced, the dialogue sparkling and witty, and the plotting intriguing and intelligent. The theatre-world setting seemed authentic. There was a lot going on, but each character and story were given their due with plenty of suspense, mystery, and tension as well as romance. Lucy Parker is definitely on my radar.
I listened to this on audio, read at breakneck speed by Billie Fulford-Brown. Take a tip from me and turn the speed down to 90% so you can keep up.
**4 1/2 stars**
When she accepts a role in a new interactive live TV production called The Austen Playbook behind her father’s back, it throws her together with her nemesis, James Ford-Griffin, because it is to be filmed at a private theatre on his family’s estate. Not only has he been very rude when reviewing her serious dramatic performances but their grandparents had an affair that did not end well and the two families have been enemies since.
Taking an equal stage with the satisfying “opposites attract” romance, are numerous other plots, seamlessly woven together. We have family drama and reconciliation, imminent financial disaster, a plagiarism scandal that threatens to bring down a family and their legacy, professional rivalries, and many more!
This book was just delightful. The romance was solid and well-paced, the dialogue sparkling and witty, and the plotting intriguing and intelligent. The theatre-world setting seemed authentic. There was a lot going on, but each character and story were given their due with plenty of suspense, mystery, and tension as well as romance. Lucy Parker is definitely on my radar.
I listened to this on audio, read at breakneck speed by Billie Fulford-Brown. Take a tip from me and turn the speed down to 90% so you can keep up.
**4 1/2 stars**
kikkireads123's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
heidenkind's review
4.0
Closer to 3.5 stars, but very good romance with awesome characters and plenty of family drama
cassandra67b07's review against another edition
5.0
I "read" this on Audible with a fantastic narrator, but had to switch to kindle 3/4 through because I HAD to know what happened.
This was a long-anticipated book for me since first being introduced to Freddie in Pretty Face and it really surpassed my expectations. Griff is the acerbic, but witty and quite accurate theater reviewer whom the actors live in fear of and when Freddie flubs her line during press night, she fears the worst. But they meet again under more equal circumstances when Freddie is cast as Lydia Bennett in a light reality tv show staging of a murder plot with Jane Austen's characters. I would actually like to see and vote in a production like that. It's very clever.
The show is set on Griff's family estate where his grandfather built a theater, especially for Freddie's grandmother while they were in the midst of a torrid affair. Freddie is torn by her family history of famous dramatic actors while her talents lie in light comedy and musical theater. Griff is torn by his family history and the need to keep the estate going. Once they start meeting on equal ground they discover they really have a lot in common--mostly the ability to really engage in witty banter and demonstrate a surprising physical attraction that appalls and intrigues them at the same time. And it gets pretty damn hot.
As much as I loved the main couple and I really did, what captivated me about the book is the sense that Parker has created an entire world here. Her characters all know each other in various ways and share a history together that never overwhelms the reader but feels organic because it's how you know people who work in your field and you collaborate with.
What really hit me in the feels though was Violet's story which was slowly revealed through the course of the book. How often have women's voices and stories been silenced by a kind of betrayal? The twist here is that the betrayal is not at the hands of the men in her life but of a more appalling kind. Her story broke my heart and made me think of Virginia Woolf's famous essay on women writers. Since she also wrote about Austen and how Austen had to hide her genius and her authorship behind the name-A Lady-, it all tied together beautifully.
The structure of this book was just brilliant--it's a country house mystery, a family feud, a romance, a Bildungsroman, and a gothic all in one book. Plus theater people in all their assorted craziness! I just adored it and can't wait for Sabrina and Nigel who had better be coming up next.
This was a long-anticipated book for me since first being introduced to Freddie in Pretty Face and it really surpassed my expectations. Griff is the acerbic, but witty and quite accurate theater reviewer whom the actors live in fear of and when Freddie flubs her line during press night, she fears the worst. But they meet again under more equal circumstances when Freddie is cast as Lydia Bennett in a light reality tv show staging of a murder plot with Jane Austen's characters. I would actually like to see and vote in a production like that. It's very clever.
The show is set on Griff's family estate where his grandfather built a theater, especially for Freddie's grandmother while they were in the midst of a torrid affair. Freddie is torn by her family history of famous dramatic actors while her talents lie in light comedy and musical theater. Griff is torn by his family history and the need to keep the estate going. Once they start meeting on equal ground they discover they really have a lot in common--mostly the ability to really engage in witty banter and demonstrate a surprising physical attraction that appalls and intrigues them at the same time. And it gets pretty damn hot.
As much as I loved the main couple and I really did, what captivated me about the book is the sense that Parker has created an entire world here. Her characters all know each other in various ways and share a history together that never overwhelms the reader but feels organic because it's how you know people who work in your field and you collaborate with.
What really hit me in the feels though was Violet's story which was slowly revealed through the course of the book. How often have women's voices and stories been silenced by a kind of betrayal? The twist here is that the betrayal is not at the hands of the men in her life but of a more appalling kind. Her story broke my heart and made me think of Virginia Woolf's famous essay on women writers. Since she also wrote about Austen and how Austen had to hide her genius and her authorship behind the name-A Lady-, it all tied together beautifully.
The structure of this book was just brilliant--it's a country house mystery, a family feud, a romance, a Bildungsroman, and a gothic all in one book. Plus theater people in all their assorted craziness! I just adored it and can't wait for Sabrina and Nigel who had better be coming up next.