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A review by hgoravec
The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker
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