A review by brokenrecord
The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker

5.0

4.5 stars, but it might go up to 5 in the future. I really, really loved this. I liked it maybe a SMIDGE less than Act Like This, which is still my high watermark for this series, but much more than the others in the series (which I enjoyed but never felt invested in — this I felt invested in). I just adored both Griff and Freddy as individual characters, and their dynamic was so fun. I enjoyed the initial friction between them but how it was never really hatred. Like, even after overhearing him critiquing her performance at the very start, her reaction is just, "Well, he's not WRONG," and even though she's a bit chaotic and overwhelming to him, he doesn't think she's like terrible to be around or anything. I loved them getting to know one another and opening up and not being able to deny their chemistry and how they just kind of… grew from there. There are no dumb misunderstandings — even after the thing with her dad, she's not like, "I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN," or anything. She's pissed for a bit, but she was already forgiving him before Charlie even told her the truth about what Griff was trying to do. And their banter was a lot of fun! And how they both genuinely liked each other and were super protective of one another! And how she helped his relationship with his brother, and he kind of ended up helping her with her dad as well!

And the plot was interesting! I liked finding out about their families' sordid history, and I didn't expect the stuff with the

Spoiler

plagiarism

at all. The Austen Playbook was also a cool concept, and I kind of wish it was a real thing. I mean, if it were, I'm 100% sure I would end up thinking it was terrible, but also secretly enjoy the hell out of it anyways. Everything about this was just really lovely, and I'm so glad to have loved it so much because I was worried Act Like It was going to be an exception for me and that Lucy Parker just wasn't going to be an author on my wavelength for whatever reason, but this was so wonderful, and just writing all of this brings to mind all the things I appreciated about it, so I think my appreciation of it is just going to grow from here.