accidentalrambler 's review for:

The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker

4.0

---

Oh, how I enjoyed this one!

And don't get me wrong, I did like the romance in this. But...what truly made this book for me was this...atmosphere. Of lazy summers past, stolen kisses and passions sheltered forever on yellow pages of dusty letters, families intertwined by fate, star-crossed lovers, mysteries unraveling like an avalanche of long-forgotten feelings.

I'm being just a tad dramatic here but that's what it felt like in a way and I really think that author did a bloody good job of conveying this special feel to this story. Aristocratic family on verge of financial ruin, mansion that still remembers the times of past glory, a romance budding amidst the drama of the play that's rehearsed on the grounds and dramatic mystery being slowly uncovered by our main characters.

It feels almost too mundane to go over how the characters and the romance were written after such an introduction, so I will make a quick job of it. Similar to the pattern of the previous installments, besides from romance, we have a strong focus on individual growth of both characters. Both Freddie and Grif make mistakes but they own up to them and more importantly, they don't just talk "at each other" when they argue, they actually listen and draw conclusions.

I freaking love it.

One more thing worth mentioning - realistic (or at least more realistic than most romance novels) approach to sex. Characters (especially female character) are mentioned having past relationships and they are not all rubbish and unsatisfactory (what I'm playing at here is this annoying thing a lot of authors do where they have the heroine who either has never had any experience or never had any GOOD experience with sex, as if having an orgasm with someone else in the past was the gravest sin).

Anyway -

Apart from that, there are other small things written into smut that made this stand out - no "magic touch" where the heroine sets off in a fanfare of bliss after one touch from the hero. Nope, they both have to work for it. No weirdly acrobatic figures that are impossible to achieve in normal life. Actually, there's even a scene where Freddie laughs off Grif's proposition to go on top, claiming she currently has no thigh strength to do that.

It was all just so refreshing!

Colour me intrigued at clues about next book and its characters as well because I am so looking forward to reading Sabrina's (Freddie's sister) story, which will hopefully end up being enemies to lovers with that sneaky journalist as her LI.

All in all, this series has been a breath of fresh air and I recommend anyone, who likes contemporary romance or is just looking for something fun AND well-written, to take a hefty breath of this one.