This is without a doubt chick lit, the premise itself screams of it. So I wasn’t expecting anything deep, just a quick and lovely fluff read. That is exactly what I got, but like some forms of fluff, it was oddly addicting. Most women, by nature, fantasize about both real men and oftentimes imaginary ones. This is the common thread that links the readers of this book to Jane, the main character of Austenland.

Admittedly, quite a few things annoyed me about Jane as a character. She shared her first name with the writer who created her obsession (Mr. Darcy). I found this so matchy, matchy, and charming that it plucked at my nerves. There are a lot of odd coincidences in life, but in a book it seems incredibly forced and yanks you right out of the story. Jane’s pathetic attitude towards men who screwed her over was a real bother at first and for a great deal of the book I did not think that any significant change would occur in Jane from the start and end of the novel. Hale did not seem to address this issue into the end, where Jane finally gained the confidence to say no and end her life dangling on a string for men to eat then spit back out again. I found her much more sympathetic after she dropped the pathetic attitude.

The light bits in the beginning of each chapter about her ex-boyfriends and all the men in her life were laugh out loud funny. If only these poignant bits reflected the rest of the book. Many times the dialogue lacked a spark, an authenticity. Overall she improved as she reached the end of the novel, a welcoming change from the usual pattern. It became more and more funny as you read.

Though a lot of readers found this book predictable, which in many ways it was, I found myself believing Hale would take this novel in a different direction. I thought she would end up with Martin, the “real” guy. I was proud that she took it in the “follow your dreams” direction. It was a good fit for this particular novel.

Overall, it was a cute, addicting piece of fluff with enough Austen references to keep any fan good and happy.

Well, the one thing this book did to me was to spark my love for Jane Austen and especially Mr. Darcy again. Or rather the idea of him. The story itself wasn’t that impressive and the ending was rather predictable, but oh, so Austen-like. This sounds so stupid, but I’d like to find my Mr. Darcy one day, too. I know what I’m going to daydream about in the upcoming days.