Beth Pattillo

Dear Readers,

Once I get to book #3 in a series it sometimes gets hard to write something new.  The Dashwood Sisters Tell All is number 3 in Beth Pattillo's series titled A Modern Day Novel of Jane Austen.  Jane Austen Ruined My Life and Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart are the other two.  Each highlights a different Jane Austen book and are a complete joy to read.

 

The Dashwood sisters are the main characters in the book Sense and Sensibility.  Many historians that study Jane and her books believe that the two sisters in the book are based on Jane's relationship with her sister Cassandra.  In fact that belief is what most of the book is based on.

Ellen and Mimi were sent to England by their mother's dying wish.  Which is that they both take a walking tour of Hampshire England. Hampshire is home to mom's beloved Jane Austen.  Neither sister wishes to go, but to honor mom and to get their inheritance released, they go. 

Their relationship is strained, to say the least.  Their personalities clash and they each have their own baggage to carry.  They are both sure that mom sent them on this trip only to help repair that relationship and neither one is all that interested in doing that.  That thinking changes when they open a mysterious package from mom and discover what is inside. 

Besides this being such an enjoyable read, it made me want to go to England sooner rather than later.  It made me want to go with my sister who thankfully I have a great relationship with.  We enjoy the same sense of humor which makes it very difficult for our husbands to understand us, but I believe they have come to terms with it now.  Or at least they love us enough to let us just be that silly together. :-)

I really have enjoyed all of Beth's books that I have read.  She has a way of writing characters I want to meet and settings that make me want to visit.  So England is on my bucket list and I may have to take a walking tour of Hampshire to meet this Jane Austen so many are in love with.

Happy Reading

Beth Pattillo

Dear Readers,


This is the second book in which Beth Patillo takes on the "Formidables". In Mr Darcy Broke My Heart we are off again to England with another person who doesn't think that highly of Jane Austen or her writing. Which of course is why I started reading these books to begin with. They have changed my mind a bit about Jane, but I am pretty safe in saying I don't think any of hers will ever be my favorites.

Claire heads for Christ Church in Oxford, England. She has to present her sister's paper on Pride and Prejudice as Missy is have complications with her pregnancy. Claire is only happy to go to help her sister out, something she has been doing since their parents were killed in a car accident. Besides how hard can it be? If Claire only knew.

The first day there she meets Harriet, a slightly off senior citizen, who claims to have the original manuscript of Pride and Prejudice. Before it became that title it was known as First Impressions. (This is a fact, even though no known copies of the manuscript exist) Claire is intrigued, but doesn't believe that the manuscript is real. She gets caught up in the story itself and how different it is from the story that is so beloved by millions of readers. As Claire gets more and more into the story she finds her own life unraveling and she isn't sure how to make it stop. Who can Claire trust? How about James, her own Mr Darcy, is he trust worthy? What abut the guy at home, Neil?

I really am enjoying this series by Beth. I will admit that I have likes several of her other books, The Knit Lit Book Club among them, so I am sure that is part of it as I like her style of writing. I do think I can safely say that I like the storyline of this book. It is loads of fun, and ah to be in England in the summer. This book doesn't take you around England like Jane Austen Ruined My Life did, but I still want to go and visit Oxford and do a walking tour of different author's homes. Oh well until then I will need to just read about it.

Happy Reading

Beth Pattillo

Dear Readers,

If any of you are following along on my daily updates on my blog, you know I have been reading this book with some ups and downs. Jane Austen ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo. I have and will freely admit that I do not have a great love affair with Jane Austen books. I have found them a bit predictable and somewhat dry. I don't much care for her characters and even struggle with the movies made about the books. So to say the least I wasn't all that excited about this book, except...

I do like Beth Pattillo. I have read several of her books and have her second of the Knit Lit Society books in my to read pile. So there is the dilemma, am I going to like this book or not? Well I am happy to report I did enjoy it. It was a fun little read. One of those sweet stories that you are sure is going to turn out one way and doesn't. Nice.

Emma Douglas has decided that Jane Austen is to blame for all the trouble in her life. She was promised a happily ever after if she married the right guy and did all the right things. The problem is no one told her about the part of the story that has her finding her husband with another woman. Jane never says anything about that at the end of her stories. Now what? Her marriage, her career and her life in general in ruins.

Emma decides to follow up on the possibilities that the destroyed letters of Jane's do exist. She has been corresponding with a widow from England who claims to have all of Jane's missing letters. Emma is determined to find these letters and publish them for the world to know, gaining back her career and getting a bit of revenge on Jane.

Of course you all know that things don't go as planned and the widow seems a bit more formidable than Emma planned on. It just makes for a fun little read. It isn't really a love story, more of a story of recovery and finding yourself. It is one that is just a story you read and cheer on the "heroine" to find what she is actually looking for.

Like I said this is just a good story and you don't need to be a big fan of Jane Austen to like it. In fact it might help if you don't like her a bit.

Happy Reading