Nicola James is an engineer with an MBA whose life follows The Plan she made at age 13. Except she's got no life and no romance; she's too busy following The Plan.Enter a quaint-looking diary with a mysterious quote from Jane Austen inside:"...I dedicate to You the following Miscellaneous Morsels, convinced that if you seriously attend to them, You will derive from them very important Instructions, with regard to your Conduct in Life."Nicola buys it for a vintage-obsessed younger cousin, but while perusing the journal, she manages to spill her chai tea all over it. So the journal quickly becomes her journal. While she's not the sort to write in journals, usually, she IS a Jane Austen fan (who isnt'?). So Nicola takes a chance and writes in the journal... only to discover the next day that most of her words have disappeared; all that's left reads like a Jane Austen fortune cookie: "Miss Nicola James will be sensible and indulge in a little romance."Nicola's real-world mind goes a little bonkers. Trying to figure out what's going on drives her (and us, the readers) a little nuts until she finally confides in Beck (Rebecca), the gal she's mentoring. Beck, along with Nicola's friend Gabe and her next-door lesbian neighbors Leslie and Laura, have been trying to get Nicola to live a little. Gabe even called to invite her to see some hot bands at the South by Southwest annual concert. But Nicola turns him down to write in her journal and bake cupcakes. (She never met a cupcake she didn't like.)A few days later and 2 more Jane Austen fortune cookie sayings trying to get her to indulge in said romance later, Nicola finds herself at a wedding of a co-worker... where she manages to get a stuffed mushroom stuck in her cleavage! While trying to retrieve the mushroom, a sexy Scot discovers her, aids her (he says it's his "super hero powers" that told him she needed rescuing), and gives her the slow dance of her life. Flirting, yet scared, Nicola manages to run off.But sexy Scot Sean isn't so easily bowed. Neither is the spirit of Miss Jane Austen (or Fairy Jane, short for Fairy Godmother Jane), and with the help of Beck, Nicola tries some experimentation, only to find herself falling madly for the sexy Scot, who's the lead singer and guitarist of one of the bands in SXSW. Totally not her type! He rides a motorcycle for heavens' sake!Will Nicola indulge in romance or play it safe?===================Personally, I thought Nicola should ditch the engineering job and open her own cupcake shop. This gal's got a thing for sweets, but especially cupcakes!Nicola is a little irritating at first, but that's because she's so darned logical and has to overthink everything. The concept of magic or fate or whatever is beyond The Plan.Sean is almost too-good-to-be-true. I kept waiting for him to have fangs or something! But he's Mr. Darcy to Nicola's Elizabeth Bennet. And she's got to overcome her prejudices and pride to figure it all out.Beck is especially fun; she finds her own romance, which is great! And Leslie of Leslie and Laura is almost too acidic in her humor, but that venomous bite is what spurs Nicola on at times.Fun book! I've already read the 2nd book (read it 1st not realizing there was a 1st book). The two stories are only joined by the journal, so no worries about reading them in any special order. A quirky fun adventure for those of us who love Jane Austen. Nicola is someone who you can see yourself in and relate to her need to be practical and yet you are excited about her opportunity to have a little excitement in life. The cast of characters is a hoot, with the neighbors and their karaoke to her mentoree, to all of her friends they create a sounding board for her and lots of laughs for us. That we all could have a little help from Jane to find our Darcy. A lot of fun.
What do You think about Austentatious (2012)?
Fun, quirky read. I have never read Jane Austen but it wasn't manditory to do so first.
—Rachel
I like it but I had a hard time reading it because it was a little slow for me.
—vegehad208
Is anyone going to talk about the glaringly obvious.TOM RIDDLE'S DIARY.
—Ben
