The Jane Austen Marriage Manual (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
Fun--better than other Austen-linked books I've read. Contains some good, philosophical views re: love and money. Also, the hero is just-the-right-amount of attractive without being over-the-top. Biggest peeve is that the heroine has to go back to England to rekindle the romance. This means we're supposed to believe that the hero really still loved her for all those months, even though he had rejected her, and felt no need to tell her he'd been wrong. To me this is unrealistic. As soon as he knew he really loved her, if he really did love her, he'd have done all he could to apologize for his last words to her. Waiting for her to show up again in his hometown (an ocean away from her home) smacks of the old stories where its enough for the woman to just wait for her knight in shining armor. Also, I realized how I have an old mind set still in place: She is 41 and she's fine with putting off marriage and living together for a while to see how things go. My mind set comes from 30 years ago when 30 was the age of over-the-hill in the marriage market and kids became less likely to happen. Yes today we have that wonder of science in-vitro fertilization, but even if you can now more easily have a kid in your late thirties or forties, that is not going to do anything about the widening age difference between the mother and the child. Fine, have the kid at 43 and be older than some grandparents and the member of a more distant generation, for your child's entire life.But then as a modern woman, Lady Kate may not actually want kids. And the 11th earl might not want them either, though it means the family title may then die out. However, this is where another one of my old mind sets rises up to assume kids would be desired by this couple. Let's just say that the things I hated about this book did not outweigh the positive aspects. I can very quickly tell you what I actually liked about the book: the characters of Griff and Emma and the settings.Here's what made this book laborious and impossible not to throw across the room:1)The mood of the book was far from uplifting and lighthearted, like a romance should be. When 98% of the conversations involve words that are said "meanly," "cuttingly," "sulkily," "defiantly," "defensively," or "angrily," there is not much to feel good about.2)Everything about the plot was far-fetched and inconsistent. Now, I'm perfectly aware that most romance involves a certain suspension of disbelief. Coincidence and misunderstanding go hand-in-hand with handsome heroes and exotic or noble settings to create idealized, fairy tale love stories. My point about this book is that the main character has nothing to recommend her as a person or a wife, and we are meant to believe that an oft-divorced billionaire is itching to lead her down the aisle whilst keeping a 20-something on the side?? So basically he's saying, "I know I will divorce you soon. I don't even love you. But I just have too much money laying around and I need to have an excuse to give away a big chunk." On top of that, you have the main character who has seen first hand what a disaster it was for her mother and grandmother to be in loveless marriages, but she plans to jump in with both feet, even after she sees him with his old girlfriend--but dang, that Kate is fiercely "independent." Don't even get me started on the how ridiculously easy it was for her to break into high society...3) Can you tell I hated the main character? Her pity party made me want to puke most of the time. It was pretty implausible that anyone could fall in love with such a self-centered whiner. I found myself rooting for her to go through with the loveless marriage because I really did not want Griff to get stuck with such a loser.4) Emma was the only one of Kate's friends who was not excited to hop onto Kate's gravy train when she hooked up with Scott. The others boasted about what a caring and thoughtful person Kate was while they were trying on her Lanvin and borrowing her Chanel. I guess I should not be surprised that Kate would have shallow friends since she is so shallow, but seriously, I read books to feel better about this crappy society, not to have my worst fears confirmed.5) It was infuriating that Scott was cheater so that Kate really did not have to admit that she was selfish, mercenary, and dishonest for laying a trap for him, knowing she did not love him. Heavens, she was the VICTIM!Ugh! That's 5 days of life that I will never get back!
What do You think about The Jane Austen Marriage Manual (2012)?
This book does such a discredit to both Jane Austen and her heroines. Such a disappointment.
—CaptainK
I think this novel is funny, charming and catchy.
—Lisaloo
Odd start. Really liked the Austen references
—daniegloy
