Midnight in Austenland, by Shannon Hale

Charlotte is in desperate need for a vacation. After her husband leaves her for a younger woman, taking some of Charlotte's self-made fortune with him, Charlotte decides she needs to leave her life for a few days. The search for the perfect getaway leads her to Austenland, a place where time is turned back a few centuries and the guests experience life Jane Austen-style. However, life in Pembrook Park is not as simple as Charlotte expected it to be. After finding a dead body in the attic Charlotte is determined to find the murderer, which is very hard to do in a place where the line between reality and make-believe is so blurred. In order to solve the mystery Charlotte must sift through the 18th century facade and find remnants of today's truths. (That last phrase doesn't quite make sense but I like it so I'm leaving it.)

I am not a fan of mysteries. I can handle many genres of fiction, but mysteries seem kind of pointless to me. What's the point of reading through an entire novel of suspense is you can just turn to the last page to find out who did it? It is this attitude that led to my disinterest in Midnight in Austenland. I was severely tempted to close the book permanently many times and I only persevered because I enjoyed Shannon Hale's young adult novels (Goose Girl, Princess Academy, and their sequels). However, after completing Midnight, I have come to the conclusion that I do not like Shannon Hale's adult books. I didn't like Austenland and I didn't like Midnight in Austenland, so from now on I am going to stick to Hale's YA novels.

Midnight started out extremely slow, and not only because of my lack of interest. I tried very hard not to skim and was somewhat successful. In my defense, I skimmed the boring parts and then skipped to the end. When I decided I liked the epilogue, I went back to where I left off and continued reading.

I liked the scenes where Charlotte showed her mom side, but what I didn't like was the impression that her kids didn't love her. She was so insecure about her children's love and that they would love their new stepmom more than they love her that it became a reality in my mind. It wasn't until the end that I saw something resembling a real relationship between her and her kids. Her insecurities were valid, but she took them a little too far.

I would recommend Midnight in Austenland to anyone who has ever wished they could stick themselves in the 18th century for a few days or someone who enjoys mysteries with a twist.

3.1 stars.

When Charlotte Kinder treats herself to a two-week vacation at Austenland, she happily leaves behind her ex-husband and his delightful new wife, her ever-grateful children, and all the rest of her real life in America. She dons a bonnet and stays at a country manor house that provides an immersive Austen experience, complete with gentleman actors who cater to the guests' Austen fantasies.

Everyone at Pembrook Park is playing a role, but increasingly, Charlotte isn't sure where roles end and reality begins. And as the parlor games turn a little bit menacing, she finds she needs more than a good corset to keep herself safe. Is the brooding Mr. Mallery as sinister as he seems? What is Miss Gardenside's mysterious ailment? Was that an actual dead body in the secret attic room? And-perhaps of the most lasting importance-could the stirrings in Charlotte's heart be a sign of real-life love?

The follow-up to reader favorite Austenland provides the same perfectly plotted pleasures, with a feisty new heroine, plenty of fresh and frightening twists, and the possibility of a romance that might just go beyond the proper bounds of Austen's world. How could it not turn out right in the end?