Keeping the Castle, by Patrice Kindl

In this Jane Austen-like tale written in the 21st century, our heroine, Althea, is on a mission to (pardon me) keep her castle. Althea, her mother, her brother, and her two wicked stepsisters live in a dilapidated castle in the English countryside, and if Althea doesn't marry rich soon, they will all be homeless. Luckily, Althea is very pretty, very smart, and very determined to find a rich husband. When the young handsome rich and title Lord Boring arrives, Althea decides he would be the perfect man for her to marry. However, there is one big obstacle in her way in the form of Mr. Fredericks, Boring's friend, cousin, and business manager who sees right through Althea's plan.

As a Jane Austen fan, I absolutely adored this book. It was a whimsical take on Jane Austen, including imitations of many of her characters, yet it somehow had a modern feel to it. Instead of the hints and innuendos in Austen's novels, Kindl said everything she wanted to say directly, to the point where she actually named a character Boring. Boring was a Bingley-type character, good-looking and well-intentioned, but he had an edge to him that made him less clean-cut than the Bingley of Pride and Prejudice. Althea greatly reminded me of Emma (from Emma) who tries to manipulate and control the lives of everyone else around her while digging herself a bigger and bigger hole, while Mr. Fredericks was obviously Kindl's take on Mr. Darcy. The stepsisters were utterly hysterical and added a Cinderella twist to the whole story.

5 stars

Seventeen-year-old Althea is the sole support of her entire family, and she must marry well. But there are few wealthy suitors--or suitors of any kind--in their small Yorkshire town of Lesser Hoo. Then, the young and attractive (and very rich) Lord Boring arrives, and Althea sets her plans in motion. There's only one problem; his friend and business manager Mr. Fredericks keeps getting in the way. And, as it turns out, Fredericks has his own set of plans . . . This witty take on the classic Regency--Patrice Kindl's first novel in a decade--is like literary champagne!