Review of The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay

Hello Readers,

Katherine Reay is a binge worthy author in my opinion. She writes such sweet characters who go on delightful adventures. I love the way she interweaves literary quotes and locations in such a charming way. The Austen Escape is Reay's newest novel, and takes you on an Jane Austen inspired escape. If you read and enjoyed Austenland by Shannon Hale then you will absolutely love The Austen Escape. I have secretly wanted to go on one of these Austen inspired immersion events for a long time now. I feel like sometimes I was born in the wrong era, but then I remember how much I love my IPhone and you know stuff like electricity, plumbing, and everything else I enjoy on a daily basis. 

I loved the jacket description of The Austen Escape so I won't even try to summarize it for you:

"Mary Davies lives and works in Austin, Texas, as an industrial engineer. She has an orderly and productive life, a job and colleagues that she enjoys—particularly a certain adorable, intelligent, and hilarious consultant. But something is missing for Mary. When her estranged and emotionally fragile childhood friend Isabel Dwyer offers Mary a two-week stay in a gorgeous manor house in Bath, Mary reluctantly agrees to come along, in hopes that the holiday will shake up her quiet life in just the right ways. But Mary gets more than she bargained for when Isabel loses her memory and fully believes that she lives in Regency England. Mary becomes dependent on a household of strangers to take care of Isabel until she wakes up.

With Mary in charge and surrounded by new friends, Isabel rests and enjoys the leisure of a Regency lady. But life gets even more complicated when Mary makes the discovery that her life and Isabel’s have intersected in more ways that she knew, and she finds herself caught between who Isabel was, who she seems to be, and the man who stands between them. Outings are undertaken, misunderstandings play out, and dancing ensues as this triangle works out their lives and hearts among a company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation."

I did find a few things a bit on the silly side while reading The Austen Escape. I won't share to many details because it was one of the major plot points, but I definitely had to say to myself that this was just fun fiction and not to take it to seriously. And once I did that I really enjoyed the book and just went along for the ride. I really loved the sweet romance throughout the book and I definitely fell in love with a few of the handsome fictional characters. 

If you are looking for more light fun reads over the winter season Katherine Reay has published quite a few lovely titles. Dear Mr Knightly is my all time favorite Reay novel and I recommend that book frequently. 

Overall Rating - 3/5 Stars

Thank you to Thomas Nelson for generously supplying me with a review copy of The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay. I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay

Product details

Paperback: 320 pages

Release Date: November 7, 2017

Publisher: Thomas Nelson 

ISBN-10: 0718078098

Happy Reading,

Rachael

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