A review by leslielikesthings
Austenland by Shannon Hale

2.0

I picked this up knowing that it would be silly. I have no problem with silly books, but on the scale of silly books there is a "fun" side and a "cringe-worthy" side. Unfortunately, for me this fell more on the cringe-worth side, though it had its moments. A smarter book could have made it more of a satirical deconstruction of the Regency period fantasy that so many women have from reading too much Jane Austen. This book was never trying to be that type of book, and I try not to judge books too harshly for not living up to standards that they are not even trying to meet. But it was hard for me to ignore the potential that the plot had to be that kind of book, and to not be a little bit disappointed that it didn't go there.