Jane Austen in the 21st Century

Who Needs Mr. Willoughby?

By Katie Oliver

File Size: 2006 KB

Print Length: 320 pages

Publisher: Carina; ePub ed edition (March 24, 2016)

Publication Date: March 24, 2016

Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers

ASIN: B018QIKVRO

Approximate Lexile:

 

Publisher’s Blurb:

The third novel in the highly awaited new series - The Jane Austen Factor - from bestselling author Katie Oliver!

 

What should rule - your head, or your heart?

 

When sisters Marianne and Elinor Dashwood are forced to leave their family home to live in a rural Northumberland cottage, Marianne is convinced her social life is over. Somehow, she can’t see kitten heels coping well in the countryside – and being stuck in the middle of nowhere, miles from London, sounds about as exciting as watching paint dry. Not to mention her arrogant new boss, Dr Brandon, who doesn’t seem to think much of her city ways.

 

When she meets the gallant, charming and handsome Mr Willoughby, Marianne begins to think that country life might not be so bad after all…especially when he suggests that marriage might be on the cards. But the countryside still has a few tricks up its sleeve for Marianne…after all, love rarely turns blossoms in the most convenient places!

 

My Thoughts:

As anyone who’s been reading my reviews for a while knows, I love it when familiar and favorite stories are updated. In general, this was a good adaptation. This update of Sense and Sensibility focuses on Marianne. While the Elinor story is there, it takes a definite back seat.

 

Some liberties, of course, are taken, such as getting rid of the youngest Dashwood sister and killing off their stepbrother before the action starts. The former is just fine, the latter…meh. Doesn’t really add anything, and may even detract from the horror that is sister-in-law Harriet.

 

Other things in this update, however, really bothered me.

 

First, the author can’t quite seem to decide what age this takes place in. On the one hand, you have the formality of addressing new acquaintances as Mr. and Miss, but rarely do I see that in modern British life. First-name basis seems much more modern. While the formality exists in the social context, it doesn’t in the professional sphere. Marianne calls Dr. Brandon “Matthew” almost from the beginning. It’s as if the author couldn’t make up her mind.

 

She also seems to be uncertain about backstory. The first chapter says the brother leased the house to the Dashwoods for 18 years and it was their home for all of Marianne’s life. Later, though, Marianne reveals that her father died when she was sixteen. The author doesn’t really give an age for either sister, but Marianne plans to start veterinary school some time, so she can’t be more than, what 22? You do the math.

 

I was also bothered by the fact that the family so readily relies on Lady Valentine’s charity—a house, use of her car, buying them clothes, etc. I know there are generous people out there, but they seem content to just let Marianne have her temporary job—claiming that Elinor can’t get a job because Marianne has the car every day. Mom doesn’t even seem to consider employment.

 

And now for the kicker—THERE BE SPOILERS HERE!

 

 

 

 

 

::deep breath:: Giving some plot away here, but you need it in order to understand why I’m bothered. At one point, Brandon’s much younger sister participates in a car theft. She claims that, when she goes to ask the car’s owner not to press charges, he does so on condition that she have sex with him—then she spreads the story that it happened. This leads to some serious social consequences for the man.

 

Two things here really, really bother me:

 

First, many people say that Lacey is at least partially responsible for what happened. She shouldn’t have gone to talk to him, she shouldn’t have stolen the car in the first place. Blaming her for being forced into sex is NOT OKAY. Period. Even if she did stupid things, for an older man to blackmail a teen into sex is NOT OKAY.

 

Second, we later find out that Lacey lied about the sexual encounter. Way to add fuel to the argument that women will fake rape just to get a guy in trouble. Not cool.

 

Don’t think that I hated the book—I read it in a day and, mostly, enjoyed it. But I believe that there were things that could have been done more carefully.

 

It follows the source material closely enough that I knew how things would end up. Although it’s fun to know the source material, it’s not necessary for enjoyment of the story. It also follows the “hate on first sight, oh, well, now I love him” formula of many modern romances.

 

Willoughby was too good to be true, but he’s supposed to be. I’d have loved for Elinor and Edward to have a little more development. Really, the only well-developed characters were Marianne and Brandon.

 

There are also cute animals.

 

Possible Objectionable Material:

Mild curing, both British and American curse words. One F word about ¾ in. Heavy making out; reference to the man’s arousal. Offer of sex that is not acted on. When sex does happen, it’s offscreen and barely mentioned, but does happen between unmarried people. Lying. A bar fight. Drinking. (If Marianne is under 21, as I suspect, it’s legal in the UK anyway.) Secrets and lies.

 

Who Might Like This Book:

Jane Austen fans and romance fans.  Probably more for women than men. I probably wouldn’t recommend to teens.

 

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC.