Persuasion - Jane Austen

Goodreads summary:

Twenty-seven-year old Anne Elliot is Austen's most adult heroine. Eight years before the story proper begins, she is happily betrothed to a naval officer, Frederick Wentworth, but she precipitously breaks off the engagement when persuaded by her friend Lady Russell that such a match is unworthy. The breakup produces in Anne a deep and long-lasting regret. When later Wentworth returns from sea a rich and successful captain, he finds Anne's family on the brink of financial ruin and his own sister a tenant in Kellynch Hall, the Elliot estate. All the tension of the novel revolves around one question: Will Anne and Wentworth be reunited in their love?

Jane Austen once compared her writing to painting on a little bit of ivory, 2 inches square. Readers of Persuasion will discover that neither her skill for delicate, ironic observations on social custom, love, and marriage nor her ability to apply a sharp focus lens to English manners and morals has deserted her in her final finished work.

My review:

5/5

SO. DAMN. CUTE. It think this might be my favourite Jane Austen novel, because it's pretty much the cutest thing I've ever read. I absolutely loved the story and the characters. All of them felt real and amazing to me, even with their mistakes and flaws. The love story is insanely good and it made me want to put both characters in front of each other and force them to kiss right from the beginning. I couldn't count how many times I got this fuzzy feeling when something cute happens because it's a slow progress and it keeps getting more and more adorable. I loved Anne's character (which I always seem to do, since my favourite book is Anne of Green Gables) because of how mature she is. She made a mistake in the past when she rejected Frederic because of her friends and family's disagreement, but she realizes and she knows she wouldn't do the same thing if she were in the same situation now. I loved how she regrets it, but she also knows that it was the right decision. It made her heartbreak even worse, because it was the right decision to make, even though it meant the end of her happiness. One thing I admired in this book was the loyalty. It's been years since Anne and Frederic were first engaged, yet there's something special between them after years of seperation that can't be unseen. It's the most loyal love that I have ever seen and it made me so happy and giddy to see them slowly get back on speaking terms. Once more, Jane Austen has written an amazing love story that kept me waiting for more. I would VERY highly recommend!

Prom and Prejudice - Elizabeth Eulberg

Goodreads summary:

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single girl of high standing at Longbourn Academy must be in want of a prom date.

After winter break, the girls at the very prestigious Longbourn Academy become obsessed with the prom. Lizzie Bennet, who attends Longbourn on a scholarship, isn't interested in designer dresses and expensive shoes, but her best friend, Jane, might be - especially now that Charles Bingley is back from a semester in London.

Lizzie is happy about her friend's burgeoning romance but less than impressed by Charles's friend, Will Darcy, who's snobby and pretentious. Darcy doesn't seem to like Lizzie either, but she assumes it's because her family doesn't have money. Clearly, Will Darcy is a pompous jerk - so why does Lizzie find herself drawn to him anyway?

My review:

4/5

This book is amazingly thought out. As a fan of Pride and Prejudice who has watched and read many of its adaptations, I loved this one and I would absolutely recommend it to other fans. 

I loved how the plot is changed to work in today's world. The whole prom issue is very similar to marriage in the era P&P was written, so everything else seemed to work perfectly. I could see so many similarities in the story that I was basically marvelling the whole time and it was awesome. The characters are pitch-perfect and although their concerns and relations can be different in this adaptation than in the original book, their impact on the story is the same and I couldn't imagine a better adaptation.

The only reason why I couldn't enjoy this book as much as I wanted to was that, after watching and reading The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, I felt like reading this was a betrayal and I couldn't help but compare the two of them. Otherwise, I'm sure I would only have thought good things about it. 

I think every P&P lover who also likes YA has to read this book. It's great!

Web Series Wednesday - Emma Approved

Hello everyone and welcome to a new Web Series Wednesday post! Hope you enjoy this one.

Okay, so I'm perfectly aware that some people might not agree with me this week. I know Emma, as a character or as a novel, isn't everyone's favorite Jane Austen book, but I have to say that I enjoyed this web series, as well as the novel that inspired it, very much.

My experience watching this series was very different than what I'm used to. Instead of watching the series after having read and loved the novel, like I usually do, I watched the series while reading the novel for the first time. I know it might sound weird and scary, but I made sure to be a couple of épisodes behind what I was reading so that I wouldn't be spoiled. I really enjoyed doing it this way, because I could see this behind the writing, such as the romance, which isn't developed that much in the novel because of when it was written. I could still see hints ofit in the novel, but the web series was absolutely swoon-worthy, which got me addicted to the series. I fell in love with Knightley (and the actor who plays him, actually) and I started seeing him in a completely different way because of the episodes I was watching. My suspicions were also confirmed in video when I wasn't sure if actions meant more than they seemed like, so overall, I had a very nice time reading and watching the same story unroll before me.

After LBD, I was afraid that I would have excessively high hopes and be deceived. However, I ended up liking this as much, or maybe even more, than the series that drew me into this fantastic world of adaptations. I quickly became addicted to the music of this web series (don't judge me) and I fell in love with so many characters that it's actually crazy. It's a funny, light-hearted and well-played series that made its way into my heart.

I really liked Emma, first in the novel, but then in the web series. I think many people take her on the wrong side, but I personally think she's hilarious. Sure, she has her flaws. She's self-centered and tends to go overboard, she's vain and nosy, but in the end, she only wants what's best for the people she loves and her biggest dream is to help as many people as she can. She can be clumsy while doing so, but she's so caring and entertaining that I can't help but love her. I think that people must stop seeing all her faults and see behind them, where amazing qualities show themselves. If you've ever started this web series or novel and couldn't stand her, please try again with that in mind, because you could discover an amazing human being who is admittedly annoying sometimes. But aren't we all?

The settings in the web series are great. I love how they transposed the story into Emma's company, because it truly makes sense. Filming in the office is a really nice touch, even though sometimes it seemed a little bit nosy to be watching all of that (still loved it though, because it would've sucked NOT to see everything). As with LBD, I'm convinced the writers of this web series are geniuses, because I could see how tiny details were adjusted to make the story work as a whole in modern world.

In my opinion, the true reason why this web series is so good is the way they used the secondary characters and made them more important on the screen. Harriet and Martin are absolutely adorable and so are Harriet's videos, which are a nice addition to the series. Knightley makes tiny appearances that kill the fangirls, because there's so much that's not said but that we readers understand and it's sweet torture. Reading the comments is also really nice, because you'll find some obsessing over sentences and looks that you hadn't even realized meant something. I find the web series experience much more fun than regular TV for this reason, because there are true discussions that you can be a part of if you want to. Or you can just read and like hundreds of comments like I did, which is just fine and makes you laugh and obsess over characters (Knightley).

Here's a Knightley for you. Not too bad on the eyes, right?

To sum it up, I'd like all of you to give this book and this web series a chance, because I think the story truly deserves it.



Web Series Wednesday - The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

If you're new to this YouTube world, or simply to web series, you might not know about this amazing channel. However, it's definitely one of the best and most famous web series out there, and for many reasons.

I discovered this web series, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, from Hank and John Green's YouTube channel, vlogbrothers. Hank posted a video back in 2012, when I wasn't subscribed to their channel ( or to anyone's, to be honest, because I didn't know YouTubers were a thing. Can't imagine living without YouTube now!). When I did subscribe to their channel, after having finished The Fault in Our Stars later in 2013 and discovering that John posted videos with his brother, I started watching all of their videos before I subscribed, because of how good they were. I wasn't that fast, so it took me a while to get there, but in late 2014, I watched this video and wondered: "does this really exist?" I was thrilled to find out that the series was entirely posted by then and I immediately started watching every single episode - which surprisingly didn't take that long, since I was so obsessed I preferred watching these to sleeping. I still do, to be honest.

The first reason why I like this series so much is that it's inspired by an amazing novel, Pride and Prejudice. It's the first Jane Austen novel I read and the first classic I actually chose to read, so this book has a special place in my heart. In Austen's book, there is an amazing romance, even though there's absolutely nothing explicit in it. It's just the fact that you know how the characters feel and you feel their love with them, which is just amazing. I watched as many adaptations of it as I could, so this series was no exception.

My second reason for loving LBD is the way it's adapted into a modern life story. I loved seeing all the little détails altered to make the story realistic and as dramatic in our society, because many things that were considered bad in the 19th century are simply normal today. The amount of work that must have been put in the creation of this web series is insane, which is why I admire it even more. If you've read the books and then you watch this web series, you'll realize how smart its writers are.

My final reason for watching this series instead of sleeping is how they represented each character. When you read a book, you create a precise idea of the characters and their surroundings that can be completely different from another reader's idea, which is why adaptations can be tricky sometimes. You could think a character's a real sweetheart, while someone could think he's actually calculating and evil. Sometimes, the author's writing or the main character's opinion influence our thoughts about a character, like it did for me in Pride and Prejudice. I thought Lydia was an annoying, irresponsible and self-centered girl because it's kind of how Elizabeth sees her little sister. However, in LBD, Lydia's character is taken very differently, which made me realize many things about her I had simply ignored. Her character in the web series quickly became one of my favorites, especially with the amazing actress who plays her, Mary Kate Wiles. I loved her videos, since she creates a channel of her own during the season, and I wish there had been even more of them. She's endearing and her way to talk and move cracked me up so many times that I wouldn't have believed you if you had told me I would react this way to her character before watching these videos.

I also loved the chemistry between the characters, the decoration, the music, the concept and the extras. I think this is a wonderfully well organized web series and I am glad I discovered such a universe. I read The Secret Diary of Lizzie, which is more personal than the videos, and I really liked it. I'm incredibly excited for the new novel that the writers are publishing, The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet, since it's about a character I grew to love. I can already recommend both novels!

 

 

I highly recommend this series!

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

Goodreads summary:

A wonderfully entertaining coming-of-age story, Northanger Abbey is often referred to as Jane Austen’s “Gothic parody.” Decrepit castles, locked rooms, mysterious chests, cryptic notes, and tyrannical fathers give the story an uncanny air, but one with a decidedly satirical twist.

The story’s unlikely heroine is Catherine Morland, a remarkably innocent seventeen-year-old woman from a country parsonage. While spending a few weeks in Bath with a family friend, Catherine meets and falls in love with Henry Tilney, who invites her to visit his family estate, Northanger Abbey. Once there, Catherine, a great reader of Gothic thrillers, lets the shadowy atmosphere of the old mansion fill her mind with terrible suspicions. What is the mystery surrounding the death of Henry’s mother? Is the family concealing a terrible secret within the elegant rooms of the Abbey? Can she trust Henry, or is he part of an evil conspiracy? Catherine finds dreadful portents in the most prosaic events, until Henry persuades her to see the peril in confusing life with art.

Executed with high-spirited gusto, Northanger Abbey is the most lighthearted of Jane Austen’s novels, yet at its core this delightful novel is a serious, unsentimental commentary on love and marriage.


My review:

4/5

As a Jane Austen fan, Northanger Abbey was a must read for me. Extraordinarily, I watched the movie before reading the novel, which had an impact on my reading experience. I found that the movie had several differences with the novel, good and bad ones. I was confused with the story when I was reading, because Catherine's departure from Northanger Abbey is much different in the movie than it actually is. I thought it was very dramatic in the movie, which wasn't a bad thing, but Catherine's sadness towards Henry felt a bit overboard in the book. I'm happy that there was a bit more romance in the movie, because the last chapters of the book left me wanting much more than I actually got. Having read many of Austen's novels, I knew I couldn't expect very explicit romance, but I hated the fact that the last chapters described what happened, instead of the characters talking for themselves. I thought it was very prude, even for Jane Austen, so I had to imagine what I saw in the movie instead.

I loved Catherine's character, because although she isn't the smartest one ever created, she's kind and really sweet. I liked how much importance she accordes to her friendships, especially with Eleanor, with whom she shared an amazing friendship, especially in such a period. I hadn't imagine it would be possible to have such a close friend with their cold politeness and good manners, but I was surprised to find Catherine and the Tilneys getting along so well. I wish I could've been in Catherine's place, in such beautiful houses with such amazing friends. However, her curiosity and immature ideas made me cringe a lot, especially when she imagines all this scheme with General Tilney. I was prepared for it, after having seen the movie, but I still hated how bold she acts and how she gets caught by Henry.

Since this is Jane Austen's first novel, I could see some faults in her writing and plot that I would've changed, but I still think this is a great first novel. I'm not a fan of Catherine's fears and love for mystery, but I guess it's part of the story. I really liked both the movie and the novel.