I think any Jane Austen fan would. I would make some different choices, but I so loved following this character through my favorite parts of England that I didn't care that the story was a little obvious. It does have a good message - don't let others dictate your life dreams/goals/direction, make your own future, a woman doesn't need a man to be happy (that is just a possible bonus to happiness), etc.

Since we had more than one Jane Austen fan in our group, it made reading this book more fun. It is a fanciful tale with a fairly shallow and transparent characters and plot, but manages to be enjoyable anyway. Don't read it for a deep and meaningful discussion, but for a fast, fun summer read it was just right.

Emma Douglas has just found her husband cheating on her, and she blames Jane Austen’s novels (as well as her parents’ own happy marriage) for leading her to believe that there are always happy endings. Devastated by her personal and professional life, she travels to England in search of Jane Austen’s missing letters, where, coincidentally, she also bumps into her old college friend Adam.

I really enjoyed Beth Pattillo’s ‘what-if’s’ concerning Austen’s personal life and letters, particularly her take on which of Austen’s books most closely mirrored the author’s (imagined) life. I was also fascinated by Emma’s treks around Austen’s old haunts and the real personal history of the author. Mixing fact and fiction, this book is a fun and quick read that most Austen fans will appreciate.

"Now the only friendship I still had, however unexpected, had been upended. I was tired of being adrift. Tired of romance and attraction and all the complications and ruination it entailed. Tired of trying to find some pattern, divine or not, in what had happened, what was happening to me. Most of all, though, I was tired of Jane Austen ruining my life." – p.146

Being an Austen fan myself, this story made me want to travel to England and visit some of the same locations. It is an easy, romantic read, but it was entertaining.

I truly enjoyed this book (as if that isn't obvious considering I read it in less than a day). It left me with many questions and the reminder that not all happy endings are as they seem. It was a beautiful book. An easy read, but truly well written.