Lovestruck in London by Rachel Schurig will make every book lover or Jane Austen fanatic sigh and smile and fall in love. It was a truly charming coming-of-age story and I really enjoyed getting to watch Lizzie (yes, after Eliza Bennett. I love it!) really grow and become herself during her time in London.
Summary
Elizabeth "Lizzie" Medina is the youngest of six siblings in a very close-knit Mexican family that immigrated to Detroit, Michigan. Her whole family, including her cousins, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, and assorted relatives all live within the immediate area and, in Lizzie's eyes, do nothing but try and tell her how to live her life. Like her namesake's creator Jane Austen, Lizzie loves to read and write and has been obsessed with the idea of London, of British accents and pop culture, literature, and history since she was a young girl. When the opportunity arises for Lizzie to take an accelerated (9-month) Master's program in London, she jumps at the chance to live in her dream city... and put off the reality of her future for just a little bit longer.During her first week in London, Lizzie meets the famous British actor Thomas Harper and immediately recognizes him as one of the supporting characters in the popular 5-movie franchise, Darkness. Thomas is nothing like what she expects, though, and after a few whirlwind dates, they fall hopelessly in love and have a wonderfully romantic relationship. That is, until everything changes.
As her time in London is coming to an end, Thomas' life takes a sharp turn when he is thrust into the limelight and his career starts to really take off. Suddenly everything is different-- not only in their lives and routines, but also the life that Lizzie imagined for herself. In the end, Lizzie has to decide if the love and expectations of her family (a stable career with benefits, and a place within walking distance of her parents' house) or this wonderful new "London Lizzie" she discovers is who she is really meant to be.
My Take
To reiterate, I thought this book was adorable and I was definitely charmed by the characters' goal to discover their true selves and live a life of risks and dreams. I wasn't expecting anything specifically from this book so just enjoying the writing and the characters was so much fun. As a young woman who, admittedly, still has nothing figured out, this book really spoke to me. I'm also a Jane Austen lover, an avid book reader, someone with an interfering and often boisterous family that I love with my whole heart, and an aspiring novelist. The author could not have gotten a more perfect audience than someone like me!I feel like I should mention that this book is for a young(er) crowd that wouldn't be totally put off by the lack of sex scenes. You're not getting anything risqué here; it's actually a perfect book for your high school-age readers (or those who liked the Twilight franchise). There's the "young adult" elements of petty drama between jealous female characters, the coming-of-age conflict between what is expected of us versus what we want for ourselves, and the close friendships that make a life living on your own in a strange city bearable.
If you're in the mood for something that will really make you FEEL something, pick up Lovestruck in London... I'm so glad that I did!
STATS:
- Lovestruck in London by Rachel Schurig
- Kindle cost: $3.99
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (by 4 readers who were clearly misled in Amazon's advertisements based on what they said about the book in their review. Such a shame!)
- http://www.amazon.com/Lovestruck-in-London-ebook/dp/B00CW44YIQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374714590&sr=8-1&keywords=lovestruck+in+london#_
No comments:
Post a Comment