Sixteen-year-old Liza Johnson takes fangirl to a whole new level of crazy when she decides to take dating advice from her literary hero: Jane Austen.
With the help of her best friends, Liza sheds her ancient-speak and complete Austen wardrobe for something a bit more modern in an attempt at finding her very own Mr. Darcy.
Enter Will, the new kid and Liza's Darcy incarnate. Add her BFF's ex to mix and the sexy Brit who kisses with an accent, and Liza is in trouble.
So, what's a girl to do? Without her mom to go to relationship advice, Liza turns to the only person she can truly trust with matters of the heart via her mother's copy of COMPLETED WORKS OF JANE AUSTEN.
It's too bad Austen's heroines have never played Spin the Bottle or Seven Minutes in Heaven. Liza's determined to find her true Austen-esque happy ending, but if she can't trust herself instead of books, she just might end up in her own tragic love story.
EXCERPT
The phone rang again and I immediately thought of Janie. My heart popped up through my throat and caught on a breath. She was here though, right next to me. Safe. Her face still red and covered in dried, crusty tears.
I fumbled for the cordless.
“Liza, it’s me. I’m…” he hesitated, probably waiting to hear if I would say Who? or maybe, Which one? “I’m outside your house. Meet me downstairs?”
“Right now?” I shouted more than I’d meant to. My head pulsed in alarm, and a soft groan escaped Janie’s lips. I took a deep breath. “It’s like, eleven,” I whispered, more calm now.
“Yeah, I’m out in my car. I…I need to see you.”
Janie murmured and shifted as I got out of bed. I’d have to fight her for a spot when I got back. Or I could just suck it up, grab a quilt out of the closet, and sleep on the floor.
Outside, the air chilled right through my flimsy pajamas and pricked my bare skin. I tucked Dad’s oversized U of M sweatshirt I found on the back of the couch around my shivering body. My breath made these little pockets of fog in the air as I tiptoed across the frost-covered lawn to the street. The houses that mirrored mine on all sides stood quiet.
I slipped into the passenger seat and turned to him.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey.”
“Did I wake you?” His hair was on the messy side as if he’d run his hands through it a thousand times.
“Yeah, a little. I mean, yeah, you woke me. Janie spent the night.”
He nodded and stared straight through me. I’d never seen that look before. It swept into my brain, muddling things. He leaned over, grabbed the back of my head, and brought my mouth to his.
It was soft and sweet. Emotions tangled in and out of our lips. Everything left unsaid and undone conveyed in the span of a few moments. It should be like taking a long walk through a beautiful garden, floated through my scattered thoughts. It wasn’t exactly like that, but it was nice. It was good. It was…pointless.
I stood on the curb and waved until the taillights turned at the end of the block. I made the decision then on that short trek back to my room. I knew what I wanted. Now I just had to figure out how to tell everyone.
****
“I know. But come on, Liza. Let’s dress up. I want us to look good for Will.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s somebody new!” She spun around, the purple top in her hands flailed out. “He doesn’t know us like everyone else. He doesn’t have us tagged yet. We’re not weird Janie or Jane Austen-obsessed-Eliza yet. We’re just us.” Janie threw herself down on the bed, arms spread wide open. “We can be whoever we want to be.”
“I am who I want to be, Janie.”
She sat up and faced me. “Listen…” Janie always said listen when she wanted to talk serious. “You want someone to like you for who you are, but they can’t get past your shirts or your crazy nineteenth century speeches. Sometimes I think you do it on purpose.”
“Um, ouch.”
“Cole Foster would walk right by you. Mr. Darcy would walk right by you.”
“Not if he’s my Mr. Darcy. In the book—”
“This isn’t a book, Liza. This is real life. In real life, Darcy wouldn’t look at you.” She propped herself up on her elbows. “That is, even if there are Darcy’s out there at all.”
“There are.” “Sure. Then why am I still single?” She took the magazine from my hands again and stared at Cole in a bathing suit on some white sandy beach.
“It’s early yet.”
“Early? Really? What about Lydia? And Marianne? And Catherine?”
I raised my eyebrows. “Lydia? Please.”
“Okay. That was a bad example, but the other two weren’t.”
“Agreed.”
“Then go put on a pair of jeans and this purple top.” She grabbed the shirt off the bed and tossed it at me, then she laid back down on the bed with her feet crossed behind her and read the article about Cole. Inside, Janie kept her romantic conforming side all locked up with the key hidden in her ripped jeans.
About the author:
Erin Butler is lucky enough to have two jobs she truly loves. As a librarian, she gets to work with books all day long, and as an author, Erin uses her active imagination to write the kinds of books she enjoys reading. Young Adult and New Adult books are her favorites, but she especially loves the ones with kissing scenes.
Erin lives in Central New York with her very understanding husband, a stepson, and doggie BFF, Maxie. She prefers to spend her time indoors reading and writing, but will venture out for chocolate and sunshine. She is the author of BLOOD HEX, a YA paranormal, HOW WE LIVED, a contemporary New Adult novel, and FINDING MR. DARCY: HIGH SCHOOL EDITION, a contemporary YA.
12 comments:
Finding Mr. Darcy sounds like a wonderfully fun story. I would love to read this.
Looks like a very good read.
Looks great, I look forward to reading it. and the cover is great too thank you for the giveaway
This looks like a good book. I am huge Jane Austen fan.
What an adorable cover!
Great cover and looks like a fun read thank you for the giveaway
Love the cover and its about a Jane Austen fangirl. I have to read this! Thanks for the chance :)
Great except! Definitely makes me want to read this book.
Taking love advice from Jane Austen? Love it! Sounds like an awesome read!
Love the cover :)
Beautiful cover
I can't wait to read this one. I love the cover.
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