If you've read any of my previous reviews on Lucy Parker's books, you'll know how much I love them. The Austen Playbook continues with Parker's trademark funnies and quick quips that have endeared me to her writing.

Freddie was first mentioned in one of the earlier books where she was a younger cast member in the play. Now here she is, still young but older and a veritable veteran in the business. But the shine of the stage that she's always loved has kind of lost its sheen lately. While she's been successful and done well for herself, she hasn't felt passionate about some of her more recent work. Her inner thoughts are confirmed by none other that her adversary, famous London stage critic, James Ford-Griff, or just Griff, who has been maligning her performances. No matter. She's dealt with critics all her life and she knows how to handle herself. But once she and Griff have to share a workspace, all bets are off.

I think I've mentioned this before but the thing I love about these books is how Parker always pitches her heroines against the heroes. Be the guys prickly or condescending, the women always step up. Freddie employs humour and sarcasm in every conversation with Griff. She playfully uses his critiques of her against him, teasing him constantly about how incorrectly he had her sized up. As for Griff, there's no begrudgingly falling for the girl. He just does and acknowledges how his bluntness about some of her performances, though true and she even agrees with him on some of them, doesn't come near to the kind of phenomenon that Freddie is in reality. She injects energy and vitality into his strictly ordered world, and her truthful perspective brings invaluable insight to him. When Freddie joins Griff in his research about a theatre legend they have in common, what they find could mean rewriting history for both their families and possibly change the budding romance between them.

I admire the women that Lucy Parker writes about so much so that I wish I could automatically absorb some of their self-assuredness and quick thinking. I swear that I'm always in an uplifted mood when I'm done reading these books. I can't recommend the London Celebrities series enough to people who simply want good humour and good feels. The Austen Playbook should be your next read!


~ Bel

Coming from a legacy of actors, Freddy is only twenty-three and has been acting for thirteen years. After her father's career ended in a way that makes her feel somewhat responsible, she has tried to mold her career to what he has wanted. When a chance between taking a role he wants for her and one she wants for herself, with some added family legacy drama, things come to ahead.
(Jamie) Ford-Griffin has been trying to keep his family and their ancestral home afloat. When his brother comes to him with another seemingly harebrained idea, he despairs even more. His family and Freddy's have some history and her father is currently blocking a project he needs to go ahead for income but there is something about Freddy's warm exuberant personality that calls to his normally grumpy taciturn self.
It's an Austen house party full of drama, intrigue, villains, and falling in love.

It was a truth universally acknowledged that an actor in a rut must be in want of a spot of murder, mayhem, and true love.

If you've read the other three books in the London Celebrities series, you'll remember glimpses of Freddy and Jamie. This works as a standalone but one of the author's strong points is how well she writes an interconnected world. She immerses you in these character's lives and surrounds them with believable friends, family, and outer issues. I did feel at times like Freddy and Jamie's romance got pushed to the side in favor of the overall picture but I still felt their romance and believed in it. The story can be said to be a two villain piece, a co-actor of Freddy's and her father, I think the co-actor could have been cut (she does play a part in pushing the family legacy drama) in favor of declogging or making more breathing room for Jamie and Freddy. Every other secondary character I thought was perfection in enhancing the story and our main characters.

There were few people he would ever really know, see as they were and not through a hundred different filters of perception. When he touched Freddy, when he looked into her eyes, he felt as if he was starting to see her. It was sexual, it was physical, but it was also the tentative stirring of a connection that he couldn’t explain, couldn’t put into words even in his own mind.

As I mentioned, the outside events of Jamie having some family and financial struggles, Freddy straining against her dad's wants for her in favor of her own, the live play production, co-actor villain, and the family legacy drama, sometimes took time away from Freddy and Jamie. However, these two bonded together beautifully and Jamie gives one of the best declaration/love speech I have read; the truth in it outshone any sexy, sappy, or overly sweet speech we otherwise may have gotten. These two got each other and I reveled in how they spoke to each other and bonded.

I also loved how Jamie's relationship with his brother Charlie played out on page and how Freddy and her sister went through their ups and downs together. I thought Freddy's relationship arc with her dad was given a bit of an easy ending, there was a lot to wrap-up at the ending and I think this got shortchanged a bit. The author seemed to be teasing future books with Freddy's sister and a professional rival (the rival's ticking jaw during their live broadcast, y'all) that I will be showing up with bells on for.

She pressed her palm to his cheek. “You make me feel equal,” she murmured slowly, and he rested his forehead on hers.

This author has a writing style and tone that sucks me into her worlds and makes me believe in and feel her characters, I highly recommend her and this series. I did think at times the romance between the leads was overshadowed a bit at times but I enjoyed what was doing the overshadowing, part of the family legacy drama involved a secret forgotten romance (Violet and William) that had my eyes watering. If looking for a contemporary romance to sink into, this book and series will have you lost in the characters and world.

Utterly delightful addition to Lucy Parker's London Celebrities series. Darling of the theater Freddie Carlton, whose been on the stage since she was a child, joins the cast of a live staging of a choose-your-own-adventure type Jane Austen Mashup. And the owner of the estate where it's happening is the theater critic who's been skewering her for years, James "Griff" Ford Griffin. Sparks fly, there is banter, sexytimes, a bit of a literary mystery, and the kind of behind the scenes of the London theater scene we've come to expect from Parker. I especially loved how adult Freddie and Griff were, the engaging secondary characters, and the strong sense of place. This one is going on my keeper shelf with all her others!

April 22, 2019
REVIEW: The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker
JayneB- REVIEWS / BOOK REVIEWSactor/actress / classic literature / Contemporary / critic / enemies to lovers / England / family drama / family relationships / Jane Austen / theater1 Comments



In which experienced West End actress Freddy Carlton takes on an Austen-inspired play, a scandal at a country estate, an enthusiastic search for a passion outside of acting…and the (some people might say icy*) heart of London’s most feared theater critic.

*if those people were being nice

Freddy Carlton knows she should be focusing on her lines for The Austen Playbook, a live-action TV event where viewers choose the outcome of each scene, but her concentration’s been blown. The palatial estate housing the endeavor is now run by the rude (brilliant) critic who’s consistently slammed her performances of late. James “Griff” Ford-Griffin has a penchant for sarcasm, a majestic nose and all the sensitivity of a sledgehammer.

She can’t take her eyes off him.

Griff can hardly focus with a contagious joy fairy flitting about near him, especially when Freddy looks at him like that. His only concern right now should be on shutting down his younger brother’s well-intentioned (disastrous) schemes—or at the very least on the production (not this one) that might save his family home from the banks.

Instead all he can think of is soft skin and vibrant curls.

As he’s reluctantly dragged into her quest to rediscover her passion for the stage and Freddy is drawn into his research on a legendary theater star, the adage about appearances being deceiving proves abundantly true. It’s the unlikely start of something enormous…but a single revelation about the past could derail it all.

Dear Ms. Parker,

I was delighted to see another novel of yours on the horizon and chuffed to get my hands on it early. In a teensy bit of a change, it’s (mainly) not set in London nor in a West End play. Instead there’s a fun mash-up of Austen, murder mystery and audience participation crossed with feuding families and long held secrets all taking place at a stately home. Let’s just hope the house doesn’t fall down around their ears until the “LIVE” sign goes off.

Freddy (Frederica) Carlton comes from English acting royalty. The Carltons have been stars of the stage for generations and she’s carrying on the family tradition. Her latest role is in a dramatic play, an early one that her grandmother wrote before penning “The Velvet Room” – that hands down, towering addition to British theater. Of course Freddy would fluff a line and ad hoc an anachronistic replacement on press night. She then gets to unintentionally listen in as the bastard critic who has ripped her performances before (okay, Freddy does acknowledge that J. Ford-Griffin does usually manage to nail what is wrong with a production) hones in on her mistake. But our Freddy keeps her public cool and humorously zings him back.

Meanwhile Griff’s trying to keep his home in one piece and pay off the bills that threaten to force his family from where they’ve lived for 400 years. It’s crumbling but it’s home. If he feels that the weight of the world is on him alone it’s because he is usually the one snatching them from the jaws of bankruptcy which his financially feckless parents and baby brother only run towards. When Charlie appears with yet another plan which he no-doubt thinks will save them but will probably only sink them deeper, Griff holds on to his patience by a thread.

Except, this one might keep the wolves at bay for another year or two. That’s if it comes off. The estate will host a live performance of an “audience chooses the ending” of a combo of Austen’s greatest characters which will be held in a boutique theater on site. Before Griff knows it, a gaggle of theater and film stars are wandering around his house including Freddy Carlton whose grandmother had a torrid affair with Griff’s grandfather there. But wait! There’s more! Griff and Freddy’s father are in a battle to bring that story to film. Plus there’s cast member clashes galore threatening to bring the entire endeavor crashing down.

As Freddy and Griff discover and explore an unexpected relationship, they also dig into the past and just might uncover a long held secret that could set the London theater world on fire. And potentially destroy what looks like might be a love for the ages.

This book manages to combine a book with strong characters and a complex plot. Writing it must have been like juggling twelve balls. There are intricate layers, there are cogs within wheels within machines. The tension is slowly increased, then eased, then ratcheted up, then more elements are added until finally everything comes together – or comes out, as the case may be.

There is humor, there is angst, there is snarling among the cast members one of whom I’d cheerfully push into a wood chipper. There is heartache and betrayal and personal growth. There are also periods where despite all of the above, things just seemed to drift around a little and I had to refocus my interest.

The romance took a different direction than I’d expected which I liked. The dynamic between Freddy and Griff remains balanced and their feelings roared straight into “holy shit, is this love?” territory though they both know enough to wait to be sure that this isn’t just an itch or merely close proximity. Freddy’s sister has yo-yo’d back and forth into a disastrous relationship enough for Freddy to know she needs to be searching for a deeper connection, the kind of “I’ve got your back” unquestioning support beyond just smoking sex. The type of person whom you let see the real you that you rarely show to anyone. Griff and Freddy are sure they’ve got that. Until a last minute conflict that felt a little bit staged.

Then all the conflict chickens came home to roost and it appeared to be everything and the kitchen sink. What could go wrong did and usually in public. Murphy’s Law in spectacular action. Still I was impressed by the way that everything gets brought together and the juggling balls are skillfully caught and the whole holds together. It’s a little fairy tale happy and one character close to Freddy’s heart doesn’t catch nearly as much grief as he should while another who is deserving of a knife attack in the shower appears to get off scot free. In the end, I liked it but there were some bland patches and a few rough spots. B-

Lucy Parker is one of my absolute favourite authors. She writes these fantastic romances set around folks involved with London’s West End and just sucks me in each time. I always think surely she can’t beat the last book she wrote and each time she blows me away with another fantastic romance with characters I just adore. This time around she did all of that she might have even written a book which stolen the position of favourite in series from Act Like It for me. It is at least equal to Act Like It in my favourites list. It was that good.

This book centres around Freddy, who we met briefly in Pretty Face, as she struggles with who she is and what kind of career she wishes to pursue in the theatre. She grew up acting, she’s a former child actor who has made the difficult progression into adult roles, except she is not loving the theatre as much doing the serious theatre her dad wants her to do to uphold the Carlton name. She misses the singing and dancing across the stage so when she gets offered a role in The Austen Playbook, a live play aired on TV where the viewers vote to choose the ending, it seems ideal. It’s a fun role which gives her a break from the serious for a few weeks whilst she gets her head straight. Instead, she keeps getting distracted by Griff, a theatre critic who also happens to own the house which the play is being staged in. And did I mention her grandmother had an affair which his grandfather as well? Yeah, this pair have family history.

I was always going to love Freddy. I loved her in Pretty Face and I loved her in The Austen Playbook. She’s grown since we last saw her and she’s developed into such a cool woman who is just lost in her career and I can totally relate to that. She doesn’t want to let her family down but it’s also making her miserable trying to be a serious actor and loving up to her grandmother, who was an amazing actress and also a playwright who write some play everybody has heard of (yes, I’ve already forgotten the name of said play… I have a bad memory, leave me be!) but Freddy knows she is not her grandmother, she is her own person, but it’s making her dad listen when he is hellbent on fitting her into a set mould. So her time away in the countryside learning the mammoth script for Austen Playbook is a relaxing break… or it was until she found herself attracted to Griff, discovers there have been cast changes which lead to her hanging out with a couple of folks she really doesn’t like, and she’s unravelling the mystery of why her grandmother broke off an affair with Griff’s grandfather, and who was this mysterious great aunt of Griff’s who no one seems to remember?

And Griff? In my head, all I could picture was Draco Malfoy for a while with all the Slytherin references made to his character (he was a Slytherin through and through, though, and I loved that). He isn’t cruel like Malfoy, though. He is actually a total sweetheart under his frowny serious façade. He is doing everything he can to look out for his family, even though his parents seem hell-bent on spending they really don’t have and his brother has once more concocted a plan to help, by hosting The Austen Playbook in the broken down theatre on their property, but he really isn’t helping (so Griff thinks, anyway). He has spent his whole life trying to keep his family on track and putting out fires and so he wasn’t happy-go-lucky. But I loved him because he cares so damned much. he cares that the actors in this play are well looked after (and don’t get killed by the ancestral home falling down around their ears). He cares to look into his family history so he can get the film project he’s working on off of the ground. And for reasons he can barely understand, he cares about Freddy Carlton. He didn’t intend to but he keeps bumping into her and there is a spark. And when they start to explore the chemistry between them? Well, I was a goner and so was he. Freddy is probably the last thing he needs, but also she is exactly what he needs because he has been struggling by himself for so long but he needs her to both point out when he is being an idiot where his brother is concerned, but also to give him support when he needs it.

If you can’t already tell, I loved the romance between Freddy and Griff. From the first time, they’re together (after Freddy overheard him talking about the onstage disaster she just had where she forgot her lines) and she rescues him from a falling bottle I just knew there was amazing chemistry to be had. And damn, the more time they spend on the page together the more I am cheering on this romance. And the best part of this romance? Even when they fell out you just knew they weren’t going to be apart for long. Like, there are arguments and they do fall out, but the arguments move them forward and develop the relationship rather than tearing them apart. They both always realise they are far happier together than apart and are always turning and looking for the other. They know they are far too unhappy to not be together.

I loved that outside of the romance there was a mystery storyline (no, I’m not talking about the play which is a murder mystery and something I would totally enjoy watching) but a mystery surrounding the history between Freddy’s family and Griff’s. Their grandparents had an affair and as Griff is trying to make a film about Freddy’s grandmother he is rather eager to find out what happened for the affair to end and Freddy invites herself along to help. And damn is that whole mystery so good. I really enjoyed how that journey brought them closer together(and almost broke them apart… but that’s more Griff’s fault than anything).

Look, Lucy Parker has packed a lot into this book. Some awesome characters (damn, I didn’t even mention how awesome the secondary characters are), a brilliant romance, a mystery, a little blackmail (which backfires) and betrayal! It’s not a good romance if there’s not betrayal going on… but it’s not where you expect it. Look, just read the book, it has everything and more and it’s out today so really, what are you waiting for?

Lucy Parker writes one of my favourite contemporary romance series, “London Celebrities,” with heroes and heroines as denizens of London’s West End theatre scene. In the series’ fourth volume, however, the West End is in the background. Heroine Freddy Carlton (for Frederica, a nod to Heyer?) joins the cast of a “digital mash-up of characters from different Jane Austen books, transplanted into a murder-mystery, house-party scenario. Outcome guided by the choice of the player,” that is, the televison and app audience. All taking take place on a estate, à la Downton Abbey. The estate, 16th-century Highbrook Wells, magnificent and crumbling, is the mortgaged-to-the-gills family home of acerbic theatre critic and Freddy nemesis, James “Griff” Ford-Griffin. Griff can’t afford to say no to the “digital mash-up” and the company of actors, Freddy too, arrives at Highbrook as if it’s Elsinore. Put Griff and Freddy together in this enforced intimacy and let sparks fly: antagonists to lovers, opposites-attract denying their attraction. Not really. This isn’t a criticism. Parker hasn’t written what at first appears to be your romance trope of antagonists-to-lovers. No matter how witty and thick the banter ( it is fabulous), Parker juggles three simultaneous narratives, of which the romance between Freddy and Griff is the gentlest, the most assured of a positive outcome.

In her varied narrative threads, Parker offers echoes of three of my favourite readerly things: the romance itself, opposites-attract in Griff, “grumpy, sexy cynic” and cheery, loving Freddy; secondly, many beloved Austen references; lastly, hugs-this-book-to-self, the channelling of the glorious A. S. Byatt double-narratived novel, Possession.

Griff and Freddy’s romantic arc develops beautifully from attraction to affection to I-can’t-breathe-without-you love. They’re open about their mutual attraction. ‘T’isn’t insta-lust; still, it’s powerful stuff lovingly tempered by a budding friendship. Parker has written two such decent characters; no matter how different their demeanors, Freddy’s sunny to Griff’s dour, Freddy’s jauntiness to Griff’s stiff-upper-lip, they’re fundamentally caring, considerate, honest, and perceptive. Freddy and Griff’s encounters and banter are fun, but they also feel deeply, are loyal, and share a desire to do the right thing and right by others. Moreover, their love scenes are honest, funny, realistic, imperfect, not purple-prosed, aware of the other and most importantly, imbued with meaning and mutual consideration.

If Griff and Freddy get along so splendidly, what makes for the novel’s tension and conflict? Rather than situating the conflict between hero and heroine, Parker does another my-favourite-thing when she joins Griff and Freddy in solving a mystery. (Like the modern couple in Byatt’s Possession.) Conflict dogs Griff and Freddy in the form of their families. Freddy’s father, Rupert, is a man bent on making his daughter a “serious” actress, as opposed to the musical theatre and rom-coms Freddy prefers. Because Freddy is an affectionate type who wants to ensure her beloved people are happy, she’s gone along with her father’s plans. A confrontation looms if Freddy is to do what she loves. Griff, on the other hand, has two irresponsible parents, who’ve left the estate to rack and ruin. Since his university years, he’s scraped, invested, and worked hard to keep bailiff and bank at bay.

If there is one thing that causes rifts between Freddy and Griff, it’s Griff’s overprotectiveness, borne of taking care of his younger brother Charlie (who’s a wonderful, loveable character) and feckless parents. As a result of his care, love, and need to protect, Griff makes a few gaffes where Freddy’s concerned. Freddy is a breed of reasonable and easy-going that sees Griff’s generous intent despite his heavy-handed execution. She forgives him, without going ragey and weird as many heroines are wont to do in romances. Let’s face it, Griff is wonderful: caring, loving, funny, smart, sexy, and with a nose of adorable proportions. He is too used to loving and not used to being helped, or supported. All he has to do is give Freddy her due, which he readily does, with an apology, and she’s his forever. She is, his forever that is, by the end. And it’s glorious. Parker has written a romance about what keeps two people together. There are a few too many farcical shenanigans on the part of the acting company, but I can’t fault them when they made me laugh. There may be a few draggy bits. But I loved Griff and Freddy and Parker’s world is made of wit and love and people behaving well.

Lastly, Parker’s writing can be downright irresistible, especially, like her predecessor, Heyer, in how she describes her characters’ physical attributes, how she makes them connect physically, and how she uses gesture to say things about them. In The Austen Playbook, she’s surpassed herself with Griff, deliciously sexy, icy Griff. Freddy, soft, round, “exuberant” as Griff says of her, describes Griff as “the walking ice cube,”; his “inkwell eyes”. When Freddy sees Griff at the estate for the first time: “And, standing on a ladder, one of her very favourite things in the world, a handsome man nailing stuff.” Freddy notes Griff’s sang-froid as “there wasn’t a bead of sweat on him. The assassin persona was firmly in place. Suave, efficient movements, immaculate clothing. and not a hint as to what was going on beneath the surface,” except one slight tic, “the pools-of-mystery eyes narrowed.”

Griff’s cool control is only a cover for his physical and emotional care and protectiveness. This shows in what he does more than what he says, though he says cool, romantic stuff. Freddy is given to where-angels-fear-to-tread moments and Griff takes care of her: “Firmly, he removed the mystery tool from her grasp before she could follow through on her impulse to test the sharpness of the blades with her thumb” and “Coolly, he steered her around the extension cord some idiot had left on the grass, before she could stand on the plug.” Lest you think only Griff comes under Freddy love-scrutiny, Griff characterizes Freddy too: “She was adept at producing that guileless look endemic among fictional princesses and children’s entertainers.” One of my favourite chin-lift passages EVAH: “He looked up suddenly from his papers and their eyes met. And suddenly her mouth felt dry, and she was very aware of her heartbeat, thudding a bit too hard against the wall of her chest. Ever so slightly, his eyes narrowed. Just a little, her chin lifted.” The rest, my reader-friends, is as marvelous and awaiting your delectation. With Miss Austen, paid homage in Parker’s title, we say The Austen Playbook is proof “there is no charm equal to tenderness of heart,” Emma.

Lucy Parker’s The Austen Playbook is published by Carina Press. It releases today April 22 and may be found at your preferred vendor. I received an e-ARC from Carina Press, via Netgalley.

Heroine Freddy is hoping to make a change in her acting career and Griff, a gruff theater critic, is looking to keep his family pile from being foreclosed on. He agrees to let a live TV show film on his family's property and Freddy is one of the leads.

Freddy and Griff are total opposites, she's fun and outgoing, he's grumpy and closed off, and yet the two of them feel an instant connection and can't seem to stay away from each other. This is pretty much Lucy Parker's formula for all these books--grumpy bugger falls for bubbly ingenue in the theater world. That sounds reductive but these books are fantastic. I've been a fan of this series since the very first book and this is another strong entry in the series, probably my second favorite after the superb Pretty Face. Parker excels at depicting the chemistry and connection between her characters. And the theater world she creates is fun and fascinating.

If you like fun contemporary romance I definitely recommend giving these books a try.

I have loved all three previous books in the London Celebrities series, so The Austen Playbook was easily one of my most anticipated reads of 2019. And it has fulfilled all its promise. Lucy Parker truly knows how to wring every emotion out of you, from tears of empathy to tears-in-the-eyes laughter. Her razor-sharp dialogue and witty observations will leave you riveted and enjoying every moment of it.

A bubbly, sassy, perennially optimistic actor is paired with a dour, curt, glacial theater critic — how delicious is this premise? And Parker spins this into an edge-of-the-seat, rollicking tale with drama, intrigue, and a soft, tender romance.

A soft, tender romance with someone whose scathing review calls her an “overexposed, chronically confused crowd-pleaser who’s built a career riding on her family coattails”? Yes, indeed. He has hidden depths of loyalty and empathy and affection, which she has to drill down to discover, and to the reader’s enjoyment, she does it with insouciance, self-possession, and protective concern for him. These two really fancy each other, and Parker proceeds to convert the reader’s “no way” to their relationship to “of course.”

I have been on this journey with Parker from her very first Act Like It, and year after year, she has proceeded to fascinate me with her stories, distinctive voice, and deft observations rendered in precise language. Now I cannot imagine a year of reading without a Parker novel to anchor it.

https://frolic.media/the-heart-of-a-story-the-austen-playbook-by-lucy-parker/

The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker
London Celebrities #4

You know that book that puts a smile on your face from page one and then lingers throughout the story? That was this book for me! When I saw a new book in this series I was thrilled because I have enjoyed every book by this author that I have read so far...and I loved this one, too!

Freddy Carlton is everything I might want in a female lead. She is smart, honest, talented, affectionate, open, a great friend, professional and a whole lot more. Her ancestors have been in theater for generations and her talent is exceptional but she does question at times if she is taking on the roles she is meant to do – ones that make her happy. When a break occurs and she is offered a take part in The Austen Playbook she is ready and looking forward to the change it will provide. She expects to spend some time away from London, go on country walks, relax with a script she can enjoy and spend time with actors she likes...until she gets a look at who those actors actually end up being.

James “Griff” Ford-Griffin is a man who has critiqued many of Freddy’s plays. She believes he is honest in his writing but he is not always kind. Griff’s brother Charlie has a hair-brained idea to bring The Austen Playbook to their estate and utilize a theater their grandfather built for the project. Money they need to keep the estate going MIGHT come their way...or not...as a result of this and a few other projects. Griff has a heavy burden to carry with flaky parents and a brother he sees as less than responsible but he will make the best of it.

When Freddy and Griff meet there is definitely chemistry and watching their relationship develop was so much fun...and kept that smile on my face throughout the story. I loved them individually and loved them together as they were definitely meant to be a couple.

This story has a wonderful romance, secrets that are exposed, dramatic fireworks between some of the actors, interesting family dynamics to contend with and times that I was drawn in so much that I felt a part of the story...or wanted to be anyway.

I love this author and this series and would gladly read anything she writes! And, I would like to thank NetGalley and Carina for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

The Austen Playbook was my most anticipated spring read. I love Lucy Parker and her books - I re-read them ALL the time. The Austen Playbook also happens to feature her perky heroine and a grumpy hero, so I knew this one was going to be spectacular. Lucy Parker never disappoints and The Austen Playbook was just as brilliant as I expected it to be.

Freddy was a girl after my own heart. She was just sunshine and rainbows and I adored her. She had a very optimistic perspective of life which was very refreshing. Freddy was a hard worker stuck doing work that didn't fit her aspriations due to family pressure. Freddy rose to fame playing roles in comedies, but at the insistence of her father, she has taken on more roles in dramas. The only problem is that Freddy isn't particularly enjoying the roles she has undertaken. Despite her lack of passion for these roles, she remained such genuine and she had the loveliest personality. We see much growth from her in The Austen Playbook as she tries to reach out to her father so that she could chase after her actual dreams. I was a proud mama bear when she finally took that leap. Freddy is invited to be part of a live-action play for which rehearsals are to take place at Griff's mansion. Ahh, Griff! He was the absolute contrast of Freddy at first glance. He was an icy, grumpy critic who had no time for the bubbly creature that was Freddy. He was very serious and staunch, and obviously, that was catnip for me because I wound up falling for him very hard. Lucy Parker has the talent to make the most unappealing characters dreamy and after all these books, I'm still in awe. Griff was a total grump and I loved that for all his grumpy exterior, he was actually a very loyal and protective guy.

Freddy and Griff's pairing felt so natural. They've known about each other for a while since Griff has reviewed some of Freddy's works, but they've never had an actual conversation. Freddy doesn't view him all that positively since she overhears him saying some not-so-lovely things about her acting chops at a bar. Griff thinks she's too spritely and is very confused by her. All that changes when they are forced to interact in the English countryside at Griff's family home. Freddy and Griff shared amazing chemistry, but what got me invested in their relationship were the little moments when they opened up to each other. There were this comfort-level and honesty to their relationship that I was envious of, and I thought they brought out the best in each other. Of course, Lucy Parker writes some of the most delicious kisses. Don't even get me started on the soft intimate moments. They are catnip for any romance reader, but especially to THIS romance reader! Freddy and Griff truly were an iconic duo that had my shipper heart overjoyed. Besides the romance, I found myself being enthralled by the behind-the-scenes of the very cool interactive play, as well as the mystery surrounding Freddy's late grandmother. The whole secondary cast was also brilliant. I loved getting to know Sabrina, Freddy's sister, who is getting her book next. Also, I can't wait for you guys to meet Nick, who is my namesake! When Lucy mentioned a few months back that I (and Lisa & Maf) could look forward to seeing our names being in the book, I was sort of speechless and may have screamed. Nick (the character) was quite something (he's as rude as me lol), BUT he is the hero in the next book, so I look forward to his redemption. :)

I'm not sure how Lucy Parker keeps outdoing herself with her couples and her books. She is one of the best contemporary authors and I look forward to reading even more of her excellent novels. If you haven't had the chance to pick up her stories yet, please remedy that. She is sure to charm you with her witty and romantic stories.

Another fantastic and fun read from Lucy Parker. Freddy and Griff were perfect together and their romance grew naturally and was lovely to read about.

The Austen Playbook, the fourth in Lucy Parker’s London Celebrities series, is one of the most eagerly anticipated new releases of 2019 – and I’m here to tell you your patience will most definitely be rewarded when it comes out. It’s got all Ms. Parker’s trademarks; the two principals are wonderfully appealing, the secondary cast is well-drawn, the dialogue is snappy – and most importantly, it’s got the depth, emotional resonance and soul-deep connection between the leads she’s so good at creating (and which I felt was missing in the previous book).

Frederica – Freddy – Carlton is the youngest member of an acting dynasty whose members have been treading the boards in the West End for the last four hundred years. She’s been acting since she was a child, and although she made her name performing in a string of popular comedies and musicals, she’s now turned her hand to more serious pieces at the urging of her manager – who also happens to be her father Rupert, whose acting career came to an end following an accident years earlier. But Freddy’s heart isn’t really in the meaty, dramatic roles she’s being urged to undertake. Her real love is for lighter theatre – musicals, rom-coms, physical comedy – and she knows that’s where her real talent lies, in performing pieces that leave the audiences feeling better at the end of the evening than they did at the beginning. Yet although she recognises that Rupert is living vicariously through her, she can’t bring herself to disappoint him by refusing to go along with his plans for her. He’s pushing her to audition for the leading role in The Velvet Room, the masterpiece that catapulted her grandmother Henrietta into the history books as both actress and playwright – and in Freddy’s opinion, another piece of weepy philosophical introspection that just isn’t her cup of tea.

The fact that Freddy isn’t suited to the heavier roles hasn’t escaped the extremely perceptive – and extremely annoying – theatre critic, James Ford-Griffin, Grumpiest TV presenter in the UK. And the witty wanker behind the scathing theatre reviews in the Westminster Post. She’s having a drink with friends after a rather disastrous performance when she overhears him talking to someone in the next booth in the pub, uncomfortably aware that his cutting remarks are right on the nose:

“For some reason, she’s pursuing a determined line in high-brow dramas, when she’d clearly rather be stamping about in puddles in Singin’ in the Rain.”

It’s completely unnerving that this man, whom she doesn’t know, has seen through her façade, and more unnerving still is the way her stomach suddenly feels like it’s full of butterflies when she ends up standing next to him at the bar. Sure, he’s good-looking, but sadly, behind those compelling dark eyes, that platinum blond hair and majestic nose lurks a frosty demeanour and all the personality of an iceberg.

Griff has spent pretty much his entire adult life trying to rein in his spendthrift parents while they indulge their flights of fancy with no thought to their responsibilities. The family home at Highbrook in Surrey is heavily mortgaged, and Griff is desperately trying to find ways to pay off the pile of debt as well as to make the estate viable for at least the next few years. He is currently seeking financing for a film about the life of Henrietta Carlton, who wrote The Velvet Room at Highbrook while in the throes of a passionate affair with his grandfather, but that’s not progressing well at the moment thanks to Rupert Carlton’s interference. Griff’s younger brother, Charlie – who Griff sees as not much more responsible than their parents – has come up with a scheme which might make them some money in the short-term; they’ll rent out the Henry Theatre (built in the grounds by Sir George Ford as a gift for Henrietta) to the company producing The Austen Playbook, a live TV event based on an extremely popular game featuring characters from Jane Austen’s novels. Griff isn’t best pleased at the idea, but at least the TV company will pay for the necessary renovations to the theatre and the income will give him a bit of breathing space while he continues to seek funding for the film.

With Freddy cast as Lydia Bennett, she and Griff are thrown into each other’s orbit once again, and the spark of attraction that had leapt between them that night months ago in the pub flares to life again. Their romance develops quickly – something they both acknowledge – but the author does such a great job of creating a genuinely strong emotional connection between them and showing the ways in which they come to understand each other, that I never felt as though things were moving too fast. They’re well-rounded, complex characters who are like chalk and cheese in many ways; Freddy is generally outgoing, vibrant and chatty where Griff is more reticent and serious, but when it comes to the really important things between them, they’re very much on the same wavelength. I loved Freddy’s open-heartedness and was impressed by the way she’s so positive about falling for Griff:

“If I end up getting hurt, I would still never regret falling for him. I’m not going to hold back on investing in him just because there are no guarantees in life.”

– because it’s such a contrast to so many characters in romances who insist on holding back or walling off their emotions because they fear being hurt.

Griff is a swoonworthy hero who turns out to be perfect boyfriend material without being given a complete personality transplant. He’s a truly decent guy who’s big enough to own it when he screws up, and while his observations may often be critical, they’re also often true – even Freddy has to admit to herself that some of his criticisms have actually been helpful. Freddy learns to see through to the real Griff, not an iceberg at all, but a man who cares deeply about doing the best for those he loves, and she comes to appreciate his good qualities as she comes to understand him better. I especially enjoyed the support they offer each other at difficult moments; that’s not to say everything is plain sailing for them, but there’s no Big Mis because these two talk to each other.

There’s an intriguing plotline running alongside the romance, which is going to test Freddy and Griff’s loyalty to their families and each other when, during the course of some background research for the film, Freddy makes a surprising and potentially damaging discovery which could destroy reputations and careers. It really held my interest and is fully integral to the story rather than being something just tacked on to provide some conflict in the romance.

The familial relationships – Freddy and her TV presenter sister, Griff and his charming and more laid-back brother – are wonderfully realised, and as in all the London Celebrities books, there’s a fabulously drawn secondary cast, consisting mostly of a disparate group of actors (including the viperous Sadie Frost, whom we’ve met in previous books) who, just as in real life, get along and hate each other’s guts to varying degrees. Tempers fray and egos clash as the performance gets nearer, and we’re also treated to what I suspect is the set up for the next book, as we watch Freddy’s sister and her biggest rival (who happens to be Griff’s best mate) rip each other to shreds with verbal barbs and looks that could kill at ten paces.

Funny, sexy, warm and smart, The Austen Playbook is a thoroughly entertaining read that kept me glued from first page to last, and I’m confidently predicting its appearance on my Best Books of 2019 list. It’s just that good.

The Austen Playbook is the 4th book in the London Celebrities series - and my favorite so far!! You don’t have to read the others to enjoy this one - you can jump in here but all are wonderful and worth the read!

Freddy is an actress - her true love is performing in lighter musicals/comedy but she’s felt a great deal of obligation to her father/manager to take on more serious roles lately. James Ford-Griffin (Griff) is a snarky theater critic who doesn’t hesitate to tell it how he sees it - and Freddy has found herself on the receiving end of some of his criticisms.

When Freddy has the opportunity to taken on the role of Lydia Bennett in The Austen Playbook - she jumps at the opportunity. It’s a one night production with various Jane Austen characters brought together at a country estate for a murder mystery. The production will be broadcast live and the TV viewing audience will get to vote at various points on what happens next in the production.

A choose-your-own-adventure Jane Austen murder mystery?? Count me in!! I would be watching and voting for sure!

However - from a cast perspective it’s definitely challenging because they all need to learn multiple versions of the show - and it will all happen live! Due to the intense rehearsal schedule, the cast is set up to stay at the country estate throughout the leadup to the production.

When they arrive for the start of rehearsals is the first time Freddy learns who owns the estate - it’s grouchy Griff. His family estate is in danger of going under and he grudgingly agrees to his brother’s plan to make some additional money.

There are a lot of interesting plot developments - but really where this book shines is in the interactions between Freddy and Griff. I am always here for a grouchy hero and witty banter - and both are played out so well here!

This was a 5 star read and I highly recommend to anyone who loves romance or romantic comedies! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Harlequin Books/Carina for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker is the latest story in her highly entertaining London Celebrities series, a set of romantic comedies featuring stars of screen and stage and the men and women involved in supporting the industry.

Freddy Carlton is no fan of theater critic James 'Griff' Ford-Griffin and the feeling is mutual. But Freddy's reasons for disliking Griff come partly from his disturbingly insightful analysis of her stage work and the realization that he's been able to capture a truth that no one else has – that she'd much rather spend her stage time on madcap musical follies that make people laugh than serious literary works. It's a particularly challenging time for Freddy with her famous playwright and actress grandmother's seminal work about to go into casting, a role for which her manager father expects her to audition, at the same time as a work she'd much rather be in is up for grabs.

But first, Freddy has to get through her current assignment which sounded too fun to pass up even if it would be extra challenging. The Austen Playbook is going to be a live action, audience directed type of 'choose your own Austen adventure' in which the actors, all playing Jane Austen characters, must memorize several variations of scenes to be played out depending on the viewers' choices. It's all going to take place in a theater built by Griff's grandfather (for Freddy's grandmother, during a tempestuous love affair) on Griff's family estate. The last thing Griff wants is a bunch of theater types roaming the property but his brother Charlie arranged it, and they need the money so he'll grin and bear it. Well, bear it anyway.

Though Freddy and Griff have only met once in person (a memorable event for Freddy having saved Griff from a flying bottle of alcohol even after overhearing him lambasting her acting skills), something about the setting and the shared family history strikes a chord and a surprising spark of attraction. Their preconceived notions of each other soon give way to a comfortable familiarity and a secret sexy affair. But when they get caught up in solving an old mystery, will the fallout ruin the good thing they've started?

This is a purely delightful read! Even the blurb made me laugh. Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes so I had high expectations for this story and it definitely delivered. Lucy Parker creates three dimensional characters with quirks and flaws and likable traits that make you feel invested in them and their search for an understanding partner and a happy ending.

The story has three main plot lines that start to merge as it progresses. There's the opposites attract romance between grumpy (for legitimate reasons) Griff and exuberant lighthearted Freddy. There's the reality show vibe of the cast of the Austen Playbook, with the actors and actresses involved having different motivations for being there besides the money. And then there's the mystery that starts to unfold soon after Freddy arrives at Griff's family estate, one that they both have a hand in uncovering. I'll admit that I didn't suspect where it was leading, so that came as a very interesting surprise when it was unveiled and one with some possibly serious consequences for Griff and Freddy's families.

And speaking of families, that's another focus of this story. Griff and his brother Charlie are also opposites (Charlie and Freddy get along from their first meeting, kindred spirits and all that) with Griff being the one everyone turns to when they're in trouble. Griff's parents' are also at the estate but they are more interesting in their artistic flights of fancy that suck up every available dollar than keeping their home afloat, leaving Griff to be the savior time and time again. Parent issues are familiar to Freddy, whose father has been her stage manager from an early age after the death of her mother, and when his own acting career was cut short. He pushes Freddy more and more into roles she doesn't want and she obliges, feeling like she owes him. It's Griff who makes her see that her misery is apparent to anyone really watching her on the stage (and he's definitely been watching) and that she needs to start taking charge of her own destiny if she wants to be happy.

Freddy takes Griff's advice, making choices that will put her on a collision course with her father and his plans. Her sister Sabrina is also a forceful presence, a woman who has felt the lack of attention from their father due to his interest in Freddy. A television host, she's involved in the live broadcast of the show (which is quite the production) and there is a good setup for what I hope will be her story coming soon. Freddy and Griff solve their mystery and get their happy ending in a wholly entertaining, laugh out loud, shed a few tears, romance. I'll be eagerly awaiting the next in this series!

This review has been posted at Harlequin Junkie and feedback updated with the link.

4,5 stars

“I received a free, advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review”

Lucy Parker is one of my favourite slow burn writers, just like the writer Mariana Zapata, she knows how to write intense, slow burn romance stories. I especially love her ‘London celebrities’ series very much. I just adore the fact that the stories take place in England and in the world of acting. So I was very looking forward to ‘The Austen playbook’.

Just like in the previous books, it took me a little time to get into the story but once I was in, I was totally IN! There were several things that I liked in this story. The fact that the story took place in an estate in the English country, that it was a live action TV event based on an Austen play. But what intrigued me most were the characters in this story. The main characters Freddy and Griff couldn’t have been more different from each other. Frederica ‘Freddy’ is this happy, energetic, friendly, ‘people pleaser’ woman and James ‘Griff’ is this English stiff, cold, criticize, ‘not good with people’ man. Where Freddy loves to hug people, Griff doesn’t like it at all! But even so, somewhere along the way Freddy and Griff open up to each other, they grow closer and somehow they click. They become each other strength and comfort and the chemistry between them is great too.

Griff’s younger brother Charlie is also a very likeable and entertaining character. It is wonderful to see how each character grows during the story, how they connect more with each other.
You get both POV’s in the story and there is an epilogue too. (I love those!)

‘The Austen playbook’ is a great story.

Actress Freddy Carlton has been cast in a live action televised production of The Austen Playbook. A theatrical mash-up consisting of Jane Austen characters and a who dunnit a la the game Clue. Think Emma murdered Mr. Darcy in the library with a candlestick. The live television audience gets to pick how the play will be “played” out. Excited to spend what she thought would be a quiet few weeks on a country estate turns into a stressful production and an investigation that turns very personal.

Lucy Parker once again strikes gold with The Austen Playbook. Freddy Carlton is all grown up from the young ingenue we’ve met in previous novels and when she matches wit’s with curmudgeonly J. Ford-Griffin, theater critic and owner of the country estate where the Austen Playbook will be televised, the pages alight with sassy dialog filled with wit, humor and sexual energy. Their back stories of her grandmother and his grandfather having a grand affair ties them together in a unique way, also adding tension to their investigation of their grandparents romance.

As with the other books in this series, Lucy Parker’s setting of a West End play is completely enjoyable and I loved how the country setting added a different spin to the first two novels in the series. Griff was a little reminiscent in temperament of both Luc Savage and Richard Troy from books one and two, but I’ll admit that I love a curmudgeon who finds love and found Griff just as charming. Freddy’s uplifting and adorable personality make it hard for him to resist and their fall into love is irresistible.

There is plenty of story to go along with the love in this novel. The cast of characters are full of hijinks and Freddy and Griff’s own family provide plenty of dysfunction for our lovebirds to unite together against. This series has quickly become one of my favorite’s and this author is now on my auto-buy list! If you haven’t had a chance to read them, they can each be read as a stand alone, but past characters do pop up here and there and it’s fun to know their back story when they do. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received a free copy of the ARC through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

Freddy Carlton is a West End (of London) Theatre actress, she comes from a long line of actors and writers, practically theatrical royalty. Her father is her manager and is pushing her into taking on ore serious roles, particularly in plays written by her paternal grandmother the famous Henrietta Carlton whereas Freddy loves, and excels at, the lighter shows - musicals, comedies - she likes to entertain people and make them happy.

Against her father's wishes Freddy has signed up to act in a live TV production of an interactive murder mystery based on the characters of Jane Austen, where viewers can determine the outcome of the story through voting on an app, called The Austen Playbook. The show is being rehearsed and televised from the stately home of one of theatre (and Freddy's) harshest critics, James Ford-Griffin, whose physical similarities to Slytherin's favourite son Malfoy Draco are made abundantly clear.

Let me start off by saying I love Lucy Parker's theatrical romantic comedies and this is no exception. I love Jane Austen, I love country house romantic comedies, I love romance between a sunny, bouncy, Pollyanna-esque heroine and a grumpy, acidic hero. I also loved the mystery which Freddy and James solve about the notorious affair between their respective grandparents. I suppose you could level the accusation that Lucy Parker's heroines are kind of similar but I don't care, I loved it, it was a feel good romp of the best kind.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Well-written, multifaceted, witty, and romantic ... This is everything I've come to expect from a Lucy Parker novel, and I wasn't disappointed with THE AUSTEN PLAYBOOK.

The London theater scene is intact even though this story takes place in the countryside of Surrey. I loved the setting and premise of it hosting a single live production of a choose-your-own-adventure Jane Austen murder mystery. There were lots of players and personalities involved, but it never felt like too many. In fact, I'd wished for a bigger presence of the supporting cast of characters throughout the story, along with more time in the theater itself.

Instead, the focus was on the romance and a mystery subplot that develops, both of which I enjoyed, so all was well. Freddy was a witty, lovable heroine, full of light and charm; and Griff ended up being a swoon-worthy romantic hero underneath his many layers of gruff exterior. The pairing worked, but I did feel the romance went from 0 to 60 rather quickly. (It look me a while to buy into the sudden change in Griff toward Freddy.)

I'm pretty sure I know the setup for the next book in the series (fingers and toes crossed it'll feature the characters I think!), and I already can't wait! This author writes loathing as well as she writes romance, and I am so here for it!

RATING: B+ (4½ stars)

The fourth book in Parker’s London Celebrities series, THE AUSTEN PLAYBOOK features Freddy, a theater ingenue trying to make her own name apart from her family’s storied West End history. When she’s cast in a play being staged at the estate of London’s most notorious theater critic, sparks and secrets fly.

This is one of my favorite romance series and I think THE AUSTEN PLAYBOOK blows the other books in the series out of the water. It’s a similar setup - young woman looking to be seen for who she is falls for grumpy older man - but everything is balanced just right. He isn’t too grumpy, she isn’t too flighty. They get to know each other! With conversations! The plot tension comes from outside forces rather than a will-they-won’t-they or a series of miscommunications.

And I desperately want to see this play! All of Austen’s characters thrown into a murder mystery and the audience votes on how the plot proceeds, choose your own adventure style? Sign me up!

The romance itself is practically a secondary plot in this book, but the story of family secrets everything is built on is good enough to stand on its own.

*******2.75 Stars Review*****

The Austen Playbook had all the elements I love in romance and throw in some Jane Austen and I'm usually sold. Unfortunately, I was never able to connect to the stories or the characters and I couldn't conjure up an emotion while reading this book.

While the characters on their own where interesting, together they never worked for me. I never bought a romance between Griff and Lucy. I neither felt nor saw any chemistry and their relationship happened in a matter of days. It was hard to buy into their eternal game-changing love after only two meetings.

I also felt like there was too much going on in the plot and made it to convoluted and took away from the central plot. All the subplots took away time from developing the main characters and the mystery surrounding them. The whole story stayed at surface level and offered no depth or real character growth or arc and everything was tied up with a neat little bow

******ARC was Provided by Publisher