BESPELLING JANE AUSTEN

Author: Mary Balogh, Colleen Gleason, Susan Krinard, Janet Mullany ISBN: 9780373775019 10/2010 ANTHOLOGY Publisher: HARLEQUIN

But even if the whole world was against them, it would not matter. They were together—again. And this time they would remain together. Until death do them part and, of course, long after that. What if Austen had believed in reincarnation and vampires? Join four bestselling romance authors as they channel the wit and wisdom of Jane Austen. ALMOST PERSUADED In this Regency tale of Robert and Jane, New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh brings together former lovers who have seen beyond the veil of forgetfulness to their past mistakes, and are determined to be together in this life, and forever. NORTHANGER CASTLE Caroline's obsession with Gothic novels winds up being good training for a lifetime of destroying the undead with her newfound beau, in this Regency by Colleen Gleason. BLOOD AND PREJUDICE Set in the business world of contemporary New York City, Liz Bennett joins Mr. Darcy in his hunt for a vampire cure in New York Times bestselling author Susan Krinard's version of the classic story. LITTLE TO HEX HER Present-day Washington, D.C., is full of curious creatures in Janet Mullany's story, wherein Emma is a witch with a wizard boyfriend and a paranormal dating service to run.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

In a lot of ways, this collection is far more clever than many Jane Austen rewrites I've read.  The authors manage to keep the original story's vibe, while also condensing them and inserting a bit of the paranormal.  I'll cover each story separately (since there's only 4) and then give a larger, overall impression at the end.

"Almost Persuaded" by Mary Balogh (based on PERSUASION): Truth be told, I'm not a fan of PERSUASION; it's one of the few Austens I haven't been able to read all the way through, in fact.  Balogh, however, is always a treat to read, and her short fiction still ranks as some of my favorite Regency stories to date.  One of the two historical stories, "Almost Persuaded" tells of a young man searching for his reincarnated love and a young woman frightened of the life she remembers that wasn't her own.  I liked that both faced the realities of their situation and didn't discount the hardships they would face.  The ending is a little too 'pat', but otherwise, this was a very enjoyable story.

"Northanger Castle" by Colleen Gleason (based on NORTHANGER ABBEY): Based on one of my favorite stories of all time, I was ready to enjoy this solely for that reason.  However, Gleason, who ties this in with her Gardella Chronicles series loosely, captured the feel of NORTHANGER ABBEY and of Catherine almost perfectly.  The gothic feel of the story and Caroline's largely false assumptions made for great sport, while Gleason gives a very persuasive argument as to why Caroline's one suitor is so...unsuitable.

"Blood and Prejudice" by Susan Krinard (based on PRIDE AND PREJUDICE): Set in contemporary times, while I enjoyed this story, I didn't necessarily enjoy the fact it so closely stayed with the plot of the original novel.  The narrative felt less likely a cohesive plot and more like well-known moments of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE being thrust together without filler.  It shined the best when it went off script—such as the vampire club run by Lady Catherine de Bourgh, or the confrontation Lady Catherine has at the end. 

"Little to Hex Her" by Janet Mullany (based on EMMA): Mullany's story suffers from the fact I really, truly, detest EMMA the novel.  It's not even a matter of being bored; I truly dislike it, and Mullany's adherence to certain elements while giving others her usual wit and verve treatment felt disjointed to me.  The story would grab me for a little while, but lose me when Mullany would bring in the plot points from EMMA.  This is also one of the more 'heated' stories of the set (which was Mullany's intention since she found Knightly to be a right bore otherwise), which I think may have been a mistake.  By the end of the story, I wasn't quite certain what had happened, or to who, or how it was solved.

Overall, I enjoyed three of the four stories in here and truly loved one story in particular.  This was a clever collection, however, and seeing the paranormal elements interacting with familiar plot elements made me smile and say "Why, that makes so much more sense now!"

Alexandra Cenni