When Charlotte Kinder treats herself to a vacation at Austenland, she happily leaves behind her ex-husband and his new wife, her children, and the rest of her recently upended life in America. It’s been a long time since Charlotte has felt hopeful, let alone loved. Maybe doing something as outrageous as donning a bonnet and staying at an English manor house can help re-start her damaged heart.

Yet once the parlor games begin at Pembrook Park, Charlotte finds herself more uncertain than ever. Can she trust the feelings she has for a certain actor, or is his roleplaying that quality? Is the world-famous starlet concealing more than her real name? Has the respite of the country given her too much time to question her life choices? And when Charlotte suspects murder among them, she can’t help but wonder how much of their true selves everyone may be hiding. . .

Although Charlotte states P&P is her favorite novel on her Pembrook Park application, she is getting the Northanger Abbey experience. Hale’s sophmore novel in the series was delightful as she melds the personal journey of Charlotte wreastling with her anxiety and self-doubt with the locked-door murder mystery.

It has shades of Turn of the Screw as Charlotte is constantly questioning whether her feelings of fear are real or influenced by the playful gothic mystery of Mary Francis and the nuns. Was the dead body real or did she imagine it? How can she find clues if she didn’t even realize her husband had been cheating on her for months?

While the mystery can feel a bit melodramatic, I was willing to suspend my disbelief because like the rest of Austenland, it’s so fun you want to throw yourself into the fantasy.

Besides, the mystery was integral to the character study of Charlotte and the underlying fear she had for most of her life. The interspersed Before vingiettes show some of the root causes that led to her loss of self until she was nothing but a nice girl. However, “nice” is different than “kind” and Charlotte’s epiphany of her fear subconsciously affecting her parenting more than divorce were grat character growth moments. Plus we get some real world relatabilty how women tend to misjudge their danger instinct and are more likely to be dismissed by others when they do speak up about it.

The other guests/actors at Austenland were fun and I definitely enjoyed Charlotte’s small moments with her “brother,” Eddie and how it informed a relationship much more solid and confident than what she had with her ex. Miss Charming was back and got a little backstory resolution of her own and I enjoyed the psuedo-mom friend act Charlotte shared to teen pop star, Lydia Gardenside/Alisha.

In comparison to the original Midnight in Austenland, the deluxe offered more character introspective and depth to Charlotte’s past, making her relate more to the fictional Mary Francis, and offering more connection between Eddie and Charlotte’s parental insecurity. Plus a steamy encounter between Eddie and Charlotte was added at the end that fans will shiver with delight. So again, the new duluxe edition wins out over the original.

4 stars