Fresh from the Bookshelf: The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay {Book Review}

It's been a little while since I've shared a book review with you, so I thought a nice rainy day like today was a good day to do it! As usual, I have books coming and going all the time and some are worth mentioning and some are a hard pass. I read all types of books, and one area that I find lacking overall, are books with characters who have handicaps or mental illnesses. I was pleasantly surprised to discover such a book in The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay. Join me today as share my review of this book I received from the Thomas Nelson Fiction Guild.


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About the Book

The Austen Escape follows the life of Mary Davies, an engineer in a small firm who has hit a brick wall with her job thanks to an
intense and unreasonable boss. Enter an offer from an estranged childhood friend Isabel to go with her on a two-week stay in a gorgeous manor house in England where they get to live as Regency Ladies from the stories of Jane Austen. All expenses will be paid. Even though she knows it's not the best timing, she reluctantly agrees. But there is a major set-back and Isabel loses her memory and completely believes that she lives in Jane Austen's Bath. Now Mary is forced to keep an eye on the ill Isabel and discovers unexpected truths about their shared past and more about who the REAL Isabel is, and the man who stands between them.

My Thoughts on the Book

This book is unique in a couple ways:
#1 the lead character has a career usually held by men in books--and honestly in real life. When was the last time YOU read a story where the leading lady was a brilliant engineer and inventor?

#2 the book deals with mental illness and the challenges that come to all those around the person. It brings to light the various emotions of the loved ones attempting to help the person.

Not being extremely familiar with the effects mental illness has on a family, I really appreciated the authors' insight through the eyes of Mary. It was 100% believable. I would imagine that someone like the character Mary--a classic type A person who prefers order and structure--that mental illness would be exceptionally challenging to deal with, on top of issues with a job or love life.

Isabel was a unique character. She started out as someone I strongly disliked, but as I "got to know her" I was able to see that much of what I disliked about her was related to the challenges she was dealing with in her life.

I really liked the setting of "Regency" England and I think I would LOVE to visit that kind of resort myself. I'm a huge fan of Jane Austen. Because of this, I think I was able to more fully appreciate the details the author incorporated regarding the parts of the book that were in the resort and the references to the Austen novels. I also really enjoyed having the lead character being an extremely intelligent female who views the world through scientific reasoning--which doesn't always allow her to appreciate things like humor and wit. She's so very literal. LOL. I also liked that the lead man, Nathan, is intelligent in his own right--yet doesn't feel threatened by the mind of Mary, as some men are definitely portrayed.

4.5★ for this book

I encourage you to explore The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay. It's not your average Christian fiction. It has "meat" and makes you think. I look forward to checking out some of the other books by Katherine Reay which are all Austen themed. :)

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