Thank you to NetGalley and Carina Press for the digital ARC.

The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker is an incredibly enjoyable opposites-attract romance between bubbly West End actress Frederica "Freddy" Carlton and sarcastic theatre critic James “Griff” Ford-Griffin. Though Griff once once called Freddy's performance “duller than a pair of safety scissors," Freddy can't help being attracted to Griff, and while Griff initially finds Freddy's sunny disposition insufferable, he soon finds himself drawn to her positivity. Putting aside their differences and giving in to the sizzling chemistry, Freddy and Griff soon discover there's more to each other than meets the eye. However, they also discover a huge secret that impacts both of their families and threatens their romantic future together.

With hilarious banter, relatable characters and just the right amount of pop culture references, The Austen Playbook is hands down my favourite London Celebrities book. Lucy Parker perfectly balanced the love story with the mysterious family drama, adding lovely depth to this unputdownable contemporary romance and further cementing her status as an auto-buy author.

Eagerly waiting for the next book in the fabulous London Celebrities series by Lucy Parker.

What a delightful book! Like all of Lucy Parker's London Celebrities books, this was a fun, steamy romance with the added interest of being set during a live broadcast theatre production based on Jane Austen (so fun!). The relationship between the main characters was adorable and believable. I really enjoyed this one.

I loved this book. I loved this book so much that even though I normally divide my long reviews into "Things I Liked" and "Things I Didn't Like," this review is basically going to be one long gush-fest. You have been warned. As I told someone, my secret conspiracy theory is that this book was manufactured in an Aarya factory to give me all my favorite things. I'm also pretty sure that THE AUSTEN PLAYBOOK just dethroned PRETTY FACE as my favorite London Celebrities book.

TL;DR (since some people don't read long reviews and want a basic idea of the book):

- Quite possibly the best Meet-Disaster™ I've ever read. Move over, meet-cutes.

- A delightful play within a play (or in this case: a choose-your-own-adventure-Austen-retelling-TV-extravaganza within a crumbling British estate within a romance novel). Yes, I give you permission to exit the review and one-click the book.

- Slytherin/Hufflepuff matchup. The hero has pale blonde hair. Hello, Tom Felton.

- An ICY Grumpy Hero.

- A heroine who can be described as a contagious joy fairy. I'm a cynical witch, and Freddy was able to infect joy even in me.

- Less-Murder-More-Mystery Contemporary House Party™. The trope I never knew existed but is all I want now.

- Incredibly witty and memorable prose

- Scandalous family secrets coming to light. There's more family drama than a soap opera like Knightsbridge (eagle-eyed London Celebrities fans will notice the reference).

Um. This turned out to be less "TL;DR" than I thought. I'll begin my gushing from now on (warning for mild spoilers, but I don't really reveal anything beyond the premise/blurb). I'm terrible at review organization, so I'm just going to take each of the above TL;DR points and write about it. Sorry for the lack of structure!

- Quite possibly the best Meet-Disaster™ I've ever read.

Honestly, I don't know why rom-coms are obsessed with meet-cutes. Meet-Disasters™ (not sure if I coined this term, but nothing came up when I googled it) are so much more fun and have potential for witty banter. And in my opinion, all the best romantic stories have them: Pride and Prejudice, When Harry Met Sally, and so on.

This Meet-Disaster™ worked effectively in two ways: 1) it was a delightful homage to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and 2) it reminded me of why the HEA Rule in Romance is freaking awesome.

Some background before I confuse you:

Frederica Carlton is a veteran West End performer. Her family has been involved in West End for the past 400 years, and her grandmother Henrietta Carlton is a famous playwright and actress. Henrietta Carlton wrote The Velvet Room, one of the most (fictional) important British dramas in the last century. As you might guess, Freddy has large shoes to fill. In her teen years, she primarily performed in comedies and musicals, but has recently been pursuing more serious dramas at the command of her dictatorial manager-slash-father encouragement of her father. Unfortunately, she's been miserable with her professional career lately and it shows. Freddy is a Contagious Joy Fairy™ and she'd much rather be waltzing into puddles in Singin' in the Rain than delivering monologues about the misery of the human condition. As someone who refuses to watch miserable Oscar-bait movies and watches movie musicals at least once a week, I'm much inclined to see things from her point-of-view.

“I like rom-coms, and physical comedy, and all of these so-called frivolous scripts. Giving people a good time, making them happy, letting them escape for a while—that’s what I think is worthwhile.”

James Ford-Griffin is a scathing theater critic for The Westminster Post, has a doctorate (I think he's a historian?), and is working on his own Henrietta biopic. Fun fact: Both Griff and Freddy's respective grandparents (Sir George Ford and Henrietta Carlton) engaged in an extramarital affair with each other decades ago. The affair ended mysteriously after two years, and Henrietta was inspired by her Famed Romance to write The Velvet Room. Sir George actually built a theater called The Henry in his country estate Highbrook. Griff and Freddy have never officially met, but they know of each other: Griff from Freddy's West End performances, Freddy from Griff's unflattering and negative reviews of her performances. Yep. It's exactly as wonderful as it sounds.

Anyway, back to the Meet-Disaster™: I said that 1) it was a delightful homage to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and 2) it reminded me of why the HEA Rule in Romance is freaking awesome.

I'm not actually the biggest fan of Austen retellings for a variety of reasons, but I LOVE Austen-inspired allusions and homages in books like Austenland by Shannon Hale. This qualifies as a Meet-Disaster™ because Freddy is moping about her bad opening performance in a pub with her sister and friend. Suddenly, she overhears someone in the next booth discussing her performance that night.

“She’s an overexposed, chronically confused crowd-pleaser, who’s built a career riding on her family’s coattails. A twirl through her grandmother’s work was inevitable, and unfortunately this is probably a practice run.”

If this doesn't give Darcy's "She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me" a run for its money in "I'm going to criticize my future love but I don't know she's eavesdropping," than I don't know what does.

Obviously, this is very exciting for the reader because it promises hilarity and conflict. But I love it for another reason: this book is a great example of how “the HEA is restrictive and makes romance novels predictable” argument is utter bullshit. Guess what? I’m shocked and excited for the book. Because how on earth is the hero going to recover from this? I’m on chapter one. I know this book will end in a HEA. And I’m now utterly delighted and nervous about this book - I don’t know how they’re going to reach that HEA and I can’t wait to find out. The stakes are high and I’m literally quivering in anticipation. There’s nothing predictable or restrictive here. And if the author does a good job, then I’ll be completely convinced in their love for each other by the end of the book (and I am). Which is a near-miracle considering the Meet-Disaster™ and how badly Griff puts his foot in his mouth.

- A delightful play within a play (or in this case: a choose-your-own-adventure-Austen-retelling-TV-extravaganza within a crumbling British estate within a romance novel).

The less I say about this, the better because you can discover how delightful this is. It takes place in Griff's crumbling estate (his brother created this far-fetched scheme to bring in some money so that they don't lose the estate). Just picture lots of drama (both on and off the screen), a script rivaling the likes of War and Peace, and interesting (read: bitchy and egotistical) costars. For fans of other London Celebrity books, you'll see familiar faces.

For now, I'll leave you with this delightful description:

“Digital mash-up of characters from different Jane Austen books, transplanted into a murder-mystery, house-party scenario. Outcome guided by the choices of the player.”

Listen, TV networks? I don't want a live-action musical of Hair or The Music Man or whatever. I want this. Get your writers and producers on this ASAP, and I guarantee you'll make a mint.

- Slytherin/Hufflepuff matchup.

So this is not something that I just made up. There are continuous references (mostly by Freddy) to the fact that Griff is a Slytherin and Freddy is a Hufflepuff.

“Short-haired Lucius Malfoy. Tall. Sarcastic. Ice-blond hair. Ice in general.”

I have a secret theory that some Harry Potter matchups are better than others. OF COURSE they're all good to some level, but I have a special love for Slytherin/Hufflepuff, Gryffindor/Slytherin, and Slytherin/Ravenclaw.

I think Slytherin/Hufflepuff works particularly well because the Slytherin is continuously bemused and disconcerted by the Hufflepuff. Their usual icy veneer of cynicism just bounces off a wall of warmth and affection. They can't believe that someone so good could ever love their guarded and glacial heart.

“You’re such a...fundamentally positive person,” he said, as if he were accusing her of a mortal sin.

And when they do realize it (it takes them a while but the fall is so worth it), they'll move heaven and earth to protect their Hufflepuff. Occasionally, Slytherins are a bit idiotic when underestimating their Hufflepuffs, but I usually give them a pass because they have such a large capacity for protective love.

I think giving Freddy Hufflepuff qualities is a stroke of genius. With the Meet-Disaster™ setup, you might assume that the text is going toward the Enemies-to-Lovers trope. Nope. This is not Elizabeth and Darcy. It works so well because Freddy just laughs it off and is basically like: "It's his [Griff's] job to write scathing reviews and they're true and funny. I'm not personally offended by his comments on my acting - that's his job, and he is right!"

This is just so refreshing. I love Enemies-to-Lovers, but it's a bit exhausting to read because the couple snipe at each other so much that you're left wondering if their HEA is real. Here, Freddy is so easy-going and affectionate that Griff never stands a chance. There's never any antagonism, just Freddy tweaking at Griff's nose. It's just plain fun for the reader: their personalities provide hilarious fodder for witty banter.

There's also a level of irony present. Griff is a Slytherin in a family of Hufflepuffs (his family's a piece of work; his parents recklessly and dreamily waste away money on creative endeavors while Griff mortgages his home to save the estate). Freddy is a Hufflepuff in a family of Slytherins (interestingly enough, while both her sister Sabrina and her father have very different personalities, I'd classify both as Slytherin). At one point, Griff morosely thinks that his brother Charlie would be a much fit for Freddy. It's a natural assumption and I completely disagree with him. Freddy and Griff balance and complement each other on every level.

I'll leave you with this delightful quote:

“As [redacted] would say, we’ll have to get our Slytherin on.”

🐍🐍🐍🐍

- An ICY Grumpy Hero. and A heroine who can be described as a contagious joy fairy.

I'm about to spit some science here. This is a variation on the Grumpy Hero. Think of it scientifically: if Grumpy Hero is the genus, then ICY Grumpy Hero is the species.

I've never taken any biology beyond high school so don't criticize my potentially inaccurate analogies! But you get my gist. Basically, if you love grumpy heroes, then this variation is EVEN BETTER. Unfortunately for Griff (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), the most determined of Contagious Joy Fairies have the power to melt ice. The ice doesn't entirely disappear, but Griff is helpless when loving Freddy. And who wouldn't be, when she's so determined to look for and appreciate the best things in life?

“Parts of life are shit enough. I look for the light where I can find it.”

- Less-Murder-More-Mystery Contemporary House Party™

I don't know how most people feel about murder mysteries and house parties, but they're literally my favorite things to read about in a romance. I've specifically asked for this combination (a romantic mystery in a house party) many times. It usually contains a house full of guests, various suspects, and a strong romantic element. One of my favorite historicals is A RAKE'S VOW by Stephanie Laurens because of this very trope. I think this works so well because it's a real-life version of the board game Clue.

A house full of guests? Check. Everyone has a very clearly defined but nuanced personality, including out-for-evil actress Sadie Foster (playing Emma Knightley), sweet and shy Maya Dutta (playing Elizabeth Darcy), sex-obsessed Dylan Waitely (playing Mr. Darcy), all-around-prat-and-Sabrina's-weakness Joe Ferren (playing Mr. Knightley), affable and loyal Charlie Ford-Griffin, the artistic and flighty Ford-Griffin parents who create wildly expensive doll house miniatures, and more. I was continuously delighted by everyone and their (often disastrous) interactions. And what I described for each character isn't the entirety of their personality. Everyone continuously surprised me with hidden depths throughout the novel (I'm looking at you, Dylan Waitely). I love it when minor characters aren't one-note.

Various suspects? Kind of. There's no active crime, but a lot of sleuthing into historical sources. I will say that even with the lack of an ongoing mystery, there is so much drama and shocking secrets within the estate that it *feels* like everyone is a suspect for an unknown secret/"crime." No one can be trusted!

Strong romantic element. Check, check, check.

This book isn't exactly a murder mystery house party, which is why I've classified it as Less-Murder-More-Mystery Contemporary House Party™. I'm very good at coming up with names for obscure tropes!

- Incredibly witty and memorable prose

I'm not a writer and can't even begin to understand the mechanics of writing. As a reader, all I can do is say "this prose worked for me" and "this prose didn't." It varies from reader to reader. Sometimes it feels stilted and forced, sometimes it feels like I'm standing next to the characters and watching them with my own eyes.

Lucy Parker is perhaps the most talented comedic/romantic prose writer I've ever read. This is not hyperbole. I usually highlight memorable lines as I read. I had to stop doing this 10% in because I was highlighting everything. When people say that writing style seems "effortless," it's a disingenuous statement because nothing about writing is effortless. Every line is carefully constructed and woven together to create the most impactful effect for the reader. It feels seamless, but only because the author has poured months of time/energy to make it feel that way.

I normally can read a 100k book in three hours. This took about eight hours, mostly because I'd often reread a page as soon as I read it. Every pause, break in dialogue, change in POV, and inner monologue is carefully constructed to deliver the highest level of emotion to the reader. Sometimes it's humor, sometimes it's anticipation, and sometimes it's a sense of foreboding. I'm not describing it very well, mostly because I don't know enough about writing mechanics to explain it. A book can convey emotions outside of the plot: the writing style (semantics and syntax) is an additional tool to wield that emotion and make the reader feel.

Since I'm having trouble describing it, I'm going to provide a few examples so that you understand:

“His tone conjured images of empty chocolate boxes, and the aftermath of a party, and missing the bus by thirty seconds, and all of life’s fleeting moments of gloom.”

“She could almost see him saying it, with the same expression he wore when discussing Elizabethan tragedy. The man looked like an assassin in a war film, and would be temperamentally suited to the part. He probably even orgasmed with a frosty stare off into the middle distance.”

“His eyes were dreamy as his mind wandered off into that rosy future, where the estate wasn’t a crumbling, fund-draining millstone around their necks, and pigs flew over the heads of frolicking unicorns.”


It's not often that I can specifically single out the prose as a reason for my love (I normally focus on characterization and plots), but the wonderful prose is at least 50% of the reason of why I love this book. Freddy and Griff are 70% and the mystery plot is like 25%. Hey, I never said it had to add up to a 100! :P

- Scandalous family secrets coming to light.

This is not a spoiler as it's in the blurb. I'm not going to comment on this because I think the mystery element should remain a secret, but it is SO WELL DONE. I'm generally very good at predicting mysteries, and even I only predicted about 60% of the final reveal. I think a good mystery element is difficult to write because a) you want to leave enough crumbs so that the reader is excited to speculate and pay close attention to the text for clues, and b) the reveal also can't be too predictable even with foreshadowing; otherwise, the reveal will feel anti-climatic and boring. This book struck the correct balance between both goals. I actually wrote down my various hyperbolic theories whenever my sixth sense tingled. I did get the gist of the final reveal correct, but the foreshadowing built up my anticipation and there were many surprises even at the end of the novel.

In summary: THE AUSTEN PLAYBOOK expertly weaves the romantic and mystery elements together. I never properly described the secondary characters, but some things are best discovered while reading the novel. Be prepared to fall in love with Charlie (Griff's younger and affable brother) and ship Sabrina/Nick (Sabrina is Freddy's older sister and Nick is her rival TV presenter). I think the next book is about Sabrina and Nick. I am READY for a good Enemies-to-Lovers, especially when so much of their enmity/backstory is established in this book.

Buy this book, y'all. It was definitely worth the wait for a Lucy Parker fan, and an excellent standalone and entry point into Lucy Parker's work. I loved it all. I loved the protagonists; I loved the secondary characters; I loved hints of the relationships that'll be in future books; I loved the prose; I loved... well, I'm sure you're bored now but you've got the gist.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review and will cross-post this review on Amazon on release day.

Sometimes I pity Jane Austen and sometimes I think she’s got it all…a few hundred years too late. Think of the number of works of hers that so many have twisted, manipulated, adapted, lovingly massaged and downright massacred through the years and the poor gal should be turning in her grave, or exulting in her posthumous fame.

With a title like ‘The Austen Playbook’, you suspect you know what you’re in for.

Rife with Austen, classic-lit and pop-culture references (not to have Austen meta would have been a sin), I was tickled from the start with the parallel of Darcy’s dissing of Elizabeth as belly-gutting arts critic James Ford-Griffin unknowingly cut Freddy Carlton open in a noisy pub with his analysis of her acting—but that’s barely a hint of where the story will lead.

But the love-hate, actor-critic relationship gets a revamp when they are unwittingly reunited on Griff’s estate along with bitchy reality-tv-series-type drama, a rather mad discovery big-time plagiarism (the sins of the fathers) and unexpected lust/lust coming into play.

Parker’s writing is undoubtedly unique: assured, wry, quirky and with banter that is lofty, sneaky and full of high-brow snark. But admittedly sometimes hard to get through when all you want is straightforward talk minus the distracting character movements, turnarounds and exaggerated descriptions. For this reason, Griff and Freddy, like all of Parker’s characters, are eloquent, always know what to say and sometimes say the unexpected.

I loved the starting quarter, but my attention dipped when talk went deep into secondary characters, the protagonists’ relatives (don’t get me started on the convoluted history) then perked again Parker introduces the attraction between Griff and Freddy with hallowed tenderness.

There were some surprises by the end of it—veering sometimes into the unbelievable—but it was all fodder for entertainment, more so because Parker has made this book about acting, writing and celebrity gossip after all. Ultimately, there were parts of the story I liked and some not too much, but if you’re in because you like a particular writing style like Parker’s, then ’The Austen Playbook’ should do it for you.

The fourth in the London Celebrities series by Lucy Parker is another winner for me. I love those really British romances. They have this no-nonsense, down-to-earth feeling to them. Plus I love the British-English. Kissing is snogging and such and I can see the whole story like a movie in my head!

Freddy is a young actress in the West End, struggling with her father's high demands for her career. Coming from a family of actors and having a grandmother who wrote an amazing play Freddy feels obligated to travel the road her father/manager stipulates, but her heart is not really into it. She then gets the opportunity to do a play that will be televised and where the outcome will be up to a voting audience, The Austen Playbook.

Griff also has his family troubles. He inherited the estate from his grandfather but keeping his parents and brother from overspending and trying to get enough funding for his documentary on Henrietta Carlton (Freddy's grandmother) sometimes gets too much. When his brother arranges for The Austen Playbook to be rehearsed and performed on the estate, at the old theatre their grandfather once build for Henrietta, he is not really happy.

As a harsh theatre critic he has offended many an actor, including Freddy. But when they meet at the estate and bump into each other at several occasions, something sparks between them.

Quote (Freddy to Griff) : 'The Sarcastic critic with his poison pen and scores of embittered enemies. If this was Midsomer Murders, you wouldn't even make it to the opening credits. If you hear the faint strains of ominous music, come find me. I'll protect you.'

Great book. I loved the whole scenery of the play at the estate, the interactions of the characters, the romance between Freddy and Griff. I could have done without the vile actress who seemed to blackmail everyone around her. The last chapters seemed to culminate in a bit too much drama. It could have been toned down a bit with the same result. But overall: I loved the book and will surely pick it up again for a re-read in the near future.

What another enjoyable read by this talented author. I loved how many of my favorite tropes this book contained. Grumpy hero, country house party, literary mystery and family angst. I really hope Lucy writes a book about Sabrina and Nick.

Another phenomenal addition to Parker's London Celebrities series, THE AUSTEN PLAYBOOK is so unputdownable I was up half the night I downloaded my copy. Our heroine is fan favorite Freddy Carlton (who readers may remember from Parker's PRETTY FACE), a young and experience stage actress who's soldiering through dramatic parts on behalf of the family legacy when her heart longs for lighter fare. Our hero is notoriously Slytherin theater critic James "Griff" Ford-Griffin, who's struggling to advance his creative projects in hopes of keeping the ancestral estate from foreclosure. Throw in an intense fan-voted stage play of Austen's most well-known characters in a country house who-dunnit, a gloriously fleshed out ensemble cast of characters (both in the play and in the novel in general), and a gorgeous not-quite-enemies to lovers explosion of chemistry and you've got THE AUSTEN PLAYBOOK. And absolute must-read for Parker fans, and a great entry-point for new readers to her work.

This book! First of all, I love all the literary and pop culture references, and not just to Jane Austen. Freddy repeatedly refers to Griff as a Slytherin (which I love, being someone who likes to assign characters to houses in the books I'm reading), and at one point teases him and his platinum blonde hair by calling him Norma Jean (Marilyn Monroe's real name) and Malfoy (another Harry Potter reference).

Also, points for male body positivity:
"She couldn't stop touching him. His torso was long and his body was mostly stretches of taut muscle, but not in a super pumped-up gym way. Parts of him were softer, and areas of skin roughed into scars and the odd stretch mark, and he was real and here and him."

And just general hilarity:
"If she were a man, she'd soon be in danger of waving a giant flag that she was really, really enjoying the backrub. One of the many perks of being a woman. Willies were fun to play with, but occasionally they just seemed inconvenient. And kind of odd-looking."

I adore Freddy. As a fellow Hufflepuff, I am on board with her cheerful, sunny, musicals and fantasy novel loving self. And while sometimes I wanted to punch Griff, I also wanted to hug him even more sometimes. His snark is really witty, and while it can be terribly cutting it's also very candid and honest as well. Griff is very much a Darcy-type, so if you're into your Darcy Slytherin heroes, this is for sure the book for you! Also, this book is just further proof that Slytherins and Hufflepuffs are the OTP of legend. They're also so very *real* together (exhibit A: the shower sex scene that actually reads like what two people trying to have sex in the shower looks like, instead of every other romance novel where I find myself going 'NUH UH, THEY WOULD DROWN.') and have realistic squabbles and troubles - despite their very extraordinary circumstances of being an actress in the world's wackiest choose-your-own-adventure style play and an historian/art ciritic with a zany family trying to save his crumbling down manor home. You would think they wouldn't be very relatable, but they *are* and it's wonderful and gorgeous.

The Austen Playbook is the 4th book in the London Celebrities series, and can be read as a stand-alone with no spoilers for the earlier books. I think Leo from book 3 (Making Up) is the only character from earlier in the series that makes an appearance in this book, and it's a super minor cameo.

Lucy Parker does it again! Look my favorite of hers is Pretty Face and let me tell you that The Austen Playbook is right there, alongside with it. It's THAT good and I believe many people will fall in love with the setting, the characters and the romance. Lucy Parker knows how to enchant us with her love stories and the stories behind these characters. Hurray Lucy! Cannot wait to read more from this series and continue to support this author.