The Austen Playbook

By: Lucy Parker

Narrated by: Billie Fulford-Brown

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

“Grade: A, for Absolutely Delightful and Adorable and Also I read it twice in a row.” —Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

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.

London Celebrities
Book 1: Act Like It
Book 2: Pretty Face
Book 3: Making Up
Book 4: The Austen Playbook
Book 5: Headliners

The Series Just Keeps Getting Better!

I've become such a fan of Lucy Parker! The London theatre series just keeps getting better.

We met Freddy earlier in the series -- I'm very happy she got her own book.

She is cast in a live TV program based on Austen characters and storylines that allows viewers to choose what happens as the story progresses. It is set at a theater built to honor her grandmother (by her married lover) at the historic home of theatre critic, James Ford-Griffin. 'Grif' has given some tough reviews of Freddy's previous work but nothing that wasn't true, because Freddy is trying to make her father happy by acting in 'serious' dramas rather than the musicals and comedies she'd prefer.

Grif and Freddy are drawn together quickly and surprise each other with the depth of their feelings. And all around them is chaos: family dramas, drama with the fellow actors, and an old cover-up that they discover along the way.

I loved the cover - so charming. And the narration was terrific!

Gets Better with Each Listen

I greatly enjoyed this book on first listen, but it’s continued to grow on me with subsequent listens. I find Freddy refreshing as a main character. Parker allows her to take risks with her heart so that her honesty propels her relationship with Griff, instead of relying on the tiresome trope of miscommunications that could have been avoided with more emotionally mature main characters. The influence Freddy had on Griff’s relationship with Charlie was endearing and encouraging, showing a realistic reflection of how a strong relationship can make us better people in our relationships with others. Just as I loved reading Freddy’s story as follow on from the superb Pretty Face, I would love a follow up book where Charlie was sunshine to a the heroine’s grumpiness. Both Freddy and Griff developed and grew as people, and their chemistry was compelling and romantic. I liked The Velvet Room subplot and how it heightened the stakes for both main characters’ families. Unlike other reviewers, I wasn’t interested in learning more about characters like Sadie who served as antagonist plot devices - there was already enough happening with secondary characters to not be distracted with the backstory of tertiary characters. Griff’s protectiveness, concern, and affectionate patience with Freddy, a strong woman who doesn’t need looking out for but who can soar to new heights with that steadfast and loving support, reminds me of my sweetly gruff hero of a husband. Parker has a knack for capturing quick chemistry and emotional attachment in a way that makes me appreciate my own love-at-first sight love story and ten years of marriage. This is a beautiful story that catches my heart on every read.