This book is toted as being for fans of I Capture the Castle and Pride & Prejudice. Since I like both of those books, I decided to pick up Keeping the Castle. It sounded cute. And it was quite cute. Even silly at times. So definitely not a book that takes itself seriously, which is fun to read every once in a while.
Seventeen-year-old Althea is the sole support of her entire family, and she must marry well. But there are few wealthy suitors–or suitors of any kind–in their small Yorkshire town of Lesser Hoo. Then, the young and attractive (and very rich) Lord Boring arrives, and Althea sets her plans in motion. There’s only one problem; his friend and business manager Mr. Fredericks keeps getting in the way. And, as it turns out, Fredericks has his own set of plans . . . This witty take on the classic Regency–Patrice Kindl’s first novel in a decade–is like literary champagne!
Honestly, I guess I could see the Pride & Prejudice similarities, but as for Althea herself, I saw her more as Emma. She definitely wasn’t an Elizabeth Bennett. Like Emma, there are times she’s quite insightful and times she’s just an absolute mess at reading people.
I liked Fredericks, too. He was very blunt and kind of a mess himself, like a walking catastrophe. Pretty much the kind of guy I would go for because he’d be just different enough to intrigue me and interesting enough to keep me amused while everyone else was uptight and stuffy.
Overall, it was a cute book and a short read. I pretty much finished it in one sitting. I wish there was more historical regency books in the YA genre since I enjoy them so much in the romance “adult” genre. I’d say if you like Emma, you’ll like this book.