I usually never stay up all night with a book but once I got back into reading this one I just had to finish it. Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson is just perfect. It has it all. Its witty, intelligent, romantic and extremely funny. Marianne is such and easy character to love and to root for. She is trying to make it in a world that confines her to certain societal standards. She wants to have the carefree and independent life that she had as a child on the family farm; especially since she is now removed from that happy life and sent to Bath to live with her grandmother. Of course, her grandmother wants to tame Marianne's ways; she wants her to catch a good husband and the best way to do that is through being a little more "lady like". So off to Edenbrooke she goes to visit with a friend of her mothers; Lady Caroline and her son Phillip. Of course; the trip to Edenbrooke is not smooth and they are robbed along the way. It is at the end they are laid over in after the robbery that Marianne first meets Phillip. She finds him to be a boorish, inconsiderate young flirt. She wants nothing to do with him. But, wouldn't you know it that she ends up falling in love with him by no fault of her own. Phillip reminds me a lot of Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice (by Jane Austen); he is good look, a man of good wealth and he has this "air" about him that makes you want to kiss him and strangle him at the same time. As the book progressed I fell head over heels with Phillip and I could not understand why Marianne does not take the bate right away; she was so convinced that her sister Cecily (who was also on her way to Edenbrooke from London) would be able to steal his heart. Mainly because Cecily is just everything that Marianne is not. However, Phillip is not interested in a woman that wants him for his wealth. So he does all he can to not draw attention to his fortune. He spends time with Marianne, taking her riding, watching her draw/paint and talking about books. He shows her a side of him that he only shares with his family; he begins to gain back the happiness he has lost since the death of his father and brother. The book could not have come together more perfectly. The two get together beautifully and with a bit of confusion. Marianne is unsure of the way Phillip feels and he does all that he can to prove his love. Honestly what I loved most about the book was that it was indeed a "proper" romance. There is no sex; no real need to talk about it either. I got everything that I loved about Jane Austen books in this book little book about a dreamy country estate in Kent. I see this book being on my to recommend list for a very long time.
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