"Emma and the Vampires"
by Jane Austen and Wayne Josephson
Source: ARC provided for review by Sourcebooks
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
My Review:
Take Jane Austen's original novel, "Emma", and make all the leading men vampires while Emma and her female companions must decide which vampires and good and which are worth marrying. Emma and Harriett even get to put a few stakes through some undead hearts!
This was my first mash-up novel, Jane Austen or otherwise. I was a little disappointed in this one just because it wasn't what I was expecting. I didn't feel like enough was changed from the original "Emma". Yes, the men were vampires, but the story followed the exact same plot with all of the exact same scenes, only with a few vampires attacking after dinner parties, etc.
However, I read the author's note at the end of the book, and Josephson said that one of his main motives was to make the original "Emma" more accessible to modern readers, especially teens. I appreciate his intentions, and I can see why he wanted to stay so close to the original. I do think he achieved this goal, because if you had never read Emma before, you really would have a great understanding of the original after reading this book. I personally just wanted to see more of story 'inspired by' the original, instead of a re-write.
Mr. Robert Martin is my favorite character in the original "Emma" and I loved the author made lots of mention of the gentle farmer here. Robert Martin, the vampire, even throws a cow over his fence in his frustration over Harriet's marriage refusal! That alone was worth reading the book, in my opinion!!
Main Characters: 4/5
Supporting Characters: 4/5 (sigh, Mr. Martin...)
Setting: 4/5
Romance: 3/5
Uniqueness: 3/5
Cover: 5/5 (love it!)
Writing: 4/5
Bottom Line: Having read the original novel, this book seemed too much of a rehash with not enough new elements. However, since the original is much unchanged here, maybe new readers unwilling to try the Austen classic would get a chance to read the story here.
GIVEAWAY RULES:
Liz at Sourcebooks has generously provided a finished paperback of this book for readers of my blog!
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