Lost in Austen by Emma Campbell Webster

Your name: Elizabeth Bennet. Your mission: to marry both prudently and for love, avoiding family scandal. Equipped with only your sharp wit, natural good sense, and tolerable beauty, you must navigate your way through a variety of decisions that will determine your own romantic (and financial) fate. Ever wonder what would happen if Elizabeth accepted Mr. Darcy's proposal the first time around? Or ran from his arms into those of Persuasion's Captain Wentworth? Now is your chance to find out.

Lost in Austen is a labyrinth of love and lies, scandals and scoundrels, misfortunes and marriages that will ever delight and challenge any Austen lover. Will Elizabeth succeed in her mission? It's all up to you.

I think Pride and Prejudice is one of my all-time favorite books. Ever. I love the movie versions (except the Kiera Knightly one--yuck), and I just love being swept into that world. I always joke with my family that I was born in the wrong time period-- I really think I'd be more comfortable in a scene out of an Austen novel than in real life. Anyway, a few months ago I discovered, through the wonders of Netflix, a little movie called Lost in Austen. I laughed and cried, I cried from laughing, I laughed BECAUSE I was crying-- I loved it. Not like I love the Colin Firth version, but I thought it was a fun little twist.

To make a long story short, when I stumbled upon this book, I couldn't wait to get reading. I grew up reading the "choose-your-own-adventure" books, so a JANE AUSTEN theme was right up my alley. This is the perfect vacation book (I read it while I was camping last weekend)-- you don't have to concentrate on it very much, you just have to have fun and let the story guide you. There are so many twists and turns! One decision can mean absolutely nothing, other than making you look like a fool, when another seemingly harmless choice can lead to Miss Bingley running you down with a carriage, breaking your back and causing severe internal damage, and then she leaves you for dead to go steal Mr. Darcy's heart. You die alone. Obviously, this would mean you failed your mission.

Now, of course as a die-hard P&P fan, I stayed with that storyline (I'm a sucker for it) but I did look at all the other options too. It was quite amusing! If I were daring, I would venture away from the Elizabeth/Darcy story, but I'm not. You'll have to read it and let me know how the other versions end! Enjoy!