Sex & Sensibility: The Adventures of a Jane Austen Addict

A Jane Austen–obsessed heroine navigates life and love in Santini's sprightly third novel. Raised by a feminist mother who preached independence and a romantic father who called her Princess, Lizzie Parsons, as an adult, spends her days crunching out film reviews for a Manhattan newspaper and her nights worshipping Jane Austen with fellow "JANO" members who believe that recreating the decorum of Austen's novels is the only way to live. Lizzie also struggles between two alluring men—Gabriel, a fellow JANO (Jane-o-holics) member, and Harry, her should-be-off-limits boss who reminds her of Austen's Fitzwilliam Darcy. In the midst of her Pride & Prejudice meets Sex and the City world, Lizzie is also beholden to her own mantra, "Don't Be the Girl," which has to do with flouting society's expectations of women. What a lot of rules and regulations to live by! Will Lizzie figure out what—and who—she wants? Of course, but she'll have to learn that life is all about negotiation—between freedom and dependence, fantasy and reality. With Lizzie, Santini (A Swell Style of Murder ) has created a neurotic, zany, plotting character full of kick and spunk. (Sept.)