Customer Reviews

Northpointe Chalet (The Austen Series, Book 4)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Kathy Moore has come to Northpointe, Colorado for adventure and independence from her controlling mother. As a 22-year-old bookstore owner, when she's not running her business she reads suspense and mystery novels. Then on one stormy night, Kathy meets Ben Tilman, a pastor, to whom she is immediately attracted. Despite first thinking Kathy too young and bold, Ben also finds himself drawn to the cheerful, yet sometimes painfully unsubtle, woman.

I haven't read the book this particular Jane Austin spin-off is from (Northanger Abbey) so I can't say how well Northpointe Chalet follows the original. However, I personally found this book as well written as all of Debra White Smith's previous Austin Series books. First Impressions (Pride and Prejudice) will always be my favorite in this series but Northpointe Chalet has become my second choice.

Without even comparing this book to one of Jane Austen's it still came up wanting. I wanted to like the characters but had a hard time identifying with them. I am single in my 20's and kept thinking that the characters were just a little too cheesy to be real.
It was nice, however, to read a book that was "clean" through and through.

I read the first 50 pages, hoping the whole time that it would get better. I had previously read Central Park and really enjoyed it. When I saw a re-write of Northanger Abbey I thought that it would be a winner but the juvenile, overly simplistic writing style was extremely aggravating and annoying. I couldn't bring myself to read any further and waste anymore time bothering to find something worth continuing for. Such a disappointment! I'd recommend sticking with the originals. For Austen fans, the Gentleman trilogy by Pamela Aidan is quite good.

Northanger Abbey has always been a favorite novel of mine, so I was excited to finally be able to read Debra White Smith's Northpointe Chalet. As I have come to expect from the Austen series, Smith captures the heart of Jane Austen's stories, and brings them to the twenty first century in an engaging light read that is sure to entertain. Her writing is compelling, as usual, and manages to weave the themes of family tension in a way that is completely believable.

I love the idea of modern-day Austen novels, and this was okay, but could've been better. I like the hero much better than the heroine. She was immature and sort of annoying. I also found a couple grammatical errors (spelling, missing words/letters, added words/letters, etc) that distracted me.

This book had engaging characters and a little mystery included. It was a fun, easy read. Perfect on a rainy day.

"Northpointe Chalet" by Debra White Smith is the modernized version of "Northanger Abbey" by Jane Austen. I thoroughly enjoyed this book despite the fact that Northanger Abbey is my least favorite of Austen's novels. I did find the main character a bit unbelievable at times, but not enough to cause me to discontinue reading. This is a clean but witty romance that Jane Austen lovers will enjoy.

Hving read many if not all of Debra White Smith's Austen series I thought this one as close to the original as she has gotten. The book was cute. But the main character seemed more shallow and less engaging than Jane Austen's orginal Catherine. By directly correlating this book and the others to Austen I think I was predisposed to judge it by the original. So Nothpointe Chalet is fun, comfortable read and should be read as that and not a revisit of Northanger Abby.

The book as a story (without counting the Austen side) is fair. The writing is not first-rate or absorbing. The characters are not especially wonderful.

As a modern rewrite of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, it falls short. The changing of setting and characters very much takes away from the charm of Jane's original. Lovers of Northanger Abbey will be disappointed with a less young and naive reproduction of Catherine, who is somewhat enjoyable but quite different. But much worse will be their disappointment with the new Henry Tilney. Lovers of "Da Man" (tall, almost handsome but not quite, teasing, great-coated), who is portrayed in Jane's Northanger, will more likely (I feel) be angry and outraged to find a man who seems to be more like the Henry Tilney in the 1986 adaptation of Northanger than the real Man. Ben Tilman is rarely teasing, and though smart enough, he has not the intelligence or quick wit of Da Man. It's really too bad, because a modern Henry Tilney, brought over to this century without any missing character traits, would be a delight to read.

It is a book to take out from your library, probably a bit of a waste of money to buy. Of interest to Janeites, but those from "The Cult of Da Man" (LOL) might want to stay away.

I love Northanger Abbey, so was looking forward to this story since I liked Central Park so much. I started this series out with Central Park, which sticks to the heart of the Jane Austen story more closely than the rest of her stories do. I felt that Debra really dropped the ball with this one, though. Perhaps I was just expecting too much.

In Northanger Abbey, our heroine is naive and sheltered, longing for adventure and her idea of what adventure is has been formed by the thrill and horror novels she loves. Her instincts warn her against those who only wish to use her, yet she doesn't pay attention and is duped in some of her friendships. In Northanger Abbey, our hero is well-educated, kind, and has a teasing humor. He is flattered by her open admiration, interest, and trust.

Yet in Northpointe Chalet, Debra changes all that. Our heroine is scatterbrained, wildly outgoing, and can spot the bad guys a mile away. There are no innocent questions or excuses from her made for other's bad behavior. Instead, she's the one issuing the warnings to the numbskulls who can't see the scheming going on! Our hero is still well-educated, but emotionally jerks our heroine around quite a few times and lacks much humor at all.

What I love about Northanger Abbey is 'watching' a fanciful, imaginative young woman who wants to live one of her exciting novel's stories slowly coming to realize that life is more than storybook. By the end she has matured into a level-headed woman our hero really can love for herself. Northpointe Chalet was a good enough story in itself, but the main characters really don't grow very much nor are that admirable or honorable. This time I feel that the author has missed the heart of Jane Austen's story.