Delightful story about a madcap family but conclusion falls flat.

I really did not much like this book or the narrator. It is very bleak, dry and monotone.

Sweet and enjoyable.

This might be an okay story if it weren't so drastically abridged. The characters speed through development so quickly that it is hard to grasp what stages of life, love, and maturity everyone has reached. The narrator is very good: she has a nice voice and a fluid presentation. But the story is choppy.
As far as the writing goes, I am left unimpressed. I was bothered by grammatical errors (misusing pronouns and ending sentences with prepositions). For a novel that tries so hard to mimic Jane Austin, grammatical errors are hard to overlook. If you're interested in good writing, go for the real thing, listen to Pride and Prejudice instead.

The convincingly natural and delightful voice of the reader brings this novel to life with a lively rendition of this timeless story set in the 30's. It could just as well have been recent, and so much so, that I had to research to determine its time setting. The characters are well-formed and all very interesting -- some exquisitely eccentric and unique. The story flows beautifully and with passion through young Cassandra's journal and the author's lovely mastery of language. The combination of setting, characters, and story draw the listener in to the warm cocoon of the very unique Mortmain family. There are instances of laugh-out-loud incidents that weave seamlessly and effectively into the story line.
Read it! You will not regret having done so -- It will capture your heart and will come to an end all to soon for you.
It is at once a story of eccentric or unusual characters in the jumbled and delightful setting of an old English castle, a love story without syrup, a story of an attractive young woman coming of age, sisters, finding values and true love, and a flow of beautifully connected and flowing words. It is an adult book that will likely appeal to young adult as well.