If you told me I could get on a plane to go to England, my first reaction might be slight hesitation. I spent my junior year abroad there, and fell in love with a British guy (things didn’t work out there). I think like a lot of Americans, I had really romantic notions about England--little lambs frolicking in meadows, hot guys riding around on horseback saving women with sprained ankles, and the expectation that every literary activity and every historic spot would be a sublime experience. I will say I spent about the first week going, “WOW! EVERYONE has a British accent!” A lot of my experiences in England were great, like visiting Powderham Castle, Stourhead Estate and the countless number of museums in London. Not to mention, I made tons of awesome friends. However, it did lose a bit of its enchantment when I was there, such as when my eleven flatmates would run screamingly drunk around my flat at 2 a.m. Or when the cleaning lady would come by, scream “This kitchen is in an absolute state!” at early hours. Of course, some experiences that may have seemed really romantic on the surface, such as gazing at the ocean over the cliffs of Tintangel Castle, were a little different than expected because of our program supervisor continuously warning us not to run over the edge of the cliff (and really, who can blame him?), or the wind slapping my hair right into my eyes. Like any experience, the whole year was a mixed bag. Even though it wasn't quite a period piece, I'll always be grateful for my time abroad.

Given the conditions in Minnesota as stated above, the idea of standing on a cliff contemplating the love of my life as music swells (yes, I am thinking of the 2005 Pride and Prejudice) without the program director telling me not to fall. However, these stories also have witty commentary on society during their times, as well as lots of hot guys. Plus, there are always hot guys. And let’s not forget, YA literature also has its share of smoking British characters and locations. So I am having an entire week celebrating great period pieces, fabulous British characters, enchanting settings and faraway love stories.

Get ready for a week of talk about movies, beloved characters, a review, guest posts and a few giveaways.