Today I am going to be reviewing the fun story, Jane and Austen, by the lovely Stephanie Fowers. (*I given a review copy of this story but this is my honest unbiased opinion.*)
"Meet Jane and Austen. First there's Jane—an impractical, starry-eyed wedding planner; if love can’t match what she’s read in a book, she doesn't want it. And then there’s Austen—a pragmatic, logical-to-a-fault financial consultant; even if he were interested in someone, he wouldn't know. The two have one thing in common: they can’t leave each other alone. Jane believes that if Austen could just experience a fairy tale romance, he would secretly love it. And Austen’s pretty sure that if one of Jane’s beloved heroes escaped from the pages of her dog-eared novels, she’d run and hide. Both are about to be proven right. When the rivals are called on to help a friend plan the biggest wedding of the year, an entire resort full of colorful wedding guests descends upon them—many sharing uncanny similarities to characters in a Jane Austen novel. It doesn't take long before Jane gets everything she thinks she wants. After all, too much of a good thing can’t be all that bad, right? But when Jane’s life turns upside down, the only one she can turn to is Austen; though he’s got his own troubles of the heart…and she's afraid that he's enjoying them more than he should."
While this book wasn't completely up my street - I am not
one for contemporary stories - it was still an enjoyable read with many laugh
out loud moments! It was a real comedy of errors!
It was well written on the whole but you do have to
concentrate! It is very fast moving and there are a lot of characters to keep
track of, particularly in the first few chapters when they are all introduced
to us. Luckily, there is a glossary of the characters at the back to remind us
if we do forget or get confused between characters.
The main characters, Jane and Austen, were pretty relatable.
I am very much like Jane, a hopeless romantic wanting her own storybook
romance, and from my (limited!) experience most guys I have come across have
not a romantic bone in their body, just like Austen does not! Their
relationship has many ups and downs but the journey each of them experience
through the story was interesting to read.
As to the other characters there are too many to go into
details of them all, as I usually do, but I have to say that the author was
very clever in the way that she incorporated as many characters from all of
Jane Austen's novels as she could, and the way in which she twisted the
storylines and events we know from the novels was not as you expect - I had no
idea who was going to end up with who! It does mess around with beloved
characters and their stories and who they should be matched with, however, this
didn't bother me as much as it could have given that they are NOT the characters
from Jane's novels, and also 1. all the names are slightly different, and 2.
this is set in the modern era! The
references to Jane Austen's novels was also very clever and fun to spot while
reading.
As I said, this wasn't my favourite type of story, but it
was good for a laugh, as things got very out of hand and times and you couldn't
help but laugh (or cringe!) for poor Jane, and poor Austen who gets dragged
along for the ride!
The fast paced nature of the story meant you had to be alert
to keep up with the events and situations and match making which is going on,
but it also meant this story never dragged! This story would be enjoyed by
someone who likes a good laugh and needs a light hearted, fun, easy read. Jane
Austen fans would also enjoy the clever and fun links to her novels, especially
those who enjoy her stories being applied in some way to the modern day.
Good luck to Stephanie with this book and any future stories!
Your affectionate friend,
Soph, thank you so much for putting this up AND for reviewing my book--especially since contemporary romances aren't usually your cup of tea! I'm so glad you enjoyed the twists and even had a few laugh-out-loud moments. And I also appreciate that you give everyone a head's up about the fast pace. Yes, definitely, trade those skirts for a pair of breeches, girls, we're going for a run :-D
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome!
DeleteIt sounds adorable! Thanks for sharing your review thoughts.
ReplyDelete