Berls
Written on Apr 23, 2021
I pretty much never hesitate to pick up a Jane Austen retelling or spin-off, since I adore her writing. I think this may possibly be the best Jane Austen retelling (adaptation, spin off? I’m struggling to find the right word) that I’ve read. And I’m even more pleased to realize it’s book 1 of a series! It actually ends on a bit of cliff and I will probably begin the next book immediately.
What I liked/didn’t like:
If you’re a Jane Austen fan like myself, you will ADORE the references to her writing – Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Persuasion seemed to have the greatest number of references (good picks!) – along with the historical references to the author and her family. It was quite easy for me to imagine myself there, close friends with these huge fans. In fact, Morgan and Rose’s friendship reminds me quite a lot of mine and Michelle’s – they met through a mutual love of books, became best friends but are meeting for the first time in person in this book… and besides the initial shock at how short Morgan is (ahem, Michelle), it’s so natural as if they’ve always been able to spend time together.
Beyond that natural affinity, this book doesn’t stand merely on obsession with Jane Austen. There is a very solid story here. Without giving up too much, I’ll say that Rose and Jane Austen get trapped in a world where Jane never wrote her books and the world is very altered. The author does a great job of capturing Jane adjusting to life 200 years in the future, as well as Rose’s displacement to an alternate reality. it was comical and sometimes heart wrenching. And, as a sub story there are two romances, primarily Rose’s and secondarily Morgan’s. I was very caught up in both the plot of how/if they would ever be able to return Jane to her proper time and if Rose would manage to begin her romance with Aiden.
I was surprised by how much of the book remained after what I assumed was the central plot had been presumably resolved. But I enjoyed every page and something new- I don’t yet know what – has happened. I can’t wait to find out what and how they’ll solve it! I really LOVED this book for a light, heartwarming read and can’t recommend it to Jane Austen fans enough.
Narrator thoughts:
I had planned to read this, but I ran out of time if I was going to review it for My TBR List. And, as I’m much faster audiobook reader, I was excited to see it was available on Scribd. Alison Larkin was a new-to-me narrator (I think) and I think she delivered an excellent performance. I enjoyed the variation in voices between Rose (present day British), Morgan (present day Californian) and Jane (1800s British). I am excited that the next book is also on Scribd and plan to listen pretty much immediately.