did not finish ( )

At the beginning of Laurie Viera Rigler's Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, modern-day L.A. lady Courtney Stone is nursing a serious heartbreak when she wakes up in Regency-era England as "Jane Mansfield," 30-year old un-married woman in "want of a husband".

Jane's life comes complete with scheming mother, a jealous cousin, and an attractive suitor who is quite possibly a libertine. After a small stint as Jane, Courtney is more than ready to leave Jane, and travel back to her own time - even if it means embracing the heartache she left behind. As the lines blur between Courtney's and Jane's memories, she begins to question her own version of reality and challenge her ideas about what is right and wrong.

Let me begin by giving you a little background on my relationship with this book. After reading Shannon Hale's Austenland, I basically stumbled upon this genre that I'm calling "Austen-esque," and I wanted to read more. I found Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict on Reading Trails, and quickly decided it would be my next "Austen-esque" book. While waiting for my library to fill my request, I read many, many negative reviews for Rigler's book. I almost decided not to read the book, based on those reviews. Had I not read it however, I would have missed out on a lot of fun.

After reading other reviews, I can only speculate that the reviewers missed the fanciful, frivolous fun contained in Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict. The novel really is brain-candy - and taking is more seriously than a "beach-read" type of book is just plain silly. The story is simply delightful, with compelling characters, and a fresh plot.

Easily read in one sitting, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict manages to capture the spirit of Austen's works without bogging the reader down in heavy details. Don't get me wrong, this is not - I repeat NOT - a Jane Austen novel, and cannot possibly be compared to Austen's classic works. There are many anachronistic moments along the way, as Courtney settles into Jane's life, but the engaging story more than makes up for any historical inaccuracies (this is a novel, and not a work of non-fiction after all.)

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict was an intriguing, well-written, entertaining read. It is light and frothy and lots of fun, and I would recommend it to anyone (with a sense of humor) who enjoys both Jane Austen and "Austen-esque" novels. ( )

Courtney Stone, a devoted Jane Austen fan, wakes up one day to find herself in 19th Century England, in the body of Jane Mansfield, a young lady living a life right out of an Austen novel. At first convinced it’s a dream, and then realizing she’s not going to wake up from it anytime soon, she settles into the world of Jane Austen, and fights off bacteria, suitors, ennui, and feminist outrage while she’s at it.

It starts off so well. Or rather, it doesn’t actually, because the beginning is a bit tiresome. Courtney gives Obsessive/Compulsives a good name as she blathers on and on about why am I here? and how can I get back?:

"So what will become of who I really am? What will become of that bundle of memories called Courtney, my real self that resides, hidden from view, inside this body? Will I/it slowly disappear, inexorably surrender to the onslaught of synaptic activities, the cumulative effect of cellular memory that is now evolving into conscious thought?”

And so on, ad infinitum. Slap! Slap! I imagine myself doing, as I cry out: Get over it! And as the fortune-teller she meets says, “be where you are!”

It’s not all that painful. Some of it is, in fact, quite insightful and humorous, as when Courtney/Jane cogitates about blind dates:

"In fact, I spent many hours afterward depressed because some colorless twit seemed to want to end the evening as quickly as I did. After all, what kind of a loser couldn’t even captivate a colorless twit?”

She goes on:

"Blind dates and setups of all kinds are completely useless, I long ago decided. Most intelligent men and women like to go forth into the world and stalk their own prey, choose their own mirrors of dysfunction, and repeat their own patterns of abusive relationships, without the well-meaning but futile efforts of friends.”

Clever. Funny. And the description of England in Jane Austen’s time likewise is often clever and funny. But there’s a bit too much angst, and the ending might cause one to throw the book down and shout READER BETRAYAL!

There is a sequel: Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict, although I’ve heard rumors that the ending of the first book still goes unresolved. Nevertheless, I’ll pick it up if it crosses my path; even a frustrating flirtation with Jane Austen’s world is worth a quick read like this one.

Evaluation: The beginning and ending drove me a bit crazy, but I liked the middle enough that I will look for the sequel. ( )

I believe this is the type of book that readers will have polar opposite reactions -- you're either going to love it or find it full of flaws. I want to say that I thought the premise of the book was truly interesting -- what a fascinating concept to have a twenty-first century modern woman (Courtney Stone) wake up and discover that she is inhabiting the body of a Regency era maiden (Jane Mansfield - yes, really) who has just suffered a head injury during a horse riding accident. As Courtney slowly gains consciousness, she believes she is living in some type of dream state as her surroundings are obviously not modern. When time passes and she realizes that this is not a dream-state, that she has somehow experienced a type of time travel, she tentatively takes her place in the household and attempts to play the role of the daughter, hoping that somehow she will discover how she got in Regency England and if it is possible to return to her former life.

What was truly difficult to understand was the snide and rude behavior of the protagonist. When in her own time, Courtney turned to the writings of Jane Austen for pleasure and comfort and considers herself a Jane Austen addict. If that were true, she would have had an underlying understanding of the expectations of society and the vastly different cultural traditions and norms. Instead, as she takes part in the Mansfield household and interacts with family friends, she is forever making inane and flip comments about women's rights, the role of men and women in society, servants' rights, and other ridiculous remarks. I suppose these were meant to be witty, but it made the character so contentious that it completely detracted from what could have been a great storyline. There are also several situations and references that I can only describe as in poor taste.. While Courtney's journey of self-discovery does lead her to a greater level of maturity at the end, the reader does not completely learn the mystery of the time travel. I assume it is necessary to read the next book, Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict (which is the parallel experience of Jane Mansfield finding herself in Courtney's twenty-first century world) in order to learn how and why the time travel occurs. ( )

What if you - yes, you - woke up tomorrow in Jane Austen's time? How would you go to the toilet? How would you put your clothes on? What would you do without a hair dryer? ( )