Ada Bright

The book started out so great! Lively and interesting with fun character interaction. Sure, Elizabeth was a little frustrating with how she dealt with Jane but I think it was keeping in line with her character, so cool.

But then around the halfway point, it stalled out a bit. Sir Walter appears out of nowhere to push one plot line to resolution, then quickly disappears and everything just sort of dwindles to a halt. Instead, Darcy and Elizabeth spend way too many pages staring off into space, show more daydreaming about the other while their friends try to recapture their attention. I get what the book is showing us during that time but it was overdone and eventually gave things an immature/silly feel. And it just kept going and going.... There was another serious plot line going on (Darcy being blackmailed into marrying Miss Elliot) but the characters only talked about it, they didn't really do anything. It stayed at this non-moving point for so long that I got bored. So bored. I stopped reading the book for a day and a half and went to AO3 to read fanfic.

Finally, I decided to pick this up again just so it would no longer be hanging over my head. The distracted daydreaming finished and things picked up with the pacing, but I was so beyond caring, I just skimmed. At one point, a character complains about how slowly Darcy is explaining something and I felt such strong sympathy because that was my experience with the last half of the book. Why explain something in one page when you can take three? Why have things be straightforward when you can have a character interrupt an important conversation and narrate them getting drinks for everyone? It was just so drawn out.

Things did finally pick up speed again but I still didn't care and it just seemed ridiculous. I also finally understand the phrase "lampshading" thanks to this book. (Everyone shows up at Darcy's rented house all at the same time. Not just Lady Catherine but Colonel Fitzwilliam's mother, Elizabeth's father, even her the Gardiners! It's so improbable, even Darcy comments on how ridiculous it was.) Perhaps if the third quarter of the book was drastically trimmed down, I wouldn't have checked out and it would have fulfilled its promise of the first half but it wasn't so we will never know. As much as I like the idea of a mashup of Austen stories (and of Persuasion stories), I think I'll be avoiding them for a while because of how annoyed this one left me. show less

All Rose wants to do is enjoy the Jane Austen festival in Bath with her online friend from California, Morgan. All while longing for Dr. Aiden Trevallyn to notice her. Instead, she makes the acquaintance of a time traveling Jane Austen. Thanks to an accident with a dog, Rose and Jane end up in an alternate timeline where Jane had never written any of her novels, and they must figure out how to return to their own time to fix the timeline.

As a fan of Jane Austen's books, I was thrilled to show more have the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I was a little apprehensive about how the story would unfold and how the authors would make Jane Austen come alive for readers. But I loved the idea of a time traveling Jane, and would give anything to trade places with Rose. Overall, this was a delightful and charming story, but I wish more of Jane's books had been discussed.

I really liked the characters, but, at the same time, I found them to be a little stagnant and, were it not for the alternate timeline, a little one note. Certainly, there was a bit of growth, particularly when it came to the romantic subplots, but it was so subtle it was almost missed. I loved that the main character, Rose, wasn't an extroverted, feisty young lady. Instead, she's a bit older, very British, quiet, reserved, and quite bookish. My kind of character! But, as much as I loved her characterization, she only seemed to change in response to her changing circumstances and then almost completely reverted back to her old self when the timeline was restored. As for Morgan, I found her to be the typical bubbly California girl in her early twenties, someone I might have actually known. As familiar as she felt, she was almost too perky almost all of the time. But she did add a nice touch of humor. My favorite character was Jane Austen herself. As apprehensive I was about how the authors would pull her off authentically, in the end, I didn't really care. Jane was interesting and fun, and probably the most complex character presented. She was done so well that I believed she might have actually stepped out of the early 1800s.

One thing I hate about books that heavily rely on the setting to tell the story is how much of a tour guide it turns into. The narrative often gives us a street by street description of how to get anywhere, and it just weighs down the story. I was pleased when that wasn't present here. Yes, there was a bit of describing where places were and what was around them, but it never stayed into being tour guidey and what was provided helped round out the story. I also loved how not different Bath was, except for the places associated with Jane Austen, in the alternate timeline. It was great to read how Rose did and didn't adapt well to her lifelong home in a different time.

The only thing that bothered me about this book was that so much of the story's concept revolved around the impact Jane Austen's books had on Rose's life, and Bath in general, but the story itself barely delved into Austen's books, the impact they've had on society, and how much Rose's life relied on the books. The whole idea was that the future would be altered if Austen had never written and published her novels. Rose was depicted to be such a fan that she chose her home to be in the basement apartment of a home the Austen family had lived in and her place of employment to be at another Austen-related building. The novel is set during a Jane Austen festival, during which Rose and Morgan participate and dress up for. There's a huge amount of Jane Austen love going on, but, in comparison, very little discussion about Austen's books take place. I would have loved more talk about the books and a larger connection between them and Rose and just how important they are to how she chose to shape her life. We get that it's incredibly important for Rose to want to fix the timeline, but it feels more like it's because that's what's more comfortable and familiar to her than because Jane Austen's books have shaped that corner of the world.

Overall, though, this was a charming novel about relationships: the close friendship between Rose and Morgan, Rose's longing for a romantic relationship with Aiden, and the friendship Rose and Jane forge. This didn't hit me until about two-thirds of the way through the novel, when they were about to fix the timeline, but there was still a sizable chunk of the story left. While the timeline part was a major part of the story, it was only part. I was a little disappointed that the experience in an alternate time didn't change Rose much, but it was just enough to make the end plausible. I loved that the romance was subtle, which somehow made it feel more powerful, and that the emphasis was on the lovely friendships the quiet, reserved Rose was able to nurture.

As a Jane Austen fan, this book was wonderful. I would have loved more about Austen's books as just bits and pieces were peppered throughout the novel, but I really loved the idea of a time traveling Jane Austen.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Canelo for a free e-copy. All opinions expressed are my own. show less

Jane Austen is back to time traveling - despite her near brush with changing the past as we know it. This time she drags Rose back in time to meet - her father! There is romance and reconciliation and drama and this version of Jane is a lot of fun.

The city of Bath is hosting its annual Jane Austen Festival. Rose Wallace an avid Austen fan becomes suspicious of her neighbour. So we have a charmed necklace, a novelist and time-travel. A great combination for a story. Very enjoyable, some lovely characters and an easy writing style, and I presume there will be a sequel to look forward to.