As exciting as the concept of time travel sounds, the consequences of altering the past and thereby changing the future are just too horrific to contemplate. The world would suffer an immense loss if Jane Austen never wrote and was never published. I thoroughly enjoyed this cautionary tale of how this could happen should Jane Austen find herself over two hundred years in the future.

The world knows the biography of Jane Austen, a woman born way before her time in a period where women had no rights, no voice and earning an independent wage was unthinkable for any woman of genteel or moral breeding. In Jane’s day, women not only were expected to marry (and marry well), but anything beyond that and society was scandalized. Unfortunately for Jane, at nearly thirty years of age and no marriage prospects on the horizon, despairs of ever finding a husband and having a family. She fears she will become a spinster and burden to her family. When Jane is given an opportunity to find her one true love, the last thing she expects is to travel over two hundred years into the future.

Unfortunately for Jane, she has traveled into the future before she drafts her novels so the longer she stays in the present, the more risk she faces of erasing her work and, ultimately, her legacy from history.

I loved this story and seeing the world through Jane’s eyes. Her shock at the changes she sees in Bath were realistic and I felt immense empathy for her as she tries to navigate modern London on the tube and escalators attempting to find a way back home. Her rapt fascination with all of the modern conveniences surrounding her was refreshing to behold. I also loved the supporting characters of Sofia Wentworth and her brother, Fred. Their willingness to help a stranger and their acceptance of Jane’s circumstances and her true identity were heartwarming.

This is my first time reading this author, I really loved her voice, and her description of Jane felt accurate. I am now deeply interested in reading more from this author as well as Jane Austen’s books. I paired the reading of this book with the audiobook format. The audio performance by Billie Fulford Brown was exceptional and gave me a lot of insight into Jane’s character and personality as well as the dilemma she faces with the difficult decision she has to make of whether she should stay or return to 1803.

My Final Verdict: In theory, time travel sounds exciting but the reality is dangerous and should only ever be attempted with great caution. I highly recommend this story to fans of time travel, who I believe will thoroughly enjoy this story as well as fans of Jane Austen and readers of historical and contemporary romance.

Thank you to the publisher, HarperCollins, who provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley.

I adore these kinds of stories that focus on retelling part of a story we think we already know or have insight on. What a fun time. I highly recommend!

This books was just OK, not horrible, but not exciting either. I think a time traveling Jane is a theme in several books and movies (Lost in Austen movie) is an example) that I think does it better. The ending of this book kind of made me sad--I honestly though Sophia was going to go back to 1803 so that Jane could stay with Fred, but it didn't happen. I think the character of Jane was interesting, but some of the other characters seemed kind of shallow--Fred fell in love with Jane why? The setting was good and the scene in the bath at Bath was fun, although the perfect ending to the evening was ruined. The idea of how the world would change if Jane Austen did not write her books was interesting and maybe the book would have meant more if that was explored more.,

I really didn't love this Jane Austen what if but I didn't hate it either. But as much as I wish Jane had gotten a happy ending in real life, I don't think we would have her six beloved novels. So this what if story doesn't work for me.

I love the premise of this book, but unfortunately, the text just never quite grabbed me, and I didn't read it quickly enough for the deadline.

As a Janeite, I wanted to love this book. However, I could never really settle in to the book because I couldn't get past the idea of Jane Austen herself being a rom com heroine.

Really loved the concept for this one. Jane Austen in her own book (ish)? So meta! Unfortunately the romance really fell flat and I didn't really understand why the characters wanted to be together. Not great when you're going into a book for the romance. The writing was pleasant, and I still enjoyed the plot enough to carry on, but this one wasn't my favorite.

Oh my goodness- I absolutely loved, loved, loved this book!

This immediately pulled me in and I think I read it in like 2 sittings. The characters were so fun and easy to read, and the side characters added so much to the story, which is rare for me. It didn’t feel like they were taking up space and I wasn’t wondering why they were there or hating their side stories.

The end made me cry, which of course I knew it would, because we know what the outcome is going to be. Despite that, I really really enjoyed this and the romance was so sweet. I’d love to see more from this author in the future because this has been one of my favorite books of this year!

A sweet romance for those who are Jane fans. One I can definitely see myself recommending often in our library!

I requested this from NetGalley without reading the blurb because of the adorable cover. Once I realized it was about a time traveling Jane Austen, it took me a long time to get to it. I listened to the audiobook, and it was well done. However, I just couldn’t get into it. I couldn’t get past the time travel aspect - specifically, how quickly Sofia believes Jane when she tells her she in Jane Austen from 1803. This just wasn’t for me.

I put this off for the LONGEST time, and then once I finally got to it…well, what started off as simplistic writing at the start didn’t grab me, so a quarter of the way in I started skimming. There are wonderful moments—a discussion 80% of the way in, between Jane and Fred’s sister, Sofia, an actress and parallel protagonist in the story, regarding how Sofia should portray “Northanger Abbey”’s Mrs. Allen was very touching. The problem is we know long before Sofia how the story needs to end. Janeites will recognize the name Wentworth (from “Persuasion”), thereby having bittersweet heartbreak trailing them throughout the whole story (at least for me). If that’s your kind of thing, then I guess this book’s for you—it wasn’t for me.

I love Jane Austen and this book was really strange and really good at the same time. It's weird to think of Jane Austen being 200 years into the future.

I could only make it to 20%...the first few chapters I thought "this doesn't seem like Jane" but I could manage. Once she traveled to 2020 I was out. The introduction of the Hollywood starlet turned me off, the transition was sloppy. I was totally pulled out of the charm.

Story of a time-travelling Jane. After being disappointed in a near courtship, she went to year 2020. Met the siblings Fred and Sophia. In the end she had to make a hard decision.

A story of love and discoveries from the characteries, as well as redemption. It was heart-wrenching when the decision had to be made, lose her works vs lose the one she loves. (I still have a twinge hours after I read the story).

This was an easy read but a very entertaining love story. Strongly recommend this to all JA fans.

Unlikeable characters made just a little too unlikeable. Sofia Wentworth is terrible and ruined my entire reading experience. I thought this book was about Jane. Too much Sofia. I couldn’t even finish reading it for not being able to stomach her terrible character.

I am in love with Jane in Love. From the eye catching cover to just the story in general, I think it is all around great. I actually physically bought this book after reading it since I wanted to have a copy on my bookshelf.

Loved the idea of a Jane Austen telling father than a retelling of one of her classics. With that being said, I really struggled with this book. It took me about two weeks to read it which is not my norm. My root problem with this book was the lack of compelling characters. Nothing about Jane herself made her stand out or feel relatable.

Jane Austen, at 28, has disappointed her family with her constant writing and her lack of romantic prospects. When her hopes of love are dashed yet again, she visits a kindred spirit and finds her self transported across time to 2020. Jane ends up on the set of a film adaption of her very own Northanger Abbey, where she befriends one of the actresses, Sofia Wentworth. Sofia thinks that Jane is a plan from the film makers as a practical joke, so she decides to play along and brings Jane to stay with her at her brother Fred's home in Bath. While Jane and Fred start off on the wrong foot, they are soon drawn to each other. The only issue is that the longer jane stays in 2020, one by one her novels begin to disappear. She must decide whether finding love is with losing her place in literature.

A story of time travel and what if. It was a cute quick read and while not the typical HEA it’s a story of what it. How did Jane write stories of such great love with a history of a “spinster”. This story had me asking how could she would she or could he? I highly recommend for anyone who loves Jane Austin books and any book that is a deviation or based on her stories.

Happy Monday, my bookish fam! This weekend, I made some serious progress on some of my current reads - including finishing JANE IN LOVE by Rachel Givney. Released late last year, I was gifted this book from @netgalley - and am really frustrated with myself for letting it sit so long!

After consulting with a witch after lamenting she will never find her one true love, Jane Austen is magically transported to modern-day England. Once there, she must figure out modern dress, technology, and manners - while trying to figure out how to return home to her time. When she learns she is a beloved author, Austen is overjoyed - but the longer she spends in the modern-day (and with a particularly bloke) her books (and fame) slowly start disappearing. Will Jane fight for her chance at love or will she fight to return home and take her place as one of the most acclaimed authors of all time?

At first, I thought I would be frustrated with this book - why are we forcing a woman to choose between love and her work? However, thankfully, that is not the story I got. While yes, that is a central conflict in the work, I think it stayed true to Austen’s tenacity and passion for her work - while giving us a fun story of an 18th century woman trying to navigate cellphones, cars, the Tube, women wearing pants, and relationships with men!

What author or fictional character do you think would be fun to watch navigate the modern-world?