. I have to admit was very skeptical at how they were going to have this entire concept play out and it it would make sense... a time traveling Jane Austen is hard to grasp. But the story of love between Sophia, her, and Fred was believable. It was sad and happy to be able to choose who/what you love and make sacrifices that you now will be for better in the long run. I do not want to give any more away, since I was guessing along with Jane as to what she was going to do! Highly recommend!

First, I have to admit I am not a diehard Jane Austen fan. I enjoy her work but I haven’t read all of her books. With that being said I really enjoyed this book. I loved seeing Jane Austen in the future. Though what I loved most about this book was Sofia's story.
I really wish there had been even more focus on that. To be honest, I didn’t really care all that much about Jane and Fred. They seemed to fall in love so quickly and I didn’t feel the connection much.

When I first started reading this, I was afraid it would be another attempt at a Jane Austen tie in book that was formulaic and unoriginal. Well, I am happy to say that I was not disappointed. Would Jane Austen survive AND fall in love in a modern day? And if so, would she stay?

While I wasn't sure this Jane was true to what I have read about IRL Jane, I think the imaginings of the author were truly fun. Jane is a little bit crazy for love, and her ability to describe things that we take for granted in 2020 is really insightful.. I always wondered how someone in the past would have reacted to the sights and sounds of the modern world, and Jane was fascinating in that way.

This book is light and fun. If you need a little pick me up that doesn't have sappy moody romance, here it is!

I thought Jane in Love had a really interesting plot idea! I really liked how Jane Austen time traveled and how the book focused on that. I thought that was different from other romance books. It made me almost want to try Jane Austen books sometime.

I didn’t really feel a connection with the romance, I was more interested with the other things that were going on in the book. I liked the focus on the friends in the story. It was still a good story!

Overall this was a three star rating. Thank you Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read and review this book! My thoughts and onions are my own.

Australian filmmaker, and debut writer, Rachel Givney brings us a whimsical time travel romantic adventure for none other than Jane Austen herself with her new novel, Jane in Love. What does the twenty-first century have to teach this well-loved author? Equally important, what does Miss Jane have to teach her counterpart in the twenty-first century?

Jane is twenty-eight and living with her aging parents in Bath. Her writing isn’t good enough to get published and her mother threatens to burn any further attempts. Mrs. Austen insists Jane focus on the serious business of finding a husband. Jane doesn’t find this objectionable, but is it too much to ask that the gentleman accept her the way she is and that she finds love? One more opportunity and yet one more disappointment force Jane to take the desperate step of trusting in an odd and mystical matchmaker who sends her two hundred years into the future to find what she’s looking for.

Sofia Wentworth is an A-List actress and has made millions fall in love with her. That is until recently when her own husband wants a divorce, and she can’t get a leading role. She is determined to get back her career, but more importantly, renew what they had together with Jack by taking a role in his new period film, Northanger Abbey. She encounters one of the extras who is crazy and thinks she’s the real Jane Austen, but the startling bit is that she just may be the real deal and something odd is happening as Jane meets Sofia’s brother Fred who plays a minor role in the film. Jane and Fred get over their early antagonism and are there to help Sofia with her plans. Sofia helps Jane as she must decide where she really belongs and what she really wants.

Jane in Love was a whimsical blend of light-hearted romance, historical and contemporary backdrops, colorful characters, and at heart, two women who are looking for happiness and fulfillment. The author wisely didn’t try to get too bogged down in authentic details and, thus, utterly fail. She wrote her own version of the famous authoress and dropped her into her own version of Persuasion. This Jane was witty and it was fun seeing her encounter the twenty-first century because situations were described just like a person from the past would see it and her observations were keen about how innovation didn’t improve the truly important parts of life.

Like many time travel romances, at the core, the conflict comes down to stay or go back. For Jane, it was have love, or have her writing. I was jealous of Sofia when she realized just who she had befriended because Sofia was an Austen fan and had read her books, so she had the real Jane right there.

The author knows the world of film, so it was great having that as the setting and the backdrop for the modern side of the story and to be Sofia’s world. I was really rooting for her to get her happy. Just like I adored seeing Jane find a man who truly appreciated her.

In the end, I was satisfied with how it all turned out and found this entertaining and engaging. It didn’t dig deep but never disappointed. I hope the author writes more as I was rather taken with her writing style. Those who enjoy lighter time travel romance and the world of Jane Austen are the target audience for Jane in Love.

Jane Austen dreams of her stories being published one day. It's 1803 and she is on the course to become a spinster being that she prefers walking and reading to balls. As she seeks a solution she accidentally unknowingly time travels and lands in present day Bath, England. Sofia is a present day English actress and meets Jane thinking she is an actress to prank her. She unknowingly actually helps Jane and in the process Jane meets her brother Fred. Will she achieve her dream of publishing her books if she stays with Fred?

Jane in Love was such a great twist to Jane Austen and her books! The time travel was so fun and delightfully different. This book makes me want to go read all of Jane Austen's books. The story was wonderful while the characters were all kind-hearted and great to read.

The only problem I had with it was it's labeled as romance but it didn't feel like one, and what romance there is I didn't really feel it. The initial connection was great but then there wasn't enough there to keep me rooting for them or even smiling.

Excuse me while I go read all of Jane Austen's books!

Confession - I don't ever recall reading any works by Jane Austen. So, I can't say whether that affected my feelings about this book or not. LOL

I was immediately drawn to the cover and concept of this book. It didn't disappoint. I found Jane in Love to be a fresh time travel novel with the perfect amount of charm and romance. The writing is cinematic which isn't surprising considering Ms Givney is a film maker.

I also enjoyed the humor and touching moments (and there are a fair amount of both) and loved both Jane and Sofia.

I picked up this book because I am a fan of Jane Austen but not really knowing what to expect. To be perfectly candid, I did not particularly get the whole Jane Austen in the future vibe going on in the book. I think the concept is super cute with a lot of potential but definitely difficult to execute. Unfortunately, this one missed the mark for me. If you can buy into the whole time-travel romance trope--pick this one up! If not, maybe stick to the classics.

This book was an exercise in contradictions. In a good way.

I wanted Jane and Fred to get their HEA and I didn't want them to.

I wanted Jane to be an independent woman and I wanted her to find love and acceptance in her family and in society.

I wanted Jane Austen to have a fraction of the happiness she has given us readers through her observations on society, social class and family.

Jane Austen lives in Bath and wants to be a writer. She also wants her family to accept her. When she is scorned by another man she turns to a woman who promises her to help her find the place where she is happiest. Jane Austen appears in the future meets Sophie, her brother Fred and the life she thinks she wants.

There is a lot of character growth in this book. The stakes are high, Jane Austen finds love and stays in the future but we lose her cannon of works. She goes home and regrets leaving her one true love.

The tension in this book is perfect and I think we get the HEA, no matter how unconventional, I was certain Jane Austen made the right choice.

A fun, heartfelt rom-com with Austen-esque flair! This story is perfect for Austen fans who aren't purists!

Jane in love is fun, heartfelt rom-com. It's perfect for Janeites that aren't absolute purists, those who enjoy twists and humor like Austenland, Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies, and so forth.
I was pleasantly surprised at the depth of the latter part of the novel and the plot surprises for the hero and heroine. Bonus points for Givney's inclusion of a heroic librarian dude. Let's see Sofia & Dave get a book all there own.
Overall a great read. Thanks for the ARC. looking forward to adding this to our library collection.

Jane Austen visits Bath in 2020! I love a well-done Jane reimagining, and this romantic story worked for me. From the moment Jane magically appears in a pile of curtains right at the feet of beautiful, popular film star Sofia Wentworth to the romantically bitter-sweet ending, I loved every word, every paragraph! Now I definitely need to re-read Persuasion.

This was an enjoyable read. It took me a little while to get into it, though. I thought that the female characters were drawn very well. The male protagonist was a little disappointing, but I suppose I wanted the very best for Jane Austen. There is humor throughout the novel which is very welcome, for you know that the story will end in a bittersweet way. This reminded me of "Bid Time Return", although without quite so tragic an end. I think Jane Austen fans will like this and will know many of the inside nods to Austen herself. Those unfamiliar with Jane Austen should enjoy this title too.

Okay buckle in folks. Jane In Love by Rachel Givney is a wild ride. I honestly can’t believe that I finished this one considering how often I screamed “What!?” but I couldn’t look away.

Synopsis: Jane Austen is so desperate to find true love that she’s willing to sacrifice anything. When she gets her wish and time travels to the 21st century, she does end up meeting her true love — and he loves her back. But is she ready to give up her writing and her legacy to keep him?

Maybe it’s the English major in me, but Austen is god-tier untouchable. So retellings of her work and reimaginings of her life have to knock it out of the park. And this didn’t meet my (admittedly high) standards.

I found the plot to be a bit reductive when it came to the complexities of time travel and there were a LOT of moments where I didn’t even understand their explanations of time travel. Especially when (spoiler!) Jane traveling to the present causes a ripple effect that makes her writing disappear and everyone forget who she is (and this is where they lost me) except for a select group of people.

At the same time, despite everything happening that should have been exciting (which includes not only time traveling but also a broken “engagement,” a hidden manuscript and an electricity-induced coma!?), I was bored and not really engaged with the story. There’s also some weirdly sexist moments, even when you get to the 21st century.

The dialogue was often stilted and the character’s personalities were borderline obnoxious, particularly Sofia, an actress who is helping Jane. They were somewhat one dimensional, and I formed zero attachment to them or their burgeoning romances, despite the fact that I was obviously supposed to do so.

To me, Jane In Love was trying to pose a serious question: what would Jane Austen do if she was forced to choose between love and writing? But their answer — that only great pain can create great art — left me unsatisfied and the story to get there left much to be desired.

This one is out on October 27th and if you want to read it, I’d highly recommend getting it from the library.

The beginning is a bit slow but picks up once Jane has been in the present for a while. There are multiple storylines, making it difficult for the author to allot enough time for each to appropriately play out. There’s Jane and Fred falling in love. There’s Sofia trying to figure out how to get Jane back home. Then, there’s Sofia trying to get back with her husband. At first, the latter story seems a bit out of place but Givney does successfully connect it all in the end.

With so many moving parts, I sometimes did not know what I was getting in the next chapter. A lot of time was spent on Jane’s marveling at the new world and trying to get around that I don’t think enough was spent on establishing Fred and Jane’s relationship. They do have some cute moments but I’m not sure if I could add it up to love so quickly. Their relationship felt rushed. But, that could just be the skeptic in me. Sometimes when you know, you just know I guess.

The other story I wanted more time with was that of Sofia and her ex-husband. Sofia initially came across snobbish but she quickly became a favorite character. Her personality grew on me and she had some of the funniest lines in here. One of my favorites is probably at the hospital and she’s talking to the doctor: “ ‘What’s the prognosis, Doc?’ Sofia asked. ‘Don’t dumb it down. I did a three-episode special-guest run on ER where I played a beautiful but troubled neurosurgeon.’” I couldn’t stop laughing. I think Sofia’s story could have been a book of its own. I would definitely pick that one up.

There doesn’t seem to be any rules with the time traveling. Jane travels through time and items travel with Jane. How does it work exactly? Not really sure but if you just take it as is, not ask a lot of questions, then you’ll be fine. The book is somewhat predictable as well but it doesn’t necessarily take away from being able to enjoy the book. If anything, you just have to stick through Jane seeing the modern world and once you do that, the rest is a good read. Overall, I enjoyed it.

Meh, this is fine. And that's coming from a person who loves time travel and Jane Austen. It would make a very cute film, but comes across as tedious on the page. It certainly does not need to be almost 450 pages long. It didn't feel very fresh, you know exactly where this story is going at all times. More like a gender bent fan-fiction of Kate and Leopold than anything else.
Good for people who cannot get enough Austen and those that are fine with old school gender roles.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy.

I was hoping this was a romance based on the title and synopsis, but it felt more like a women’s fiction to me? I was disappointed there wasn’t more romance in the plot and I found myself not attached to the characters. I think if I had gone in expecting women’s fiction I would have liked it a bit more.

This book is incredible! It is entertaining, unique, heartfelt, and intriguing. Whenever I picked up "Jane in Love", I was whisked away on a journey, and had such a hard time putting this book down.

This is the first book I have read by Rachel Givney, and I can't wait for more! Her writing style is very vivid, and she truly knows how to bring the world (or worlds in this case) of her story to life. Her characters all jump right off of the page, and their feelings, emotions, and thoughts are so clear and well-thought out. I really feel like she did a great job of distinguishing the characters in the past in terms of the way they spoke, versus those in the present time, as well as in showing how they are different in some ways, yet similar in others.

Jane is such a strong, courageous, and smart heroine who follows her own heart, and does what she believes to be right. She must learn to navigate what is expected of her, and what she, herself, truly desires. When she is faced with an incredibly tough decision, she must decide what to do...and the choice is in no way an easy one to make.

I really like how the main characters in the book, Sofia, Jane, and Fred, really learn something from one another, and how they balance each other out. I feel like they all grew as people from their experiences, and while I was not sure for a while how some of the various storylines connected, by the end, they intertwined just beautifully and brought everything together.

The ending of the novel, I felt, was a bit rushed, and I wish it would have been extended a little. However, this is no way diminished my enjoyment of the book at all.

If you enjoy romance, time-travel novels, and / or anything related to Jane Austen, I highly recommend this book! It was such a unique concept and story! I found myself reading into the early hours of the morning to see what would happen next! I don't want to put any spoilers here, but, I will say...a specific tie-in near the end made me grin from ear to ear! Just wow!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers / William Morrow Paperbacks for the ARC of this novel, I so enjoyed it! All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

There is a character in the book who struggles when reading their first Jane Austin book. I had a similar experience with this book, including that of being ultimately totally absorbed by the story.

Jane is of course herself and there are a number of times when her experience in the 21st century stretches belief a little too much. The other characters are enjoyable and they go through their own life changing journeys.

An enjoyable escape.

Today’s post is for Jane In Love by Rachel Givney (2020) published by HarperCollins Publishers (William Morrow Paperbacks), who provided me with an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Jane In Love is set for publication 27 October 2020. At time of writing, it has a 3.78 star rating average on Goodreads and 3 stars on NetGalley. It is categorized as a romance. If you like the feel of what I talk about, check out Goodreads for a sweepstakes to win an e-book copy.

"A charming, romantic debut novel in which Jane Austen, heralded author, ends up time-traveling almost 200 years in the future. There she finds the love she’s written about and the destiny she’s dreamed of…but is it worth her legacy?" - NetGalley

The format of this post will be summary, review, and a collection of links to find this book if you choose to do so. Summary will be general and review will contain spoilers where indicated.

Summary
Regular ol’ Jane Austen is 28 and unmarried, and that’s a big problem for a lady in 1803. All she really wants to do is write and wander around Bath, imagining her stories, but outside pressures beckon for her adherence to the social standards of the time. Rebuffed and momentarily embarrassed by matchmaking gone wrong, Jane utilizes a local’s help and finds herself transported to the year 2020. Understandably, she’s just a bit shocked, as coming to terms not only with the spell she’s under and the wonders of the future takes its toll.

Jane materializes on the set of an Austen period drama right in front of our secondary character, Sofia. Sofia is a beautiful, highly sought after film actress who is coming to terms with 1) a divorce from the director of the film she’s currently in and 2) feeling overshadowed and losing her spark. Believing Jane is an elaborate behind-the-scenes prank due to the nature of the film, so she ends up going along with Jane’s assertion of her identity and ignorance of the 21st century. During the course of events, Jane meets Fred, Sofia’s brother, who she has conflicting feelings for. As Jane starts to realize she’s famous in the future, she has to make some tough decisions about what she wants from life.

Review
I am going to approach this review in two ways. First, I will approach as a die-hard Jane Austen fan. The second approach will be taking the book at face value, as if I could replace “Jane Austen” with “Mary Smith” and the storyline would stand as is. I think this helps me not only contextualize my feelings about the book, but it also is fair because my negative thoughts stem from the first approach and wouldn’t necessarily be a problem if the main character wasn’t Jane Austen. Does that make sense? Read on, maybe it will…

The book begins with Jane Austen pretty much getting set up with a rich man she just met who she daydreams might be a fun match; her mother is absolutely gasping to get Jane married off, and she sells one of her most treasured necklaces to pay for an extravagant dress with the expectation that marriage is imminent after one meeting. Word gets back that the man gets engaged to someone else, Jane is embarrassed. Mum comes in and finds GASP! THE DREADED PAPERS? JANE! HAVE YOU BEEN WR…. WR…. WRITING AGAIN? And she burns the manuscript. Jane’s super upset about it, but eventually she takes a scrap to a witch and gets transported in time, so it’s all good.

My first major, major issue with this book is the way Jane’s mother is portrayed. It’s honestly like the author watched Pride and Prejudice (2005) and modelled her after Mrs. Bennett. From what we know, Cassandra Austen was not a busybody snob who disapproved of Jane’s writing. Quite the contrary, she was supportive of all her children’s intellectual capabilities and they all received good educations. Right off the bat, I was feeling pretty bummed about think book. Strike 1, so to speak.

However, it didn’t really raise any additional major issues of that nature. So, moving on… Specific spoilers after this point.

So, Jane has to deal with modern Britain. Like I said, she materializes on the set of an Austen period drama where everyone is about to do a dance sequence, so she thinks she’s just wandered off and woke up somewhere weird (keeping in mind they’re in period dress, so it looks somewhat normal). She has a Darcy-Elizabeth esque interaction with Fred, and pride and prejudice happens. Haha.

Moving on, the dealing with Britain part of the book is actually quite funny. Jane’s got to find the old witch’s house, so she’s seeing cars, the Tube, getting on trains, figuring out money and prices of things, gets pickpocketed. The true London experience.

One of the best parts of the book that I think goes unstated in many reviews is that Jane Austen has had a long lasting impact on culture, arts, and literature. When she goes through the museum or sees her books in a shop, I really smiled. It made me wish that this book were actually possible, and that Jane Austen knew that we are still loving her work so many years later.

Her interactions with modern society are hilarious and often made me think that they would make a great film or short series. It would be something I’d watch if somethings were tidied up, such as:

Now, she experiences an interaction with a bookseller that is a bit ridiculous. She helps him out in a very minor way, and he offers her a rare edition of one of her novels because she’s enthralled with it — why didn’t he recognize her? Like, she’s holding one of her own books and he wouldn’t be like, “Wow, you look like Jane Austen! You’ve never heard of her? No? Well, take this rare book because you helped me not drop any.” Okay, I know this is a time travel novel and we should suspend our reality, but come on.

Combining this with Sofia’s long, drawn out whining about her sleazy husband not wanting her anymore and trading her for a younger starlet, I don’t know why 45% of the story was included. It needs an Edward Scissorhands style chop in many areas, and if that happened, I think it would be a really fun book.

Now, what was done really well makes up for a lot of this, in my opinion. Sofia thinking that Jane was an actor for behind the scenes / prank scenes was a really good idea. It helped Jane have interaction and build a relationship with someone from the present without someone just thinking she’s nuts…. end of. I think that the author did a great job at covering many of those bases that would make this totally ridiculous, even if I found some of it a bit lacking.

As for the romance, it doesn’t really come into play until the late bits of the book, almost to the end. It’s a slow-burn situation, but Jane actually likes him for quite some time (in my opinion) and only realizes after a near-death accident. Jane has to decide whether she wants to stay in the modern day with her newfound love or go back to her day and write her books. See, if she stays, her books get erased. It’s kind of like that time travel trope where if you mess with something in the past, it alters the future, and vice versa. I won’t say what her decision is, but I found it to be bittersweet.

TL;DR

Pros: This book is funny, unique, and includes Jane Austen (that’s a pro, even if there are some elements I thought could’ve been better). Light, easy, and mostly clean. My favorite parts were Jane navigating modern London. Author did a good job at making some of these storylines cover plot holes that could easily have sprouted up with a storyline like this. Where some failed, many others succeeded.

Cons: Jane Austen’s mother being portrayed like an uppity woman who did not approve of her writing. Sofia’s long and drawn out whining about her terrible, sleazy scumbag of a husband not wanting her anymore. Fred and Jane’s marriage is a bit rushed and unrealistic (I mean, less than a month of knowing one another, but whatever, it’s time travel).

Rating: 2.5/3 stars for “liked it”