This book demonstrates why I love historical fiction so much! I thoroughly enjoy reading about real-life characters interwoven with fictional ones as the narrative brings to light bits of history while creating a new story of what might have transpired. It was intriguing to glimpse what their lives might have been like and to learn more of the times when the story takes place. Being an Austen fan, this was a must-read, but I also enjoyed the tributes to Dickens and Louisa May Alcott. I found the discussions between the justices, the court room hearings, the strong women bringing forth progress in the rights for women with their background of the civil war, delving into the characters and lives of famous authors a bit, etc., all fascinating and insightful. Exploring the intellect, and more importantly, the deep emotions of the characters brought them to life in ways that touched my heart and brought more meaning to their accounts than I had heretofore felt. The epilogue brought both joy and sadness as the next chapters of their lives were briefly detailed. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, I received a complimentary ARC copy with no obligation to post a positive review. The thoughts and opinions are my own.

I ultimately enjoyed this book. It is written in a more old fashioned way and is slow to get going.However I connected with most of the characters. Austen at sea is written in 4 parts (books) with each part containing a plot beat. I recommend it for those who likes an old fashioned book.

I loved this book, the sisters are sweet and kind and spoiled and it is like an old story completely Jane Austen vibes. Very good writing and a great story

In 1865, devoted Austen fans, sisters Charlotte and Henrietta Stevenson decide to write to Austen’s 93-year-old brother Frances. Their correspondence leads to the sisters embarking on a trip to England to meet Sir Frances. They find themselves aboard ship with two brothers who are book collectors who are also on their way to meet Sir Frances. Sir Frances has matchmaking in mind but it does not go as planned. This story focuses on the themes of women’s rights and suffrage in post-Civil War America and abroad.

I absolutely loved The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls, thought Every Time We Say Goodbye was just OK, and struggled to get through this newest novel by Natalie Jenner. It was tedious and long winded and took forever to get to what would be the main plot of the story. I felt obliged to finish as I received an ARC and kept hoping it would become more engaging.
I did like the characters but the writing was in an old-fashioned style that just didn’t work for me.

This is a fantastic book! It's perfect for Jane Austen fans! It's full of adventure!There's a mysterious treasure, several love stories, and dreams that come true.

Charlotte and Henrietta are wonderful characters! Their sisterly bond is amazing. They're brave, smart, and compassionate. Their father, William, loves them and makes sure that their intellect is stimulated. I like Nash because he's stalwart. He's quiet, but he's always thinking. Admiral Frank is a romantic! He's known and lost love twice, but he still believes in its power.

The thing that I liked best about the book was that I felt like a participant in the story! The characters felt like old friends. I was so sad when it ended, but I'm glad that the epilogue tied everything up nicely! It also renewed my interest in reading Jane Austen's books again!

I was provided a complimentary copy of the book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

While I found this story a bit slow at the start, getting to know the many characters, it picked up quickly to the point where I just wanted to keep on reading. The sisters are incorrigible yet loveable, spoiled yet kind. The brothers are unique and different, not quite a fully developed as characters. Mr. Austen is a joy to learn about, find out more about, and watch him slowly come out of his shell to tell more about his famous sister, Jane.

Anyone who enjoys Jane Austen and her writing will quickly be drawn into the developing story. Each of her books is featured in the discussion of the state supreme court judges book club. Those discussion made me want to read a couple of the stories I have not read yet.

The addition of Louisa May Alcott on the voyage across the sea, where much of the intrigue of the story takes place, is quite a joy. It is a different imagining of Louisa than I personally have but a fun one, to be certain.

The characters, the situations, the love, the disappointment, the surprise, the romance, the history - there is much to find joy and enjoyment of in this wonderful story. It was well worth the time to read and the investment brought much enlightenment to my understanding of the times (1860s following the US civil war). It is a clean story that I definitely recommend.

I received a digital copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Austen at Sea was a beautifully written tribute. I enjoyed learning more and really diving into the story. Natalie Jenner never disappoints in the novels she delivers and keeps the reader engaged and turning page after page. Highly recommend - loved this beautiful story.

Thank you to net galley for the arc in exchange of an honest review.

This is captivating story written in a rich and vivid, manner. The dialogue has an Austen-like charm, and the characters’ emotions and motivations are beautifully portrayed. The author’s legal background adds an intriguing layer, shedding light on the legal complexities within the story in a clever and engaging way. This was a lovely book and a must-read for historical fiction fans who love Austen. I think those who are in the law field will enjoy this aspect of the book. Thank you to the author for the ARC.

Sadly, this book absolutely did not live up to my expectations. It was too tedious and I couldn't bring myself to root for the characters, which is why I ended up DNFing at around the 15% mark.

I'm a sucker for anything Austen-adjacent and that was initially what drew me in. However, these characters quickly stole my heart and I loved being a fly on the wall for their escapades. The author paints a pretty picture of the time with the freedoms the women of the novel enjoyed and then tears rips in that picture with the obvious chains on that freedom for women of the time. While I'm no historian, so I'm no judge of accuracy, I felt the politics and the fight for women's rights were interestingly included both as a side conversation and ultimately as a main idea.

The Austen book club by the judges really makes me want to read the Austen books missing from my own experience as well as delve anew into all my favorites.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC. This review is my own.

This was a very interesting read, especially for a lover of Jane Austen and other classic literature. Other classic authors are also weaved into the story in a very fun way. Interesting pieces of Austen’s history and personality are weaved into the story despite it being fiction.

The story jumps in time in a way that is sometimes jarring, though they are usually explained later in the story. It is an interesting combination of romance, literary history, and drama. A good pick for lovers of historical fiction and Jane Austen.

If you are a Jane Austen fan this book is a must read for you. A tribute to Jane Austen.
I was captivated by this novel. Especially Louisa May Alcott.
A look into relationships, legacies and society.
The story follows two Boston sisters who travel on a transatlantic journey aboard the S.S. China. A voyage that changes their lives. I felt as though I was on that journey with them.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book.

. A very appropriate book from the author of The Jane Austen Society, which I absolutely adored. Its a book by an Austen lover for Austen lovers and a way to make you go deeper in the characters. Loved that supreme judges were doing a jane austen book club, more men need to read Jane Austen I love the takes on Fanny Price and might need to do a reread. It was great that Louisa May Alcott was there but she was a bit insufferable although i learned to love her, but the juxtaposition of two of the best female authors, and ones that I adore was great. Henrietta and Scott came out of nowhere and i was just not into it. I in general didnt love how most of the relationships evolved but that was a bit Austenian. Some of my favorite quotes:

freedom is not about ensuring you get everything you want, but rather becoming the best self that you can be therein lies life’s great reward for us and for those around us
knowledge acquired instead of babies, that was the draconian decision women everywhere were forced to make.But the babies grow up and leave you all the same while knowledge never does.

This is a story about two well to do sisters in 1865 Boston who bemoan the lack of women’s rights, and write fan letters to famous authors, out of boredom. They strike gold with Jane Austin’s last surviving sibling. Though elderly and living in London, he invites them to come meet him. Their father a Mass supreme court justice, is worried sick about them and send another much younger justice on the voyage to chaperone them. In the meantime he runs a Jane Austin book club with his fellow justices where they debate the characters in each book ( that was a serious WTH?? moment for me- I can’t see a group of 60 year old 1800s men willingly reading one Jane Austin book, let alone all of them.) On the sister’s boat are two young book seller( aka love interest) brother, a young girl pursing g them and Louisa May Alcott.
I really wanted to love this book, but I found it incredibly dull. The sisters are sweet, but not compelling characters for me. This was just not my cup of tea. I was DNF at 30%. If you love Jane A’s novels you may love this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed Natalie Jenner’s first few books. Her last one didn’t do much for me, but it still felt like it had an underlying story that brought everything together. Austen at Sea, however, felt disjointed and had no characters that were easy for me to connect with. Sisters Harriet and Charlotte are at the center of the story, daughters of the Chief Justice of Massachusetts as the Civil War is ending. The first part of the book is them fan girling over Jane Austen and doing the nineteenth century version of celebrity stalking of her one remaining sibling while bemoaning their lack of rights as women. Thankfully Austen’s brother is more flattered than anything else and invites them to hop on a ship and come see him in England. In a matchmaking effort, he also invites two bookseller brothers that have written to him as well. The second part of the book is on the ship, where the majority of the story is about them along with Louisa May Alcott and several other acquaintances, casting and putting on a play of Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities. Yes, Dickens, not Austen. During this journey Harriet does a rash thing that will come back to bite her, and have every reader questioning how intelligent and concerned she really is with the rights of women. The third part is about many members of this group realizing they’re there to meet Frances Austen and then actually meeting him. During this time he bequeathes one of his sister’s letters to Harriet. Which goes into part four, which is all focused on a lawsuit brought against Harriet that bounces back and forth between England and America. Meanwhile the sisters’ father and his fellow judges (minus Nash who jumped on the ship to follow the women) read and debate Austen’s novels. Romantic entanglements come and go with unpredictable and annoying frequency. I found Harriet completely bewildering. It’s hard to describe how her choices could even make sense. It’s unfortunate because this book could have been a really good story about women’s lack of rights, especially once married. And as much as I thought it was wrong for Denham to do what he does to Harriet, she’s a smart woman that’s stupid enough to put herself in the situation. Not many likable characters and way too many tangents make the weak main storyline even harder to follow. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

For a big fan of all things Austen, this was quite delightful! It was a different spin on a Jane Austen homage and I enjoyed that. The characters felt well drawn out and engaging and while the story moved a little slowly at times, I was never bored. Recommended!

This was in many ways an intriguing and imaginative book with superb characterizations, centering around widower Judge William Stevenson and his two daughters, Charlotte and Henrietta. The judge had suggested a reading circle at the Massachusetts state supreme court at which he serves, and the author discussed was Jane Austen, also a favorite of his daughters. Since the book except for the Epilogue takes place in 1865, there are periodic mentions of the American Civil War and the assassination of President Lincoln.

The Stevenson sisters eventually correspond by letter with Sir Frances Austen, the late Jane’s brother, who lives in Portsdown Lodge, Hampshire., Britain, and ask if they can visit him. This is unknown to their father the judge, who would be totally opposed to such an idea. At length he pursues them to the wharf as they surreptitiously depart and pressures the younger Justice Thomas Nash to board the ship taking them to England as chaperone.

In addition, two brother booksellers of Philadelphia,, Nicholas and Haslett Nelson, also correspond with Sir Frances Austen and travel to see him on the same ship as the sisters Stevenson. Both were the first generation of American men conscripts for war; Haz skirted death and Nick took a bullet to the leg. On the ship is also the intrepid author Louisa May Alcott, who arranges for the women aboard to enact scenes from Dickens.

The novel unfolds from there with many twists and turns on both American and British shores. Some are personal and involve a marriage at sea; another involves a gift from Sir Frances Austen to Henrietta. Multiple pages are devoted to the comparative property rights of British women compared to those of American women. I found such court deliberations interesting but a bit too lengthy sometimes. Similarly the American judges’ literary discussions of Austen books sometimes were a bit too philosophical for me and I suspect most readers.

The evolution of characters was very well done, including that of Judge Stevenson as he kept company with a liberal-minded lady. Similarly, the Stevenson sisters and Judge Thomas Nash evolved, and there was a great deal revealed about women’s rights and societal change in that era.

All in all, I enjoyed the book Austen at Sea and was stunned by the Author’s note that she had written it largely during her own cancer treatment. As a cancer survivor, this fact made me appreciate the book even more.

I loved this book for so many reasons. I wanted to be right there with Charlotte & Henrietta as they went to England to meet with Jane Austen’s brother and as they ventured to Chawton and learned as much as they could about their favorite author. There’s a great cast of characters and some surprising twists, but my favorite is the five Supreme Court justices of Massachusetts discussing Jane Austen’s books!

As an avid Jane Austen reader, I was thrilled at the chance to read this book!
It transported me back to a time when I was reading Pride and Prejudice. The characters gave me a similar vibe of many of those characters. The era felt well-written and it had scenes that made me both smile and tear up.
It was very immersive of the time period, with various struggles and themes present. It moved a bit slow at times but it definitely fit the bill for an Austen themed read!

I tried really hard to get into this book but I felt the writing was daunting, the storyline too slow moving, some of the twists when they were on the ship made no sense from what I had previously gathered in the story and a lot of characters I just felt no connection to. I gave it to ~40% then DNF. I think there is definitely a certain type of reader who will enjoy this, but it isn't me!