Rival actors Tess and Hugh are whisked away to Regency-era England in this time travel romance. Once enemies, they have to rely upon one another to avoid being discovered as truly from the 2020s.

At times charming, the banter between the two leads makes for a pleasant read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

Anything with time-traveling to the world of Austen sends me, so I came in with a bias, but for those who share that bias, this book is a complete delight. Actor Tess Bright, cast as Catherine Moreland for a remake of Northanger Abbey, young, eager, almost unbearably winsome, is an adorable mess you want to be your friend. Hugh Balfour, her Henry Tilney, is the British stuffed-shirt you want to unstarch by pushing him in a puddle. Tess doing just that sends them both two hundreds years back in time, and while Tess is delighted to romp around in Jane Austen's world, Hugh is terrified he'll screw up his ancestors and/or never make it back to the modern era.

The stakes are high, but the romance and comedy are fast-paced and just the right bend of heartfelt and silly. Tess's character flaws are endearingly and poignantly tied to the recent loss of her mother, a fellow Jane Austen fan whom she is still grieving deeply. Hugh, if you bear with him and don't throw the book aside (or pick it back after you do), turns out to have relatable reasons for being insufferable. Bear with him! He'll prove worthy of her, though it's a near thing once or twice.

An eccentric but believable cast of characters (all subtle Austen borrowings in their own way, in names if not personality) really rounded out my enjoyment, showing that even as they fall in love with one another, both Hugh and Tess are trying hard not to damage anything, including the people, in this world they are hopefully just touring. Replete with allusions to all my favorite Austen fare (including a joke about Austenland, which is a guilty pleasure I don't feel the least bit sorry about), this is a book that will leave Janeites thrilled, sighing, giggling, and wishing for another book like this one. Immediately.

Now I am a sucker for time travel. Always have been and always will be. This book is certainly no exception and I was delighted by how our two main characters tried to blend into the regency era. I also loved the chemistry between the leads! The Pride and Prejudice of it all delighted me to no end.

This book was clever, sweet, romantic, and makes me believe in love. I loved how both Tess and Hugh learned each other and loved each other for all of their flaws and strengths. It is the perfect romcom to read if your looking for something light and romantic.

I devoured this book!! The idea of traveling back in time, in the time of Jane Austen... MY DREAM. I loved this enemies to lovers story. It the epitome of a true Jane Austen world. I loved all the references to Jane Austen's books. I was swooning over every line and trying to remember which quote came from which one of her books. Hugh and Tess were perfection. What 2 complex and fun characters to read about. Would recommend this to anyone that loves any Austen book! Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for this super adorable ARC.

Omg, I loved this book! This appears to be Ms. Bell's first book, and it is fantastic! Although, as a fan of time travel/fish out of water stories AND Jane Austen-esque stories, this book was tailor made for me.

Tess and Hugh are starring in Northanger Abbey, and Hugh wants nothing to do with her. She needs for this production to go well, and knows that her reputation, as an American actress considered a bit of a wild card, has left her with a lot to prove. Rather quickly into the story, thank goodness, they have an electrical mishap that sends them back to Regency England, where Hugh luckily has family, as well as a strong resemblance to a once-thought missing ancestor! Comedy and confusion ensue, as well as loving and dancing and learning and growing! I really enjoyed his book, and am thankful to Netgalley for providing a free ARC of the tite.

Time travel, fake relationship, JANE AUSTEN!!! what more could a girl want! This was so funny, heartfelt, and cozy. I loved the references and parallels to Austen.

This was a DNF for me as I didn't connect with the characters or the writing; it was a cool concept though.

I don’t have much to say other than that I did not like this book. The Austen Affair felt extremely reminiscent of Puck and Prejudice, which I also did not like.

Maybe it’s the trope itself that is just not appealing to me. From the description of the book, I thought I’d love The Austen Affair, but the plot just wasn’t for me.

However, I did like the references to the various Jane Austen adaptations.

Overall, I only recommend this book if you’re really into the time travel aspect of it.

This was a great book! It was just what I wanted in a Jane Austin retelling. I highly recommend this book!

This was delightful! I LOVE Northanger Abbey, so I was thrilled to receive a free eARC for this book (thank you, St. Martin's!) By the way, Hugh is nothing like Henry Tilney and Tess is not like Catherine Morland, but I still loved them both so much! Their romance felt a bit under-developed at times, but mostly, they did a great job communicating, and I really appreciated that about them.

The plot was engaging; it was difficult to put this book down! The story has a mix of fun moments and really heavy topics. Kudos to the author for handling the darker matters with sensitivity and thoughtfulness. Bell did a good job of subverting some tropes, but definitely fell into others. I don't think readers will be mad about it though; this is a classic, crowd-pleasing enemies-to-lovers romance in many ways. The story does require a fair bit of suspension of disbelief (y'know, time travel) and there were moments when I felt the characters acted inconsistently. I also wish we had seen more of the movie adaptation (but hey, I love the 2007 version!), but I am quite happy with the story as-is.

Overall, this is an enjoyable time-travel romance for fans of Jane Austen!

Note: This did not impact my rating, but I was surprised by the amount of profanity and an open-door sex scene in this book. Some of my audience may wish to know about those ahead of time.

I post this review with my honest opinions. This review is cross-posted to Goodreads and will be posted to Amazon within one week of publication.

This Jane Austen well written adaptation is a unique enemies to slow burn lovers' time travel contemporary romance, which brings us into the regency era. The characters were likable. I really enjoyed how they find strength in themselves and each other. I recommend reading!

This book was as silly and fun as I hoped it would be. It won’t stand the test of time like the books it pays homage to, but that’s an unreasonable bar! Jane Austen fans will enjoy references to her classics (both explicit and subtle) throughout as Tess and Hugh find themselves in Regency era England.

Thanks to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Release date 9/16/25.

Tess Bright an American actress and Hugo Balfour an English actor are currently filming an adaptation of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. The two are not getting along at all...as Tess if a "play-by-the-seat of your pants" type of girl and quite messy in her life; Hugo is very rigid, organized and a method actor. Opposites do not always attract. However, due to an electrical glitch while filming, the two find themselves time-traveled back to the Regency era of England, 1815. Not only that, but they arrive in the very same place Hugo's ancestors are living. Stepping back in about 200 years, both have to adapt themselves to the conventions of the time, have to explain who they are and convince the family they are indeed relatives. Not an easy task! While all this is taking place, their relationship to each other changes. This book was very witty and fun to read. This author has a sense of humor (very much appreciated) making the novel very appealing and easy to read. I couldn't put it down and finished the novel in one day. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Austen Affair was a humorous and adventurous take on Jane Austen-inspired time travel, while still managing to convey the seriousness and emotional depth of loss and the heartache of having a terminally ill parent. My heart went out to Tess and Hugh as they both navigated their grief. It was comforting to watch them fall in love and support each other as they discovered how much they had in common.

I wanted to protect Tess so badly! Life had been difficult and lonely for her, but she always tried to make the best out of every situation. She remained open and vulnerable, something I find admirable, but it made me want to wrap her up in bubble wrap and make sure no one took advantage of her.
However, I had a hard time finding Hugh likeable, which was a bit of a challenge for me to have in a romance novel. As the story progressed, I was able to understand him better and appreciate certain aspects of his character, but I don’t think he’s making it onto my “book boyfriends” list.

Overall, I enjoyed this debut from Madeline Bell and look forward to seeing what she writes next! I’d recommend this one if you're in the mood for something unique with Jane Austen vibes, and if you like your couples to have a realistic relationship -even in an unrealistic setting.

Time travel? Regency? Adorable romance? Sign me up! This book was such a love letter to Jane Austen and her fans. I think we all dream about traveling to the past and living out our Regency romance dreams. Slight anachronisms aside, this was such a sweet story that tackles loss and family love. Highly recommend if you want a cozy read with entertaining characters and swoon-y romance.

I found The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell a fun and quick read. There are a lot of time traveling Austen romances but I think this one does something unique. Both our main characters have growth for the better and a delightful interlude with a VIP.

There were moments where I thought I wasn’t going to like Tess Bright. However, the author did a great job of creating a flawed character who embraces and handles themself well.

Austen fans, historical romance lovers, and those that like fast reading romances will love this.

The Austen Affair was such a fun read for me!! I love Jane Austen and I love time travel books so I was the perfect reader for this book!! It’s fun with lots of quips from Jane Austen novels. The banter between the two main characters was fun to read. I laughed when they tried to acclimate to life in the past! The dinner scene cracked me up when they momentarily slipped and argued who better researched their acting gigs meanwhile forgetting they had time traveled. I will buy this book when it is released!

I liked this read! It was a fun plot and I enjoyed the characters as well. Not always a fan of romance but love the rivals to lovers trope

The Austen Affair - Madeline Bell

10/10

This book is a beau. It's soul touching, heartwarming. Sugar spice everything nice. We have a quirky whimsical delusional female lead meeting a rule abiding male lead. It's enemies to lovers, it's romcom fantasy, it's Jane Austen (oh the character references) but most importantly it's the plot, it's the characters and their evolution as people. It's understanding. I absolutely would love to buy this, and I think you should too.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc!

I don't have many words for this, it was very swoony and cute and pretty perfect