Thank you Net Galley and Madeline Bell for the
ARC copy!!
If I had the time, I would have binged this book in a day. It's a cute take on romance time travel, and the writing style was satisfying. I did feel like there were just a couple points, including the end, that were a bit rushed (although that's probably because I love a bit more of a slow burn and pining between the main characters). But with that being said, it does have a very sweet ending, and it's a good, easy read!

Oh I ate this UP! Forced proximity, fake relationship, time travel, JANE AUSTEN!!! It's like someone put my brain into a machine to print my favorite book. And Northanger Abbey appreciation? Everyone should be picking this debut up expeditiously.

This concept soared because it was clear that Madeline Bell genuinely loves Jane Austen and adjacent works. Strong prose, amazing character development. and an ensemble that felt developed enough to justify their inclusion. I really enjoyed all of the references to Austen's works. Most of all, I enjoyed how well the main characters communicated. I've been feeling a little fatigued at miscommunication as a trope in romance, so it was beyond refreshing to see a healthy dynamic on page - it made it make sense for them to go from feuding to lovers. Tess and High were so funny and memorable, and I really felt for both of them as they navigated the struggles that come with living (time travel aside).

Recommended for fans of excellent boiled potatoes, unconventional regency romance, and wickedly smart, funny writing.

I find so much of myself in books, especially ones that I often underestimate as being something I can relate to, and The Austen Affair is no different. Through her grief, FMC Tess believes she is too messy, too ruinous, to be chosen and loved, and I fear I have those same thoughts. In this novel, though, we find even the most sorrow-filled soul can find joy and light in the midst of mourning.

The Austen Affair was exactly the kind of pick-me-up story I hoped it would be. Hugh was delightfully, and awkwardly, charming when he allowed himself to be seen as he exists, and Tess' headstrong and kind nature were both infuriating and endearing. Definitely grab a copy when this is released!

Two actors filming an Austen adaptation get travelled through time back to Austen’s England. This was so witty, heartfelt, and cozy. I laughed out loud many times and just ate up the references and parallels. And the romance? It was perfect. I thought this would book would be very silly gong. Into it and just a good palate cleanser- which it does have its silly moments and is a good palate cleanser- but it stands on its own well even if you aren’t a Jane Austen fan (but like what are you doing here if you’re not?) and it wasn’t too cheesy or anything. Will definitely be buying this when it releases and recommending to others.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. This was a fun and fast read because I love Jane Austen and all of her works. Why not read a book about an actress who is obsessed and the time traveling trip she takes with a stodgy Londoner? And she gets to meet Jane whilst traveling in time?? So fun!

Is the book realistic and considerate of the impacts of time travel? No. Would it help Tess to get some help to assist in the processing of her grief? Yes. Does it really matter to the fun story being told? No. Not for me.

3.5
Overall enjoyable. As with so many books, there were a few editing issues & I felt the ending was a bit rushed, and yet everything was fairly satisfactory resolved.

Tess was a bit difficult for me. I didn’t like her at the beginning and it took quite a long time for any character development, but flawed though she was, she made it work. I do hope she gets some counseling, she was virtually incapacitated by grief after the death of her mother, which is not to belittle her sorrow or sound utterly unfeeling, but it was a refrain I grew slightly tired of.

As with any time travel story, it’s hard to reconcile the blithe actions of the time traveler with those they interact with in the past. There seemed to be almost no concern for altering time and changing the future. Through their various actions it seems impossible that they did not impact history, for better or worse, but that doesn’t seem to be the point of this book.

The author did a good job of evoking the past and making those people come alive and yet perhaps there were too many characters as I didn’t really connect with anyone. And Fanny often felt more modern than she should have.

All that said, it was a fun read.


Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC

This was so cute - I am a big Jane Austen fan, and this enemies-to-lovers story was adorable. I loved it

What a cleaver way to tell an Austen story. Not only is there romance and everything else that goes with an Austen tale, but because of a misshape, the characters find themselves in a place that may have given Jane her ideas. Loved every characters and all the references to my favorite tales, Sense and Sensibility and Emma, but I got a kick out of an appearance from a special person that was just fabulous. I loved how Tess and Hugh effected everyone around them, including each other. I kept thinking that it wasn't a fluke that they went back in time and that it was suppose to happen. I loved being back in Austen's world it was very romantic but realistic at the same time.

I want to thank St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for an advance copy of the story about Jane Austen's tales

This one was so cute and funny! I loved the Jane Austen theme/references. I can’t wait to read more by Madeline Bell in the future. I also loved Tess and Hugh’s characters

"No one can resist enemies-to-lovers." Romantic. Whimsical. Full of wit and charm. Hilariously entertaining. I was initially drawn to "The Austen Affair" by Madeline Bell because of the Jane Austen tie-in, since "Pride & Prejudice" is one of my favourite novels. The element of time travel also piqued my curiousity and how it would be intertwined into the storyline. I can honestly say I was pleasantly surprised with how much fun I had reading this and it felt like such a lovely ode to Jane Austen. Much like our main protagonist, Tess, you can tell that Madeline Bell is a true fan of Austen - sprinkling lots of references of Austen's works throughout the novel in a seamless way.

As mentioned, our female protagonist, Tess Bright, is an Austen afficionado who also happens to be starring in the latest remake of "Northanger Abbey." alongside buttoned-up method actor, Hugh Balfour - much to his and the internet's dismay. I loved Tess' quick, witty banter and her inner thoughts / inner monologues kept making me chuckle. With lines like "This is the Regency equivalent of sending an unsolicited d*ck pic," I couldn't help but laugh out loud. It was fun to read how Tess (hilariously) navigated her way through the past as a modern day woman.

I did enjoy the relationship between Tess and Hugh and their smooth transition from enemies to lovers. The classic opposites attract trope: Tess is the charming social butterfly while Hugh is the stiff and grumpy introvert who is more than meets the eye. While Hugh is from the present, he felt very much like a male lead in an Austen novel with swoon-worthy lines like "Would you look at art and not be moved?". Much like an onion, I enjoyed reading on as the layers of Hugh's figurative walls got slowly peeled away to reveal his true character. From the gentle knuckle kisses to the forehead touching moments, it was the small gestures between these two characters that made me believe their developing feelings for one another. Don't worry though, there are a few spicy moments for those seeking something less PG.

If you're looking for a fast-paced romantic comedy, then this book will definitely deliver. Madeline Bell's writing is truly swoon-worthy in itself. The way she writes about love and even grief can feel poetic at times. While you don't necessarily need to be an avid Austen reader, it does help with some of the references that are sprinkled throughout the novel. Bonus points for the few Taylor Swift mentions (big Swiftie over here)!

A big thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and author, Madeline Bell, for the opportunity to read the ARC for "The Austen Affair," which happened to be my very first ARC.

Overall rating: 4.3 out 5 stars

It is a truth universally acknowledged that I will read anything with ‘Austen’ in the title, so when I received an ARC copy of The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell, I was thrilled. This was fun, modern retelling of P&P that comes with a side of magical realism. Our Lizzie here is Tess, an actor who has recently lost her mother, a woman who taught her to love all things Austen. She has finally gotten her big break – the lead on a Northanger Abbey movie – and is excited to submerge herself into fake Regency England.
The problem is her costar Hugh, who is quiet, judgy and rude (shocking I know!) and they are not experiencing any on-set chemistry except the annoying kind. After a freak accident, they wind up in actual Regency England with Hugh’s ancestors where they fight to get back to the present, try not to ruin the past, and obviously fall in slow burn love.
The book is full of Austen references, and not just from the books but also from the movies, television shows and popular lore (yes, the hand flex gets a shout out). It is a fairly traditional romance but the dialogue is witty and it is ultimately charming.
The Austen Affair is scheduled to be published in September of 2025, a big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC.

This was a fun read. If you love Jane Austen, and you love romance, and you love time traveling, then this is the book for you. The characters start out in the current time zone on a Jane Austen movie set and - no surprise - they hate each other. But then they stumble in a storm in a field and find themselves back in time - luckily for them, they land in a century where the leading man looks just like his ancestors and is quickly mistaken for one of them. Austen lovers will love the balls, the clothes, the customs, and of course, the sightings and interactions with Jane herself. As with romance, it does work out in the end - but whether they stay in that long-ago time zone or return to the present is something you will have to read the book to find out. Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-arc. I love a book where I can recognize an Austen quote and enjoy it with other Austen fans, as I too am "very fond of walking!"

ahhhh! I got an arc for this book from NetGalley and I’m so glad I did! Ok so personally I loved this book! It had all my favourite things, a celebrity romance, but at the same time a time travelling one, and a historical one!! It brings my love for Bridgerton and celeb romances all into one book! I felt like the banter was top tier and I genuinely was laughing at all the comments the fmc and mmc were hurling at each other! This is a closed door romance, which honestly is the best kind bc it lets you focus on their relationship outside of just lust. So glad I found this book, it was so fun to read about these celebs trying to fit into the regency era without raising suspicion and messing with the timeline!!

A surprisingly well done romance involving time travel and Jane Austen. I think that I was surprised because I went into this with meh expectations. The premise sounded good, but I have been burned by so many of these books. And time travel is always hard for me because I spend most of the story - and this goes for all genres including children's fiction - dissecting how many things just are not plausible. And so much circularity that my brain almost always wants to explode thinking about it all.

I tried not to think about the time travel aspects of this book too much and thankfully Bell doesn't either. Sure a few moments reference paradoxes and the like, but ultimately it's more romance than science fiction which is perfectly fine.

The start of the book was, to me, choppy. You definitely have to push through the present day and the first chapter or two in the past before the characters become more likeable and you start wanting them to come out on top. I think, for me, Hugh was fine from the outset. Sure, he was a bit stuffy, but Tess was just so pushy and a hot mess that I could see why his back would be up. She was not my favourite person especially in how she was so self-destructive in her present day life. That being said, I get loss and how everyone copes in their own way.

Summing up, this is a good romance. There is some definite Regency flavour to it, but nothing too over the top and it did has some elements of the Birdgerton rewriting of social norms in a few instances. The characters are folks you root for, and those in their circle are intriguing and interesting characters as well.

I would definitely recommend it to someone. Just with the caveat that you do have to get through a rough start.

Outlander meets romantic comedy meets pride and prejudice.
Two co stars that cannot stand each other are struck by lightning and go back in time to the 1800s! Forced to work together and stage a sham engagement in order to survive and go back to their timeline.
Enemies to lovers with a bit of spice this book is perfect for those who want Jane Austen vibes with a modern twist to a romantic story.

This was a super cute, fun, time travel, rom com. Austenland vibes. Great character development, backstory, and personal growth. Lots of Austen book references but you don't need to have read them all to enjoy this how-will-they-get-out-of-this regency romp. Without giving anything away... the ending was good, but not enough of it. Like it should have been the last 10% of the book, not 2%. There was definitely storyline there to finish and it felt cut short at the end. So I wish there was more to the, I'll say, re-entry part of the story. But overall, I enjoyed the premise, character development, and story execution of this light, fun read!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this arc of The Austen Affair.

I picked this book ARC because I love Austen retellings, second chances and a touch of fantastical-ness in my reads. I think if you’re the type of reader who can continue on when something is entirely unrealistic - especially the time between enemies to can’t live without you love/instalove - then this book might be for you. Especially from a debut author, there’s a touch of camp that I’m looking forward to seeing in future titles.

For me, I DNF’d toward the middle because the reality fell apart and I still didn’t feel like the characters had an arc, especially Tess. I didn’t feel like I had any grasp on her.

I appreciated the creativity behind it. I just wish there had been more room to develop the characters and emotional arcs more deeply without so many competing threads.

In this delightful enemies-to-lovers novel by Madeline Bell, we are introduced to Hugh Balfour and Tess Bright, two costars on the set of *Northanger Abbey*. Initially, their relationship is far from friendly, but everything changes when an accident unexpectedly transports them back to the real Regency Era. *The Austen Affair* is a whimsical tale featuring a time-shifting element that is sure to make any Jane Austen fan swoon. This book was such an enjoyable read! Madeline Bell has crafted wonderfully relatable characters—some you'll adore and others you may not be quite so fond of. Be sure to add *The Austen Affair* to your list of must-read September releases. A big thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin Press, and Madeline Bell for providing me with this advanced ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

#Netgalley #StMarinPress #madelinebell #theaustenaffiar

Thank you to the publisher and author for giving me a chance to read and review An Austen Affair.

I'm sorry, it just wasn't for me. I get that it's supposed to be physics-bending enemies to lovers, but the amount of time transitioning from enemies to lovers was really short and felt more like trauma-bonding than attraction. I was able to suspend my disbelief more about time travel and the historical paradoxies being skipped through like a field of poppies, than I was able to about the relationship with the FMC and MMC.