The description of The Austen Affair reminded me of Jane In Love by Givney (loved it!) so I immediately wanted to read it. AA started out strong for me but my interest started to fizzle as the chapters moved along. Sadly this was a DNF for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the opportunity to read and review The Austen Affair which I am giving 2⭐️.
I was looking forward to read this book about two actor coworkers who don’t get along that get transported back in time to England during the time of Jane Austen, unfortunately the FMC Tess was so unlikable that I got no enjoyment from reading this book and was thoroughly disappointed.
The book starts off with her giving mean girl energy with comments about the Netflix Dakota Johnson movie and Hollyweird. She not only slaps the MMC after an argument in front of the crew of their film, but later punches him. I knew it was really going to be a bad time when he mentions to her about the film Back to the Future and her response was that she hadn’t seen it “because I was popular in high school.”
I’m sure this book will have plenty of fans but I am not one of them in general this books started out so hateful that I couldn’t like it at all and wouldn’t recommend it.

This book is like stepping into a swirling Regency daydream, but with the sharp, witty chaos of two feuding co-stars who have no business being trapped in the 1800s. The Jane Austen nods are simply perfection. Every reference felt like a love letter to Austen fans, but even if you aren’t one, the humor and charm carry the story effortlessly. The romance, though, that’s where it truly shines. Slow-burn, with stolen glances and heated exchanges that practically sizzle. By the end, I was grinning like an idiot, convinced that maybe, just maybe, fate knows exactly what it’s doing.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Every once in a while I have the magnificent fortune of reading something that is so unlike what I have read before. I love Jane Austen and have read many adaptations but I especially adored this one. Tess and Hugh complemented each other so well as two sides of the same coin in more ways than one. Both the present and past were expertly constructed and each of the characters was memorable and hilarious. This book navigated grief in such a careful and beautiful way. I was so sad when this book was over and I had to fight the urge to immediately start reading it again (the list of books I have to read is endless).

I absolutely loved this Austen-adjacent time slip novel! The enemies-to-lovers duo, Hugh Balfour and Tess Bright, clash as they star in a contemporary adaptation of Northanger Abbey, only to be forced into a fake engagement when they find themselves flung back into the real Regency era. Their spirited antics made me guffaw, while the many Austen references made my Janeite heart sing. A must read!