“Artfully written and engaging, Jane in Love is a lively effusion of wit and humor.”—Graeme Simsion, New York Times bestselling author of The Rosie ProjectA 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?Bath, … the destiny she’s dreamed of…but is it worth her legacy?
Bath, England, 1803. At 28, Jane Austen prefers walking and reading to balls and assemblies; she dreams of someday publishing her carefully crafted stories. Already on the shelf and in grave danger of becoming a spinster, Jane goes searching for a radical solution—and as a result, seemingly by accident, time-travels. She lands in…
Bath, England, present day. The film set of Northanger Abbey. Sofia Wentworth is a Hollywood actress starring in a new period film, an attempt to reinvent her flagging career and, secretly, an attempt to reinvent her failing marriage. When Sofia meets Jane, she marvels at the young actress who can’t seem to “break character,” even off set. And Jane—acquainting herself with the horseless steel carriages and seriously shocking fashion of the twenty-first century— meets Sofia, a woman unlike anyone she’s ever met before. Then she meets Fred, Sofia’s brother, who has the audacity to be handsome, clever, and kind-hearted.
What happens when Jane, against her better judgement, falls in love with Fred? And when Sofia learns the truth about her new friend Jane? And worst of all, if Jane stays with Fred, will she ever achieve her dream, the one she’s now seen come true?
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Artfully written and engaging, Jane in Love is a lively effusion of wit and humor.
Story of a time-travelling Jane. After being disappointed in a near courtship, she went to year 2020. Met the siblings Fred and Sophia. In the end she had to make a hard decision.
A story of love and discoveries from the characteries, as well as redemption. It was heart-wrenching when the decision had to be made, lose her works vs lose the one she loves. (I still have a twinge hours after I read the story).
This was an easy read but a very entertaining love story. Strongly recommend this to all JA fans.
Loved it
Jane in Love is the perfect book for Jane Austen fans and readers who enjoy time-travel romance. When I first heard about this book a few months ago, I immediately added to my TBR. In Jane in Love, Jane Austen magically travels to modern-day England, where she falls in love with a twenty-first-century man. The question is: will staying in the twenty-first century put her literary dreams in jeopardy. What will happen to her books if she never goes back to her time? Will she have to choose between her happiness and her writing? I adored this book. It was charming, witty, and unique. I would love to see it made into a movie! I highly recommend Jane in Love to all romance readers!
Wow, this book wrecked me.
First of all: this isn’t a romance. This is women’s fiction. The ending is the only one that makes sense, and eventually it settles into a feeling of rightness, but it will involve Kleenex.
The initial POV dealing with Jane is written very much in the voice and style of Austen, so the first chapter or so in the 1803 timeline doesn’t read with a modern voice. It took me a bit to sink into the story, because that style is heavy on telling instead of showing, etc. As a writing device designed to mimic Austen, it’s quite effective.
Once I got to Sophie’s POV, the book wrapped me in the unique concept and I didn’t surface until the end.
The narrative is frequently gorgeous as Jane works through the expectations of her upbringing, her talent, and the legacy she left behind. There are scenes of straight up brilliance, such as when she discusses an aging woman’s role with Sophie.
This is a book I’ll be gifting to people.
And now I need to go read Persuasion again.
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.
Jane in Love by Rachel Givney is an excellent, sweet, witty, and entertaining historical fiction romance.
I love anything and everything Jane Austin, so as soon as I saw this book and read its premise, I was sold.
I love the concept of my beloved Jane Austen ends up time-traveling to current day England from her home in Bath, England 1803. I loved the fish out of water concept with Jane being thrust into modern-day technology, social customs and behaviors, and locals. Her realizations, witty dialogue, tongue-in-cheek and quick-fired kept this book entertaining and fresh all the while the author weaved a tale of love found across centuries. This book was light, yet also had a heavier element of bittersweet romance.
I liked the concept of Jane and Fred. The chemistry, the connection, it all seemed as if it was destined. I also enjoyed the side character and storyline of Sofia, Fred’s sister, and her place in this novel. But, most of all, I loved the star-crossed love and fate of Jane’s relationship.
What does she choose? To stay in present time and have the gift of Fred to behold every day, or return knowing the true gift she has in her to give to the world through her talent? An impossible decision that brought tears to my eyes.
Excellent. 5/5 stars
Thank you EW and William Morrow Paperbacks for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
JANE IN LOVE by Rachel Givney was just what I needed to temporarily take me away from these stressful times and let me live in a story with one of my favourite authors.
With bleak matrimonial prospects, Jane is very close to permanent spinsterhood. A last ditch attempt to find a husband finds Jane visits a matchmaker and soon after, a twist in time sees Jane land in current day London.
JANE IN LOVE is certainly a story about Jane finding the romantic love that has alluded her, but it’s not solely about the romance. Liked many renown artists and authors, the real life Austen never saw fame, fortune or celebrity. She’s achieved something she could never imagine and Jane’s quiet delight at discovering her ever present popularity is very touching.
Also enjoyable was Jane’s introduction to modern life. I loved the descriptions Jane gives items she sees; cars are horseless steel carriages, pens are self-inking quills. And there’s a wonderful scene where Jane even stocks up on sugar when she sees how inexpensive it is.
JANE IN LOVE manages to be a charming and light-hearted read while also cleverly providing a critique of modern day life.
***
I listened to the audio version, excellently narrated by Amber McMahon. Amber created distinctive voice for all the characters, and imbued in them the emotion and personality that brought these characters to life. Amber is definitely a narrator I would listen to again.