This book started off really great. I loved the set up leading up to the Jane Austen festival. The build up of some romance between characters was fun and I was curious to see where it would go. But then it got boring. Just dragged on and on and I couldn’t see where it was going. DNFd at 35%.

** spoiler alert ** Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this to review.

Let me start by saying that I’m a Jane Austen fan, and I love reading alternate stories, continuing stories, vampire, zombie, whatever stories involving Jane Austen and her characters, so obviously I can get past some inconsistencies and improbabilities to make the story work, but this one just had too many fir me, and honestly, if I’d have gotten this from the library, or even purchased it, I probably would have DNF’d it.

First of all, the first 40% of the book was excruciating to read. I couldn’t tell if the author was American trying to write British English or British trying to write in American English the words and phrases used were awkward and frankly painful at times. Strangely enough, this changed at about the 40% mark (my ARC didn’t give page counts, just percentage). Perhaps the editor woke up, or maybe I got a bad copy. Also, the ARC I received had no paragraph delineations so each chapter was one big paragraph making it hard to read, but tolerable.

Second, the characters are not likable, nor developed well at all. Their relationships are contrived and again, awkward. At first I thought the love interest was between Rose and Morgan because of the language and conversation between them. So the main character Rose is a huge Jane Austen fan and works for a realty company in Bath and the story takes place during the annual Jane Austen festival, where she runs into a meets Jane Austen who has traveled from 1803.

Next, time-travel involves pushing the “I believe” button and not focusing on the implausibilities of a lot of details in the storyline, but this one had so many glaring inconsistencies, it was hard not to. Basically, the premise is that Jane’s necklace has magical properties that can transport her forward in time to the exact spot, so she travel to modern day Bath. Ok. Then we learn that there is a safe in her old family home that can be used to carry letters back and forth between her and her sister Cass back in 1803. Ok, I’m still ok with this. And the Magic only works on Jane, unless she gives it from her hand to another. The magic must be given from hand to hand. Then we learn that nothing that didn’t exist in 1803 can travel through the safe to 1803 which is why Jane has the old paper, quill and ink that Cass has sent to her. Are we still tracking? One day, as Rose and Jane are talking about the necklaces, a dog comes up, grabs the necklace out of Janes hand, and mysteriously travels back to 1803. Wait....didn’t we just learn that nothing that didn’t exist in 1803 could travel back? How did the dog travel to 1803? And Jane’s reaction to the dog stealing the necklace and basically stranding her in modern times? “Oh well, shall we have a cup of tea?” Seriously? She has a melt down when the library doesn’t have the third volume of a book she was reading 300 years ago, but she gets stuck in modern times and she shrugs it off?

Ok, so now things get even weirder. Because Jane doesn’t go back to 1803, she never writes all of her books, and is never published. So immediately upon exiting the house, the world has changed. No one knows who Jane Austen even was except for Rose! Um, why? Because she was her biggest fan? No explanation why. If Jane Austen didn’t exist in this reality, how does Rose remember? Ok, whatever, I’m ready to forgive this and move on. So now they have to figure out how to get Jane back to 1803. And this is where I actually give the 2 stars. The detective work figuring this out was clever, to a point. So now, Morgan is still Rose’s American friend but in Bath researching the disappearance of a woman named Jane Austen 300 years ago. No reason why that missing person case is interesting or important, and literally only one story in the newspaper about it, and an American is going to come over to do research? Of the thousands that going missing daily? What? Uhmmmm, ok.... so then there is this hidden message in a book, leading them to a false wall hiding a safe that only Jane can open and tada! There’s the necklace. Not sure why Cass didn’t send the dog back, bring the necklace back herself and they could place it in the safe and exchange the power that way, but there it is. The world was set back to rights.

And that’s where the story should have ended and I would have given it 3 stars. But no, I still had 25% of the book left.....omg, what else was there? Oh, the junior high like romance between Rose and the archeologist Aiden. Three years back and forth and he finally, at a lunch date picnic, gives her a valentine’s candy heart that says be mine? And Rose is so insecure she just swallows it and disbelieves. Ugh, it’s too terrible to even regurgitate here.

I hate giving bad reviews because writing a novel and putting it out to the public is a huge thing, and I give the authors kudos for that, but for me personally, this one just had way too many flaws and inconsistencies for me to recommend it to anyone,

*Review will be posted to my blog on 9/11/2019*

Thank you to Canelo and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eArc.

The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen was a light-hearted and cute read about a time traveling Jane Austen but it focuses a lot on a character named Rose Wallace.

I love that it was set in Bath – I visited on my honeymoon and I absolutely loved it. I wish I had more time to spend there, but it was only a quick afternoon stop. 😕 The book is set during the Jane Austen festival which sounds like something I’d love to partake in one day! 😍

Rose Wallace lives in Bath and is a Janeite (Jane Austen fan) who has an American friend named Morgan. The history of their friendship is very cute and it resonated with me more than the romantic storyline of Rose and Dr. Aiden Trevellyan. I think I wanted more romance in the story but I didn’t get much of it until the time travel occurs. Even then the mystery of Jane Austen was the focus of the story.

I’m sure everyone has speculated how Jane Austen would be in real life and we all have our own ideas. In this book I thought she was what a time traveling Jane Austen would be like, she stays in character, adapting a bit here and there but pretty much knows her person and does what she wants. The mystery about the time travel was interesting and it does make you think, what if Jane Austen never existed. Oh the horror! I can’t imagine a world without Pride and Prejudice in it, can you? 🥺

It took awhile for me to get into this book, not sure why, maybe I was waiting for Jane Austen to show up right away but the story focused more on Rose. If you are a fan of Jane Austen, I think you will enjoy this charming story about Jane Austen and the cast of characters that help her get back to her time so that we can always have Jane Austen in our lives.

All Rose wants to do is enjoy the Jane Austen festival in Bath with her online friend from California, Morgan. All while longing for Dr. Aiden Trevallyn to notice her. Instead, she makes the acquaintance of a time traveling Jane Austen. Thanks to an accident with a dog, Rose and Jane end up in an alternate timeline where Jane had never written any of her novels, and they must figure out how to return to their own time to fix the timeline.

As a fan of Jane Austen's books, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I was a little apprehensive about how the story would unfold and how the authors would make Jane Austen come alive for readers. But I loved the idea of a time traveling Jane, and would give anything to trade places with Rose. Overall, this was a delightful and charming story, but I wish more of Jane's books had been discussed.

I really liked the characters, but, at the same time, I found them to be a little stagnant and, were it not for the alternate timeline, a little one note. Certainly, there was a bit of growth, particularly when it came to the romantic subplots, but it was so subtle it was almost missed. I loved that the main character, Rose, wasn't an extroverted, feisty young lady. Instead, she's a bit older, very British, quiet, reserved, and quite bookish. My kind of character! But, as much as I loved her characterization, she only seemed to change in response to her changing circumstances and then almost completely reverted back to her old self when the timeline was restored. As for Morgan, I found her to be the typical bubbly California girl in her early twenties, someone I might have actually known. As familiar as she felt, she was almost too perky almost all of the time. But she did add a nice touch of humor. My favorite character was Jane Austen herself. As apprehensive I was about how the authors would pull her off authentically, in the end, I didn't really care. Jane was interesting and fun, and probably the most complex character presented. She was done so well that I believed she might have actually stepped out of the early 1800s.

One thing I hate about books that heavily rely on the setting to tell the story is how much of a tour guide it turns into. The narrative often gives us a street by street description of how to get anywhere, and it just weighs down the story. I was pleased when that wasn't present here. Yes, there was a bit of describing where places were and what was around them, but it never stayed into being tour guidey and what was provided helped round out the story. I also loved how not different Bath was, except for the places associated with Jane Austen, in the alternate timeline. It was great to read how Rose did and didn't adapt well to her lifelong home in a different time.

The only thing that bothered me about this book was that so much of the story's concept revolved around the impact Jane Austen's books had on Rose's life, and Bath in general, but the story itself barely delved into Austen's books, the impact they've had on society, and how much Rose's life relied on the books. The whole idea was that the future would be altered if Austen had never written and published her novels. Rose was depicted to be such a fan that she chose her home to be in the basement apartment of a home the Austen family had lived in and her place of employment to be at another Austen-related building. The novel is set during a Jane Austen festival, during which Rose and Morgan participate and dress up for. There's a huge amount of Jane Austen love going on, but, in comparison, very little discussion about Austen's books take place. I would have loved more talk about the books and a larger connection between them and Rose and just how important they are to how she chose to shape her life. We get that it's incredibly important for Rose to want to fix the timeline, but it feels more like it's because that's what's more comfortable and familiar to her than because Jane Austen's books have shaped that corner of the world.

Overall, though, this was a charming novel about relationships: the close friendship between Rose and Morgan, Rose's longing for a romantic relationship with Aiden, and the friendship Rose and Jane forge. This didn't hit me until about two-thirds of the way through the novel, when they were about to fix the timeline, but there was still a sizable chunk of the story left. While the timeline part was a major part of the story, it was only part. I was a little disappointed that the experience in an alternate time didn't change Rose much, but it was just enough to make the end plausible. I loved that the romance was subtle, which somehow made it feel more powerful, and that the emphasis was on the lovely friendships the quiet, reserved Rose was able to nurture.

As a Jane Austen fan, this book was wonderful. I would have loved more about Austen's books as just bits and pieces were peppered throughout the novel, but I really loved the idea of a time traveling Jane Austen.


Thank you so much to NetGalley and Canelo for a free e-copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Link to post: https://thelilycafe.wordpress.com/2019/09/05/book-review-the-particular-charm-of-miss-jane-austen-by-ada-bright-and-cass-grafton/

The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen is a whimsical novel about books, time travel and friendship. Upon reading the summary I was immediately intrigued. I love contemporary fiction with a splash of the otherworldly. Rose works in property and is an avid fan of Jane Austen, she lives in Bath in the same building where Jane Austen lived. There’s a Jane Austen festival happening in town.

Her internet best friend and fellow Janeite, Morgan, is visiting for the duration of the festival. It’s hard to explain the book without giving it away completely but it’s the literal Jane Austen in the 21st century, time travel shenanigans and a library.

I loved the friendship between Rose and Morgan because I’m made so many friends on the internet through my love of books and TV shows that I’d love to meet in real life one day. Rose and Morgan’s friendship was so, so amazing! Internet friends raise your hands!! 

The ending of the story kind of threw me off from a four-star rating. It wasn’t very well-rounded and the book seemed to drag for many unnecessary chapters before the last page. The plot had been resolved but the book went on after for romance’s sake and it just felt boring and unneeded.

I could not imagine a world without Jane Austen. Nope, not happening. These authors do make a great case for it. This was a good story , well written by two talented authors. I felt the the character of Rose and her desperation. Great characters that were well fleshed out. I found myself enjoying this book even though I didn't like the story line.

The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen by Ada Bright and Cass Grafton is the good choice for unconventional fans of Jane Austen.

This is a story about Rose who gets to meet her friend Morgan for the first time for Jane Austen festival. Soon they notice a woman who strongly resembles the famous author and who keeps following them around. Due to the particular charm and a bit of magic they get to travel in time.
There are also two love stories Rose's and Morgan's interwoven with the story.

What I liked the most was reading about Jane, her life and struggles as she tries to acclimate herself into modern world.
I also liked two love stories, the man were so perfect for Rose and Morgan completely suitable to their personalities.
What I found slightly annoying was Rose's completely unexplainable low self esteem and the fact that Morgan was portrayed as a typical american,
There are also some other inconsistencies that made reading slow and stale.

Loved this book. Great characters, easy read, uplifting, funny, romantic and charming. A really nice story that is the perfect sumer read.

Well, this has time travel, romance, and Jane Austen. What else can you ask for? It’s easy to read, with a nice plot. Give this book a try.

this was such a fun, interesting, unique read! i really enjoyed it. loved the characters, the setting, the writing, everything worked. so fun!

This was a sweet and heartwarming story. I'm a Jane Austen story fan but not the type of fan that goes to Austen festivals or seeks out locations visited by the author. Still this book was very entertaining to me. Loved the play on words with the title.

One thing that did bother me was that if Jane was the only one that could touch the charm (as outlined in the instructions from her brother) then how did Prancer end up using the charm and how was the charm handled by Cassandra? Just a bit of a mix up in the plot I think. A bit distracting but didn't ruin the story for me.

I enjoyed this, but it just wasn’t the book I was hoping for, seemed a bit formulaic, not much romance or humour and it just fell short for me. I was so looking forward to this when I requested it.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen is one of those shaggy dog books that everyone’s written and thought about sending out.  The kind of drawer-fic where you and Jane Austen are super best friends and you and your internet pal are totally going to save the world with her help; also the hot professor you have a crush on is totally into you!

Letting agent Rosemary Wallace is your average Janeite, trying to rent out a room in the home where Austen once lived while planning to pick up her American friend Morgan at the airport. Morgan and Rosemary have a whole host of weekend plans ahead of them – it’s the annual Austen festival in Bath and they’re planning on seeing the sights, sipping every cup of tea and whirling through the day in empire-waisted dresses - but first Rosemary needs to get through the showing of the flat that lies where Jane’s home once stood.  And the viewer happens to be television archeological paranormalist Dr. Aiden Trevellyan – the man on whom she has a massive crush she’s awful at hiding, bless her.

At the Austen festival, Rosemary begins to notice odd coincidences – a woman who looks like Jane Austen in the rose garden, letters written by Jane to her sister Cassandra that are brand new lying out on a desk.  Then, at a formal tea dance, Morgan bumps into a woman who seems to be – but can’t possibly be! – Miss Jane Austen.  Jane doesn’t comprehend she’s in the twenty-first century – at least not until Jane drops a necklace into the mouth of an elderly lady’s dog  - which sends it back in time in her stead.

With Jane now displaced from the timestream and having been removed from it eight years before she wrote her first books, Jane’s work no longer exists in the modern world.  Yep, it’s a universe with no Darcy, no Emma no Willoughby!  With no Jane to drive her life, Rosemary’s world is quite different.  She doesn’t live in the same building any more. And worse – as she was when Rosemary met her and before they moved together into the Austen fandom – Morgan’s still a Harry Potter fan!  This more reserved Morgan is clearly not quite Rosemary’s best friend. Rosemary – the only person who remembers Jane – must convince Morgan to help her put together the mystery of Jane’s necklace and time travel itself to restore reality as they know it – while figuring out her feelings for Trevellyan along the way.

This is a doggedly cute little story, well-researched as only a devoted Janeite can do it.  It’s a charming every-person comedy, and as such, it’s winning and worth a read.

Rosemary is your average everyday working Brit with a nerdy side.  She’s a good detective and a better friend; while her romance with Trevellyan figures into the book, her friendship with Morgan feels twice as important to the plot, which was delightful.  Jane Austen is woven well into the action – she grapples with the modern world in an absolutely realistic way.

My biggest complaint about the novel is that the front and back end of the story feel somewhat padded out. I would rather have met Jane earlier in the narrative, for instance, and the end of the novel - once Jane’s predicament has been somewhat solved - seems to go on for too long.  The two stories don’t blend in the best way – it feels like Rosemary doesn’t develop very strongly from the start to the end of the book.  Not that, in a story like this, light as air and quick as lightning, development has much of a point.  So if you feel like something light and simple, The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen will fit the bill, in spite of its flaws.

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This is such a delightful story. The premise is a bit out there which I loved about it and you really have to go with it. There’s a feeling of gentility throughout the whole book which is interestingly matched with the time travel element and the intrigue this produces. I admit the ending was slightly abrupt but I’m hoping for a sequel!

Thanks you Netgalley

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

I wanted to like this so much, but I did not. It's not awful, and I can imagine other people liking it. The biggest issue I had was pacing. It took forever for anything to happen. I liked Rose about half of the time, and then at other points she felt like a combination between a plot function and wish fulfillment fantasy. This book could have done with an editor willing to kill the author's darlings.

Imagine a world where Jane Austen never existed. Horrified? That is definitely the reaction of the central character of this book, Rose Wallace, a huge Jane Austen fan who lives in Bath and works as a letting agent. When her online friend Morgan comes to visit from the United States in time for the annual Jane Austen festival the fun begins. One of the role players attending the festival seems just a little too dedicated with perfect period costume and a tendency to speak using a Regency turn of phrase, and it turns out that she is actually Austen herself who has travelled through time by means of a special piece of jewellery. When a mishap results in her becoming trapped in the current day, only she and Rose know her, or that she ever existed. The new version of history tells of her mysterious disappearance, and since it happened before she wrote her first novel, none of her work has ever existed. While Jane has to learn to cope with modern life, Rose must come to terms with numerous changes in her own life, from an entirely different job to the fact that she still lives with her mother. The only way to get things back to normal will be to find a way to get Jane back to the past where she belongs.
This was a fun and whimsical tale, with a great mix of comedy and romance, and one that fans of Austen will enjoy. The character of Rose develops throughout the book , and she learns a lot about herself along the way. The time travel element was well handled and well thought out.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I was so excited about this one and I loved all the characters! ♥️ I’m a huge fan of JAFF and this was sweet, funny and very cleverly written!

What would I do if I met Jane Austen??? Lots and lots of things! I would follow her and take lots of selfies with her and want to find out more about her inspiration for Elizabeth and Darcy! This is a great summer read if you’re a huge fan of Jane Austen.

This was a NETGALLEY gift and all opinions are my own.

2.5 stars

"You have disappeared in 1803 – eight years before your first novel was published. If there is no way back, then you were never published at all. The world has never heard of you, or any of your characters – this is a world without Mr Darcy?"

What the blurb promised: A time traveling Jane Austen getting stuck in the future before any of her books are published. If she doesn’t find a way back to her own time, all her works will be lost to the world.

What I expected: An entertaining romantic comedy where Jane Austen, stranded in the 21st century, gets into all kinds of comic situations due to misunderstandings and not knowing her way around all the “modern contraptions”. I also expected some typical JA elements, such as matchmaking, a love interest, and some story writing. Moreover, I expected to find our world – or at least England – greatly changed, socially as well as politically.

What I got: Little romance and even less comedy. No politics, a little bit of writing, and minimal changes to our world. The impact was mostly apparent in Jane’s and the other protagonists’ personal lives (different job, living situation, and friends). The rest of the world was quite fine and exactly as we know it.

And anyway, the story does not begin with Jane and neither is she the focus of it. The first 10 % of the book establishes the cast and focuses on … Rose. So let’s do the same.

Rose is a sophisticated but shy, self-conscious young woman who does not know how pretty and amiable she really is. She lives in Bath and works for a company that rents out houses that have a connection to JA. Rose is an avid JA fan and attending the JA festival in Bath with her friend Morgan. She has been in love with Dr Aiden Trevellyan for years but is sure that he doesn’t even notice her. Rose is very sweet and relatable and I actually quite liked her as a character.

Morgan is Rose’s chirpy best friend. She is visiting from the USA to attend the festival with Rose. I think she was supposed to be the character who lightens up the novel but I often found her silly rather than funny and a little bit too much.

James is Rose’s boss and very likeable.

Dr Aiden Trevellyan is a smart and handsome but sometimes awkward and withdrawn archeologist and JA expert. He is Rose’s love interest.

Jane Austen makes up only 50-60% of the book which surprised me. I expected her to be smart, witty, and charming. But she is a rather flat character and I found her portrayal rather unrealistic.

I LOVE science fiction and particularly time travel stories but this one was disappointing.

***SPOILER:
I expected Jane Austen to stumble through a portal or to find the charmed necklace mentioned in the blurb by accident. But no, JA has had the necklace for a while, and she has been using it to time travel for quite some time. This just felt odd. ***

When Rose unexpectedly meets JA, her own world unravels and she is determined to bring everything back to normal to ensure that Jane’s writings are saved but mostly just to get her old life back. JA, on the other hand, isn’t shocked or devastated in the least but she’s extremely nonchalant about the whole situation like she doesn’t even care. I find this very unlikely.

During the next 50-60% of the book, Rose tries to cope with her new life (which is not comical, mostly just awkward or boring) while looking for a way to return JA to her own timeline. Rose is pining after her old life, so much so that she does not really care that JANE FREAKING AUSTEN is staying at her place. She could ask her sooo many personal questions and get to know her, befriend her. But she treats her mostly like a liability or like a child you don’t want to play with. (“Jane Austen was turning out to be more than a handful.”) And then, finally, Jane and Rose find their first clue and for a while the plot picks up a little. But that is just a small portion of the book. The rest is mostly Rose.

What I disliked: The authors do a lot of telling instead of showing. So there are lengthy descriptions (with a lot of unimportant and uninteresting detail) of what happens instead of actually letting it happen. This leads to a lack of dialogues and the ones that are there, sometimes felt strange, forced, or scripted. And I could not always follow. The characters seem to change their mind for no apparent reason which feels incoherent and is annoying. Also strange was the unexpected appearance of Rose’s other friends. We never read about them until they suddenly show up at the festival. Most of their names are mentioned once and never again. I was like, who is this? And this? And this? And this? It was just unnecessary and confusing.

What I did like: I really liked that the cast stayed the same. The authors managed to bring all protagonists together in the new timeline under different circumstances which felt improbable but it was fun to read about the changed relationship dynamics.
The language aspect was cool, too. Due to Jane’s visit, we have a constant switch between modern English and Jane Austen’s old fashioned expressions.
It was also interesting to read about actual places and details. For people who know Bath well, this could be very enjoyable.
I read the 2019 kindle edition and I like this cover much better than the previous one. The other cover looks like this could be a gothic story which it is absolutely not.

Funny enough, what I enjoyed the most was the romance between Rose and Dr Aiden Trevellyan. (The love story of Morgen and James was cheesy and boring.) Rose and Aiden are very sweet and cute and awkward. I would have liked more of that. But then, you won’t believe it, when they finally kiss, the authors even manage to spoil this scene by TELLING INSTEAD OF SHOWING AGAIN!!! Instead of showing what Rose felt during and after the kiss, which works best with short sentences to create immediacy, a fast pace and breathlessness, they add TWO long sentences with sub clauses:

"Before Rose had time to speculate on what was coming, he closed the remaining gap between them and claimed her lips with his own and without hesitation, she returned the kiss. It was one of those moments when time slows down, but Rose’s heartbeat started to race, although she could hear nothing but a funny echo of what it once sounded like. In contrast, her senses were fully alert as a heady mix of incredulousness and excitement coalesced inside."

Wait, whaaaat? I had just started to “feel” the kiss but … uh, nope, feeling’s gone.

The story did have some funny moments as well. One of my favorites is Jane Austen reading … well, you’ll see. Here’s the quote:
Rose had caught a glimpse of the cover of the book, and her heart leapt into her throat.
"What are you doing?" She croaked.
"Partaking of some tea. The taste is most particular, but I find I am becoming accustomed to it."
Rose shook her head. "No – I meant, what on earth are you reading?"
Jane turned her book to show the cover to Rose, who paled further and grabbed it from her.
"This is not polite behaviour, Miss Wallace – Rose."
"I’m sorry. Really, I am, but I just don’t think you’re ready for this one yet!" She dropped the copy of Fifty Shades of Grey on the table.

All in all, I think the word I keep using is: boring. And that sums it. The story could have been a lot of fun but alas, it was only okay.

However, let’s finish on a positive not with this quote:
“You couldn’t be cautious and change the world, right?”

Thank you NetGalley and Canelo for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this book is great. Unfortunately the book itself failed to engage me. It took me almost a month to read it, usually I read a book in a day or two. I was so bored while reading this book. I feel terrible saying that but it's true.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Canelo through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was so disappointing. It could have been so interesting. Jane Austen has a charm that sends her to our time before she has written anything. While here she discovers the literature world. Then she finds herself stuck here and all of her accomplishments are wiped out of history. Unfortunately, this story is not told from her perspective. Instead the main character and all the side characters are so boring. Especially the romantic interest. Every time there is a Jane Austen sighting, I feel like I'm missing on the interesting story. I would love to follow Jane Austen when she has her first fish out of water experience.