Helpful Score: 11
This was a very fun book and a fast read. Unfortunately I'm not at all familiar with time travel books so I can't compare, but I thought this one was done well. The book starts immediately with a modern day woman in the body of Jane Mansfield (ha), and discovers she's in the time period where "Pride and Prejudice" was just released (and as an Austen fanatic, she can't get over holding a first edition in her hands!) From then on she must learn to deal with a time period of chaperones even when you're 30, leeches used for medicinal purposes and keeping up relationships with only bits of the real Jane's memory. It was a lot of fun to see the main character deal with such a strict society when in her own life she was fairly promiscuous and her surprise when she finds herself capable of things like stitching and dancing, which she could not do in her own body. This book will appeal to fans of Jane Austen (obviously), time travel romances with a dash of humor, and really anyone that is looking for a good read perfect for relaxation.
Helpful Score: 6
I really disliked this book so much that I did not finish it (and I am not one to not finish a book). I don't know if that disqualifies me to write a review on it, but I'm doing it anyway! I guess I had assumed that since this was Austen-related, that the writer would approach it in a fairly intelligent manner despite the somewhat silly plot. Nope. I really didn't like the protagonist, and I just couldn't waste my time. I jumped the gun and read some reviews on amazon, many of which indicated a poorly resolved plot intended to pave the way for the second book. Once I found out that there was a part 2 detailing what happened to the other end of the time-swap, I put it down immediately. I knew I was not going to be reading the second book that's coming out, so reading this one was a waste of time.
I think that if you do not have expectations before reading, this is a fine, light-hearted read. But I think it is difficult NOT to have expectations, as it is linked with Jane Austen.
I think that if you do not have expectations before reading, this is a fine, light-hearted read. But I think it is difficult NOT to have expectations, as it is linked with Jane Austen.
Arista K. (janeausten-fan-in-va) reviewed Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict on + 4 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
I am a HUGE Jane Austen fan, but not a snobby one (i.e. I can enjoy the film adaptions without getting worked up about the historical inaccuracies. So I really looked forward to reading this book. Alas, it was a disappointment. Part of it is my own pet peeve with time travel books. I HATE when character that "find themselves" in another era insist on using modern jargon and engaging in modern behavior knowing full well that it makes them look crazy and/or disrupts the plot with contrived drama surrounding their cultural slip-ups. It doesn't strike me as spunky or witty or creative. It's just stupid. The main character in this book, Courtney Stone, insists on acting like a 21st Century Californian in Regency Era England to the detriment of the plot. For example, Courtney, who is living the life of a well to-do gentlewoman, agrees (indeed, insists) on meeting in Sydney Gardnes alone with a male servant from her household despite being told explicitly that it would lead to gossip about her behavior and cause problems for her, her family and her friends. . . and she does it anyway because it would be no big deal back home in good 'ol 21st Century L.A. Of course, all sorts of drama ensues. Yawn.
I could forgive all that if the characters were likable. . .but they aren't. Or if the plot was intriguing. . .but it isn't. Or if the writing was funny. . .but it isn't even close.
I could forgive all that if the characters were likable. . .but they aren't. Or if the plot was intriguing. . .but it isn't. Or if the writing was funny. . .but it isn't even close.
Helpful Score: 6
I found this book very disappointing. It begins and ends abruptly, there is not real plot to speak of, and the ending was rather vague and open to interpretation. It was interesting to hear the "other side" of Jane Austen England with the lack of indoor plumbing and the other realities of the living conditions of the day. However overall, I would not recommend this book.
Helpful Score: 5
The book ended, but the story seemed to be left unfinished. I ended up feeling irritated at the amount of time I had spent reading the book.
Helpful Score: 4
I absoutely LOVED this book! I am very particular about my "Jane" books and found this one to be fun, and fast paced. I laughed so hard in some parts I almost peed in my pants. Hope there is a sequel to it!
Helpful Score: 4
What an odd book. I am a fan of historicals, but this was just pretty far out there. The main character seems to be a modern day girl transported back in time to the Jane Austen days. There's a romantic interest (of course), an evil mother, a kind father, a best friend, and a fortune teller. The ending left me feeling less than satisfied, but overall fit the book. I liked this book, but wouldn't reread it.
Helpful Score: 4
It seems I agree with the general consensus. The book was just okay. Parts of it definitely annoyed me. The jacket flap proclaims that Courtney, in the body of a 19th-century woman, manages to fool even the most astute observer, and yet she sounds NOTHING like a 19th-century woman! She constantly uses 21st-century slang while speaking, and while this can be attributed to culture shock initially, one would think that this would improve over time. Surely she could listen to how those around her speak and get some pointers. Thankfully, by the end, her narrative voice has become more like that of the time, but it is still jarring to compare how she speaks to how everyone else in the novel does.
While Courtney was generally likeable, it was annoying how she constantly reflects on her ex-fiancé and Wes, and yet doesnt seem to realize how Wes was a much, much better man and how attracted she was to him. Um, hello? Your fiances a jerk, lady. Complain all you want about how you are attracted to deadbeat guys, but I dont feel any pity for you when you cant seem to recognize the good ones in the first place.
Parts of the book were entertaining, Ill give it that. Other parts seemed completely useless, such as the one point where Courtney gets her period while in Janes body. It seemed as though it was only there for the author to say, Look! I learned how 19th-century women dealt with menstruation! And I know what they called it back then!
Perhaps Im being overly snarky. I do think I will read the parallel story, if only to see how Jane Mansfield fares in Courtneys body, though I cant imagine it will be much different.
While Courtney was generally likeable, it was annoying how she constantly reflects on her ex-fiancé and Wes, and yet doesnt seem to realize how Wes was a much, much better man and how attracted she was to him. Um, hello? Your fiances a jerk, lady. Complain all you want about how you are attracted to deadbeat guys, but I dont feel any pity for you when you cant seem to recognize the good ones in the first place.
Parts of the book were entertaining, Ill give it that. Other parts seemed completely useless, such as the one point where Courtney gets her period while in Janes body. It seemed as though it was only there for the author to say, Look! I learned how 19th-century women dealt with menstruation! And I know what they called it back then!
Perhaps Im being overly snarky. I do think I will read the parallel story, if only to see how Jane Mansfield fares in Courtneys body, though I cant imagine it will be much different.
Helpful Score: 3
I dont really know what possessed me to pick up this book, probably the fantastic cover art, the aspect of time travel and the era in which the story takes place. Alas, that is where my love for this book ends. I have not actually read a Jane Austen (I have seen all the movies) maybe I would have appreciated the novel more if I was armed with such an arsenal.
The tempo of the novel was tedious. The author spends the majority of the short book 288 pages, talking about getting back to her time, the lack of make-up, bathing and the fopa that is empire wasted dresses.
There is no true sense of resolution either. And that more than anything makes me want to throw the book against the wall. Did the heroin get back to her time? Who is in Whos body, did they ever exchange bodies or was the entire thing a dream???
I did read every page so it cant be that bad. And now I do want to read a Jane Austen. So off I go to the library. Maybe it will change my tune.
The tempo of the novel was tedious. The author spends the majority of the short book 288 pages, talking about getting back to her time, the lack of make-up, bathing and the fopa that is empire wasted dresses.
There is no true sense of resolution either. And that more than anything makes me want to throw the book against the wall. Did the heroin get back to her time? Who is in Whos body, did they ever exchange bodies or was the entire thing a dream???
I did read every page so it cant be that bad. And now I do want to read a Jane Austen. So off I go to the library. Maybe it will change my tune.
Helpful Score: 3
Cute, light read of 288 pages. I enjoyed seeing the Jane Austen's time period through Courtney's modern eyes. The reader really understood how romanticized the era is to us and how difficult; socially, politically and hygenically the time period actually was! It did have a rather unresolved, vague ending. I am planning on reading the follow up novel "Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict" by the same author, to see the flip side of the story. Gave it 3 solid stars.
Helpful Score: 2
I read this in one evening because I just couldn't put it down. I love Jane Austen, and thought it was a fun premise. I was disappointed by the ending. I thought it could have been tied up better than it was. I'm still a little bit puzzled by it, but I am glad I read the book. It was a fun read.
Helpful Score: 2
I was pretty excited to read this book - it seemed like such a fun idea and a great quick read.
The story could have been great, but in actuality it fell flat. It had it's moments but the characters weren't developed at all which really irked me. Also, the book began and ended very abruptly, leaving me unsatisfied.
As an avid (but not crazy) Austen fan, I enjoyed the references to her work thrown in here and there. I also liked how plot elements were borrowed and modernized to move the story along. But the good didn't make up for the bad...
I feel like I wasted time reading this story, which is a real shame because the idea could have been great in a better writer's hands.
The story could have been great, but in actuality it fell flat. It had it's moments but the characters weren't developed at all which really irked me. Also, the book began and ended very abruptly, leaving me unsatisfied.
As an avid (but not crazy) Austen fan, I enjoyed the references to her work thrown in here and there. I also liked how plot elements were borrowed and modernized to move the story along. But the good didn't make up for the bad...
I feel like I wasted time reading this story, which is a real shame because the idea could have been great in a better writer's hands.
Helpful Score: 2
I really wanted to like this book more. It started off pretty slow. I was just about to stop reading it when it got really good. Major questions came up that I couldn't wait to be addressed. The problems was those questions were never addressed and they were major questions. Then it got slow again and just ended with nothing answered.
Helpful Score: 2
This book was okay. It wasn't a horrible read, but I did find the conclusion to be really disappointing. It was just like all of a sudden she was okay with being stuck in Regency England and there was this awesome scene where she was kinda shifting between the two times, but then she didn't end up actually going anywhere. I was unimpressed. But it wasn't so bad that I hated it the whole time I was reading, I just don't have any desire to read it again.
Helpful Score: 2
Considering how this book was rated by other readers I was sure that I won't finish it or will absolutely hate it. I have to say I did not hate the book (but I didn't love it either) I enjoyed it in some parts and rolled my eyes in other parts.
I really like the subject of the book, but the execution could have been much better without endless quotes from Jane Austin's novels and with original scenes, not "borrowed" from Austin's novels.
I really like the subject of the book, but the execution could have been much better without endless quotes from Jane Austin's novels and with original scenes, not "borrowed" from Austin's novels.
Helpful Score: 1
Wonderful quick read - great for summer reading at the beach, lake, backyard poolside.
I'm not sure if this is more of a comment about me or this book, but 2/3's of the way into it I realized I had already read the book, and remembered hardly any of it. Hmm. That said, it's an enjoyable book for a Jane Austen fan. It's well researched, but not annoyingly so. Too bad the authoress wasn't asked to consult on some of the more recent Austen adaptations.
Really enjoyed this book. It is a clever premise and something that every lover of historic novels often thinks about. What WOULD it be like to live in a time in a novel? This book is much better than its sequel.
Book two seemed rather an after thought.
Book two seemed rather an after thought.
I couldn't get past the first two chapters so I skipped and read the last two. Not a book for me.
This book had me hooked from the first word. I thought it was very cute and charming. I can't imagine going back in time - 200 years.
Loved it! It wasn't predictable, kept me guessing throughout the novel. Very interesting and thought-provoking -- couldn't put it down!
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict is about an L. A. woman, Courtney Stone, who after a bad breakup with her fiance, and a big fight with her best friend, drowns her sorrows in a Jane Austen novel, then wakes up in the Regency era in the body of someone named Jane Mansfield. The writing is in the first person present tense so the reader experiences Courtney/Jane's confusion at the same time she does.
I was a little afraid this book was going to be somewhat dry and rely more on facts than plot, but I was quite happy to find that this was not the case. There is quite a bit of humor in here and an enjoyable heroine, and the research is reflected in the descriptions of the surroundings, but doesn't bog down the story.
I just found out that there is a companion book coming out - with Jane taking Courtney's place in modern day L.A - Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict. That book comes out May 2009 according to Amazon.
I was a little afraid this book was going to be somewhat dry and rely more on facts than plot, but I was quite happy to find that this was not the case. There is quite a bit of humor in here and an enjoyable heroine, and the research is reflected in the descriptions of the surroundings, but doesn't bog down the story.
I just found out that there is a companion book coming out - with Jane taking Courtney's place in modern day L.A - Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict. That book comes out May 2009 according to Amazon.
A very cute story of a 21st century woman, Courtney, changing places with a 19th century woman, Jane. Except no one realizes a change has taken place since Courtney is in Jane's body. I thought it was a light, entertaining, time-travel book and I'm looking forward to the next one coming out to show us how it is from Jane's point of view being stuck in Courtney's body.
A very fun, fast read. Fits right in with the Jane Austen mania that has been going around.
I loved this book - it's a "time-switching" novel which plunges a modern woman from Los Angeles into the Austen-ish world of Regency England. In fact, she even MEETS Miss Austen, though she never did seem to learn not to tell everyone where she was really from.
It was a fun read, as you see the heroine, who had been wishing for a "simpler time", realize that life was not all strawberries and cream for an unmarried lady in Regency England. The sights, the sounds, and especially, the smells, seemed very vivid! ;-)
It was a fun read, as you see the heroine, who had been wishing for a "simpler time", realize that life was not all strawberries and cream for an unmarried lady in Regency England. The sights, the sounds, and especially, the smells, seemed very vivid! ;-)
Read it quickly. Slow start, but I liked how it ended. Very quick and in true Austen style!
As an addict myself, I love this book. Who hasn't wished they could be carried off to the England of JA? just for a while, even. Chocolate for brekkie, long walks in the woods, a happy ending with Mr. Right... sigh. Better than many modern JA "sequels". Have now read it twice and gone on a great escape.
I found this to be a fun, lite summer read. It's not an amazing book, but it is entertaining and pulled me in. I enjoyed it enough to have a hard time putting it down. The plot's context (time travel to the time of Jane Austen) intrigued me and lured me in because I really like Jane's time period. Actually, I really like Jane Austen's books a great deal. This certainly wasn't in the echelons of one of Jane's books, but it still had a good bit of merit.
What I didn't like: the protagonist is a loose woman, which is so out of character for a Jane-type book, though she does seem to learn a lesson through the adventure about respecting herself more than she had previously. Also, it bothered me - wondering what on earth happened to the woman she switched places with (this would be the premise for book two in this series).
What I really did like: seeing the inner workings of the Jane A. period, which we never approach in Jane's books...like lack of baths, toothpaste, what on earth happens when you get your period back then, and being mortified by what everyone thinks of you (this one is oft hinted at in Jane's books, but not really addressed in the same manner this book uses).
I did like it enough to actually request book 2...so I guess that says something. In the end, I really wanted to know what happened to everyone in the book...which, to me, is a mark of a decent book.
Warning: this book DOES have some cursing (though not tons), and it does have some discussion of sex and sexual situations, including wanton, promiscuous behavior.
What I didn't like: the protagonist is a loose woman, which is so out of character for a Jane-type book, though she does seem to learn a lesson through the adventure about respecting herself more than she had previously. Also, it bothered me - wondering what on earth happened to the woman she switched places with (this would be the premise for book two in this series).
What I really did like: seeing the inner workings of the Jane A. period, which we never approach in Jane's books...like lack of baths, toothpaste, what on earth happens when you get your period back then, and being mortified by what everyone thinks of you (this one is oft hinted at in Jane's books, but not really addressed in the same manner this book uses).
I did like it enough to actually request book 2...so I guess that says something. In the end, I really wanted to know what happened to everyone in the book...which, to me, is a mark of a decent book.
Warning: this book DOES have some cursing (though not tons), and it does have some discussion of sex and sexual situations, including wanton, promiscuous behavior.
Annoying
this book surprised me. I thought it might be cheesy, but it was really quite good and really captured the culture. I loved it and gobbled it up!
