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Book Review of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict
ScoutDarcy avatar reviewed Not the best on + 19 more book reviews
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.