Book Tour Review – WHAT WOULD JANE AUSTEN DO? by Linda Corbett
What Would Jane Austen Do? by Linda Corbett 
Published by HarperCollinsUK on June 16, 2023
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Romance
Pages: 384
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
MY REVIEW:
Linda Corbett’s new novel What Would Jane Austen Do? follows Maddy Shaw, a young journalist and Jane Austen fangirl who has been writing an advice column for a national paper. When we first meet Maddy, she has just been told her column is cancelled and that she’ll have to find work elsewhere. Maddy can barely make ends meet as it is so she knows she’s going to have to leave London to find more affordable housing. Before leaving London, Maddy attends one final interview and it’s here that she meets a famous crime writer who is the grumpiest, most cynical person she has ever encountered. He also has a very negative opinion about romance novels, which Maddy just isn’t having, and the two of them passionately debate the subject. I fell in love with Maddy during that encounter. Her passionate defense of the romance genre was so moving and I agreed with every word she said.
Maddy’s life takes another unexpected turn and it is this turn that drives the plot of the novel. She inherits a huge house in the English countryside from a cousin she never really knew. While Maddy would love to sell the house and get some much needed cash, the will stipulates that she must live in the house for twelve months first. Reluctantly, Maddy moves into her new home, having no idea how truly life changing the entire experience will be.
I had such a fun time reading this book! The village where Maddy has relocated is full of quirky, literature- loving neighbors who are committed to carrying on the literary festival that Maddy’s cousin had hosted for years. Another stipulation of the will that no one told Maddy about was that she would follow in her cousin’s footsteps and plan the whole festival. Not only that, but when they hear she could really use a lodger to help with her financial situation, they find her a roommate, who of course turns out to be none other than her least favorite grumpy crime writer, whose name is Luke, and his adorable dog, Buster. Needless to say, there are plenty of laughs and shenanigans as Maddy awkwardly tries to navigate both the planning of the festival and how to live peacefully with Luke.
I will also say that while this is a romance, it is most definitely a slow burn one. Both characters are so well developed though that I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them, and I also enjoyed watching the dynamic between them shift as they got to know one another. That slow burn was worth the wait!
What Would Jane Austen Do? is a fun and heartwarming contemporary romance. It also pays homage to all things Jane Austen, which is sure to delight any Austen fan. This book isn’t just for Austen fans though so no worries if you haven’t read her entire canon.
Thanks so much to Laurel Ann Nattress at Austenprose for inviting me to take part in this tour.
PRAISE FOR WHAT WOULD JANE AUSTEN DO?
- “Witty, sharp and beautifully observed – I feel sure Jane would approve.”— Julie Caplin, author of The French Chateau
- “Sparkling romance, secrets from the past…Witty and romantic, I couldn’t stop myself from turning the pages.”— Alison Sherlock, bestselling author of The Village of Lost and Found
- “…sheer fun from beginning to end, beautifully written, and with a real touch of originality.”— Anne Williams, Being Anne
- “What a lovely book! It also fills my need to see British colloquialisms on occasion. Yes! I highly recommend this book!”— Michelle, Tales Untangled
PURCHASE LINKS
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | HARPERCOLLINS | GOODREADS | BOOKBUB
About Linda Corbett
Linda Corbett lives in Surrey with her husband Andrew and three permanently hungry guinea pigs. As well as being an author, Linda is treasurer and fundraiser for Shine Surrey – a volunteer-led charity that supports individuals and families living with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. For many years she also wrote a regular column for Link, a disability magazine, illustrating the humorous aspects of life with a complex disability and she is a passionate advocate of disability representation in fiction. Love You From A-Z was her first published novel.
Romance Reviews: THE LOVE PLOT & MY ROOMMATE IS A VAMPIRE
Happy Friday everyone! Today I’m back to share my thoughts on two fantastic new releases from Berkley Romance. Samantha Young is one of my favorite romance writers so I was thrilled to read her latest, and Jenna Levine is a debut author that I was excited to try after hearing her talk about her book at a recent Berkley event that showcased upcoming fall releases.
The Love Plot Goodreads
Author: Samantha Young
Publication Date: August 29, 2023
Publisher: Berkley Romance
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley and a complimentary ALC from Penguin Random House Audio. All opinions are my own.
Samantha Young is fast becoming one of my favorite romcom authors. I’ve loved everything I’ve read from her so far and her latest, The Love Plot, is my new favorite! It’s just the perfect combination of sexy, swoony, heartwarming fun and I loved every page of it.
The protagonist, Star Shine Meadows, as her name might suggest, is quite the free spirit. All Star wants to do is be happy and to do what she can to spread that happiness to others. When we meet her, she is working two jobs, one as a professional costume character actor who mainly attends kids’ birthday parties, and the other as a professional line sitter, where she waits in line for items her clients do not have the time to wait for. She meets Rafe, the sexy but grumpy male love interest, at his niece’s birthday party, & sparks fly.
Rafe is Star’s opposite in pretty much every way. He’s a broody, reserved veterinarian, and he doesn’t understand Star at all. She’s too cheerful, obnoxious & he doesn’t get why she works the jobs she works. Yet, there’s just something about her that gets under Rafe’s skin. Rafe is also desperate to get his family to stop playing matchmaker, so he offers Star money to be his fake girlfriend. She agrees & shenanigans ensue!
I had so much fun reading this one. Both Star and Rafe are just so adorable & they have sizzling chemistry. I loved their hilarious and snarky banter, as well as the more heartwarming moments when they realize they’ve caught feelings for one another. I also loved that there were some more serious moments, particularly when they talk about their families and the future.
I alternated between the physical book and the audio (thank you, @PRHAudio), and I loved both. Savannah Peachwood read the audio and she did a phenomenal job bringing these wonderful characters to life.
This is the perfect read for any fan of the fake dating, opposites attract or grumpy-sunshine tropes. The Love Plot is out 8/29 so be sure to pick up a copy! 4.5 STARS
My Roommate Is a Vampire Goodreads
Author: Jenna Levine
Publication Date: August 29, 2023
Publisher: Berkley Romance
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley and a complimentary ALC from Penguin Random House Audio. All opinions are my own.
I’ve been enjoying the witchy rom com trend that has really taken off the past few years, so when I saw that Jenna Levine’s debut novel was a vampire romcom, I just had to read it! I’m so glad I do too because this was just such a charming book.
Cassie is an artist who is struggling to make ends meet, so much so that she’s being evicted from her apartment. When she comes across an ad for an apartment in a great neighborhood and the rent is only $200 a month, Cassie is of course suspicious because it sounds too good to be true, but she decides to take it because she really has no other viable option. Cassie is a fun character, a little messy and chaotic at times, but very likable.
I adored Frederick J. Fitzwilliam from the moment we first meet him. He may be a vampire but he looks and sounds like he stepped out of the pages of a Jane Austen novel and he is a cinnamon roll. We learn early on that Frederick was the victim of a prank (courtesy of his friend Reginald) that left him in a coma for 100 years. When Frederick woke, he had no idea how to function in such a modern society so he has been struggling to fit in.
While Cassie and Frederick rarely ever see one another, they exchange notes every day. The notes are super cute, filled with lots of flirty banter, and the two of them soon become friends.
When Cassie accidentally learns that Frederick is a vampire, after an initial freakout, she accepts Frederick’s offer to let her keep living there in exchange for her help in making a modern vampire out of him. I loved watching their relationship evolve as Cassie gives him a makeover. So cute & so hilarious! And even though their relationship is a slow burn, there is definitely some steam for those who enjoy that.
There was some drama near the end that I could have done without, but overall I just loved this delightful paranormal romance.
I alternated between the physical copy and the audio version (thank you, @PRHAudio) and thought both were excellent. The narrator Gilli Messer did an especially fabulous job capturing Frederick’s personality and it was such a fun listening experience. 4 STARS
Thriller Thursday Reviews: The Narrow & Dead of Winter
Sharon’s back with another edition of Thriller Thursday. Spooky season is upon us and this week I have a couple of great books to kick the season off with. I have a not too scary ghost story in Kate Alice Marshall’s, The Narrow and a slasher/horror story in Darcy Coates’, Dead of Winter. Both of these books were great and I loved them.
The Narrow Goodreads Author: Kate Alice Marshall
Publication Date: August 1, 2023
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
The Narrow is a YA ghost story, and it is also a story of friendships and finding lost loves. This is my second read by Kate Alice Marshall, and I loved this just as much as What Lies in the Woods.
Behind the Atwood School, a prestigious boarding school, is a river called the Narrow. The Narrow is only a few feet wide, but the water is deep and vicious. It is said that no one that has fallen into the Narrow has ever survived, what the Narrow takes it never gives back. But Eden White knows this is not true. Six years ago, Eden and her best friend Veronica saw Delphine Fournier fall into the Narrow and survive. Although now Delphine has to live on the school grounds in Abigail House. If she leaves the school grounds she becomes gravely ill. She also cannot come in contact with unpurified water, as a single drop could kill her. This year in exchange for her tuition, Eden has agreed to live at Abigail house with Delphine and keep her company as well as ensuring she stays safe. As Eden and Delphine get to know each other and begin to unravel each other’s secrets, Eden realizes something is haunting Delphine and now that something is coming for Eden as well. Eden hears rain on the windows, but the sky is clear, she has seen a ghostly silhouette in her doorway and wet footprints by her bed. The school has been rumored to be haunted by the Drowning Girl. What does the Drowning Girl want with Delphine and Eden?
There was so much to love about this book. I loved the spooky ghost story and the tale of the Drowning Girl. I cannot say too much about her, but whenever she showed up all I could picture was the girl that crawled out of the TV in The Ring.
I really liked the friendship that Eden and Delphine formed. Eden was determined to figure out what was going on and help Delphine break whatever was haunting her. Eden was willing to risk her life for Delphine. Eden enlisted the help of her friends, Veronica, Zoya, and Ruth to help her uncover the mystery of The Drowning Girl. And what a mystery that was. As we were given bits of information on her, I thought I knew what was going on, but then a twist came and knock that out of the water (no pun intended lol).
I really loved Eden and the more we learned of her backstory, the more sympathy I had for her. She hides a lot about her home life from her friends and at times she would push them away because she did not want them to find out. But I liked it when she needed them they were there for her and had her back.
I think Kate Alice Marshall did a great job in weaving the ghost story, friendships, and lost loves aspect of this story together. If you are looking for a book to start off the spooky season that is not too scary, then I highly recommend The Narrow. 4 stars
Dead of Winter Goodreads Author: Darcy Coates
Publication Date: July 11, 2023
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
I have never read anything by Darcy Coates before, but when Dead of Winter popped up as a suggestion from Goodreads, it sounded just like the kind of book I would like, and it definitely was. Dead of Winter follows a group of strangers stranded in the Rocky Mountains during a snowstorm. Oh! And one of them is a killer, picking the others off one by one.
Christa Bailey and her boyfriend Kiernan are on a bus with nine other people on their way to Blackstone Alpine Lodge in the Rocky Mountains. When the bus has to stop because of a large tree branch in the road, Christa and Kiernan decide to take in the mountain scenery while the others try to clear the road. When a snowstorm comes in, Christa and Kiernan get separated from the group, as well as each other. Christa is able to find her way to an abandoned cabin, where the others from the bus have taken shelter from the storm. They promise Christa they will go looking for Kiernan in the morning, but come morning Brian, their tour guide, is also missing. When they go out to look for Brian, they find just his head and it is impaled on a tree branch. Terrified, the group does all they can to stay safe and wait out the storm, but one by one they are killed, and their heads are impaled on the tree with Brian’s.
Wow! I loved everything about this book. The Story is told from the POV of Christa. I loved being in Christa’s head as she tries to figure out who can be trusted when it became obvious that one of the group was the killer.
We don’t get a lot of backstories on the rest of the group, but I think Coates did a great job of creating them and giving us just enough information, so that along with Christa we tried to figure out who was the killer.
I loved the snowy mountain and small cabin setting as well, that just added to the spookiness of the book. Darcy Coates did an amazing job of creating this setting, so that I could feel the coldness and could picture how claustrophobic that cabin must have been. You would think being in a small cabin they should be safe and they would be if they stayed together. But oh no, at one time or another someone would go off on their own and then sure enough their head was added to the tree.
I thought for sure I had things figured out and knew who the killer was, but when their body turned up, I was like “Damn! I was so sure!” I was totally clueless when the killer was revealed. So good job Darcy Coates on keeping me in the dark.
Dead of Winter was full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end. This book would make one hell of a great slasher movie. Be forewarned though, this book is not for the weak of heart. So, I of course loved it. LOL! I definitely want to check out more from Darcy Coates. 4 ½ stars