Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict - Book Review

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

What is it about:
While Confessions (see yesterday's review) took twenty-first-century free spirit Courtney Stone into the social confines of Jane Austen's era, Rude Awakenings tells the parallel story of Jane Mansfield, a gentleman's daughter from Regency England who inexplicably awakens in Courtney's overly wired and morally confused L.A. life.

For Jane, the modern world is not wholly disagreeable. Her apartment may be smaller than a dressing closet, but it is fitted up with lights that burn without candles, machines that wash bodies and clothes, and a glossy rectangle in which tiny people perform scenes from her favorite book, Pride and Prejudice. Granted, if she wants to travel she may have to drive a formidable metal carriage, but she may do so without a chaperone. And oh, what places she goes! Public assemblies that pulsate with pounding music. Unbound hair and unrestricted clothing. The freedom to say what she wants when she wants-even to men without a proper introduction.

Jane relishes the privacy, independence, even the power to earn her own money. But how is she to fathom her employer's incomprehensible dictates about "syncing a BlackBerry" and "rolling a call"? How can she navigate a world in which entire publications are devoted to brides but flirting and kissing and even the sexual act itself raise no matrimonial expectations? Even more bewildering are the memories that are not her own. And the friend named Wes, who is as attractive and confusing to Jane as the man who broke her heart back home. It's enough to make her wonder if she would be better off in her own time, where at least the rules are clear-that is, if returning is even an option.

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:
A delightful piece of fluff, just like 'Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict'. Jane's reactions to things we take for granted are funny to read and the romance is predictable, but agreeable. The one thing I can say against this book is that after reading the first book, this one is more of the same, only in another time than the first book. I did enjoy the book, but if I had to pick a favourite it has to be 'Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict'.

Why should you read it:
If you're looking for something light and funny, this is your book.

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict - Book Review

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

What is it about:
After nursing a broken engagement with Jane Austen novels and Absolut, Courtney Stone wakes up and finds herself not in her Los Angeles bedroom or even in her own body, but inside the bedchamber of a woman in Regency England. Who but an Austen addict like herself could concoct such a fantasy?

Not only is Courtney stuck in another woman’s life, she is forced to pretend she actually is that woman; and despite knowing nothing about her, she manages to fool even the most astute observer. But not even her love of Jane Austen has prepared Courtney for the chamber pots and filthy coaching inns of nineteenth-century England, let alone the realities of being a single woman who must fend off suffocating chaperones, condomless seducers, and marriages of convenience. Enter the enigmatic Mr. Edgeworth, who fills Courtney’s borrowed brain with confusing memories that are clearly not her own.

Try as she might to control her mind and find a way home, Courtney cannot deny that she is becoming this other woman—and being this other woman is not without its advantages: Especially in a looking-glass Austen world. Especially with a suitor who may not turn out to be a familiar species of philanderer after all.

What did I think of it:
A very girlish book, so I'll leave it up to Voodoo Bride to tell you about it as she loved it.

So what did Voodoo Bride think of it:
This is a delightful story. It is funny, romantic and well written. The idea of a woman from this time finding herself stuck in another time is fun and well worked out and you can really understand how Courtney must feel. I myself am not a Jane Austen fan and definately not an addict, but I've been told the characters Viera Rigler uses in this story are her own creations (apart from a small cameo of Jane Austen herself) so true Jane Austen fans don't have to be afraid Viera Rigler butchers their beloved characters and stories. Don't expect to be reading something literary or profound when picking up this book, it is pure fluff and very entertaining! A great read when you're looking for something light and funny.

Why should you read it:
Jane Austen fans or people who like historical romances and such things will most probably love this.

Coming soon: a review of 'Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict'