The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell

 

Title:  The Austen Affair

Author:  Madeline Bell

Narrated by:  Stephanie Németh-Parker

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 31 minutes

Source: Review copy from NetGalley.  Thank-you!

If you could time travel to any era in a book, what era would you pick?  Regency England is one of my top picks.

American actress Tess Bright has gotten her dream part to play Catherine Morland in a new production of Northanger Abbey (based on the book by Jane Austen).  Unfortunately, her co-star, Hugh Belfour, is a method actor and very unpleasant to work with.  He does not appreciate her teen choice award or her improvisational acting style.  An electrical accident puts them back in the past to Regency England. Will they be able to find their way back to the future and will they find true love?

My thoughts on this audiobook:

·       This was a March selection for my JASNA Northwoods Book Club.  We are meeting this upcoming weekend to discuss it.

·       This was a fun and engaging novel.  It was good escapism reading.

·       The audiobook narrator was fantastic and did a wonderful job of different voices for each character.

·       I love that they met the real Jane Austen while in the past.

·       Tropes included enemies to lovers, grumpy x sunshine, and slow burn.

·       The romance was open door at the end.

·       This was a fun romantic comedy and would make a great movie.

·       Tess is dealing with grief at the loss of her mother and has been having a hard time dealing with the world after her passing.  Hugh is also dealing with grief which Tess does not realize until later in the novel.

·       I loved that Hugh and Tess had to use their knowledge of Regency England to make it in the past, although they do make mistakes which are pretty funny. 

·       I liked how minor Austen character names pop up in the text and I also enjoyed how Tess would use Austen quotes in her dialogue.

·       There was good banter between Tess and Hugh.  I loved the buildup of their romance and I could believe they would make a great couple.

·       I was sad that Hugh Belfour takes the place of his distant relative who died at Waterloo.  The real Hugh’s father, family, and fiancé all believe that Hugh has come back with a head injury.  This was an ethical quandary for me as I wanted Tess and Hugh to go back to the future, but I also wanted them to stay so that everyone wouldn’t have the pain of losing Hugh again.

·       It’s hard to believe that Madeline Bell is a debut author!  I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

Overall, The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell was an enjoyable time travel romantic comedy with great characters and an Austenesque storyline.

A Little Paris Christmas by Jennifer Shirk

 

Do you have a favorite fictional dog?  I loved the dog character is this novel, but growing up, I loved Jack in the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Sophie Dubois is the promotions director in Paris, Pennsylvania.  Tourism is down and the mayor has tasked her to drum up business for the town or risk losing her job.  While she works on a plan to save both her job and the town, she needs her handsome, but grumpy neighbor, bestselling author, Mason Haywood.  Will Sophie and Mason find love?  Will Sophie keep her job and help the town?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       A Little Paris Christmas was my last Christmas read for the season.

·       I won this novel from the TLC Book Tours book club giveaway as part of the Rogue Book Club.  We gave it out at our meeting in November.

·       I loved Mason’s dog, Gingersnap.  Gingersnap is a cute dachshund.  He brings Sophie and Mason together and also forces Mason to leave his home and get to know his community.  Gingersnap was my favorite character.

·       This is a fun, light, and cozy novel.  I loved the humor!

·       The Christmas spirit was great in this novel.

·       There was wonderful chemistry between Mason and Sophie.

·       This novel had the following tropes:  enemies to lovers, grumpy vs. sunshine, and opposites to attract.

·       I thought by the title that this book was set in Paris, France, but it is really set in Paris, Pennsylvania.

·       This was a closed-door romantic comedy.

Overall, A Little Paris Christmas by Jennifer Shirk is a sweet story with fun characters.  The lighthearted romantic comedy was perfect for this time of year.

Book Source:  Thank-you to author Jennifer Shirk and TLC Book Tours for the giveaway copy of this novel.

The Christmas Tree Farm by Laurie Gilmore

 

Real or fake Christmas tree?  We did a real tree a couple of years with the kids which was fun, but otherwise, I have had a fake tree my entire life.

Kira North has bought an old Christmas tree farm in a small town in the Northeast.  She is trying to determine where to go with life. Even though she hates Christmas, she decides to sell Christmas trees to make enough money to fix up her house.  Bennett (Ben) Ellis meets grumpy Kira while walking his three dogs on her farm.  Ben helps Kira with fixing things up on her farm.  Will the two be able to move beyond their broken pasts to start a new romance?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       It reminded me of a spicy Hallmark Christmas romcom movie.

·       It was a cozy Christmas read that I enjoyed at the beginning of January.

·       Kira was grump at first, but she really grew on me.

·       Grumpy x Sunshine romance, forced proximity, slight enemies to lovers. 

·       This was a steamy romance with a lot of sweet romance and basically one really steamy scene.

·       This was the third novel in the Dream Harbor series.  I haven’t read the previous two books, but they are on my list.  This worked as a standalone, but I think I would have enjoyed the side characters even more if I knew their back stories.

Overall, The Christmas Tree Farm by Laurie Gilmore was a good romance with great characters, and it was a quick read.

Book Source: This book was a Christmas gift from a dear friend. Thank-you!