I didn’t know what to expect pretty much throughout my reading of Rachel Givney’s Jane in Love. Unpredictable, fun, funny, & yet sad at moments too, Jane in Love offers compelling observations about our time & the social conditions Jane Austen might have faced as a woman who wanted to write in her own time—but in terms of execution it doesn’t always work for me.

In 1803 Jane Austen is a spinster who loves to write but can’t share her efforts with her embarrassed family. After she’s rejected by a promising suitor, she seeks help from a witch & tells her she wants love. As a result she’s sent to the 21st century.

Straight to a film set where they’re adapting one of her novels.

Jane immediately meets spoiled & yet likable actress Sophia & soon after, Sophia’s brother Fred Wentworth, who irritates Jane immensely.

Initially believing that Jane is an actress in a candid camera situation, Sophia is eventually won over to believe Jane's time travel tale—with some funny scenes along the way.

Sophia's going to assist Jane in her efforts to return to her own time, but of course complicating everything are Jane’s growing feelings for Fred & her awareness that her lingering time in the 21st century is slowly making her published books disappear.

Givney clearly sketches out the dilemma facing Jane: what she stands to lose & gain no matter what decision she makes.

A standout for me in this book is the sense of voice. Givney writes voice in such a way that I felt as if I knew the characters; they're unique & memorable.

Filled with dry humor, the scenes in which Jane encounters the world of the 21st century & nearly every scene with Sophia are particularly fine. Though it’s not a humorous scene, the pep talk moment between the two women—when Jane coaches Sophia how to act—is written with sensitivity & quite lovely.

But the love story between Jane & Fred lacks subtlety at moments & feels rushed. I want to warn my romance-loving friends that this is not a romance. Setting aside that for a moment, the ending overall also feels hurried to me.

There are moments of Jane in Love that shine, & those moments focus on Jane as a writer & how that relates to social expectations for women, her sense of personhood, & her relationship with Sophia. I was less convinced & enamored with the “in love” part.

3⭐️. Jane in Love is out on 10/27. Thanks to HarperCollins Publishers and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

What if Jane Austen, at least temporarily desperate to find a husband, travels to London to visit a matchmaker who turns out to be a sorceress who sends her time-travelling to the year 2020 to meet her "one true love"? Such a fun and engaging premise, fully realized and developed by this wonderful author! I'd warn that it is a bit of a slow start, but give it a chance, because once you are invested in the characters, you won't be able to put this one down.

An interesting take on Jane Austen time-travelling to 2020 where she finds out that she is infact a renowned author and also finds her one true love. But after finding love, will she want to go back to her original world or will she decide to stay on? The longer she stays on in 2020, her novels keep disappearing from the world. Can you think of a world with no novels of Jane Austen? That will be truly devastating for her fans but can she live a wholesome life without her love?

It feels pretty slow at the beginning but once you get invested in the challenges Jane faces in new 2020 with all the crazy inventions, it is interesting to see her analyze the differences between the two worlds. Sofia and her world of movie stars is fun and adds another subplot to the book. I would totally watch this one as a movie and I think it will be a hilarious/sweet romcom.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy!

Jane in Love has a very good premise and was very excited to read it. However, it seems like there is some issues with the character development that confused me a little bit. I had a hard time understanding the plot line towards the end when Miss Austen's books disappear. Otherwise, it was a light weekend read, and I enjoyed it.

Jane Austen is living her life when the realization that she may never find a husband and her mother has gone too far and destroyed one of her novels. In the heat of the moment, Jane decides that she needs to make a change/decision and she goes to a witch to help her change her destiny and hopefully find her true love. Little does she know that her perfect match isn't in her time but two hundred years in the future. Still located in Bath but there are horseless carriages and so much has changed. With the help of Sophia, an actress that Jane happens upon, she tries to go back to her time. But in the mean time she meets Fred, Sophia's brother and they fall in love. Now Jane has to choose between her career as a world recognized writer or love. What's a girl to do?! But a choice must be made.
This was a fun read and I would definitely recommend this book.

I love both Jane Austen and time travel shenanigans so I thought this book would be right up my alley. I was very, very wrong. The dialogue was stilted and weirdly formal from the modern characters, Jane's relationship with Fred was underdeveloped and never sold me on the emotional stakes of the story, and there were so many odd plot point choices. Jane learning about modern life would have made for a fun movie montage but on the page it was tedious to read the same reactions to modern technology over and over. I wouldn't have finished this if I didn't feel obligated to for the sake of the netgalley review.

I am in love with and heartbroken from this book at the same time. I requested to read this novel - that tells the story of a time traveling Jane Austen to find her true love 200 years in the future - because I thought it would be fun and lighthearted. And it was. But it was also thought-provoking, exciting, and heart-wrenching. As an Austen fan, I want to see Jane as someone very similar to who Ms. Givney has portrayed. As an Austen fan, I want to believe Jane had a life of adventure such as portrayed in this book, even though it's completely unbelievable to think so. As an Austen fan, I want to see the world as Jane does in this book. Ms. Givney took a subject that was extremely dangerous territory for literature lovers, and she made magic. Well done.

The tone of this book was completely different from what I expected and wanted. A lot of my issues with the book may be personal preference but ultimately made this a disappointing read.
First, I found Sofia's refusal to believe Jane was Jane Austen really annoying and felt it went on far too long. I also found the descriptions of Jane's interaction with the 21st century excessive. While her journey on the tube was humorous, her encounter with a grocery store and examination of a fridge were a bit boring and overexaggerated. I know she would not be familiar with these concepts as they didn't exist in the 19th century, but I didn't need so much page time dedicated to them.
I also found the characters, especially Sofia and Jane, to be overly dramatic. It felt as though the author was relying on a caricature archetype for their personality instead of allowing us to get to know each character. Similarly, each character's actions often felt false and as though they were occurring only to move the plot along not motivated by any emotions. Especially with Jane and Fred's romance. It felt rushed and I had no idea what motivated their decisions.
Overall, this just wasn't the book for me.

I really enjoyed this book! I stayed up way too late reading last night. "Jane in Love" is a fun time-travel tale, following Jane Austen as she trips into 2020 to find her one true love.

I enjoyed the characters immensely, and-- true to form-- I felt Sofia Wentworth really stole the show. As the book progressed, I found myself drawn into the story of the actress on the "wrong side of 35," hoping for her victories and cheering her on. As Sofia gains confidence, her voice shines through, and she really becomes the most compelling character in the novel.

Of course, Jane herself was brilliantly rendered, with almost period-perfect voice. The authoress was sharp, witty, and altogether too intelligent for polite company. I did struggle a bit with a few of Jane's reactions to the modern world. She went into raptures over several chapters, a bit longer than needed. She was also a bit judgy about people's connection to their boxes, claiming the boxes control the people. To have Jane think this made it feel like Givney was using her platform to judge her peers. It may have been more authentic to have Jane in a scene where she insists another character answer their box rather than just think about magic boxes telling people what to do.

Fred's character was perfect, charming, and kind, and I loved the connection at the end! He grew as a person over the course of the book, and proved a perfect foil to prickly Jane.

Overall, this was such a fun book, I loved the "bonnet-romance" elements swirled in with modern concerns, and I hope to find another period-esque story from Givney on shelves soon!

This book looks like a straightforward romance but it actually dips into multiple genres. I love Jane Austen and that is the primary reason I chose to read this book, so that didn't bother me too much. Time travel is always great fun if executed well and I think this book is most enjoyable if you go into it not expecting anything specific. It is charming and sweet and a loving tribute to Austen lovers everywhere.

I'm a big Jane Austen fan, so this was a fun read! Although I don't typically read alot about time travel, I enjoyed how the author contrasted the two worlds, it was interesting to see what's the same and what's different. The romance between Jane and Fred felt a little rushed, so I don't think I felt as invested as I might have, and the ending was definitely bittersweet.

This was a cute book! The idea of a time-traveling Jane Austen made me smile, as did her search for lasting love.

Thank you for allowing me to preview this title. Sadly I just could not connect with the story or the characters. I tried a few times to pick up where I left off but gave up at the 25% mark. Just not my cup of tea I guess. Best wishes and much success.

Jane in love



This was a tale of friendship, love and a moment Jane Austen one day finds herself in England in the year 2020. She befriends an actress named Sofia, and over time becomes romantically interested in her brother, Frank. She comes to find out that she is a world-renowned author, a accolade she had never received in her writing career thus far. There is only one problem. As time progresses, and she finds true love in her relationship with Frank, she slowly starts disappearing from history. One by one, her great works begin disappearing. She’s left with the impossible choice of going back to 1803 and returning to her love of writing and securing her legacy or staying in the present time and pursuing true love. You will have to read the book to find out what happens.

This was a light hearted, quick read and I really enjoyed it. The first half was a little slow, but the more I read, the more engaged I became. It’s definitely worth the read!

Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Books Australia for the copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of this book was really interesting and there was a ton of charm for people who love Jane Austen. Fans will love this modern-day take

I had such high expectations for this book, but unfortunately, they weren’t met. From a disappointing & at times contrived plot to a rushed romance & unmemorable secondary characters, Jane in Love failed to capture my interest. The one positive aspect of this book is that you can tell that the author spent a bit of time researching Jane Austen’s life.

Australian author Rachel Givney brings a new spin on Jane Austen with Jane in Love. I'll be honest that I am a sucker for any Austen retelling, and this fresh take did not disappoint. This tale finds our literary heroine on the set of an Austen film in modern-day England, where she has the chance to fall in love. But, will the pull back in time to ensure her legacy win out over love? Can she have both her writing and love?

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Jane in Love is written by a filmmaker, and you can most definitely tell. This would make an excellent movie.

Jane Austen is struggling with the fact that she is getting older, is still not married and her family's nonexistent support of her passion for writing. Jane meets with a fortune teller/ witch to work on at least one of her issues: She wants to fall in love. Instead of just helping her meet a man, the woman sends Jane through time to the twenty first century. There Jane not only learns about the success of her writing, but also meets a new best Sofia and her brother Fred. Fred and Jane immediately have this connection, but how is love supposed to work when she is from 1803?!

I love the idea of the book, and it reminded me of the movie Kate & Leopold. Fred and Jane have a sweet relationship and I love the chapters they have together. Jane's chapters are fairly formal, which makes sense considering she is from 1803, but I don't understand why Sofia's and Fred's words are also so old school. When they speak, they don't seem like they are from the twenty first century at all. This is why no one thinks her way of speaking is weird either, which would be the biggest indication to me that someone may not be from this time.

I have mixed feelings about the ending. I think I may be too much of a romantic and was hoping for a different outcome.

I received a free advanced copy from the author/ publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

**Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley, who provided me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When I read the description of this book and saw it was about Jane Austen time traveling to 2020, I said, “Yes, please!” And “Jane in Love” did not disappoint!

Jane Austen is in danger of becoming a spinster in her own time, 1803. When she is disappointed by the failure of a potential match, she decides to take matters into her own hands to find her match, and ends up traveling to modern day Bath, England on the set of a film adaptation of Northanger Abbey. The reader follows Jane as she struggles to adjust to new technology and social mores. I laughed out loud at many scenes. This book is infused with Austen-esque humor and wit. I was brought to tears as well, and found the conclusion of the story perfectly well-done.

I fell in love with the characters in this story and the dilemma Jane faces as she tries to find the love of her life. If you are an Austen fan, this is a must read.

This novel is cute, but it is also just so well done. The book opens on a young Jane Austen, who is not published, but does enjoy writing. She is getting older and despairing of ever finding a husband. After another disappointment, she meets this mysterious lady who offers her a chance to go on a journey to find her one true love. She gives it a shot, but nothing happens at first...then she is transported into our own time.

She meets Sophia, who is an actress playing in a remake of Northanger Abbey. At first, Sophia thinks the studio is playing a joke on her, but soon believes Jane is who she says she is. She promises to help Jane find her way back home, but in the meantime, Jane falls in love with her brother, Fred. Jane realizes if she doesn't go back in time, she will never write her novels, but if she doesn't stay, she will lose her only chance for love.

I have long been a fan of Jane Austen, and I studied a little of her life in graduate school. The author has done a really lovely job imitating her style in Jane's dialogue, and including some actual biographical elements. Hats off to the writer, and this is a very fun read for fans of Jane Austen, Victorian England, and love.