Blame It on the Brontes by Annie Sereno

Read if you love
Enemies to lovers
Literary references
Witty heroine


This was a quick read with lots of literary references and witty banter and definitely a book you can read by the pool this summer! Athena and Thornes dynamic was a wild ride and so many of the characters made me laugh. I loved that a lot of the book took place in a small cafe and you get to learn about the academia world a little bit.

Book releases 5/3!

This book was very over the top for me. I didn't really like either of the main characters. I figured out the twist in chapter 1. I was not a fan of the writing style.

Thorne and Athena are past lovers who are now forced into each other’s world by chance! Things start off cordial but more time together means that old feelings are resurfacing and with that brings on a new set of challenges!

I loved the witty banter and literary references but at times the story dragged! I feel like the two characters just needed to be more open and communicative! I do love how sweet Thorne is and his love for the written word!

This was an odd one. The writing was really -- odd, really no other way of saying it. The academic aspects were not realistic based on my experience or others I know. There were also pages and pages of dialogue throughout. The plot was also a predictable and not very compelling. Overall, I did not enjoy this one.

Thank you Forever Publishing for my gifted copy. I enjoyed this one until the last 5 percent of the book but that last bit spoiled it for me.

Athena and Thorne have reunited in her hometown where he is a new cafe owner and she is working on a book to save her teaching career. She’s trying to uncover cL Garland, a local writer who writes erotica versions of classics like Sense and Sensibility.

There were lots of charming moments with the town’s residents and the cafe. I liked the connection between Thorne and Thena. There were lots of nods to the Brontë sisters and classics like Jane Eyre

I guessed pretty early on that Thorne would be Garland, but I really didn’t like how it was handled or how late in the story it is. Thena suspects Thorne at least once, but he always puts her off. Just when she’s getting ready to move on with him and away from her old life, she finds out that Thorne is Garland. It seemed like all of the lying and deception was really brushed over. Thorne is pretty quickly forgiven and then all of a sudden they’re engaged? I know they dated in the past, but this seemed to wrap up too quickly and neatly for me.

Rating: Really Enjoyed It, 4 stars

This book was a lot of fun! It is a second-chance romance that follows Athena and Thorne, a couple who met while studying literature in college in St. Louis and had grand plans to marry and go to grad school, but things fell apart when Thorne decided to go into law, leaving Athena to pursue her PhD alone, on the opposite side of the country. Now Thorne owns a bakery in small-town Illinois, which turns out to be the hometown Athena escapes to in order to try to write a book to save her academic career. A well-known writer of erotica who spoofs famous literary couples is rumored to reside in her town, and she is determined to unmask CL Garland for the world.

I loved Athena and Thorne's dynamic as well as their individual characters. I do think that Athena was much better fleshed out and characterized as compared to Thorne, but we also spend a lot more time in Athena's head. She is a witty and sassy character who is very straightforward, which I really appreciated about her. She made me chuckle a lot. I thought that Thorne was a perfectly serviceable hero, if a little flat. He seemed a bit more characterized by archetypes, but my appreciation for Athena outweighed that.

Overall, this book was just a good time. We get POVs from both characters, and I greatly enjoyed the story. It was fun to see a book set in small-town Illinois as many are set more picture-esque places, but my midwest heart loved it. I think that there were some twists that were fairly obvious but they didn't take away from my enjoyment at all.

This is a mostly closed-door romance. There are some teasing imaginative scenes that made me expect some more spice, but I still thought the romance was sweet. The ending did feel a bit rushed, but the third-act conflict made sense and was handled sensibly, even if it seemed like a rush to the end.

Overall I definitely recommend if you're looking for a fun romance with lots of reference to literary characters and books. Blame it on the Brontes releases May 3, 2022. Thank you to Netgalley and Forever for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Athena is forced to take an unpaid sabbatical after an interaction with a colleague made her lack of publications more obvious and put her career as an English professor at risk. She moves back to her hometown to write a book and try to find a local author who is writing fan fiction erotica based on classic literature. She didn't expect to find her former college boyfriend and to be working part time in his cafe. This book is a mixture of the classics along with angst and hope and a contemporary romance. I love the interspersing of the characters favorite readings and their present situations. I absolutely loved this book. It is loftier and more intellectual than the cover would indicate and I welcome that aspect. I read this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Blame it on the Brontes, by Annie Sereno, is a cute read for when you want something entertaining and yet not too heavy. Do you love the Brontes? Second chances? While it does not have the beachy atmosphere that I consider necessary to classify it as a beach read, I did just read it at the beach and it was perfect. Easy to look away from and then return to and interesting enough to make you want to return. I found the cover to be appealing. It's why I first chose the book. Brontes, a stack of books, and bright colors were too enticing to pass it by. Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with an ARC ebook in return for my honest review.

This story was not what I was expecting at all. Do not go into this one thinking it’s a sweet little romcom. It’s not. It is more chick lit with a little romance, maybe some slapstick thrown in, and a lot of duplicity, narcissism, and secrets. Finding the elusive bestselling author of the LitWit series being the most acknowledged part of the story but the secrets and lies discovered along the way are by-far the most emotionally charged. It was at times cute and witty, heartwarming and heartbreaking and often times irritating and meandering. Rounding out the story is the full of a cast of side characters that are equal parts eccentric, loving and often manipulative. Ultimately I don’t think this one was really for me but I did find it interesting enough to finish.


* * * * * * * * * * *

Athena is an English professor with a deadline. If she doesn’t publish her career is doomed. So she heads back to her hometown to uncover a secret that will hopefully garner her high acclaim and a lasting spot in her department’s faculty. From the beginning, Athena acknowledges she is lacking in emotional intelligence. She is highly driven, self absorbed, yet extremely wishy washy in attitude as she tries to find out what she really wants in life. Quirky midwestern wit shins through her character, no matter how irritating she may become in her pursuits. Unearthing the towns secrets and possibly figuring out more about herself and the people she loves along the way shines a light on how she continues to mature in life and love.

Thorne, her college sweetheart, is described as a near opposite of Athena who paints him in a very sympathetic light. He is calm and cool, levelheaded and emotionally mature. He is held up on a pedestal, painted in broad strokes, that he’s always going to do the right thing, he’s always sweet and kind, his character and morals are unwavering and steadfast. When they meet again years later, in none other than her hometown, they are caught in a situation that is both vexing and alluring. Their relationship history and all it’s ups and downs are the backbone of this story that centers on second chances.



What didn’t work for me:

The pacing felt so meandering and dragging that I often lost interest. The final 5% of the book felt more like it should have been the third act conflict/resolution but instead everything is literally left to the last chapter to come to light and resolve.

Athena’s using the LitWit series (erotic takes on classic literature) as a book/scholarly paper topic while constantly looking down on it as “beneath her” felt very degrading and rather confusing coming from a professor. The book was not scholarly in the least and her forcing the authors identity out in the open was extremely problematic with no acknowledgement of that fact on her part.

Confusingly, for a story centered around finding an erotica author there is a distinct lack of romance, spice or steam.


* * * * * * * * * * *

Dual perspective
NOT a Rom-Com
Second chance
Forced proximity
Hometown/ Small town
Steam: 🫑 (bell pepper)



CW: Fat-shaming

I was attracted to this title because I loved reading the Brontës in school, but I don’t think I was the ideal reader for this one. Told in third person from dual points of view, the beginning of this story put me off a bit because it was a little too cheesy and cliched for me at times, but I persevered and eventually began to enjoy parts of the story.

I thought the relationship that Athena and Thorne had with the customers in the café is where the story shined. I enjoyed the comradery and cajoling that was prevalent in those passages. I’m not much of a second (or third) chance at love reader, so the usual foibles that go along with those were annoying for me. The ‘why did they break up’, ‘what’s their history’ and ‘why is it being kept a secret from the reader’ type questions were abundant for me throughout, though the answers to those questions were satisfying in the end, even if the identity of CL Garland was too predictable. Ultimately, I think if you love Brontë references and second chance at love stories, you will probably enjoy this one more than me.

Blame It on the Brontes is a rom-com with a cute premise. Athena is a college professor who moves back to her hometown to uncover the mysterious identity of a trendy author who writes erotic spoofs of classic novels. This is a traditional, light-hearted romantic comedy set in the Midwest. I enjoyed the Brontë quotes at the beginning of each chapter as well as the ever-changing menu at the As You Like it Cafe. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever of Grand Central Publishing for the ARC.

This was a cute, easy read novel. It follows Athena back to her hometown after being pressured to published or be written off. Unsurprisingly, her love interest from eons ago also moved back home and just so happens to own the coffee shop where Athena was planning to write. Will she get her own happy ending?

I usually love book-themed books, so I was really excited to try this out, but it ended up not being the story for me.

From the moment I read the book description, I knew who C.L. Garland was. That didn't bug me too much from the get-go, I just had such a strong hunch that the MC's investigating kept falling flat for me. Speaking of the MC, Athena sure does LOVE her cliches and goofy turns-of-phrases, but that's not my sense of humor.

Even thought Blame it on the Brontës is centered around finding out the secret identity of a bestselling erotica author, the book ended up having surprisingly little steam in it. Unless you count Thorne describing Athena's waitressing tips as "as bounteous as her figure" or her ankle boots "sexy."

At it's core, I don't think Blame it on the Brontës is inherently poorly written, just not for me. I really couldn't find any points at which I felt connected to Athena, and the sense of humor in the book was so completely opposite of mine. Pair that with guessing the solution to the mystery from page one and well... you get the picture.

For me, the high points in this book were the witty one-liners, the references to literary classics, and second chances.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) & NetGalley for the opportunity to review this eARC. My opinions are my own.

If you base your romantic illusions on the Bronte sisters’ novels, you’re not going to have a smooth road to a happy ending. A lot of this was quite predictable. Athena is a struggling English professor on a quest to figure out who the author of a series of bawdy novellas is so she can write a book about the author. It’s pretty obvious who the author is. I found it hard to believe that this was the book that would help her get tenure.

I just didn’t find her that appealing of a heroine. I liked Thorne a lot more. He has everything a book boyfriend should have.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

This was a well written novel. I liked the premise but I guessed who Garland was very early in the book. I really liked Athena when she wasn't being childish. Thorne, I liked enough and I could feel his passion for Athena but something was missing - maybe the fact that the author cut to black on the sex scenes 😂 I also found it hard to believe that Athena had zero friends still living in her hometown. But I really liked all the characters that were regulars at the cafe who became her close friends.

Thank you Netgalley and Forever Publishing for this ARC.

I am glad I read Blame It On The Brontes, but I did not love it. I found it to be at times witty and lyrical, at others, clumsy and crass…sometimes in the same paragraph. The second chances trope is played well, yet very predictable in its execution. I enjoyed the allusions to classic literature, which arose perfectly at many key moments without feeling trite. These elevated the work. However, there were too many ineffective and misplaced attempts to describe physical relationships that too often diminished the quality of what could have been an exquisite novel.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing), Annie Sereno, and Netgalley for early access to this novel.

I was really excited about the book and its premise, but I found it really difficult to get engaged for a couple of reasons:
-First, the premise of the book the MC was writing an academic book that didn't feel like it would really exist in an academic world. There was both a lack of believability for me there as well as stress of reiterated "publish or perish" reminders.
-The language the characters were using didn't really feel believable to me -- it felt like it was trying to hard to be "midwestern nice"
-I didn't love the writing style - for example, after the MC drank too much and it says: "easing into her bathrobe, she peed last night's excesses away" - some of it just felt like TOO much detail.

I wanted to love this but I didn't. :(

Thanks to Forever Books, BooksForward, and netgalley for this arc!

I was very intrigued by the premise of Blame it on the Brontes, but it didn’t quite live up to what I was hoping for.

The hardest thing for me to get past in Blame it on the Brontes is that I didn’t like Athena. The way she treats her sometimes lover, Sergei, is especially disappointing. When he travels from California to Illinois to see her, the first thing she says to him is “you’ve gained weight.” She also lies to him and pretends to be a felon to get him to run away from the cafe where she works. While Sergei might not have been her soul mate, he certainly deserved to be treated with more kindness.

The title “Blame it on the Brontes” does feel appropriate as Athena doesn’t seem to take responsibility for her actions. She gets herself into professional hotwater by behaving badly towards one of her colleagues, but she doesn’t seem to understand that she got herself into a situation where she is likely to lose her job. While Thorne seems to see Athena as a magical waitress who connects with her customers, it’s hard to overlook how badly she treats certain people around her.

Thorne seems to be much more thoughtful and caring than Athena. He goes out of his way to take care of his paranoid schizophrenic half-brother and even works to build a mental health facility in Laurel. He makes Athena a frittata for breakfast when he spents the night with her, which is a sweet gesture. He has his (forgive the pun) “thorny” moments, but he certainly doesn’t play nasty pranks on his former co-workers like Athena does.

I do appreciate romance novels where the story alternates between the perspectives of the two love interests. I did enjoy the dramatic irony created by learning about the secrets Thorne was keeping from Athena (however, his narration didn’t even reveal all of them). It did raise some concern for me though that Thorne felt the need to keep so much from someone who he’d identified as the love of his life.

I wanted to be enagaged in the mystery of C.L. Garland’s idenity and genuinely was rooting for Athena to uncover it. However, I figured it out pretty quickly, and I am generally pretty bad at that sort of thing. By the end, I was hoping that Garland’s identiy would not be revealed at all and that Athena would realize she didn’t need to know who was behind those novellas.

I wanted to be invested in Blame it on the Brontes, but it left me feeling a little disappointed. Athena and Thorne’s passion for the work of the Bronte sisters does have me thinking about picking up Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights again though.

Blame it on the Bronte's sounded interesting and the cover was definitely cute.

I was not able to finish this book before about 20 percent. I even skimmed to the last chapter to see if it would spark my interest. This book was not my cup of tea.

I'm not sure if I like the plot about authors writing about characters who are trying to write books. And I think I could tell who the mystery author was going to be. I was not really interested in this one after all.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing me the chance to read and review. My thoughts are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the setting of this story and the cute suburb really came to life with all the different characters who lived there. Unfortunately, I felt that I had a better understanding of most of them than the main characters. The chemistry just wasn't there between those two and I would have loved to felt more than I did. There were also some pacing problems. The beginning was very slow and was hard to get into, especially because the writing felt overdone. It really picked up in the middle and I found myself to be more invested in the story. Towards the end, it started to slow down some more and then the very end was super rushed and ended quickly. Overall, it's a cute story and would make for a good beach read.