Tuesday, April 3, 2012

REVIEW: Jane Austen Stole My Boyfriend by Cora Harrison

Jane wants to meet a hero worthy of her extraordinary imagination: a gentleman who is dashing and daring and handsome and brave; who can dance like a viscount and duel like a king. Jane and Jenny are whiling away the season in Bath and there are plenty of dances, rumours and scandals to entertain them. But a good reputation, once lost, is gone forever; and Jane is in danger of becoming the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons...


Usually I'm not a historical novel fan, but I did have high hopes for Jane Austen Stole My Boyfriend. It seemed like a sweet, easy historical book, and that was exactly what it turned out to be! I really liked it! I loved the concept of the book, it was a fantastic idea. It was a sweet and funny novel that was written wonderfully. The descriptions were beautiful, vivid and I had no difficulty imagining what the characters, setting, and everything else looked like.


I liked the setting of Bath, it seems like such a lovely, elegant city! I really want to go there someday! I also loved the time the book was set in. I've never read a book set in the 1700's but oooh, it was a fabulous time! The dresses, the balls, the romance... I was born in the wrong era! :)


Jane was a great character, so funny and adventurous. I would love to have her as a best friend! She was hilarious, and got the two girls, (Jane and Jenny) into some funny situations!!! I liked Jenny, she was sweet and kind, and I felt sorry for her having such a horrible brother and sister-in-law :/ Her sister-in-law Augusta was such a pain! She was ignorant, mean and controlling. She annoyed me a lot. But no fear, Jane knew how to handle her! Shewas always making fun of Augusta, which made me laugh. I also loved Jenny and Thomas's relationship. Thomas is such a a gentleman, so charming and romantic and kind! He was a lovely change from the moody love interests usually found in books nowadays! I really liked Harry Digweed, 'the boy next door', too. He was a fab love interest for Jane, and was one of my favourite characters! He was so loyal and sweet, and his character progressed well throughout the novel.


Jane Austen Stole My Boyfriend was told in a diary format, Jenny's diary. I usually like books told in a diary form, but honestly, I didn't even notice it in this book. The descriptions were very detailed, and not something that you would find in a diary. But I suppose the author had to do this, and it actually didn't bother me! Although sometimes I found it difficult to read, because the language was very old fashioned!


Something I didn't understand, though was why Henry was in Bath for so long, and where was he staying? And did his family not care that he had been gone for almost a month? And why weren't the girl getting any schooling? And another thing was Eliza's French! A lot of the time I hasn't a clue what she was on about! These were all little things that just annoyed me a bit, though, and I got over them fairly quickly! The good outweighed the bad :)


The novel wasn't very eventful for the first half, and I found myself getting a little bored...But in the second half the story really picked up and it was quite exciting! There was some mystery, and a good few plot twists. My heart actually froze and my mouth dropped open at one point, I was so shocked at what happened!


I ended up really enjoying Jane Austen Stole My Boyfriend! It had fantastic characters, beautiful descriptions, and a wonderful setting. It has made me really want to read a Jane Austen's novel! I loved the authors note at the back and was quite surprised to find that most of the characters and events in the novel were real, and actually happened! I think it was really clever of the author to draw on real life events for the story. I am now fascinated with Jane Austen! It took me a while to read this book, but I did like it. I would definitely recommend it and am looking forward to reading more of Cora Harrisons books. The perfect read for a lazy, sunny summers day.



Rating: 3.5/5
Source: For Review 
Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
Age group: 9+
Official Publication Date: This edition, 2nd February 2012
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Author Website
 www.coraharrison.com
Challenges: ABC Reading Challenge, British Books Challenge

6 comments:

  1. Great review! I'm really envious of all the balls and dresses that used to take place in that era too! It would be so glamourous... =]

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  2. Brilliant review! I really want to read this book, thanks for such awesome review!
    Beth xx

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  3. Hi Cliona, wonderful review! I really want to try this one, and what a cute cover!

    Jessica xxx :)

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  4. Great review, pity about the little things that annoyed you, but I'm glad you enjoyed it overall! I've heard mixed reviews for this one, thanks for the review!

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  5. Since you liked this one you should try Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig. It's not technically a YA book, but it is a superb crossover historical that will have you laughing out loud and falling in love with the male lead. Check out my review on The Paperback Princesses.

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  6. This book sounds exciting! I especially love the cover! And like you, I quite like reading books in diary format. It's rare that you find any books that use that format.
    New follower. :)

    Marshiee Amor @ Books With Marshmallows

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