by Laurie Viera Rigler
First sentence: “Why is it so dark in here?”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: I know there was mild swearing, with a couple of f-bombs, some talk of sex, and one (failed) sex scene. It would be in the adult fiction section of the bookstore.

Courtney has had a life-long relationship with Jane Austen. She finds herself turning to Austen’s books after a breakup, or when she’s stressed, or just when she needs comfort. There’s wisdom in Austen’s words, and Courtney finds herself pining for simpler times.

That is, until she wakes up in Edwardian England, as Jane Mansfield, a 30-year-old spinster (oh the horror!). It takes a while for her to believe her situation, and even longer still for her to accept that this has really and truly happened (and isn’t a dream) and then to accept that she may never get back “home” to L. A. and to just throw herself into this strange and foreign world.

It’s a silly premise, and a lot of the intrigue of the book comes from the juxtaposition of the 21st century woman trapped in a 19th century world. But, Rigler spends too much time with chasing men (ah, it’s a romance after all), and while she gives us glimpses of Austen’s world, it’s not nearly enough for me. It was a silly fluff of a book, but in the end, left me mildly dissatisfied.

That said, Lost in Austen (the British miniseries that bears similarities to this) is a lot of fun.