Jane of Austen on June 2017
Genres: Adult Fiction
Pages: 312
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher
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“Know your own happiness. You want nothing but patience - or give it a more fascinating name, call it hope.”―Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility
Just a few years after their father’s business scandal shatters their lives, Jane and Celia Woodward find themselves forced out of their San Francisco tea shop. The last thing Jane wants is to leave their beloved shop on Valencia Street, but when Celia insists on a move to Austin, Texas, the sisters pack up their kid sister Margot and Jane’s tea plants, determined to start over yet again.
But life in Austin isn’t all sweet tea and breakfast tacos. Their unusual living situation is challenging and unspoken words begin to fester between Jane and Celia. When Jane meets and falls for up-and-coming musician Sean Willis, the chasm grows deeper.
While Sean seems to charm everyone in his path, one person is immune – retired Marine Captain Callum Beckett. Callum never meant to leave the military, but the twin losses of his father and his left leg have returned him to the place he least expected—Texas.
In this modern spin on the Austen classic, Sense and Sensibility, the Woodward sisters must contend with new ingredients in unfamiliar kitchens, a dash of heartbreak, and the fragile hope that maybe home isn't so far away
“Know your own happiness. You want nothing but patience - or give it a more fascinating name, call it hope.”―Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility
Just a few years after their father’s business scandal shatters their lives, Jane and Celia Woodward find themselves forced out of their San Francisco tea shop. The last thing Jane wants is to leave their beloved shop on Valencia Street, but when Celia insists on a move to Austin, Texas, the sisters pack up their kid sister Margot and Jane’s tea plants, determined to start over yet again.
But life in Austin isn’t all sweet tea and breakfast tacos. Their unusual living situation is challenging and unspoken words begin to fester between Jane and Celia. When Jane meets and falls for up-and-coming musician Sean Willis, the chasm grows deeper.
While Sean seems to charm everyone in his path, one person is immune – retired Marine Captain Callum Beckett. Callum never meant to leave the military, but the twin losses of his father and his left leg have returned him to the place he least expected—Texas.
In this modern spin on the Austen classic, Sense and Sensibility, the Woodward sisters must contend with new ingredients in unfamiliar kitchens, a dash of heartbreak, and the fragile hope that maybe home isn't so far away
Review:
Hmmmm, I really wanted to like this one. It’s about three sisters who, after their father’s fall from grace, open a successful tea shop in California. Years later, they’re pushed out and wind up in Austin, TX, renting a guest house from a relative and trying ot start from scratch. Sound familiar? That’s because it’s a retelling of Sense and Sensibility.
The narration flips between Jane (our Maryanne) and Callum (Col. Brandon). I liked the setting and the colorful array of characters. I like how the story pretty much follows S&S and how it could take place in modern times.
But it lacked a little bit of magic.
My favorite parts were of Callum’s voice, vulnerable and unsure as he watches Jane fall for a handsome yet too good to be true stranger. And I really like the sisters’ relationships with each other. That said, I felt like Jane’s character fell flat for me. They’re supposed to own this thriving tea shop in CA, but all of her tea plans can be packed up into the bed of a truck and moved to TX? Also, I didn’t feel like the characters were really well developed. If I hadn’t known it was S&S, and didn’t have a good sense of the characters from that, I wouldn’t have really gotten anything more from this book.
Overall, I think it’s an easy and quick read and it will do if you need an Austen fix. But I wasn’t blown away or felt any romance or magic between the couples.
Kimberly majored in Songwriting and currently works full time in the music industry. When she's not listening to music, knitting or writing, you can find her outside reading her favorite genres: Young Adult, Adult Fiction, Mystery, and Romance.
