I hosted my second romance book club last night. We talked about The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell. It went really well! I was lucky to have attendees willing to speak up and ask their own questions. There was a very normal amount of pauses in discussion. The last time I was leaving more zoom length silences, making it less well paced.
I did not pick the book, as I was new to the book store when the meeting was planned (I get to pick all the books moving forward for romance book club!). I was super nervous that I would hate the book. I never would have chosen this book on my own. I’m not much of a time travel reader and this book had time travel. I also haven’t read any Jane Austen recently, and maybe only one book ever, so it didn’t have a nostalgia factor for me. I did end up enjoying this books. It was a relatively easy, quick read.
Tess Bright and Hugh Balfour have not gotten along since being cast as the stars in an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. Tess needs this role. After the death of her Austen loving mother and her exist from her previous TV show casting, Tess has been in a grief rut. After their biggest fight yet, Tess and Hugh find themselves in Jane Austen’s era. Now they have to work together to keep their secret and get back home. As they learn more about each other, they learn there may be sparks between them.
Bell enables people with no connection to the Austen world to find joy in it. They liberally sprinkle references throughout the book, including pop culture Austen references like She’s The Man (yes, I know it hasn’t aged well, and it brings all the nostalgia). The vibes of the regency era shine in this book. There are ample descriptions of food, decor, and clothing.
To enjoy this book, as with many time travel books, you will need to suspend reality. Tess is a relatively privileged cisgendered white woman in both timelines. Her experience in the past is isolated to the highest echelons of society. There is little to no discussion or acknowledgement of the actual experience of peoples during that time.
Book Recommendations if you liked this one
- Stolen Time by Danielle Rollins – futuristic dystopian fantasy in Seattle, young adult, there is an actual time machine
- Change of Heart by Falon Ballard – getting stuck in a Hallmark channel movie
- First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison – based on Sleepless in Seattle, minus the stalker vibes