Jane Austen, author of classic literature still loved today by millions, died in 1817. Little do these readers know that Jane Austen is still alive (er...undead) and well in New York. She has taken the pseudonym Jane Fairfax and is the proud owner of a bookstore. She has been trying to get her book Constance published for around 200 years. Unfortunately, it's been rejected by 116 publishers. Plus, she's constantly surrounded by the hype of spin-offs and sequels to her own books and she doesn't see one penny of royalties for any of it. Her life starts to turn around when her novel is finally picked up by a publisher. Things get complicated again when a darkly handsome man from her past returns to her life and anti-Austen, pro-Bronte blogger Violet Grey accuses Jane of stealing the manuscript. Can Jane preserve her peaceful life with these obstacles plus being thrust into the limelight in the wake of her new novel?
All of the characters were detailed and realistic. I either loved them or loved to hate them. My favorites were Lucy, Walter, and Jane. Jane was exactly how I imagined her to be if she lived today. She is familiar with technology, but doesn't entirely trust all of it (like airplanes). She's a little old fashioned, but is basically just another normal modern person. She loves dark chocolate, wine, reading, and her cat. I can totally relate to her even though she's over 200 years old. I liked that the vampires in this novel really didn't have many supernatural powers. They can glamour humans, heal fast, and don't age. That's about it. I think this is part of why Jane was so easy to relate to. Even though she has a human side, she's still a vampire. And not the Twilight-esque vegetarian variety either. I admire how she unflinchingly embraces her nature and feeds on people, but not enough to kill them. There are no self-hating, brooding vampires in this story. (That means you, Angel and Edward.)
Jane Bites Back was awesome. It was a fast paced, fun read. Parts of the novel were laugh out loud funny. The characters all had dimensions that made them This concept could have gone horribly wrong, but Micheal Thomas Ford succeeded with wit and humor. I look forward to the next book in the series.
My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins
2 comments:
I've been so leery of the paranormal Austens since PPZ, which I didn't like, but I think I might read this. I'm going to have an all Jane month, Jane in June, on BR, and since these things are all so popular lately, I'm going to include a few of the paranormal spins. This one at least seems to have promise.
What a lovely review. You made it sound delightful. :)
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