Jane Austen and Friends: The Celebrate Lit Blog Tour and Giveaway of A Very Austen Romance
About the Book
Title: A Very Austen Romance
Authors: Robin Helm, Laura Hile, Wendi Sotis, Barbara Cornthwaite, Chautona Havig, Mandy H. Cook
Genre: Historical Romance
Release Date: June, 2020
A Very Austen Romance features a delightful medley of novellas, each set in Jane Austen’s Regency world. Your friends from Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Sense and Sensibility, enjoy new adventures in this lovely collection of stories by Robin Helm, Laura Hile, Wendi Sotis, Barbara Cornthwaite, Mandy Cook, and Chautona Havig.
Be treated to prequels, spin-offs, and sequels of Austen’s novels, along with original and supporting characters in starring roles. If historical romance is your preference, you’ll love these well-crafted stories written by beloved authors in the genre.
Click here to get your copy!
Book Review
Jane Austen’s stories have been entertaining us for years, first with her own novels and then with movies. And now with these novellas. These six novellas are such fun reads and it’s always a treat to revisit some old and beloved characters. The authors tell these stories either by rewriting the plotlines or by focusing on the stories of side characters in the original novels.
The King of Hearts focuses in on Kitty Bennet from Pride
and Prejudice and her journey of finding a husband. While I did enjoy this
novella, I wouldn’t say it was my favorite out of this collection. I had a hard
time keeping up and felt like I couldn’t really get to know the characters. It
still was a sweet story, though, and it was nice getting to see what Kitty’s
love story could’ve been like.
You’ve Got to Kiss the Girl is a fun little twist of
the love story between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.
Lady Catherine schemes to kidnap Mr. Darcy and Anne and send them off to a
secluded house, hoping that, in their predicament, they fall in love. The plan
goes awry, however, when Elizabeth is mistaken for Anne and is taken instead. I
loved this story. It had to be one of my favorites in the collection. It was
funny and entertaining.
A Step too Far is also another twist on Mr. Darcy’s
and Elizabeth’s love story. While Elizabeth is injured after being too
adventuresome, Mr. Darcy finds her and Elizabeth is forced to stay with him and
Mr. Bingley while she recovers. It’s a sweet adaptation and it was cool to see how
else the two might’ve fallen in love.
John Knightley Wins a Wife is exactly what it sounds
like. John Knightley falling in love. I think this is my favorite novella out of
all of them. I liked that it focused on a side character of Emma and how
his love story could’ve happened. Although at times, it was a little hard
figuring out which point of view the story was being told from, this book was
the most interesting to me.
Charming Miss Dashwood focuses on Margaret Dashwood. While
I’m not overly familiar with Sense and Sensibility, I still
thoroughly enjoyed this version and getting to read about Margaret Dashwood and
how her adventuresome spirit drives her to want to capture highwaymen with the
help of a dashing Conrad Thayer. This was a cute little story and it was fun
learning about Miss Dashwood.
In the Looking Glass is about Fanny Bingley, the
daughter of Jane and Charles Bingley. This story was cute, although I was
confused at times, especially with the ending. I did enjoy seeing, however, how
the love story between Jane and Charles turned out and reading about their
eleven children.
Overall, I did enjoy all these novellas and would recommend
the collection if you’re a huge Jane Austen fan. These books are not only fun,
but also romantic-but what else would you expect from a novella collection
based on Jane Austen novels?
I had received a copy of this book as part of the Celebrate
Lit Blogging Team and was required to give an honest review.
About the Authors
Robin Helm’s books reflect her love of music, as well as her fascination with the paranormal and science fiction.
Previously published works include The Guardian Trilogy: Guardian, SoulFire, and Legacy; the Yours by Design series: Accidentally Yours, Sincerely Yours, and Forever Yours; Understanding Elizabeth; More to Love; and Lawfully Innocent. Ms. Helm also contributed stories to A Very Austen Christmas and A Very Austen Valentine.
She plans to publish Maestro in 2020.
Her life in (usually) sunny, small town South Carolina is busy, but affords time for writing, reading, teaching piano, and playing games on her phone. (Would you believe she’s an elder in a war game?)
Readers are loving Laura Hile’s joyous Regency novels. Her signature style—with intertwined plots, cliffhangers, laugh-out-loud humor, and romance—keeps them coming back for more.
The comedy Laura comes by as a teacher. There’s never a dull moment with teen students!
Laura lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and a collection of antique clocks.
Her fiction is for everyone, even teens.
The Marriage Pact, and some of Wendi’s works-in-progress, have branched away from JAFF to Regency Romance (the Loving an Aldridge Series) and Contemporary Romantic Mysteries (the Implicated series). Wendi will also continue bringing Darcy and Elizabeth together again and again in an unusual manner.
Barbara Cornthwaite lives in the middle of Ireland with her husband and children. She taught college English before “retiring” to do something she loves far more; her days are now filled with homeschooling her six children, trying to keep the house tidy (a losing battle), and trying to stay warm in the damp Irish climate (also a losing battle). She is surrounded by medieval castles, picturesque flocks of sheep, and ancient stone monuments. These things are unappreciated by her children, who are more impressed by traffic jams, skyscrapers, and hot weather.
Mandy Cook was an RN for over ten years, half of which she served in the Navy, living in far-flung places, enjoying experiencing the world while following her calling. Just before she and her handsome Marine were both deployed to different places, they married. They now have three children, ages five and younger.
She previously published The Gifted, using her nursing experience to lend accuracy to her story about an ER nurse who is handed a gift that changes her life forever. Adversity, and a long history of secrets, constantly battle against her natural instinct for truth and justice, but will the truth be worth the dare?
Mandy also contributed a story to A Very Austen Valentine: Austen Anthologies, Book 1.
Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her on the web and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.
Take a Book-Themed Quiz
<script type=”text/javascript”>
(function(d,s,id,u){
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
var js, sjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],
t = Math.floor(new Date().getTime() / 1000000);
js=d.createElement(s); js.id=id; js.async=1; js.src=u+’?’+t;
sjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js
}(document, ‘script’, ‘os-widget-jssdk’,
‘https://www.opinionstage.com/
</script><div class=”os_widget” data-of=”chautona”
data-path=”/chautona/which-rom
id=”os-widget-663374″></div>
(function(d,s,id,u){
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
var js, sjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],
t = Math.floor(new Date().getTime() / 1000000);
js=d.createElement(s); js.id=id; js.async=1; js.src=u+’?’+t;
sjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js
}(document, ‘script’, ‘os-widget-jssdk’,
‘https://www.opinionstage.com/
</script><div class=”os_widget” data-of=”chautona”
data-path=”/chautona/which-rom
id=”os-widget-663374″></div>
Giveaway
To celebrate their tour, the A Very Austen authors are giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
Rebecca, thank you for taking the time to read and review our anthology. It's so great to be able to share our friendship and stories with you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to read and review! I'm glad you enjoyed the collection.
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting us here today, Rebecca, and for the lovely review! Good luck to all in the giveaway :-)
ReplyDeleteI love all of the Jane Austen Anthologies. These stories sound wonderful. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteFabulous review, Rebecca! I'm looking forward to reading these anthologies.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an amazing book.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a fun read for Austen fans.
ReplyDelete