Kathleen A. Flynn

Rachel and Liam have been sent back to 1815 with a mission: to prevent an unpublished Jane Austen manuscript from being destroyed. In 1815 England, they will pose as a brother and sister raised in Jamaica, now in London with money to spend. They will seek out contact with Henry Austen, Jane's favorite brother, and try to inveigle their way into an acquaintance with Jane from there. If they're successful, they might be able to add another Austen title to the canon -- and if they could prevent the destruction of Jane's letters to her sister, that would be another boon to Austen scholarship. Furthermore, Rachel, a doctor, hopes to learn something about the mysterious illness that will soon bring the author's life to an end. Can she save Jane Austen?

I enjoyed the bulk of this book, but I wasn't crazy about the ending. It fizzled out a bit. I also could have done without the romance -- I never felt that there was a whole lot of chemistry there. There's not a lot of heavy sci-fi here, so if you're in it for that aspect, this might not work for you -- but if you want Jane Austen as a character interacting with individuals from the future, that part of the story is solid.… (altro)

This book is like the little girl who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead... When it's good, it's really good---but when it's bad, it's horrid.

I absolutely LOVE the idea of this story. The time-travel element, (always so hokey but so, so appealing!) Jane, England, excellent imagery; not to mention immediate kudos to the publishing team for a period-correct Regency style dress on the cover. The story made me think about the fact that we really have no right to be delving into the private lives of famous people just because they're now dead...it made me wonder if I should read the book on Jane Austen's letters that I just received in the mail. It also gave a really interesting take on Cassandra. I always saw her as much more kind than this story makes her to be, but her abruptness and coldness fits well with the notion that she was Jane's defender in many ways. In fact, besides getting the ending everyone wanted in the most anticlimactic way possible, the only thing that super bugged me about this story was Raunchy Rachel.

I think this was supposed to be the story of a woman who finally discovers the difference between lust and love? Rachel's views on sex really took away from a brilliant story---it seemed weirdly out of place and immature in an otherwise excellently written book. Too bad the author didn't take a lesson from Austen and write something romantic with a character who had self-respect and allowed us to respect her too. Rachel is so forward and gross that one wonders why decent and respectable men are declaring their "unworthiness" in her presence. I feel like she should be clomping around in manure-coated cowboy boots and spitting tobacco. Nothing is "lovely" or "dear" about this woman.

The ending dialogue was badly written. Please, I need an alternate reality where the last 10 pages of this novel are rewritten with the same quality as the first 370ish.
… (altro)