Saturday, August 1, 2009

What Would Jane Austen Do? by Laurie Brown

What Would Jane Austen Do? first caught my attention because I'm a Jane Austen fan. The cover with the abs of steel and the stately British home didn't hurt, either. Then I saw it was a time-travel--I was in heaven!

Eleanor Pottinger attends a Jane Austen Society conference and encounters two ghosts who need her to go back in time and save their brother's life. Enticed by the chance to meet Jane Austen herself, she agrees. She promptly falls for the dashing Lord Shermont.

I thought this was an excellent time travel. It was more believeable than many of them, and the historical details seemed spot on. I was a little disappointed that Jane Austen hardly appears in the book, but she is still a part of it because Eleanor uses Austen's books to help her figure out what to do in sticky situations. I liked Eleanor very much and Shermont was a fine hero, although he didn't really come into his own until the last part of the book.

The book was original, the time travel elements were handled with great skill and the heroine was a real gem. The book had some humor, some suspense, some delicious sexual tension and a couple of huge surprises. I would recommend this to anyone who likes time travels or English historicals.

I'll rate this book 8.5 out of 10 and look forward to the next book by Laurie Brown.

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