Jill reviewed The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen Flynn
Review of 'The Jane Austen Project' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
I loved the concept of this book, but the book itself was pretty awful. I loved the idea of time-traveling to Jane Austen and viewing her and her world from a modern perspective and I enjoyed those parts of the book.
However, the main character completely lacked any ability to regulate her emotions and made even the most mundane situations sexual. (I think it's fair to say that it takes a lot of work to turn sewing into an erotic action.) Shoehorning the sex and "romance" in really hurt what could have been a fun story. It always felt forced and abrupt and never felt necessary to the story. (I use the word romance loosely -- it reads like a frustrated bodice-ripper, but it doesn't contain much actual romance.)
The main characters also don't spend much time communicating nor do they seem to work well together as a team. That's …
I loved the concept of this book, but the book itself was pretty awful. I loved the idea of time-traveling to Jane Austen and viewing her and her world from a modern perspective and I enjoyed those parts of the book.
However, the main character completely lacked any ability to regulate her emotions and made even the most mundane situations sexual. (I think it's fair to say that it takes a lot of work to turn sewing into an erotic action.) Shoehorning the sex and "romance" in really hurt what could have been a fun story. It always felt forced and abrupt and never felt necessary to the story. (I use the word romance loosely -- it reads like a frustrated bodice-ripper, but it doesn't contain much actual romance.)
The main characters also don't spend much time communicating nor do they seem to work well together as a team. That's a little hard to swallow because they're colleagues working together on a sensitive mission -- something that should require communication and teamwork. I just didn't find either of the likable and I wasn't invested in their relationship at all.
