Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Book Review: Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict

Laurie Viera Rigler is the author of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, which I read back in 2008 and reviewed here.  I honestly don't remember much about this book except that it helped to answer my questions about what would happen if, like Courtney in the novel, I somehow woke up one day and found myself in Regency England instead of the present-day US.  But one question the book created was what happened to Jane Mansfield, the Regency girl who switched places with Courtney?

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict answers that question, following Jane from the moment she awakens as Courtney Stone, a resident of Los Angeles in 2009.  This is the kind of story I've been making up since I first started reading:  what would happen if the heroine of one of my favorite books woke up in my time?  How fun would it be to introduce her to my world?  For that reason alone, I think I enjoyed reading Awakenings a little more than Confessions.

Awakenings does have a cute little message spread throughout it's pages about making the best with whatever life throws at you.  Nothing life changing, and not really the point of reading a novel like this.  You read this book to see how a Regency heroine would walk, talk, and act in today's world.  If you don't already have an interest in the Regency period, I can't see it inspiring you to try something different.  Apparently not too many people have that interest these days, since I found Awakenings at the Dollar Tree.  But if, like me, you're a Jane Austen addict, it's certainly a fun read for your day off, and probably worth more than a dollar!

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