I waited on the review of this because I wanted to give myself time to sift through it and come to a conclusion about the real value of the book. After all, I’ve learned that Austen fans – even if they’re members of JASNA – are not necessarily the best Austen writers. Sometimes you have to take the Austen out of the equation to enjoy the book. So, after due consideration, here’s my review.

There are two words to accurately describe all aspects of this book: acid trip.

And apparently, there’s a sequel.

This has little to do with either confessions or Jane Austen – other than a supposed sighting in regency London by the main character – and the story is beyond even the “willing suspension of disbelief”. The main character, Courtney Stone wakes up to find herself in the body of a young, single woman living during that same period as Jane Austen. Her name? Jane Mansfield.

She quickly disovers that her mother is a shrew, her father a rather relaxed man who apparently paints modern art, that she is currently being courted by one Mr. Edgeworth whose sister is her best friend…and apparently she recently fell off a horse. Courtney spends her time having strange flashbacks, defying all conventional behavior, and generally coming very close to ruining Jane’s – or if she can’t get back to her body, her own – life.

Finally, after some twists and turns, Jane decides that Mr. Edgeworth isn’t a lying rake and that she will be generally “at peace” with her new life so she marries Edgeworth and spends the rest of her 17-18th century life telling her husband about her 20-21st century life.

The aforementioned sequel apparently tells how Jane Mansfield handles her transition into Courtney Stone’s life. Right. I’m not even bothering to check that out.

I would not recommend this book and I am very, very glad that I only got this from the library instead of spending actual money on it. (As opposed to fake money? Let’s just let that slide, mkay?) If you’re looking for Austen fan fiction, or Austen-like fiction, don’t even touch this book. Just walk on by.

Tags: Austen, Austen Fan Fiction, Austenland, Authors, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, Jane Austen, Jane Austen Addict Series, Jane Mansfield, Romance, time travel