Jane Austen State of Mind

What's better than a new Jayne Bamber book? That's easy! A new Jayne Bamber book narrated by the incomparable Stevie Zimmerman. Jayne visited the Jane Austen State of Mind blog back in March 2021 when  Five Daughters Out at Once was first released. Check out that post here  for additional information and an excerpt. At the time I wrote that post, I had not yet read the entire book. Since then, I've been so busy with hands-on pursuits (mostly arts and crafts) that traditional reading has been time prohibitive.  As such, I've had trouble finishing books as of late. That's where the hands-free experience afforded by audiobooks has saved me and helped maintain my Jane Austen State of Mind!  As you read this new excerpt, I challenge to imagine it read by the amazing Stevie Zimmerman. She never cases to amaze me! This book, in particular, features so many characters from across the Austen universe, and she does not skip a beat in bringing each one to life. Darcy wand...

There is a special place in my heart for authors publishing their first books. I think part of it stems from my personal goal to one day write a superb (or at least solid) work of Austenesque fiction. Putting myself in the shoes of these new authors, I realize that while it's a highly enviable position, it's also fraught with vulneratibity. I greatly respect those of you who have shared your literary babies with the world! Today's blog post features one such author, Mr. Ridge Kennedy. After you read his guest post, I think you'll agree that his energy is infectious. I picked up on this from the very first email I received from him. In addition to his cool vibe, the book description struck me as a very original take on the Austenesque world that goes a step further by bringing it to life with music. Then again, after reading Ridge's bio, I'm not surprised that his tapestry of life experiences would yield a singular story through which his love and respect for Jan...

It's hard for me to believe how quickly 2021 has flown by and that the holidays are just around the corner. As radio stations are starting to play Christmas music and the Hallmark Channel commences its 24/7 holiday-themed romantic movies, the JAFF universe follows suit with an array of heartwarming yuletide novellas! Just a few years ago, these holiday gems were few and far between, but now it seems many of our favorite Austenesque authors are contributing to this emerging tradition.  One such author is Heather Moll. I've enjoyed many of Heather's novels, and I even featured her last novel, 9 Ladies , in a post earlier this year. Her latest novella,  A Hopeful Holiday , strikes a unique, compelling tone and avoids falling into the trap of the overly cute holiday tale--the Regency equivalent of an ending in which all of the characters singing carols together to cap off a tree lighting ceremony. It's refreshing to read a shorter story since so many of the releases this ye...

Hi everyone! I am excited that the Jane Austen State of Mind blog gets to kick off the new release tour for Karalynne Mackrory. She is an author whose books I've really enjoyed over the past couple of years, She has selected an excerpt from latest book, Blinded by Prejudice , to share with my readers, and I hope it pulls you in! Before I get into the book, I wanted to provide a short personal update. It's been nearly a month since I've posted to the blog. The dreaded COVID hit our household, and we're just now getting back to our school and/or work routines after an extended period of quarantine/isolation. Luckily, my husband and I only felt rotten (no serious complications), and our 5-year-old daughter did not so much as skip a beat. Although I didn't feel much like reading during my bout with COVID due to a persistent pounding headache, I was pumped to have been gifted a physical copy of this beautiful book. It will be creased and well-loved soon enough! Thanks ag...

 Today, the Jane Austen State of Mind blog brings you a review of Susan Adriani's new release, "Misunderstandings & Ardent Love." I hope my thoughts on the book whet your appetite for more and move you to read it! First of all, I would be remiss if I did not give a nod to the beautiful cover. Ms. Adriani's work, in my opinion, has become the gold standard for JAFF cover art. If I ever finish my book, I sincerely hope she will agree to design one for me! Lord knows I've compiled quite a Pinterest page full of Regency era paintings to draw from! But, as usual, I digress. I'm sharing my thoughts in no particular order. One thing I particularly liked about the book was the authentic interactions between the cannon and original characters. In particular, I found two new characters quite refreshing and entertaining. The first is a fine gentleman who is a relation to the Lucases as well as Lizzy's childhood friend. The second new character is an irreverent au...