Jane Austen State of Mind

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...

I read Kara Pleasant latest release, "The Unread Letter," over the past couple of weeks, since I was lucky enough to get early access to it. As of late, my reading has been very stop and go, and I've jumped between books. Working in the public school system, it's been an odd time for me with the return of students and actual in-person work. I've tried to reestablish a regular sleep schedule while maintaining a certain level of self-care in which reading plays a key role. To that end, this book came along at the right time for me! At approximately 150 pages, it's a shorter novel. I needed a work of JAFF with a more developed storyline than a typical novella while still a relatively quick read to hold my attention. With the exception of one novella and this book, the JAFF books I've read since the start of 2021 have all ranged from 350 to over 700 pages! They were all epic and wonderful but required a longer commitment. If, like me, you're looking for a ...