Today it is my pleasure to bring you my review of What Would Jane Austen Do? by Linda Corbett on day one of her fabulous blog tour!
It’s a truth often acknowledged that when a journalist and Jane Austen fan girl ends up living next door to a cynical but handsome crime writer, romantic sparks will fly!
When Maddy Shaw is told her Dear Jane column has been cancelled she has no choice but to look outside of London’s rental market. That is until she’s left an idyllic country home by the black sheep of the family, long-not-so-lost Cousin Nigel.
But of course there’s a stipulation… and not only is Maddy made chair of the committee for the annual village literary festival, she also has to put up with bestselling crime author –and romance sceptic – Cameron Massey as her new neighbour.
When Maddy challenges Cameron to write romantic fiction, which he claims is so easy to do, sparks fly both on and off the page…
Pride & Prejudice just so happens to be my favourite book, so I am always keen to read books that incorporate Jane Austen, whether that be subtly or not! As she very clearly appears in the title of Linda Corbetts new novel, I really could not resist!
Our heroine, Maddy Shaw, finds herself jobless when her Dear Jane column is unceremoniously cancelled. Just as she is filled with despair at the thought of both job and house hunting (due to now being priced out of the London property market), she finds herself within reaching distance of a very generous inheritance from her fathers long lost cousin Nigel. The black sheep of the family, Nigel is nothing more than a whispered rumour, so when Maddy finds herself on the doorstep of a beautiful country home, she is more than a little intrigued. With the stipulation that she must inhabit the house for 12 months before she can officially take ownership, Maddy finds herself in a small village, miles from the city, and in the centre of the local community. Throw in a handsome but somewhat grumpy crime author, and you have the ingredients for an excellent novel!
I really enjoyed What Would Jane Austen Do? – Maddy was a great character, who whilst nervous, eventually throws herself into her new life. She is faced with more than a few challenges, namely the annual village literary festival, but she faces them head on. Cameron Massey is our handsome crime writer with a small case of writers block and a past that has left him closed off to others. With the mystery of cousin Nigel to solve, and a community who aren’t quite sure where to hold Maddy at arms length or embrace her into the fold, there is plenty happening to keep a reader intrigued! It is an easy read, and an enjoyable one.
I am more than happy to recommend this to you all – grab yourself a chilled glass of wine and pull up a chair in the sunshine whilst you enjoy this lovely novel! Its 99p on the Kindle at the moment, so what is stopping you?!
Thank you to Linda Corbett and Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour, and for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
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Author Bio
Linda Corbett lives in Surrey with her husband Andrew and three permanently hungry guinea pigs. As well as being an author, Linda is a member and former Treasurer of Shine Surrey – a volunteer-led charity that supports individuals and families living with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. For many years she also wrote a regular column for Link, a disability magazine, illustrating the humorous aspects of life with a complex disability, and she is a passionate advocate of disability representation in fiction. When not writing, Linda can be found papercrafting, gardening, or cuddling guinea pigs. What Would Jane Austen Do? is her second published novel.
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