Jane Austen and Friends: The Celebrate Lit Blog Tour and Giveaway of A Very Austen Romance

About the Book


Title: A Very Austen Romance
Authors: Robin Helm, Laura Hile, Wendi Sotis, Barbara Cornthwaite, Chautona Havig, Mandy H. Cook
Genre: Historical Romance
Release Date: June, 2020

A Very Austen Romance features a delightful medley of novellas, each set in Jane Austen’s Regency world. Your friends from Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Sense and Sensibility, enjoy new adventures in this lovely collection of stories by Robin Helm, Laura Hile, Wendi Sotis, Barbara Cornthwaite, Mandy Cook, and Chautona Havig.

Be treated to prequels, spin-offs, and sequels of Austen’s novels, along with original and supporting characters in starring roles. If historical romance is your preference, you’ll love these well-crafted stories written by beloved authors in the genre.

Click here to get your copy!

Book Review

Jane Austen’s stories have been entertaining us for years, first with her own novels and then with movies. And now with these novellas. These six novellas are such fun reads and it’s always a treat to revisit some old and beloved characters. The authors tell these stories either by rewriting the plotlines or by focusing on the stories of side characters in the original novels.
The King of Hearts focuses in on Kitty Bennet from Pride and Prejudice and her journey of finding a husband. While I did enjoy this novella, I wouldn’t say it was my favorite out of this collection. I had a hard time keeping up and felt like I couldn’t really get to know the characters. It still was a sweet story, though, and it was nice getting to see what Kitty’s love story could’ve been like.
You’ve Got to Kiss the Girl is a fun little twist of the love story between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. Lady Catherine schemes to kidnap Mr. Darcy and Anne and send them off to a secluded house, hoping that, in their predicament, they fall in love. The plan goes awry, however, when Elizabeth is mistaken for Anne and is taken instead. I loved this story. It had to be one of my favorites in the collection. It was funny and entertaining.
A Step too Far is also another twist on Mr. Darcy’s and Elizabeth’s love story. While Elizabeth is injured after being too adventuresome, Mr. Darcy finds her and Elizabeth is forced to stay with him and Mr. Bingley while she recovers. It’s a sweet adaptation and it was cool to see how else the two might’ve fallen in love.
John Knightley Wins a Wife is exactly what it sounds like. John Knightley falling in love. I think this is my favorite novella out of all of them. I liked that it focused on a side character of Emma and how his love story could’ve happened. Although at times, it was a little hard figuring out which point of view the story was being told from, this book was the most interesting to me.
Charming Miss Dashwood focuses on Margaret Dashwood. While I’m not overly familiar with Sense and Sensibility, I still thoroughly enjoyed this version and getting to read about Margaret Dashwood and how her adventuresome spirit drives her to want to capture highwaymen with the help of a dashing Conrad Thayer. This was a cute little story and it was fun learning about Miss Dashwood.
In the Looking Glass is about Fanny Bingley, the daughter of Jane and Charles Bingley. This story was cute, although I was confused at times, especially with the ending. I did enjoy seeing, however, how the love story between Jane and Charles turned out and reading about their eleven children.
Overall, I did enjoy all these novellas and would recommend the collection if you’re a huge Jane Austen fan. These books are not only fun, but also romantic-but what else would you expect from a novella collection based on Jane Austen novels?
I had received a copy of this book as part of the Celebrate Lit Blogging Team and was required to give an honest review. 

About the Authors


Robin Helm’s books reflect her love of music, as well as her fascination with the paranormal and science fiction.

Previously published works include The Guardian Trilogy: Guardian, SoulFire, and Legacy; the Yours by Design series: Accidentally Yours, Sincerely Yours, and Forever Yours; Understanding Elizabeth;  More to Love; and Lawfully Innocent. Ms. Helm also contributed stories to A Very Austen Christmas and A Very Austen Valentine.

She plans to publish Maestro in 2020.

Her life in (usually) sunny, small town South Carolina is busy, but affords time for writing, reading, teaching piano, and playing games on her phone. (Would you believe she’s an elder in a war game?)

Readers are loving Laura Hile’s joyous Regency novels. Her signature style—with intertwined plots, cliffhangers, laugh-out-loud humor, and romance—keeps them coming back for more.

The comedy Laura comes by as a teacher. There’s never a dull moment with teen students!

Laura lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and a collection of antique clocks.

Her fiction is for everyone, even teens.

Wendi Sotis lives on Long Island, NY, with her husband and triplets. While searching for Pride and Prejudice from Darcy’s point of view, she became thoroughly enamored with Jane Austen Fan Fiction or JAFF. In early 2010, she dreamed of an idea for a story and hasn’t stopped writing since: Promises, Dreams and Expectations; All Hallows Eve; The Keys for Love; Safekeeping (with just a dash of Austen); The Gypsy Blessing; Foundation of Love (The Gypsy Blessing 2); and A Lesson Hard Learned.

The Marriage Pact, and some of Wendi’s works-in-progress, have branched away from JAFF to Regency Romance (the Loving an Aldridge Series) and Contemporary Romantic Mysteries (the Implicated series). Wendi will also continue bringing Darcy and Elizabeth together again and again in an unusual manner.

Barbara Cornthwaite lives in the middle of Ireland with her husband and children. She taught college English before “retiring” to do something she loves far more; her days are now filled with homeschooling her six children, trying to keep the house tidy (a losing battle), and trying to stay warm in the damp Irish climate (also a losing battle). She is surrounded by medieval castles, picturesque flocks of sheep, and ancient stone monuments. These things are unappreciated by her children, who are more impressed by traffic jams, skyscrapers, and hot weather.

Mandy Cook was an RN for over ten years, half of which she served in the Navy, living in far-flung places, enjoying experiencing the world while following her calling. Just before she and her handsome Marine were both deployed to different places, they married. They now have three children, ages five and younger.

She previously published The Gifted, using her nursing experience to lend accuracy to her story about an ER nurse who is handed a gift that changes her life forever. Adversity, and a long history of secrets, constantly battle against her natural instinct for truth and justice, but will the truth be worth the dare?

Mandy also contributed a story to A Very Austen Valentine: Austen Anthologies, Book 1.

Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her on the web and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.

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Giveaway

To celebrate their tour, the A Very Austen authors are giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

8 Comments

  1. Thank you for hosting us here today, Rebecca, and for the lovely review! Good luck to all in the giveaway 🙂

  2. Thank you for taking the time to read and review! I'm glad you enjoyed the collection.

  3. Rebecca, thank you for taking the time to read and review our anthology. It's so great to be able to share our friendship and stories with you.

  4. I love all of the Jane Austen Anthologies. These stories sound wonderful. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

  5. Fabulous review, Rebecca! I'm looking forward to reading these anthologies.

  6. This sounds like an amazing book.

  7. This sounds like a fun read for Austen fans.

  8. Thanks for taking time to share your book with us and it's always a pleasure in our family to learn about a new one.

Comments are closed.