What Would Jane Austen Do?

By Linda Corbett

What it’s about?

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…

Purchase Links:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Would-Jane-Austen-Do-ebook/dp/B0B7VBBKGQ
https://www.amazon.com/What-Would-Jane-Austen-Do-ebook/dp/B0B7VBBKGQ

What I think:

What Would Jane Austen Do? is without a doubt one of my favourite books of the year so far! I absolutely loved it!

Maddy is such a lovely character I absolutely want to be friends with her.

Things are looking pretty bleak at the beginning of the book. Maddy is made redundant from her agony aunt job, and her meagre savings means she won’t be able to stay in London for long. And then, in true romantic heroine fashion, she inherits a house from a long-lost relative.

Maddy’s plans to sell up and stay in London are thwarted when the solicitors reveal a strange clause in long-lost Cousin Nigel’s will – she has to live there for a year and becomes chair of the village literary festival.

Like many an Austen heroine before her, Maddy has to put aside her pride and prejudice and get to know the villagers. Before long she is actually excited about the literary festival and repairing the house.

The only thorn in her side is Cameron Massey, a best-selling local author whose views of fiction are the opposite of Maddy’s. He may be good-looking and intelligent but he’s also sulky and brooding. Is he her Mr Darcy?

This is a fantastic romance with lots of humour and fun along the way. The supporting cast are interesting and compliment the main characters well. Buster the dog is a scene stealer.

The back story of Nigel, the family black sheep, is really interesting and adds a poignancy to the story. Maddy works hard to get to know a man who is so adored in the village but ridiculed by his family.

I loved Maddy and Luke’s relationship. They come to really appreciate each other despite more than a few misunderstandings. Of course, it ends with a happily ever after – but it is a very satisfying one.

I also loved the Austen quotes at the beginning of each chapter. They were such a joy and will make you want to reread all Austen’s books, too.

About the author:

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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Thank you to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to be a part of this wonderful blog tour. Check out the other stops on the tour: