Austensibly Ordinary by
Alyssa Goodnight Pages: 246
Published by Kensington Books on 2013
Genres: Contemporary Women,
Fiction Source: Paperback ARC from Publisher 
Austensibly Ordinary by Alyssa Goodnight
Paperback, 320 pages
Published January 29th 2013 by Kensington
Age group: adult
Series: Jane Austen #2
Source: ARC from Author
Summary:
Steamy, funky, and thoroughly modern, Austin, Texas isn’t much like the gardened country estates of Jane Austen’s work. But there might be a few similarities in its inhabitants…
Cate Kendall is no stranger to daydreams of brooding men and fancy parties—after all, she teaches one of her beloved Jane Austen novels in her English classes every year. But as for romance or adventure in her own life, the highlight of most weeks is Scrabble with her cute coworker, Ethan, and he draws the line at witty banter. But Cate is ready for a change. When she finds a mysterious journal that seems to have a link to the soul of the great Jane Austen herself, she knows it’s her chance. And she grabs on with both hands…
Before she knows it, Cate has invented an alter ego with an attitude, attended some seriously chic soirees, and gotten tangled up with a delicious mystery man. And she’s uncovered enough unexpected secrets about Ethan that her Scrabble partner has taken to brooding looks and unfathomable silences. It’s a positively Austenite predicament, and Cate is sure she’ll land in hot water and heartbreak—but maybe not with Jane herself to guide her…
I read the first book
Austentatious, when it first came out and I fell in love with the magical love story and that mysterious journal from none other than Miss Jane Austen herself. I thought it was such a cool idea to have Jane Austen giving advice through a journal, so I jumped all over this book when I got the opportunity to read it. And guess what? I think I liked it even more than the first one, if that is even possible! This book seemed a bit spunkier and I really liked the dynamic between the two main characters.
Cate, and her alter ego Kat, are so spunky and fun. I loved her banter and witticisms. Plus Ethan knows how to push all of her buttons and that is just so much fun to sit back and watch. I really got a kick out of seeing the two of them interact with each other. Cate and Ethan are both teachers and they are also good friends and scrabble buddies. I thought it was hilarious how Cate’s mom kept popping up. She was quite the character. (You will see what I mean when you read the book)
As soon as Cate found the journal and got her first response, my excitement about the book doubled because I remembered how much I loved Journal Jane’s responses. And Cate totally took them to heart and she started to step outside of her shell. It was more like a giant leap out of her shell, actually. She became a total bombshell over night. And oh man, the first time Ethan saw her as Kat, was priceless. I loved his reaction.
Austensibly Ordinary has plenty of little surprises up its sleeve for the readers. We find out some secrets about a few characters that certainly caught me off guard. There may even be some ghosts creeping around in the book. I love Alyssa Goodnight’s writing style. She creates books that never fail to grab my interest. I love the way magic is woven in through the journal, but the rest of the book is contemporary. Its real life with a dash of magic. Which I think makes everything more interesting. Let’s put it this way, If I could I would be hopping a plane to Austin, TX right now to track down this journal. I could use a little Jane Austen wisdom in my love life!
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| 4.5/5 Gavels |
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I am so glad you loved this as much as me! I ave not read book one, but am tickled you loved that one too..it is on my list!
I keep seeing this everywhere. I am going to have to read it soon! It sounds awesome! Thanks for the review
I read a review for this on Kimba’s blog and I thought it sounded like a fun little book. I always love when books incorporate journals and letters so I know I would love that aspect of this one. I think I had better add this to the TBR!
I’m on such a Jane Austen kick right now and I love the sound of this one. Thanks for the review!
I want to read this one. I love Jane Austen! I didn’t realize this was a series. Definitely going to have to read it. Great review!