Review: According to Jane - Marilyn Brant

According to Jane- Marilyn Brant

E-Book / Downloaded to Kindle from Amazon

Published 2009 by Kensington

Goodreads Review: 

It begins one day in sophomore English class, just as Ellie Barnett's teacher is assigning Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice".  From nowhere comes a quiet 'tsk' of displeasure.  The target: Sam Blaine, the cute bad boy who's teasing Ellie mercilessly, just as he has since kindergarten.  Entirely unbidden, as Jane might say, the author's ghost has taken up residence in Ellie's mind, and seems determined to stay there.  Jane's wise and witty advice guides Ellie through the hell of adolescence and beyond, serving as the voice she trusts, usually far more than her own.  Years and boyfriends come and go -- sometimes a little too quickly, sometimes not nearly fast enough.  But Jane's counsel is constant, and on the subject of Sam, quite insistent.  Stay away, Jane demands.  He is your Mr. Wickham.  Still, everyone has something to learn about love -- perhaps even Jane herself.  And lately, the voice in Ellie's head is being drowned out by another, urging her to look beyond everything she thought she knew and seek out her very own, very unexpected, happy ending.

My Review:

First let me start off by saying, I've not read Pride and Prejudice, nor anything else written by the Great Jane Austen.  Not because I don't want to, I just haven't gotten around to it.  I guess because mostly this was something that was forced upon me during school, and now that I'm free to read whatever I want...I do.  I surely will give Pride and Prejudice a chance...soon.

I must admit, at first, I thought -- wow, this Ellie chick is whacked out.  She's hearing voices in her head, and not just that --- it is the voice of Jane Austen!  I loved the conversations that Jane and Ellie would have.  They had me laughing, tearing up, and even getting angry at some points.  It is totally appropriate that Jane Austen was residing in Ellie's head (I won't spoil it for you, but Jane discloses her reasoning at the end of the book), especially since Ellie is a nerd, with a big heart.  I probably would have gotten a lot more of the references and homage to Pride and Prejudice had I read that before, but I still thought overall this was a really cute book.

The author, Marilyn Brant did a great job of getting me hooked right from the get-go.  Not being a die hard Jane Austen fan, I find that quite impressive.  As I started reading, I just had to know why Jane was in Ellie's head, and what would happen to Ellie.  I really enjoyed Marilyn Brant's writing style, and will definitely look into other books she has written.

I love, love, love the ending of the book and think it is perfect.  I would not have asked for anything more, as it is exactly what I wanted to happen for sweet Ellie.  I won't lie -- while I did love Ellie, her sister annoyed me throughout the entire book.  I'm pretty sure she was supposed to be an annoying character, but I couldn't help but be angry when I read Di's name, and realized I would have to listen to her blab on and complain about something.  I guess you win some you lose some, huh?

Overall, I liked the book, so I will give it 4 stars, however, (to no fault of the author's) since I haven't read Pride and Prejudice I didn't get a lot of the references that I am sure made the book even better.

My Recommendation: I would recommend this to anyone that is a Jane Austen fan for sure, as well as anyone that loves a sweet little hopelessly romantic tale.

Happy Reading!