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steff_braz's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
frompemberleytomiltonblog's review
5.0
4,5 Rounded Up to 5
Review published at From Pemberley to Milton:
https://frompemberleytomilton.wordpress.com/2022/02/10/jane-and-the-year-without-a-summer-by-stephanie-barron/
Jane and the Year Without Summer is the 14th book of the Being a Jane Austen Mystery series which mixes Jane Austen’s real-life events with fictional mysteries the author keeps facing and solving.
This story takes place in 1816 when our dear author travelled with her sister Cassandra to Cheltenham Spa in Gloucestershire in an effort to improve her decaying health. While lodged at Mrs. Potter’s boardinghouse, they meet several interesting characters whose lives will prompt Jane into another exciting mystery.
As in Stephanie Barron’s previous books I found the story engaging and hard to put down once the triggering events take place. This particular volume has mystery, humour and even some romance, which was my favorite part of the book.
What I particularly loved about it:
Real life events – In Jane and the Year Without a Summer, real events in Jane life, but also major events that took place in that time period find their way into the story in a smooth manner, and I love the fact that as we read this story we get a chance to learn more in an interesting and unknowingly manner. Stephanie Barron has the ability to bring facts into the story in a seemingly fashion and without causing any disruption to the story. The historical elements are perfectly articulated with the fiction history we’re following, and that brings added value to the narrative without affecting its pace.
Raphael West – I loved getting to know this character in Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas and I was very happy to see him return in this book. His presence brought constancy and security to Jane’s character, and I love how balanced Mr. West is. In fact, I wish he had played a bigger part in the story and helped more in Jane’s investigations. This might have been the last time we saw him, but deep down, I hope he will find his way back to Jane in the next novel of the series.
Jane’s romance – We know much about Jane’s life but we don’t know everything that transpired while she lived, and I was very happy to see that she got a chance to have a beautiful romance in her life that spanned across several novels. In Jane and the Year Without a Summer her romance is simultaneously tender, beautiful, and sad because we know she won’t live much longer. I particularly liked seeing the P&P references in her own love story and the maturity with which the characters feelings were handled.
What I wasn’t so fond of:
Slow beginning – While the story was very engaging and unputdownable after the triggering events took place, I found the story too slow paced until that moment. It is true that I found the Garthwaite’s antics funny and even grew tender feelings for Thucydides, but I would have preferred to have had a faster pace in the beginning of the story and for the characters build to occur simultaneously with the mystery unravelling.
Summing up, Jane and The Year Without a Summer is a well written mystery that will bring readers closer to Jane Austen and wishing the series stops following real events and finishes with a fictional ending for our heroine. It is an engrossing story and I recommend it to all readers who love Jane Austen.
Review published at From Pemberley to Milton:
https://frompemberleytomilton.wordpress.com/2022/02/10/jane-and-the-year-without-a-summer-by-stephanie-barron/
Jane and the Year Without Summer is the 14th book of the Being a Jane Austen Mystery series which mixes Jane Austen’s real-life events with fictional mysteries the author keeps facing and solving.
This story takes place in 1816 when our dear author travelled with her sister Cassandra to Cheltenham Spa in Gloucestershire in an effort to improve her decaying health. While lodged at Mrs. Potter’s boardinghouse, they meet several interesting characters whose lives will prompt Jane into another exciting mystery.
As in Stephanie Barron’s previous books I found the story engaging and hard to put down once the triggering events take place. This particular volume has mystery, humour and even some romance, which was my favorite part of the book.
What I particularly loved about it:
Real life events – In Jane and the Year Without a Summer, real events in Jane life, but also major events that took place in that time period find their way into the story in a smooth manner, and I love the fact that as we read this story we get a chance to learn more in an interesting and unknowingly manner. Stephanie Barron has the ability to bring facts into the story in a seemingly fashion and without causing any disruption to the story. The historical elements are perfectly articulated with the fiction history we’re following, and that brings added value to the narrative without affecting its pace.
Raphael West – I loved getting to know this character in Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas and I was very happy to see him return in this book. His presence brought constancy and security to Jane’s character, and I love how balanced Mr. West is. In fact, I wish he had played a bigger part in the story and helped more in Jane’s investigations. This might have been the last time we saw him, but deep down, I hope he will find his way back to Jane in the next novel of the series.
Jane’s romance – We know much about Jane’s life but we don’t know everything that transpired while she lived, and I was very happy to see that she got a chance to have a beautiful romance in her life that spanned across several novels. In Jane and the Year Without a Summer her romance is simultaneously tender, beautiful, and sad because we know she won’t live much longer. I particularly liked seeing the P&P references in her own love story and the maturity with which the characters feelings were handled.
What I wasn’t so fond of:
Slow beginning – While the story was very engaging and unputdownable after the triggering events took place, I found the story too slow paced until that moment. It is true that I found the Garthwaite’s antics funny and even grew tender feelings for Thucydides, but I would have preferred to have had a faster pace in the beginning of the story and for the characters build to occur simultaneously with the mystery unravelling.
Summing up, Jane and The Year Without a Summer is a well written mystery that will bring readers closer to Jane Austen and wishing the series stops following real events and finishes with a fictional ending for our heroine. It is an engrossing story and I recommend it to all readers who love Jane Austen.
toniclark's review
4.0
I started reading the Jane Austen mysteries by Stephanie Barron in 1996, when the first one was published. The series follows the life of Jane Austen (and the rest of her family) fairly closely, but for the premise — that some previously unknown Jane Austen diaries have been discovered and, in them, Jane reveals her adventures as an amateur sleuth. So they are written in first person with Jane’s own sensibilities and language. Anyone who follows my reading life probably knows that I never really care much whodunit. These books are no exception. I love them for the language, the history, and what they tell of Jane’s life. The real Jane Austen spent two weeks at Cheltenham Spa in the summer of 1816 to take the waters for her failing health. And that is also what the fictional Jane does in this current and 14th installment of the series, Jane and the Year Without a Summer. And it’s true that 1816 was known as the year without a summer due to the volcanic eruption, in 1815, of Mount Tambora in Indonesia. . . . At any rate, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel. I fear it may be the last in the series, since they follow Austen’s life so closely and she died in 1817.
rosannelortz's review
5.0
When Jane Austen and her sister Cassandra go to Cheltenham to take the waters, they find that not all is as it seems in the little spa town. As the gray, cold summer rolls over England, an eccentric preacher predicts the end of the world, a trio of young ladies conceal their past, a debonair Captain pays his addresses, and an abandoned husband comes looking for a wife he does not seem to want. A dangerous fire at a masquerade leads to murder done. With wit, courage, and the help of her admirer Raphael West, Jane unravels the secrets surrounding her, only to realize that the secret nearest to her soul is the one she must conceal.
When I signed up for this blog tour, I was not aware that this was the fourteenth book in the Jane Austen Mysteries, a series I’ve never encountered before. In the initial chapters, I found it a little difficult to comprehend the backstory surrounding Jane’s family, but once she reached Cheltenham and met the cast of characters at the boarding house, it was smooth sailing. Cassandra with her outrageous love for gossip and Jane with her incisive wit and perspicacity both sparkle. The murder mystery rivals an Agatha Christie plot, and the unfolding of Jane’s personal life was believable and authentic. Recommended.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
When I signed up for this blog tour, I was not aware that this was the fourteenth book in the Jane Austen Mysteries, a series I’ve never encountered before. In the initial chapters, I found it a little difficult to comprehend the backstory surrounding Jane’s family, but once she reached Cheltenham and met the cast of characters at the boarding house, it was smooth sailing. Cassandra with her outrageous love for gossip and Jane with her incisive wit and perspicacity both sparkle. The murder mystery rivals an Agatha Christie plot, and the unfolding of Jane’s personal life was believable and authentic. Recommended.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
1outside's review against another edition
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
nvdm's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
bcgg's review
3.0
A 3.5 is more accurate in my opinion.
I saw one reviewer to label it 'a jolly little tale'. I think it deserves more acclaim than that, if only for the demanding research and presentation that is required in presenting a Jane Austin-like novel.
The mystery was entertaining but also very informative of the degree medicine studies were at that time. The language and manners very believable and the language precise.
If you are a Jane Austin fan, you will enjoy sitting down and having a read of this novel.
I saw one reviewer to label it 'a jolly little tale'. I think it deserves more acclaim than that, if only for the demanding research and presentation that is required in presenting a Jane Austin-like novel.
The mystery was entertaining but also very informative of the degree medicine studies were at that time. The language and manners very believable and the language precise.
If you are a Jane Austin fan, you will enjoy sitting down and having a read of this novel.
teri_loves_books's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
bookchantment's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
schlinkles's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0