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A review by bibliophilelinda
Jane Bites Back by Michael Thomas Ford
3.0
This book was a goodreads giveaway gift.
Review: The book has a cute and, at times, witty chick lit story but is certainly not the best or brightest book on the shelf. Jane Austen is alive today, but as a vampire named Jane Fairfax, and running a small bookstore in a backwoods town somewhere in New York State. She's written a wonderful new book, but has received 116 rejection notices from various publishing firms, despite the fact that the Austen craze is still going strong. Anyway, one publisher finally accepts the manuscript and Jane must deal with her newly growing fame. Simultaneously, a local contractor in her town is trying to court her, despite her protestations (she's afraid her "condition" might scare him off). Meanwhile, the vampire who turned her, the charismatic Brian George, who actually turns out to be Lord Bryon, comes back to reclaim her love. This all inevitably leads up to Jane having to reveal her "condition" to her assistant bookstore keeper and her love interest, while trying to promote her book and fend off the increasing persistence of Lord Bryon's declarations of love. Also, the story throws a little of the Bronte vs Austen drama in the mix. I enjoyed the guest appearances of famous authors, but this book felt crafted from the same mold as the rest of what I call "Wal-Mart" stories: quickly written stories published at precisely the height of a particular subject craze (the subject in this instance being the Austen-turned-into-horror-stories fad) and lacking that special uniqueness characteristic of great novels. In addition, the ending was so obviously left open for a sequel, which is also promoted at the end of the book, as to be ridiculous. I mean, really, why does this story need to be made into a series? In my opinion, another way to milk money out of a fad.
Review: The book has a cute and, at times, witty chick lit story but is certainly not the best or brightest book on the shelf. Jane Austen is alive today, but as a vampire named Jane Fairfax, and running a small bookstore in a backwoods town somewhere in New York State. She's written a wonderful new book, but has received 116 rejection notices from various publishing firms, despite the fact that the Austen craze is still going strong. Anyway, one publisher finally accepts the manuscript and Jane must deal with her newly growing fame. Simultaneously, a local contractor in her town is trying to court her, despite her protestations (she's afraid her "condition" might scare him off). Meanwhile, the vampire who turned her, the charismatic Brian George, who actually turns out to be Lord Bryon, comes back to reclaim her love. This all inevitably leads up to Jane having to reveal her "condition" to her assistant bookstore keeper and her love interest, while trying to promote her book and fend off the increasing persistence of Lord Bryon's declarations of love. Also, the story throws a little of the Bronte vs Austen drama in the mix. I enjoyed the guest appearances of famous authors, but this book felt crafted from the same mold as the rest of what I call "Wal-Mart" stories: quickly written stories published at precisely the height of a particular subject craze (the subject in this instance being the Austen-turned-into-horror-stories fad) and lacking that special uniqueness characteristic of great novels. In addition, the ending was so obviously left open for a sequel, which is also promoted at the end of the book, as to be ridiculous. I mean, really, why does this story need to be made into a series? In my opinion, another way to milk money out of a fad.