A review by mkjacobswrites
Austen Inspired by Alana Highbury

3.75

A quick read about a writer who loves Jane Austen finding her own love! This was a VERY self-aware Austen-inspired heroine who made the same observations repeatedly about how she was living out her own Austen romance. Even other characters got in on it. She also writes a book in the book based on her life based on Austen stories, which imo requires some desire to want to see Austen's stories covered in different contexts. I guessed the ending quickly but still liked how the relationship ended up overall; some of the miscommunication along the way felt tiresome. Viviana, the protagonist, was quick to judge and also often delayed the plot with her continual need for rest and breaks from everyone - I really disliked how much she ignored texts from her sister in particular. I also would've liked more description: let me see the game table where they're having board game night or know what the writing conference session is about rather than having the same scene of a run where she wonders why Jack is acting weird. I also wanted a final confrontation between Viviana and Gregory - was he really using her only to talk to her dad? But none of that took away from the easy readable nature of this novel or the ultimately sweet romance. This is a fun read that I'd recommend to people who are fine with the inspiration being named throughout the book!