Lies Jane Austen Told Me By Julie Wright

Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽

I picked up this cute, clean contemporary romance on a 99c Kindle special (still available at that price at the time I’m writing this review). Definitely worth the price for fans of the genre!

So for starters, whoever wrote the Goodreads blurb made it way too detailed and included a couple of key spoilers from later in the book ... so don’t read the blurb if you’re interested in the book. Here’s the short version: Emma (a big Jane Austen fan) is a bit of a workaholic as a marketing executive with a gym franchise company. So she turns down her boyfriend Blake’s invite to visit his parents’ home, but changes her mind. Because probably Blake wants to introduce her to his parents and propose! ... Unfortunately, not so much. When she shows up, Blake’s parents aren’t there, but another woman is.

On her way out, Emma is snagged by Blake’s brother Lucas, who tries to defend his brother. Fast forward to the next Monday, when Emma finds out that Lucas is the new consultant for her company. After a rocky start, they start to hit it off ... but Blake is still in the background, asking for another chance. And Lucas is pushing Emma to give Blake that second chance.

For a story that could have turned into an eye-rolling love triangle, this one threads the needle pretty well. There were a few times that I thought the main characters were acting out of character, just because the author wanted the story to go in a particular direction, but otherwise this was written quite well, with interesting characters, backstories and situations.

This story is much more thoughtful than most romance novels, and is spiced up with just the right amount of Jane Austen references. Good times!

Sherwood Smith

I tend to be skeptical about books with Jane Austen in the title--there are too many now that read like cash cows, without the wit, insight, or (in period) the feel of Austen.

But this one was not set in the past, and the heroine was a firm fan of Austen, so I went for it.

I loved the beginning--Emma, a marketing executive, has loved Austen for years, and wants a guy to match Mr. Darcy. Who doesn't? At first it seems that Blake Hampton is her Mr. Darcy; she turns him down for a weekend at his parents', then encouraged by her office team, takes the train down to surprise him.

She gets surprised--ends up with a ride from his scarcely mentioned brother, with a side trip to a squalid part of town, and when she thinks she's done with the entire family, she's not. The brother ends up as her partner for a huge company project, and sparks fly.

I had some misgivings during those early chapters, in spite of liking Emma, and loving how she thinks of Austen. But the book starts out with a Big Misunderstanding, which is not a trope I care for unless it's very well done, especially when the obvious question that should be first thing out of her mouth isn't asked for unconvincing reasons until nearly halfway through the book.

After it's asked, though, I was totally on board with the storyline, and the pacing zooms to the most satisfactory ending.

Things I liked:

Emma's job reads like a real job. I have never been interested in marketing, but Wright intrigued me with Emma's enthusiasm and with the realistic-feeling details.

I liked Emma's reading taste, but most of all (one of the highlights of the book) is a lovely bit of dialogue from Mrs. Hampton on Austen.

I liked Lucas a lot. He is a terrific character, and watching the two figure out how to get together made the journey fun.

Things I didn't like:

The seemingly long misunderstanding before Emma asked the obvious question.

Blake's personality changes.

The very end, there is a short climactic scene that I think robbed the emotional climax a tad, and was unconvincing.

Those glitches are simply that--Emma, the Austen connection, Lucas, and the voice of the novel were so engaging that I finished with a smile.

Copy provided by NetGalley

Jacob Proffitt

This turned out to be a really engaging romance though the second half is a lot stronger than the first. I'm glad I got past the overly-expansive cover copy and the exasperating early conflict to get to the good bits.

I actually had two problems with the story. The first is more present because it makes up way too long of the beginning. Mainly, Emma makes an assumption that colors her read on Lucas and then clings to it rather tenaciously. For something to be so present in her ruminations, her inaction in confirming or disproving the assumption seems both uncharacteristic or even author-manipulated. She even tells herself that she doesn't know, but she never moves on to find out. And it's not like it'd be hard. The situation even comes up in conversation enough that there were natural spots to simply ask "hey, what's the deal with . . .?" This put a distance between me and Emma when I really wanted to engage more fully with her.

I eventually came to appreciate Lucas's reaction to learning of her judgey assumption about him. It took me a while because I had to remind myself that I'd had a similar reaction early in our marriage where I couldn't believe Melissa thought something mistaken about me. I don't even remember what it was about, just the lesson learned that she isn't actually inside my head and that loving me doesn't automatically lead to assuming the very best (because I'm as human as anyone else and don't actually deserve that as an unthinking or uncritical instinct in every case).

The second problem is that I never could figure out Blake's motivation. Why does he want Emma now when he doesn't appear to have wanted her in the scene instigating the big blow-out between them? Wright papers over it a little bit by . Anyway, while that part never did make sense, I really liked where Emma's interactions with him went by the end. And I particularly liked the fusion of Emma's and Lucas's perception of him that I got as a reader by the end.

The final relationship resolution with Lucas was outstanding, and that includes the extremely strong portrayal of April. Wright really shines when depicting family dynamics and the Hampton family was a great feature of the story. I wish Wright had pulled them in earlier both because we'd have had more time with them and because the first half of the book could have used such great characters to distract from Emma's weak avoidance issues.

Anyway, this ends up a strong four stars. I just wish more of its strengths had been evident earlier in the story.

A note about Chaste: There's some kissing but nothing more than that.

A note about publisher pricing: Shadow Mountain seems to be worse even than Covenant for their ebook pricing. They do have some overlapping markets so I wonder if this is a case of competitors adopting each others' worst practices? I hate to see good books buried under such prohibitive pricing.

A note about Missing Faith: The main story doesn't have much problem with them not having sex since most of the falling in love happens while Emma and Lucas are separated by prohibitions that mostly work. Emma's (former) relationship with Blake is mainly background, but there's a passage where Blake offers to "make up a room for her to stay the night" that felt very odd. They were alone in the house (as far as Blake was admitting). They've been dating for months. Exclusively. And Emma is expecting a proposal she intends to accept. Him offering to make up a separate room from his own made me wonder what the crap he was trying to say with that. In contemporary U.S. culture that'd mean he was hiding something or brushing her off. Their relationship should already have been physically intimate and him planning to spend the night apart was suspicious if not outright sinister.

Heidi Robbins (Heidi Reads...)

$2.99 on Kindle 5/6/20

https://amzn.to/2YIIO8a

Such a fun story! I loved how Austen was brought into the contemporary world, influencing Emma (even after the "renouncement") and showing why her classics are so well-loved and still relevant. I'm not generally a fan of love triangles, but since I knew from the synopsis that Lucas and Emma are meant to be together, I was able to view the rest as providing conflict and obstacles to their relationship. I loved the friendship they shared and couldn't wait for them to figure things out and get together! While there is plenty of fun banter and snarky thoughts, there are also deeper themes that are explored and I finished the book with a happy sigh :)

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)

Katie (Hiding in the Pages)

I'm a big Jane Austen fan and a complete romantic at heart. I love the way that Julie Wright brings such a beloved classic to a contemporary light and gives this age-old story a slightly new twist. By doing so, my heart was happy because I could feel the comfort of an old familiar favorite but the exhilarating freshness was something new.

Have you ever taken someone's words as law and then been disappointed when it turns out they weren't as magical as you thought they were? That's kind of what happens to Emma. She is a great character, let me just say. On one hand, she's very competent and strong, but on the other hand, she only needs to be loved and when her boyfriend, Blake, disillusions her with his fishy ways, she goes as far as to renounce Jane Austen. *gasp!* The cast of characters is pleasurable and I loved getting to know Lucas, Blake's brother, better, especially as he's thrown together with Emma through their jobs. In fact, I daresay that Lucas's vague persistence nearly made me swoon a few times.

This story really resonated with me and I adored it all. The middle portion was slightly slower, but I honestly couldn't read it quickly enough. I especially loved the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. Sometimes hard things happen to great people and I love how both Emma and Lucas are able to triumph over their pasts. This is a great read for any Austen lover.

Content: mild romance

*I received a copy, which had no influence on my thoughts and opinions.*

Scrill

I received a copy from Netgalley for a fair review. More reviews can be found at:

“This was all her fault. If I hadn’t spent half my life wanting to be Elizabeth Bennet, I wouldn’t have held my own prejudices so dear. I wouldn’t have taken pride in my own clever snap judgements to like and dislike at a whim.”

Emma has broken up with Jane Austen. Despite all the happiness her novels and movie adaptations have brought into her life, she has decided that Jane essentially was a fraud – being that she had ended up an old spinster in the end and not happily married to her own love of her life. Except Emma can’t just rid herself of Jane, and her personality that that has been derived from constant interaction with the novels can’t just go away – her pride, prejudices, assumptions, and expectations all get in the way of her life and quite possibly, her happily ever after. Emma is caught between Blake, who she thought was going to propose, and his brother Lucas who is doing his best to reunite the two all the while confusing Emma when she feels a connection to him.

The Story-I blew through this book in one day, and by the end all I wanted to do was pick up my Pride and Prejudice and devour that next. With inspirations from Jane Austen’s novels (and a quote, seemingly a lie Jane has told us all, to start each chapter) we are given a well-rounded novel that not only emanates the type of story Jane would give us, but also something modern and fresh. For me there wasn’t really much in wanting for this book, it delivered exactly what I expected – a story of a girl who had had enough of Jane Austen ideals, but still ends up having her own Austen style romance, full of misunderstandings and missed chances. Really, this was such a subtle combination of a lot of the best aspects of Jane Austen Novels.

The Characters- I am only going to talk about two of the characters (Emma & Lucas) despite the fact that Blake and her best friend are also great characters and the perfect amount of interaction to actually help the plot without taking away from the obvious main characters.

Emma-First of all, she loves Jane Austen, so she gets 100 points there. She exudes a strong character that still has wants and needs. She’s a successful and beautiful woman, but can still be a swoony romantic. So yes, you can be strong but still be incredibly vulnerable with your heart. I loved that she could be sure of herself, but at the same time question her own heart.

Lucas-To me, he was so much like Edward Ferrars (Sense and Sensibility) – always doing right by his promises and for his brother. But then again, he just isn’t Edward either. I loved that everything we want to hate him for putting Emma through is nothing that we can really actually hate him for. He was noble without overdoing it. Which of course does nothing but make us expect men to be so valiant in our own lives, but who cares, that's why we read this stuff.

~**Anna**~ A Romance Reader

The title of this book intrigued me from the start. I love Jane Austen so I tend to gravitate towards books that have her name on the cover or that are retellings from her books. I have to be honest and say this book was good but not great. I didn’t fully connect with Emma and I found some of the interactions between the characters to be a little childish. Sylvia, Emma’s best friend on the other hand was amazing and I loved her!

This book was clean, which I really don’t mind but I know some people like their books to have some spice.

Overall this was an entertaining read but I was expecting a little more.

arc

Kathy

This has a great start but then the middle lags a little. About half way through I wasn't feeling this one quite as much as I hoped for. Thankfully I kept reading and was rewarded with a fabulous ending that left me satisfied and happy with this how this played out. Great book for those who love Jane Austen.

Content: Clean

Linda (un)Conventional Bookworms

This review was originally posted on (un)Conventional Bookviews
Lie Jane Austen Told Me kind of blew me away. I didn't know what to expect when I started reading, but whatever it was, I got much more!

Review - (un)Conventional Bookviews
Story:
Lies Jane Austen Told Me is Emma's story. How she kept her rose colored glasses firmly in place looking for her happily ever after. Possibly she looked for this in the wrong places, though, and suddenly, she wanted to distance herself from everything and anything that had to do with her former heroine. Especially after she showed up at her boyfriend's place to surprise him. And found him having dinner with another woman.

One of the themes in Lies Jane Austen Told Me is to find oneself. But it's also about finding love, daring to believe in it, and grabbing hold of it with both hands and everything else we got. After Emma left Blake, she met Lucas, Blake's brother, and that made things very complicated for all of them.

Lies Jane Austen Told Me was a complex contemporary romance that also dealt with other subjects, as Emma was working hard to help the company she worked for succeed. When Lucas showed up as a consultant she didn't know whether she should laugh or cry. On the one hand, she wanted to get to know him better. On the other hand, she was sure she could manage on her own.
Characters:
Emma appeared a bit flighty at first, she really believed in love with a capital L, but once she thought she was proven wrong, she did a complete 180 turn. At least for a while.

Blake wasn't a player, but he also wasn't the right person for Emma. They were together more because of habit than because they loved each other dearly.

Lucas was great. Not only was he a knight in shining armor, he was smart, funny, and fiercely loyal, too.
Writing Style:
First person point of view from Emma's perspective, past tense.
Feels:
I felt lightness and love while reading Lies Jane Austen Told Me! There was humor, friendship, loyalty and courage.

Fave Quotes - (un)Conventional Bookviews

Jane never had the happily ever after she made us believe we can have. Experience from my collegiate years taught me that it wa far better to take advice from people who had walked the walk instead of just talked the talk.

We awkwardly stood at our doors, our demeanors suddenly stiff and uncomfortable as we nodded and parted ways to our individual rooms. It was probable that the discomfort existed only on my side, so much of what we did felt like dating.

Then came the self-admonition. You can't be mad at someone for being mad at you. It doesn't make sense. But I was mad at him. Sense be hanged.

Anna

Julie Wright’s Lies Jane Austen Told Me is a contemporary romance told from the first person point of view of Emma Pierce, a California-based marketing executive for a growing gym/lifestyle company, who is looking for love but mostly married to her work. When a weekend at her boyfriend Blake’s family home ends in disaster before it even begins, Emma is forced to rely on the kindness of her now-ex’s brother, Lucas, to make her way back home. A stop in a shady neighborhood on the way to the train station so Lucas can take care of some business has her believing the worst about him and churns up sad memories of her childhood.

When Emma’s company unexpectedly hires Lucas as a consultant, she is forced to travel to the East Coast with him to scope out new locations, and it’s not long before they grow close. Their similar upbringings and their fierce determination help them forge a bond, but Emma can’t reconcile this side of Lucas with the man she first met — and she can’t understand why he keeps trying to get her to forgive his brother and give their relationship another try. It’s almost as if her life is a modern-day Austen novel, but Emma can’t forgive Jane for making her believe heroes like Mr. Darcy really exist when such lofty expectations have always left her brokenhearted.

Lies Jane Austen Told Me is a cute book that touches on some tough topics like abandonment, homelessness, and addiction, but there is more than enough romance and humor to keep it from feeling too heavy. I liked getting to know Emma through the first person narrative, watching her make mistakes and later learn from them, and I felt as much in suspense as she was to see how it all played out. It was easy to see Austen’s influence on the plot and characters, from the strong main characters to their misunderstandings to the friendship between Emma and Silvia, who serves as Emma’s sounding board throughout much of the novel. There was a place toward the end where it felt like the drama between Emma and the brothers was a little dragged out, but the pace soon picked up again and the ending more than made up for it. I enjoyed watching Emma figure things out and find her way back to Jane.

Review originally posted on
Diary of an Eccentric

Aimee (Getting Your Read On)

This book! Where do I even start?

I'm a Jane Austen fan but perhaps not so big a fan as Emma is. That may be a gross understatement but I am enough of a fan to greatly appreciate the Austen references and all the quotes at the beginning of the chapters. I found great humor in Emma and her love/hate relationship with her Austen ideals. Especially when she throws her book in the garbage only to dig it out a bit later, feeling ever so guilty. Ha.

Yes, I had plenty of smiling, giggling moments with this book. It was amusing and entertaining. There were also plenty of moments of depth and challenge. The characters deal with real life issues and struggles. They are both weak and strong. It's a fantastic balance and felt very true to life. I loved the whole cast of characters and how everything changed, circled and evolved from beginning to end. Speaking of the ending, I LOVED it. It was like my heart let out such a big, happy and contented sigh. "Finally", it said.

This will probably go on the list for one of my favorite books this year. I really loved it.

Content: some references to drug abuse, clean

- I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.

Meredith (Austenesque Reviews)

Giving Up On Jane Austen and Mr. Darcy!

TYPE OF AUSTENESQUE NOVEL: Contemporary Romance, Austen-Inspired

SETTING: Present-day California

MAIN CHARACTERS:

- Emma Pierce: A savvy and intelligent CMO who has decided to renounce Jane Austen after years of waiting for a Mr. Darcy or Mr. Knightley to cross her path and being disappointed.
- Blake Hampton: Emma’s wealthy and handsome boyfriend who she catches entertaining one of his female work colleagues at his family home.
- Lucas Hampton: Blake’s younger brother who Emma meets minutes after breaking up with Blake, and then again later, when he is hired as a consultant by Emma’s boss to work closely with her on their expansion to the East Coast.

WHY I WANTED TO READ THIS:

The title immediately drew me in – I do love anything and everything Jane Austen related!
One of my all-time favorite Regency Romances, Edenbrooke, was published by Shadow Mountain Publishing – I was eager to read more from this company!

WHAT I LOVED:

- Our Modern-Day Heroine: I found a lot to like about Emma Pierce, she is a Jane Austen fan (so already we know she is awesome!), but beyond that I admired how she is professional, strong, super competent at her job, and kind-hearted towards everyone she meets. I appreciated the fact that Emma was a romantic who wishes for an Austen-like romantic HEA, and yet at the same time she is turning pragmatical in her view of love and romance because of the dearth of Austen-like heroes that have crossed her path.

- A Tangled and Tricky Love Triangle: After a break-up with one brother it is a serious no-no to fall for the other brother…no matter how much you feel a strong connection with him!! Add to the fact that this other brother is extremely honorable, loyal to a fault, and constantly trying to convince Emma of how great her ex is. The delicateness and seemingly impossibleness of this situation had me completely engaged in this story. Is Emma just on the rebound from Blake or are her feelings for Lucas genuine? Even if Emma was available to date would Lucas keep his distance out of respect for his brother?

- A Good Balance: I appreciated how this story touched upon some more serious and challenging situations such as child abandonment, homelessness, and drug use. I liked that these characters faced some adversity in their lives and how they overcame their tragic and difficult pasts. And I liked how Ms. Wright balanced these sad situations and childhoods with the worthy and supportive Hampton family. Mrs. Hampton is amazing!

- A Very Worthy Hero: With his abundance of admirable qualities – compassion, generous spirit, steadfast loyalty, selflessness, and amiable charm – Lucas Hampton is a hero I easily fell in love with. I loved his devotion to his family and his gallant manner towards Emma. He isn’t the embodiment of any one Jane Austen hero, but readers will recognize some qualities he shares with Mr. Knightley and Colonel Brandon, in my opinion.

WHAT I WASN’T TOO FOND OF:

- Relationship with Jane Austen: I must admit I am a bit disappointed with Emma’s relationship with Jane Austen. She says she is renouncing Jane Austen even before she breaks-up with Blake and finds out about his lady guest. Why renounce Jane Austen if she has a boyfriend she loves and is expecting a marriage proposal from? And I’m afraid I didn’t agree with Emma’s logic that she could “break-up with Jane” and still read and watch Pride and Prejudice. How is that a break up? You would think with such a provocative title, Emma’s issues with Jane Austen would be rather centric, but they really only made an occasional appearance. Lastly, I’m not usually one to comment on spelling, but it irked me to see Bennet spelled with two T’s so many times in this story. Grrr.

CONCLUSION:

Lies Jane Austen Told Me combines a lot of elements I enjoy from Jane Austen’s novels �� engaging and worthy characters, misunderstandings and mistaken judgements, and a heroine who undergoes an emotional journey of self-discovery. This sensitive, sweet, and entertaining story will be sure to delight fans of contemporary romances!

Austenesque Reviews

The Flipped Page (Susan K)

4.5 for me as a reader, clean romance.
This was such an interesting read. It was definitely romantic, but there were some subtleties in the characters and in their interactions that made me wonder why I haven't read more by this author? I don't often re-read light stories, but this will definitely be put on my to-read again shelf to enjoy the subtleties again. Emma's fall out and her relationship with Blake come in sharp contrast to the connection she feels with Lucas, his brother. She relaxes, she laughs, she savors, and learns about herself and what she really wants out of a relationship. Her future, while shaped by her past, is her choice as she navigates the relationship and work issues that come forward in this lovely, charming, and heart-wrenching novel that examines family, values, character, and the choices that Emma makes to find her HEA.
Highly recommend!
I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I am definitely looking to read more of J.W. fiction work!

Crystal (Books Are Sanity!!!)

I LOVE all things Austen, so I was beyond excited to get my hands on a copy of this book! I had no idea what to expect, I mean, the title alone could send an Austen fan into a fit of vapors! However, Wright was definitely up to tackling Austen, because this contemporary novel was amazing! Emma was a complete Austenesque character from her name right on down to her love life. And the Hampton brothers! Both were successful and handsome but come on folks, no one could hold a candle to Lucas in my mind! This twisted love story is delightful and I found myself wishing for more time so I could just sit and read it to the very end! From Emma's best friend Silvia, to dreamy hot Lucas and even his mom Caroline, and cute little April...each and every character played an important part in this wonderful book! I believe any fan of Austen's will be a sure fan of Lies Jane Austen Told Me! I received a copy of this book from the publisher, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Heather

Clever & witty! Which any title bearing a reference to Jane Austen must be. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and I loved the epigraphs and references to Jane Austen's works throughout the novel. Several times I wanted to write down one of the more clever quips and insights just so I could remember them later and laugh. Alas, I was listening to the audio, so I couldn't. I think this is my favorite Julie Wright book (so far... until the next one). My favorite part about the story is that Emma kept her friendship with the "rejected brother" even when she knew things wouldn't work out.

I purchased my own copy because I love to support and read authors who write great stories. I wrote this review because I loved the book, and I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a fun, romantic comedy to read!

Leslie

This is a modern clean romance story heavily influenced by Jane Austen. But this isn't a modern version of any specific story.
Although the main character is named Emma. Emma is the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) for an upscale gym franchise called Kinetics. Emma is 26. Emma is dating a Mr. Wonderful and expecting a proposal. When things go pear shaped in her love life she decides to reject Jane Austen's perspective on love and dating. She has an awesome BFF in the form of Silvia, a one eyed film editor, who has been her bestie since they were five.

As the book progresses we are shown much of the minutia of Emma's work life, hear her repeatedly sing the praises of her employer and watch her become conflicted about the men in her life. We also see her make Lizzy Bennet level mistakes about people's characters.

The writing is good and error free.

Amy

OK. Lets get real. Jane Austen. Those of us who love a good regency, are probably all besotted with anything Jane. How did she reach this status, in which all Austen fans feel this kinship to her characters and the author herself? I'm not quite sure. Each one of us feels like her stories are our own personal best friends. So, with that said, you put Jane Austen in a title of a book and I'm a sucker for picking it up. No questions asked, I didn't even read the description. If this had been a paperback on a bookstore shelf, I would have put it into the basket. Its that simple.

Thankfully Julie Wright left me with no regrets. This contemporary take on one person's love affair with all thing Austen novels, and the comparison to her life is amusing and enticing. I could not put this book down. Not only has she written a compelling story about one girl and her fight or flight relationship with two brothers, she has interwoven it with small quotes and instances from the books in just the right places.

Emma, is a successful Marketing Director and has what appears to be the perfect life. Perfect boyfriend who is about to drop the perfect proposal. Blake & Lucas are two brothers, who are different in almost everyway possible. Surprised at the situation she finds herself at the Hampton estate, and then thrown into even bigger revelations by Lucas, Emma swears off Jane Austen completely. She's done. Done with all she has hoped, believed and wanted, and she blames Jane for all of it.

This book has everything I love in a good book. Love. Betrayal. Travel. Surprises. Well thought out characters with depth. I am not usually a fan of a 1st person retelling either, from only one perspective. However, this really worked for me. Not knowing the inner thoughts from Lucas or Blake for that matter, left an element of surprise. This is one book that I will be purchasing upon its release.

Thanks to Netgalley & Shadow Mountain for the complimentary copy. This is my honest review.

Pamela

3.5 stars. I'm sometimes a bit skeptical with books that count on Ms. Austen to carry them. I must say though, that I did like this. I thought the characters were pretty well rounded out. I especially liked Lucas (who wouldn't?). He is sweet, kind, good looking and intelligent - all good qualities.
Emma' s job is one that I myself did for over 30 years, so that was interesting to get the author's take. There were of course, a couple of childish moments, but I still felt this was a good read. I am inclined now to check out more books by Ms. Wright.

**Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley in exchange of an honest review.**

Robin

As a big fan of Jane Austen, Emma Pierce has been searching for her own Mr. Darcy. She thinks she has found him when her boyfriend Blake Hampton invites her for a weekend at his parent’s house. But the weekend is a bust when she finds him entertaining another woman. Devastated, Emma dives into her job as Marketing Director for Kenetics Gyms. When her boss brings in an outside expert to help her with the company's expansion, Emma is surprised when the person turns out to be Lucas Hampton, Blake's younger brother. As Emma and Luke travel to various sights looking where to place their next gym franchise, they become close. Emma knows she is falling for Lucas and believes he is doing the same. So why does he keep pressing her to get back together with his brother?

The first half of this story was fast moving and entertaining. There was a lot of humor which I enjoyed. But in the second half of the book, the pace of the story slowed down. Emma would walk into a situation and just make some crazy assumptions about what was happening. Her habit of jumping to conclusions stopped me from really liking this character. I listened to this book on audio. It was narrated by Justine Eyre who did a fantastic job. My rating: 3.5 Stars.

Mindy

This book is an absolute delight from start to finish. Emma is fantastic. She is funny, spunky and very smart. I loved her inner conflict with “Jane” and whether or not Jane Austen has ruined her life. Very cute and clever. I thought the chapter headings were a great addition to the story too. I also loved Lucas and he and Emma had great chemistry. I enjoyed how they got to know each other, pretty much thrown together, as Lucas is hired as a consultant at Emma’s workplace. Emma and Lucas both had challenging childhoods but they both became amazing adults. Towards the end, I thought the addition of April was lovely and how Emma learned a lot about herself and her relationship with Blake. Lucas and Blake’s mother was also a favorite. The epilogue is absolutely perfect and fits so well with the story.

Lisa (Remarkablylisa)

I really liked this one!! It was so realistic and good!

Natasha

"It is very often nothing but our own vanity that deceives us. Women fancy admiration means more than it does. And men take care that they should."
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

Emma Pierce is a marketing executive with a dreary past. Despite her admiration for Jane Austen novels, she just can't seem to find her romantic hero. After fleeing an awkward scene with her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend, she meets Lucas Hampton. As fate would have it, Lucas is also the new consultant Emma ends up working with at Kinetics. Lucas is a man of many layers, and as Emma uncovers them, she begins to suspect he might be her Mr. Knightley.

There are several things I loved about this book. First of all, the work scenes were totally realistic. I felt like I was actually in the Kinetics office with Emma. It was a great idea to put the heroine and hero together as coworkers. This made the huge focus on their career tasks tolerable. If Lucas hadn't worked with Emma, I would have certainly complained that too much of the book had been devoted to her job. The author displayed a vast knowledge of the marketing field and health clubs. I have a deep respect for authors who do their homework before publishing a book.

The other thing I loved most about this book was witnessing Emma's journey to understand the truth about herself and Jane Austen. When she finally stopped being angry with Jane Austen for the false expectations she'd held tightly to most of her life, Emma realized Jane Austen's works were written to empower women, not fill their heads with silly romantic notions. Women are smart. Women have choices. We can choose who we love and who we will share our love with. Love and life are about taking risks. Even if things don't work out as we wish them to, we will be okay.

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Tammie

Ever since Emma read Pride and Prejudice, she's been in love with Mr. Darcy and has regarded Jane Austen as the expert on all things romantic. So naturally when Emma falls for Blake Hampton and he invites her home to meet his parents, she is positive an engagement is in her future. After all, Blake is a single man in possession of a good fortune, and thus must be in want of a wife.

First off, I want to say that you shouldn't read the blurb for this book if you don't want some spoilers. It gives away too much.

This book starts out with the main character, Emma going away for the weekend to her boyfriends home where she thinks she will meet his parents, but it doesn't go that way at all, and she ends up leaving after dumping him. Then she meets his brother and awkwardness ensues, for a while at least, until she really begins to have some feelings for him, despite trying really hard not to. I liked Emma for the most part, except for one annoying habit that I will mention in a minute. I also really liked Lucas, and I was rooting for them to get together despite, of course, the misunderstandings that occur.

There were a few things that bothered me, like the way the character Blake is written makes him seem like he has some identity issues. He isn't very consistent at all and thus he doesn't come off very believable. Then there is the thing that our main character Emma believes about Lucas throughout most of the book, even though it doesn't make any sense considering what she knows about him. It's a case of her thinking something and just deciding it's true. That annoyed me so much! I figured out what the situation was pretty easily, so Emma should have been able to as well, or she could have at least just asked Lucas what was going on there.

The little snippets from Jane Austen were a real nice touch in the book. I did find that Emma was a bit too much in dreamland about what kind of man she thought she would find based off her obsession with Jane Austen books. Then she got disgruntled and blamed it on Jane when she didn't. I mean come on, you aren't even living in the same time period! Overall this was a fun read and I do recommend it if you like reading clean contemporary romance.

Review also posted at
Writings of a Reader

starryeyedjen

It's true. Jane Austen has given a whole slew of us really, really high expectations for men and love in general. ;) When we meet the heroine of this book, though, she's kinda over it. She no longer trusts Jane and has given up on love completely. Until someone shows her that the Mr. Darcy's and the Mr. Knightley's of the real world are still out there. It's sweet but also kind of bland; I like a little more zing in my romance. Also, I feel cheated because I could have liked this a smidge more if I had realized it was narrated by Justine Eyre -- my least favorite female narrator of all time! -- and read it instead of listening, but that's my mistake.

Mara

Emma Pierce is the CMO of Kinetics. She's smart, funny, and she's a HUGE fan of Jane Austen, but renounces Jane when she has a big misunderstanding with the guy she's been dating--Blake Hampton. He's invited her to his parents house for the weekend, and Emma originally told him she had a work meeting, but when a co-worker puts it into her head that Blake is going to propose, she changes her mind and suddenly shows up at their estate. He's surprised all right because he's already invited another girl for dinner. The weekend-that-wasn't gets better when she runs into Blake's brother as she storms off. He ends up taking her to her place instead of letting her get back home on her own. This leads to Emma deciding that maybe a spinster isn't the best person to give advice on love and romance and she wants nothing to do with Jane Austen.

Monday morning Emma gets another unexpected surprise when she arrives at work to find they've hired a consultant. It's none other than Blake's brother Lucas (who gave her a ride home) and he comes in just as Emma's announcing to her team that she's not engaged!! Could the floor just open up and swallow this poor woman?!

Except for the fact that Lucas keeps talking up Blake to try and get Emma to make up with him, Lucas is dream--he's smart, handsome, extremely polite and good to his parents and others. I couldn't picture Emma with Blake at all, now on the other hand she and Lucas were perfect for each other. They both were abandoned by their mothers, but more importantly they cared about the same things. I'm glad Blake didn't turn out to be a complete jerk by the end of the book, and I was happy he and Emma remained friends.

Emma assumes something about Lucas and instead of asking him about it as soon as she thinks it, she remains quiet. I kept telling her she needed to ask him about it, but she didn't listen to me. When she finally talks to him about it, he feels hurt and insulted that she would think he could do such a thing. This leads to Emma tossing her beloved copy of Pride and Prejudice into the wastebasket!! 😱😱 (she takes it out and apologizes to it afterward) It wasn't Jane's fault Emma assumed something that wasn't true.

I enjoyed the Jane Austen quotes at the beginning of each chapter, and I loved the descriptions of what she and Lucas did while they were on locations for work. I liked how their strengths complemented each other.

I loved Blake and Lucas' mom, and thought she was great! She totally knew Lucas had fallen for Emma before Emma came for her birthday weekend, and Emma knew that the mom knew which made for a little awkwardness. Emma has a great friend in Silvia who gives her the kick in the pants she needed to tell Lucas how she felt about him. Isn't that was best friends are for?

Although I own a Kindle copy, I listened to the audiobook of this through the Hoopla app from my library. I thought the narrator did a great job especially with Emma.

Sydney

Author Julie Wright has written an engaging and funny story that readers will thoroughly enjoy from cover to cover. The main characters in the story are easy to relate to, while the novel and romance of the story within and its connection to Jane Austen give everything a humorous and entertaining twist. The story has themes of friendship, family, and heart, in terms of both heartwarming and sweet romance. This is a story that readers will want to curl up all night with and not want to put down. Another fantastic book for the Proper Romance Line, this is a story that readers of contemporary romance will love.

Series: Proper Romance
Genre: romance, contemporary
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Publication date: November 7, 2017
Number of pages: 320

An ARC review copy of this novel was provided by Shadow Mountain Publishing. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

Rachelle

Who doesn't love Jane Austen? I am a huge fan of Austen and contemporary romance and this new book by Julie Wright manages to cover both of those points. Lies Jane Austen Told Me captured my attention and my heart. This sweet love story was so fun to read!

I love the voice that Wright infuses into her characters. Emma is witty, sometimes sarcastic, and has a love/hate relationship with Jane Austen. I like that she's vulnerable and has a depth to her that is meaningful to the story. Blake Hampton seemed like the perfect boyfriend, but I'm so glad that Emma has a chance to get to know his brother Lucas before she makes her final decision.

If you're looking for the perfect sweet contemporary romance--a clean read--then you'll want to pick up Lies Jane Austen Told Me by Julie Wright.

Rachel McMillan

Let's talk about LIES JANE AUSTEN TOLD ME! this book has a lot of tropes that rachel HATES:

> Jane Austen stuff ( I am so tired of this)

> A best friend who gets her own spin-off series ( I find that sometimes squeezing out a series by a supporting character means that supporting character gets tired quickly)

> 2 members of the same family falling for the same person

In most other novels, I wouldn't put up with one let alone THREE of these things just to personal taste; but Wright is converting me. She is making me like tropes I don't even like.

In a winsome, surprising narrative (first person POV for this one---expert ----), Wright expands on the nature of attraction and love as pursued by a woman still emotionally abandoned from childhood.

The well-meaning blindness and foray into understanding her own heart is a journey that was so well worth taking.

Also, even though it Austens things up to a point that in any other book would be a cliche (yes, women, there are men out there as perfect as Mr Darcy, don't cry into your chardonnay while watching Colin Firth in a wet shirt scene with your bestie <---- dear lord and all the holy angels how many times has THAT cliche scene by bashed over our heads in romantic fiction?), in this book it works. Because this woman uses Austen as a means to understand the love she feels she lacks. The intricacies of relationships she feels she fails due to a tragic event from her past.

The hero is a beta and a little too perfect-on-paper for me but that's okay. Because this book is just so delightfully told.

Also, it is very clear that this author is dynamite at rendering pitch perfect settings. The other book I am reading of hers ( Lies, Love and Breakfast at Tiffany's --- a good companion piece) explores LA and the film editing scene marvellously. This story takes us to New York, LA and Boston and beyond with canvases that unroll authentically around the characters

Paula Phillips

Ever since Emma first read Pride and Prejudice, she has based all her romantic ideals on Austen and her advice and quotes. However, when she decides to do something spontaneous, and turns up to her boyfriend Blake's parent's house and sees him there with another girl Trish the fish. She decides it is time to break up with Jane Austen as she has been steered too many times in the wrong direction. Leaving Blake's, Emma realizes she is slightly stranded and ends up getting a ride to the train station with Blake's brother Luke Hampton. Weekend over and back at work, imagine Emma's surprise when her boss brings in the new consultant she will be working closely with aka Luke Hampton. As the book goes along, we see that Luke is Emma's perfect match but what will happen when Blake tries to win Emma back and Luke starts to back off as he doesn't want to get in between his brother's happiness, even if it means sacrificing himself. Now Emma must let Jane Austen go and take her love life in her hands and let Blake go and tell Luke just how she feels. Will Emma be able to sort her love life out without the help of Austen? Find out in this fun love triangle chick-lit novel "Lies Jane Austen Told Me" by Julie Wright. Perfect for any Austenite out there.

Title	:	Lies Jane Austen Told Me
Author	:	Julie Wright
Rating	:
ISBN	:	1629723428
ISBN-10	:	9781629723426
Format Type	:	Paperback
Number of Pages	:	320
Publication	:	First published November 7, 2017

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