Jane of Austin: A Novel of Sweet Tea and Sensibility

Overall, I really like the way the story was structured and modernized. It took awhile to get into (but I was just coming off of Gabaldon's Voyager which I loved, so this already started at a disadvantage). The writing wasn't great, the ending felt rushed, I have no idea why each chapter needed to start with a quote. But I was still sucked into the story and enjoyed it.

2.5 stars
I read the first chapter online and expected to love it. I'm nuts about hot teas, and loved the whole tea-shop aspect. However, in the end, it fell flat. It's published by a Christian publisher, but not billed as such in the summary; thus, the sole reference to faith is that one character wishes to go to seminary and start a church plant; the MC, Jane, doesn't even ask if the dashing man who comes to their rescue is a believer or not, which obviously should be one of the first things a Christian girl should ask a man who asks her out.

I liked the sister parts, though after the fun of the trip, the plot itself seemed to lose focus. I expected it to be more concerned with the tea shop part, but it wasn't. The recipes were also a fun part, though the tip about “not using boiling water” doesn't apply to black tea...for teas like Assam, you want to bring it just to the boil and then use the water. Also, her “tea farm” of tea plants was unrealistic; she has enough plants to fill the back of a pickup truck bed, which might be enough to supply one tea drinker's moderate habit, but definitely nowhere near enough to support an online business or a tea shop.

What dropped it below three stars for me was two instances of potty humor and one gay reference (“their clientele in CA was women and gay men”)...as a gal in a tea-shop-attending family with regular guys, it's quite insulting to think that the only guys who use tea rooms are gay. I actually know a young military man who takes his buddies to tea shop outings because they discovered the best sweets are there. I don't know if I was more offended by a gay reference by a Christian writer, or by the stereotype about men.

Thanks to Blogging for Books for my free review copy.