The Jane Austen Project

Take two people from our current timeline, give them a crash course in 1815, and toss them back into the past to have them get close to one of the most prolific writers in history. What could possibly go wrong? Well for Rachel Katzman and Liam Finucane it starts with a climbing boy. Can they hope to alter the past as little as possible while trying to become friends with the Austens and get close enough to get their hands on some very personal letters and a manuscript always though unfinished? Or will they change things too much and alter the world they came from?

This was a very interesting read, guys! Flynn tells the story of two people getting to do what a lot of us avid readers wished we could do, go back and meet the writer of some of our favorite stories, get the chance to know her, try to understand her more. But we all know that playing with time travel is a dangerous game. Something Katzman and Finucane learn as soon as they arrive in 1815 and nearly have the whole thing blown over a surly inn keeper and their lack of luggage. Yet they persist.

What follows was a bit of a roller coaster for our characters as they try to balance themselves carefully into a world they really can't fully fit into while trying not to alter the course of history too much. After all they were only sent back to observe, get copies of a few letters and a manuscript, and make it home to tell their superiors what they learned. But Rachel in particular has a very hard time keeping to the mission plan.

I enjoyed the novel, despite how easily it all ended when things did go south for our travelers. It was fun to read of Rachel trying to hold back the fangirl when interacting with Jane. Watching events unfold at the end of Jane's life in a different way. And seeing that world from the eyes of someone from our own time. It all made for a great story told with a wonderful voice. Because while Rachel sometimes annoyed me enough to have me groaning and rolling my eyes, I did like the way Flynn wrote her. The book was fun! I would recommend it to anyone unable to get enough of Jane Austen of Regency era novels!

Attack On Titan vol. 23

So this post is not going to really be a review of the newest edition in the Attack On Titan series. I want to say that the story is getting much more in-depth, the characters are becoming more complex, and well, whose side am I supposed to be on exactly?! Because it is all a convoluted mess. And isn't that exactly what WAR is? Amazing job with the series Hajime Isayama. I am thoroughly entrenched in it and loving every minute.
But that is all I can say about this one without ruining bits of the series from before this. So go pick up the manga if you have not already, and then we can talk more about it.

Instead I want to take a minute to use this post to point out that I finished a book! Ok, so maybe it is already a week into February and my first finished book is actually a manga, and none of that is saying much. But, you know what? We went to the library and I gave up the two books that seemed so darn interesting but I haven't had the commitment to actually read them and instead picked up the next in a series I have been reading for a while and two other books that have caught my eye off and on recently. This is my jumping on the wagon! I'mma read me some books!