If I wasn't colossally bored, I wouldn't have picked it up. And as it was, I shouldn't have, as I was procrastinating. The story's fine, the characters are fun, but I was annoyed that characters from history were appropriated in such a cavalier way. Yes, I can read Jane Austen detective mysteries. Yes, I suppose I can read a vampire-love story, but did it have to make Charlotte Bronte out to be such a wacko?? Deducted points for cheap shots. I read this to get away from Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. And I finished it within a day. Yeaah. I won't say it's any sort of literary masterpiece, but it does manage to make Jane Austen a credible 21st century bookshop owner. Who happens also to be a vampire. So that's quite something, isn't it?I'll be doing research on Austen as a fictional character, and this book is definitely on the list. Because it simply gets some things right - likeable characters, the idea that Austen is trying to publish her novel Constance, and the chunks of said novel speckled through the book. It gives a nice touch. The novel's the first in a trilogy about Austen and a horde of other authors turned vampire (Lord Byron, Charlotte Brontë). Apart from that, there are some horrid historically unsound happenings and Lord Byron is sort of a standard irresistible gentleman vampire, which isn't very original, really. So you have to be willing to put your credulity-sensor on low, but it makes for a very entertaining read when you do.
What do You think about Jane Bites Back (2009)?
2.5 Amusing concept. Somewhat uneven execution. Not recommended for any English literature purists.
—sharie
What can I say I'm a sucker for vampires and Jane Austin. Just another quick fix combined into 1.
—morka119
It was a fun light read... kind of annoying characters but it was ok.
—Siew
Cute in a very simple way. I didn't love it, didn't dislike it.
—puh
I wonder, did Jane get royalties form this?
—kayla
