Saturday Read + Giveaway! Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

By Alex – Lakehead University

This week, along with the review, we will be having a giveaway! Three signed copies of “Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict” are up for grabs!

“Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict” is a companion to Laurie Viera Rigler’s first novel “Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict.” In “Confessions,” Courtney Stone, a modern 21st century blonde, finds herself trapped in the body of Jane Mansfield, a brunette English rose from the 1800’s. She must navigate through and cope with all the differences between her modern society and Victorian society, including bizarre medical and courtship practices.

“Rude Awakenings” runs parallel to “Confessions,” beginning with Jane Mansfield waking up in Courtney’s body in the 21st Century. She is confused and puzzled by her new surroundings and simply shocked when she finds her reflection to be a curvy blonde as opposed to a willowy brunette. Jane must navigate through Courtney’s everyday life as well; dealing with Wes, her former best friend who was involved in the breakup of her engagement and handling employment even though it shocks her. Seeing the modern world through naive eyes is an interesting concept and Rigler executes it flawlessly.

Although “Confessions” is humorous, I found “Rude Awakenings” to be absolutely hilarious. Jane’s confusion and enchantment with the modern world is both charming and laugh-inducing. From shocking Courtney’s friends by sporting the wedding gown that she intended to marry her ex-fiance in (Jane dubs it the only thing modest enough in Courtney’s closet), to insisting that her name is indeed Jane Mansfield although her friends maintain that Courtney has adopted the name of a long-dead sex symbol, the book is full of laughs. Courtney’s friends explain this odd behavior with a head injury Courtney sustained, making it more hilarious. Not only do her friends allow her to make a fool of herself, they accept it to help with her recovery.

The two stories are very well written and parallel each other in that the heroine of each are both on a quest for happiness. They both turn to Jane Austen in times of despair, are confused about love and, ultimately, unhappy with their lives. Through their time traveling, they both discover what they must do to achieve this happiness and the endings of both leave readers satisfied.

I recommend “Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict” to not only all you Jane Austen addicts out there, but everyone! It’s a great, feel-good read, with tons of laughs. With a couple super heartfelt novels that you can get lost in for an afternoon, I surely hope Laurie Viera Rigler comes back for more!

Do you want a signed copy of Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict? Just hop on your Twitter account (you know you have one!) and Tweet a link to this very review (and be sure to @CollegeCandy so we know you did it!) to all of your friends. Then have them RT it (with the @CollegeCandy so we know what’s goin’ on) to their friends. Whoever gets the most RTs by next Saturday, August 1st will get themselves a super special SIGNED COPY of this fantastic read. Happy Tweeting!