Somewhat accidentally — I really didn’t plan for this to happen! — I ended up reading two light, cute, Austen-inspired romances during my recent vacation. Both were lots of fun. Let’s dive in!

Title: Emma of 83rd Street
Series: For the Love of Austen, #1
Authors: Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding
Narrators: Brittany Pressley and Teddy Hamilton
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication date: May 23, 2023
Print length: 384 pages
Audio length: 10 hours 40 minutes
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Library
Rating:

In this witty and romantic debut novel, Jane Austen’s Emma meets the misadventures of Manhattan’s modern dating scene as two lifelong friends discover that, in the search for love, you sometimes don’t have to look any further than your own backyard.

Beautiful, clever, and rich, Emma Woodhouse has lived twenty-three years in her tight-knit Upper East Side neighborhood with very little to distress or vex her…that is, until her budding matchmaking hobby results in her sister’s marriage—and subsequent move downtown. Now, with her sister gone and all her friends traveling abroad, Emma must start her final year of grad school grappling with an entirely new emotion: boredom. So when she meets Nadine, a wide-eyed Ohio transplant with a heart of gold and drugstore blonde highlights to match, Emma not only sees a potential new friend but a new project. If only her overbearing neighbor George Knightley would get out of her way.

Handsome, smart, and successful, the only thing that frustrates Knightley more than a corked whiskey is his childhood friend, Emma. Whether it’s her shopping sprees between classes or her revolving door of ill-conceived hobbies, he is only too happy to lecture her on all the finer points of adulthood she’s so hell-bent on ignoring. But despite his gripes—and much to his own chagrin—Knightley can’t help but notice that the girl next door is a woman now…one who he suddenly can’t get out of his head.

As Emma’s best laid plans collide with everyone from hipster baristas to meddling family members to flaky playboy millionaires, these two friends slowly realize their need to always be right has been usurped by a new need entirely, and it’s not long before they discover that even the most familiar stories still have some surprises.

Not all contemporary Austen retellings work — the emphasis on marriage can be jarring in a supposedly modern-day setting. And yet, Emma of 83rd Street manages to tell a familiar tale in a way that’s amusing and nicely tailored to today’s world of online dating, high-pressure jobs, and dressing to impress.

The Upper East Side is a natural location for rich, spoiled Emma Woodhouse. Sure, the designer name-dropping gets a bit tedious — but that’s Emma’s world, and feels right for who she is. She’s flighty and meddlesome, thinks she knows what’s best for everyone, and seems to be pursuing a master’s degree in art history mainly for the fun of it… but underneath that shallow exterior, we get to see Emma’s kind heart and her devotion to her friends and family.

I liked that the original cast of characters from Austen are repurposed here in ways that fit the story, given new names and occupations, but remaining true enough to certain essentials to make them recognizable (and fun to spot).

The Knightly relationship has a bit less of an age difference here… and yes, he can be overbearing, but the chemistry with Emma works well, and the progression to romance feels mostly organic. (We see it coming well before either of the characters do.)

A running complaint I have with contemporary Austen retellings is that it can be jarring to see well-loved characters — even modern-day versions of them — hopping into bed together, and that’s true here as well. I could have used a bit less of the details! She may be wearing today’s couture, but she’s still Emma Woodhouse! Closed door would have been better, is all I’m saying.

Overall, Emma of 83rd Street is quite a lot of fun, and the audiobook version’s narrators bring the characters and dialogues to life.

This is apparently the first in a series. I’m on the fence right now about continuing — the wealthy New York setting could get old after a while, I’m afraid. We’ll see; for now, these are on my TBR:

Title: The Austen Affair
Author: Madeline Bell
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Publication date: September 16, 2025
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Library
Rating:

Two feuding co-stars in a Jane Austen film adaptation accidentally travel back in time to the Regency Era in this delightfully clever and riotously funny debut

Tess Bright just scored her dream role starring in an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. It’s not just the role of a lifetime, but it’s also her last chance to prove herself as a serious actress (no easy feat after being fired from her last TV gig) and more importantly, it’s her opportunity to honor her mom, who was the biggest fan of Jane Austen ever. But one thing is standing in Tess’s way—well, one very tall, annoyingly handsome person, actually: Hugh Balfour.

A serious British method actor, Hugh wants nothing to do with Tess (whose Teen Choice Awards somehow don’t quite compare to his BAFTA nominations). Hugh is a type-A, no-nonsense, Royal Academy prodigy, whereas Tess is big-hearted, a little reckless, and admittedly, kind of a mess. But the film needs chemistry—and Tess’s career depends on it.

Sparks fly, but not in the way Tess hoped, when an electrical accident sends the two feuding co-stars back in time to Jane Austen’s era. 200 years in the past with only each other to rely on, Tess and Hugh need to ad-lib their way through the Regency period in order to make it back home, and hopefully not screw up history along the way. But if a certain someone looks particularly dashing in those 19th century breeches…well, Tess won’t be complaining.

A wickedly funny, delightfully charming story, The Austen Affair is a tribute to Jane Austen, second chances, and love across the space-time continuum.

The cover of The Austen Affair is what first caught my eye… and then I read the synopsis, and had to laugh out loud. An Austen retelling with time travel?? Yes, please!

In this entertaining story, Tess Bright is in England for the filming of Northanger Abbey. Playing Catherine Morland is her dream role, and also a tribute to her late mother, whose love of Jane Austen was a constant for Tess throughout her childhood. Mired in grief, Tess has all but tanked her career, and this film may be her very last chance to prove to herself (and all the vicious naysayers) that she’s worth taking seriously.

Filming does not get off to a good start, thanks to tension (and not the good kind!) with her costar, Hugh Balfour. Hugh is an uptight, classically trained Method actor who thinks Tess is flighty and chaotic, and doesn’t believe she knows her Austen from her elbow. When a freak electrical accident flings them back in time 200 years, Hugh and Tess are forced to rely on one another as they attempt to fit in in their new setting, convince Hugh’s ancestors that they’re who they say they are, and figure out how to get back to their real lives.

Tess and Hugh seem ill-suited at first, but as they adapt to their new circumstances, their animosity peels away. Each is revealed to have more depth than the other originally perceived, and their forced proximity turns into friendship, understanding, and a sense of support and respect.

The time travel conundrums are quite fun, as is Tess’s delight at finding herself living out her Regency-era dreams, down to the bonnets and gloves and games of whist. While there’s a lot of silliness on the surface, we see how Tess’s grief is a constant for her, and how living in Austen’s world helps her find joy in remembering her mother.

I didn’t necessarily buy everything in this story, especially Tess’s insistence that the universe and/or her mother intentionally caused the time travel… but overall, the romance, the family complications, and the focus on Jane Austen really work well.

The Austen Affair is a sweet, engaging, funny book with a warm heart. Sure, the time travel mechanics are worthy of a few eye-rolls… but this is romantic fiction, not sci-fi. Suspend your disbelief, and just go along for the ride!

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Emma of 83rd Street: Amazon – Audible – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
The Austen Affair: Amazon – Audible – Bookshop.org – Libro.fmSave

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