keira anne with an e

Zoe runs a podcast, advising women on how to get their modern equivalent of a regency gentleman– all the time running from bad relationships in the past and wondering if she’ll ever find a happily ever after of her own.

When the opportunity to attend a regency retreat comes up, she finds herself whisked back to the days of Austen– accompanied by her best friend… and her best friend’s brother, who doesn’t believe in the regency ever-afters of Zoe’s favorite stories.

But, just maybe, they’ll find that God has bigger plans in store for both of them…

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Please note: I was provided this advanced audiobook copy from Bethany House Publishers via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5 stars)

As soon as I heard about this book, I just knew I had to read this one. I mean, it’s a Jane Austen-meets-romcom book, and I’m totally on board. I loved the chemistry between the two main characters, the way that the story unfolded, and a lot of the humorous bits throughout. It was exactly what I was looking for in a new romcom, and such a fun ARC to read.

First, let me start off by saying that these characters were fun. Our main girl runs a podcast (and I was totally interested in listening to it, by the way), which I just thought was a unique profession to see a main character with, especially in a book involving the regency era. But, this character really worked well with that situation, and I was very excited to hear about the ins and outs of that career. Also, I loved how awkward and clumsy she was at times, and the diabetic representation!!!

(I will say that as someone who knows type one diabetics, there is no CGM that can share the blood glucose reading with a phone that’s far away. If anyone knows of one, that’s amazing, and I can’t wait to hear more about it. However, I’ve never run across anything like that before. And, also, this girl needs an insulin pump ASAP.)

Our main guy reminded me a little of Luke from Loyally Luke by Pepper Basham (which is a huge compliment, let me say). He was fun, and I liked getting to see his POV. It added a very romcom feel versus the regency aesthetics, and I appreciated that. And, let me just say that the fact he was so supportive of her, even when he thought her ideas were ridiculous… that was a very refreshing green flag.

The romance and kisses got a little much for me– although I was listening to the audiobook, so maybe I would usually just skim it slightly, so it wasn’t actually that much stronger, I don’t know– but it was still very sweet, clean, and wholesome. I was practically fuming when we reached certain parts at the last ten percent of the book… it was almost too much for me to continue through without skipping to the end to find out exactly how long it would take for our main characters to get their acts together.

There were certain characters I couldn’t stand (don’t worry, we were supposed to dislike them), and others I would love to see future books about *ahem Jake and Eden ahem*, which was especially fun to see. I really enjoyed trying out this book by an author, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next. Honestly, this book felt like watching a regency romcom, and I just loved that aesthetic combined with modern social settings to get that sort of perfect balance. I would definitely recommend this to any woman who loves Jane Austen and all things regency. It was such a fun time, and I definitely do not think you will be sorry you gave it a try. A new favorite of this year or me, personally.

(Note: I listened to the audiobook, and it was fine. I didn’t love one of the narrators, but once I got into it, I didn’t find myself getting annoyed, or anything. Definitely check it out if you’re an audiobook reader.)

EMOJI REVIEW!

• 🕰 regency-themed matchmaking retreat
• 🎧 podcaster main character
• ❤ friends-to-more romance
• ⚕ type one diabetes representation
• 🤣 lots of humor and laughs!

Thanks for reading this review! I hope it may have helped you find a new favorite, like I did!!!