BLAME IT ON THE BRONTËS

When a Brontë-loving English professor moves back to her hometown with hopes of identifying an anonymous romance novelist, the last thing she expected was to end up working at her ex-boyfriend’s cafe.

“Publish or perish” is the unfortunate term for assistant professor Athena Murphy's current predicament. After a meltdown at work forces Athena into a probationary sabbatical, she has until the end of the semester to submit a groundbreaking book for tenure, or she can bid her academic career at San Francisco’s Wyatt College farewell. Determined as any laudable Jane Eyre or Catherine Earnshaw would be, Athena treks back to her farming hometown in hopes of writing a biography about Laurel, Illinois’ very own celebrity: the elusive C.L. Garland, a pseudonymous bestselling author known for spinning well-known classics into page-turning erotica. In the meantime, Athena hopes to spy on any potential Garlands by working at a family friend’s coffee shop only to find that the store has been transformed into the As You Like It Café and bought by none other than her hero-slash-heartbreaker ex-boyfriend, Thorne Kent. College sweetheart and fellow English major Thorne embodied all of Athena's fantasies of her “one true love,” and despite lacking any darkly handsome or brooding qualities, he was her Heathcliff…until he inexplicably broke her heart three years ago. Can Athena navigate her still-simmering relationship with Thorne and uncover Laurel’s best-kept secret in time to save her job, or will her happily-ever-after remain unwritten? Sereno’s novel is witty and entertaining, and fans of the Brontë sisters will undoubtedly appreciate the fun she has nodding to their books. There is, however, some awkward writing (“horny in the morny”; “saucy damsel”), constant discussion of Thena’s “bounteous” and hip-swaying curves, and an array of questionable moments, like the mayor’s barely protested public auction of a "night on the town" with Athena at the community's Oktoberfest.

A spunky romance that may delight Brontë fans if they can ignore several cringeworthy elements.