Austen Meets BookTok – Are These Covers a Hit or a Miss?
An unusual detour from our weekly roundup, but don't worry that's still here too.
The Weekly Insider is your weekly bookish roundup for romance, mystery and fantasy recs, plus all the bookish content you won’t want to miss.
Hey friends,
Normally, this newsletter is all about rounding up the latest bookish updates, content and recommendations of the week. But then I came across these new covers for an upcoming Penguin collection of Jane Austen's classics for the modern reader, and I had to have a discussion with you all. But don't worry, you'll still get your roundup after I say my piece.
New Covers for Jane Austen, But Make It BookTok
Every so often, a publisher shakes things up with classic literature in an effort to bring in new readers. Sometimes, it works. Sometimes… it sparks a minor bookish riot. Enter First Impressions, Penguin’s upcoming Jane Austen collection, featuring neon-bright illustrated covers and forewords by popular romance authors like Ali Hazelwood, Hannah Grace, Lauren Asher, Alexis Hall, Krystal Marquis, and Tessa Bailey.
The internet reaction? Mixed, at best. Some readers love the fresh, colorful designs. Others (myself included) find the choices confusing at best, misguided at worst. Because if this collection is meant to introduce a new generation to Austen, I have some questions.
The Covers: Fun or False Advertising?
The first thing you notice is that these covers do not look historical at all. The outfits? Completely modern. The styling? Very much BookTok-coded. The vibe? Less Regency elegance, more YA fantasy romcom. Austen’s stories might be the blueprint for the modern romance genre, but this packaging feels like it’s selling something different entirely.
Which brings me to the bigger issue: Will this set the right expectations for new readers? Because anyone picking up Pride and Prejudice expecting a spicy, swoony, high-drama romance might find themselves… struggling through 19th-century prose instead. If anything, this might backfire, making new readers feel like they were misled rather than inspired to explore classics.
But Why These Forewords?
Fall head over heels for First Impressions, Puffin’s boldly designed new YA Jane Austen collection. Like all the best romcoms, Austen’s novels are full of meet-cutes, missed connections and drama; they are masterclasses in the lost arts of stolen glances and breath-taking gestures.
With a stunning modern design and forewords from leading YA romance authors, this eye-catching six-book series is an open invitation to escape the brutal nonchalance of modern dating and embrace your inner romantic.
Penguin is marketing this as a YA-friendly collection, yet the chosen foreword writers are overwhelmingly known for contemporary romance, often adult and spicy at that. While all of these authors are undeniably popular, the disconnect is hard to ignore. If this was meant to reintroduce Austen through a YA lens, why not include authors who write actual YA romance or at least not frame it as YA authors?
The Bigger Picture: What This Means for Historical Romance
Part of me hopes this might create a gateway for younger readers to discover historical romance—because let’s be honest, the genre could use the attention. But I’m not holding my breath.
In the end, I can ignore these covers and buy a different edition, but I can’t ignore what this says about how publishers approach classics today and the marketing of books in general. It feels disconnected with readers. This collection isn’t really about making Austen’s work more accessible—it’s about chasing a trend, and trends are fleeting. Will it work? TBD.
What do you think? Will this collection bring in new readers, or is it setting up the wrong expectations? Are you more upset about what it’s done to the classic? Drop your thoughts in the comments!
— Francesca 📚
Cozy Fantasy & Romanceopoly
Cozy fantasy was a major theme this week! I shared several lists to help you find your next comfort read, including some that fit the Crystal Lake prompt in the Romanceopoly challenge.
🗞️ On Under the Covers:
📢 Don’t Miss: February’s New Releases!
Our Most Anticipated February Releases: See them here
Kindle Unlimited February Picks: See what’s included
February Mysteries & Thrillers: Find your next suspense read
🔍 On Mysterylandia:
🎧 Reading Under the Covers Podcast:
Top 100 Romances of the Last 3 Years
📺 Under the Covers on YouTube:
For even more romance books set in Alaska, check out this blog list
Replay of our January Book Club discussion of A Kiss of Iron by Clare Sager with Angela
5 Cozy fantasy romance books you should read for Crystal Lake
🎥 Novel Hour Live Show
We had two fun live shows this week!
Bookish Tea & Gossip: We talked about Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni + Colleen Hoover lawsuits, the Grammys, Children of Blood and Bone casting, Bookshop.org selling ebooks, and Rebecca Yarros' dragon smut label by Vulture.
Epic Romance Books for Valentine’s Day: We shared recommendations from classic lit, celebrity romances, and Valentine’s themes.
💌 Substack Exclusive
The Romanceopoly monthly newsletter is out, featuring all the details on the Winter Market Square readathon challenge and recommendations for each of the prompts. Plus also book recs from this month’s releases and Kindle Unlimited that you can read for the challenge.
Join the StoryGraph challenge for the Winter Market Square event (it’s separate from the main Romanceopoly challenge)
January 2025 Reading Wrap-Up (for paid subscribers)
💬 Check out the Substack Chat
For paid members, you’ll find a sneak peek in there with the book choice for our March book club. As the poll requested, it’s a fantasy romance. Visit the chat.
🎤 We Went LIVE on Substack! We had a fun impromptu chat with Laura from
and Victoria from after our Novel Hour live show talking about epic romances. Victoria shared one of the book she mentioned in the live show but Laura and I talked about a different epic romance recommendation.📺 Watch the replay below.
What are your favorite epic romances?
📅 New Releases This Week: February 3 - February 9
A fresh stack of books just dropped! Whether you're craving romance, thrillers, or fantasy, here's what’s hitting shelves this week.
Featured New Releases (Feb 3 - Feb 9):
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
Scarlett is a fiercely focused platform diver. Lukas is the golden boy of swimming. A secret pulls them together, and an arrangement turns into something much messier. If you love college sports romance with emotional angst, this one’s for you!
Bonded in Death by J.D. Robb
Eve Dallas is on the case when a man tied to a secret war-time organization is murdered. The twist? Summerset—Roarke’s ever-grumpy right-hand—is also a target. High-stakes mystery, pulse-pounding action, and a deep dive into Summerset’s past.
Never Gamble Your Heart by Lindsay Lovise
A broke but brilliant governess takes a job with a rogue gambling den owner—who might just be her key to finding her missing sister. A slow-burn, fake-engagement romance with wit, mystery, and forced proximity vibes.
Smooth Sailing by Kristen Ashley
Hugger’s got one foot in Chaos MC, one foot out—until he meets Diana, a woman who refuses to let him fade into the background. If you love gritty, emotional bikers with found-family feels, this one will hit hard.
RSVP for Murder by CJ Lee
A wedding planner, a mob family, and a reality TV disaster—oh, and a murder at the rehearsal dinner. Cozy mystery meets rom-com chaos in this hilarious debut! Perfect if you love snarky heroines and over-the-top drama.
💡 Looking for More? Our book vault has over 170 February releases to browse! This is a paid member feature.
A voice note recommendation from Francesca: Kiss the Rake Hello by Tracy Sumner
A historical romance novella featuring a reverse age gap, second chance romance, and a nurse-back-to-health trope. A soldier returns home, finally materializing his long-held crush for the girl next door. ~ Francesca
📩 What are you reading?
That’s it for this week! What are you adding to your February TBR? 💕 Hit reply and let me know!
Until next time, happy reading!
Catch us on Substack live! We will adding some Substack lives to our schedule soon (some may be surprise like this week!). Stay tuned for that. And download the Substack app so you get instant notifications when we go live.
xoxo
Francesca & Suzanne
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With the popularity of Bridgerton, why didn't they make the covers still be in historical clothing and have the forewords written by historical romance authors? Maybe because historical is not a popular booktok genre? 🤷🏻♀️ I'm not on tiktok so I don't really know. But I do remember being an 11 year old who picked up her first historical romance (adult romance) because of the gowns on the cover!
Great post! PRH has money to burn so it doesn't matter. If it does sell, these books are in the public domain so the scammers will follow soon after.