Always Jane by. Jenn Bennett | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Always Jane

Author: Jenn Bennett

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 3/29/22

Publisher: Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Music

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A chauffer’s daughter finds herself in the middle of a love triangle with the sons of her boss’s wealthy next-door neighbors in this delightfully romantic story from the author of Alex, Approximately, Jenn Bennett.

Love—and Fen Sarafian—do not care about your summer plans.

Eighteen-year-old chauffeur’s daughter Jane Marlow grew up among the domestic staff of a wealthy LA rock producer, within reach of bands she idolizes, but never a VIP. Every summer, Jane and her father head to the Sierras to work at the producer’s luxury lodge at Lake Condor—a resort town and the site of a major musical festival.

The legendary family who runs the festival are the Sarafians, and Jane’s had a longtime crush on their oldest son, Eddie—doltish but sweet. So when a long-distance romance finally sparks between them, she doesn’t hesitate to cross class lines.

But Jane’s feelings about Eddie are thrown into question after she returns to the lake and reconnects with his alluringly intense brother, the dark horse of her placid summer plans. A fellow lover of music—and hater of the game—Fen Sarafian has been ousted from the family and is slumming it at a vinyl record shop. He burns for Jane like a house on fire and will do anything to sabotage his older brother, even if it means taking a wrecking ball to a multi-million-dollar music festival. Or Jane’s heart.

Content Warning: Drug Use

First off – the cover of this book does not match the story. I get that the main character Jane loves pink but I feel like the cover should’ve matched the aesthetic of other Jenn Bennet book covers.

Right away I was intrigued with this story of a girl who has a brain injury because of an accident – she ends up dating one of the guys who was there at the time of the accident but then ends up liking his brother. Yes, beware, this is a love triangle that involves brothers but I have to point out Eddie and Jane’s relationship is pretty flimsy and it’s not a serious love triangle.

Jane wasn’t a character I could say I really connected to but I like that we see how her life is affected by her brain injury, aphasia, and also we get a glimpse into her life as a domesticate worker for a music mogul, Mad Dog. Her dad is the chauffeur so her whole life has been in the employ of Mad Dog. There is a rumor though that Jane may be Mad Dog’s child – but it doesn’t matter, she knows who was her dad is and who took care of her from when she was a baby. I did enjoy Jane’s relationship with her father, they are so close to one another. Jane is eighteen and not sure what she wants to do with her life, if that means moving in with her boyfriend Eddie or keep working for Mad Dog. When she returns to the place she had her accident, she meets Fennec/Fen, Eddie’s brother and she realizes she has more in common with him than Eddie. I did like to see Jane’s growth by the end of the story.

Fennec comes off as the ‘dark horse’ in his family compared to the ‘golden boy’ Eddie but we learn that isn’t true – he is a young man who loves his family, loves music and loves Jane. He is not afraid to speak out against his brother, even if it gets him kicked out of his own home. I thought he was the more interesting character between him and Jane but he is definitely filled with a lot of angst. Fennec comes from a bigger family who are always involved in each other’s lives. Fen’s mom was very interesting and seemed to run the household even though Fen’s dad is the head of the family. He doesn’t have a good relationship with his dad.

Now as far as how the romance unfolds – Jane is Eddie’s girlfriend and he is on a business trip. I got the feeling right away that he wasn’t into the relationship like Jane was and that made me feel so bad for her because she didn’t know much about him but she was ready to move in with him! She learns more about him through his brother Fennec. Jane and Fen have so much in common especially when it comes to music. They go from enemies, to friends, to more than friends but obviously Fen has been crazy about Jane since before her accident.

Overall, I didn’t connect to the characters as much as I’d like, and I think there was a bunch of things going on in the story that didn’t make it flow as easily as her other books. Jane is trying to decide her future and get out of being a domestic worker, she’s trying to navigate her feelings about the rumors about her real dad being Mad Dog, she’s an assistant to Mad Dog’s daughter Velvet and trying to deal with her drug using antics, and she’s supposedly in a relationship with Eddie but falling in love with Fennec. Jane grows and learns to stand up for what she wants out of her life by the end, even though it means to do it without Fen.

Why you should read it:

• you love Jenn Bennett’s books
• Jane and Fennec bonding over music – he’s so in love with her
• Jane’s growth

Why you might not want to read it:

• I didn’t connect as much to the characters as I would have liked
• seemed like there was too much going on in the story

My Thoughts:

This is not my favorite Jenn Bennett book but the signature imperfect characters are present in this book. It’s what I adore about Jenn Bennett books. I just wish I connected to the characters more and there was less going on when it came to Eddie’s drama, and maybe Mad Dog being Jane’s father (which didn’t matter because her dad was there from day one). Jane and Fennec are both eighteen years old kids who are trying to figure out life, obsessing about music, dealing with some family drama and falling in love.

📚 ~ Yolanda