Review: 'A State of Jane' by Meredith Schorr (2017)

It’s more about finding yourself than finding a man.
Jane Frank is ready to fall in love. It’s been a year since her first and only relationship ended and far too long since the last time she was kissed. With the LSAT coming up, she needs to find a boyfriend (or husband) before acing law school and becoming a partner at her father’s firm. There’s just one problem: all the guys in New York City are flakes. Interested one day and gone the next, they seemingly drop off the face of the earth with no warning and no explanation. 
In her misguided belief that life doesn’t really start until you get married and have kids, Jane jumps from one extreme to the next trying to force a happily ever after until she breaks. Will she ever find her path, and can she do it without alienating her friends and family and risking her career in the process?
I’m willing to give every book that’s part of the Henery Press Chick Lit Collection a fair chance; they know what great novels are and sometimes you just need a good chick lit read to relax with…! Last year I was introduced to author Meredith Schorr; I loved her Blogger Girl series, so when I saw that Henery Press was re-releasing her novel ‘A State of Jane’, I knew this was a review copy I couldn’t possibly say ‘no’ to. Luckily, my NetGalley request was approved and I honestly couldn’t wait to sit down with this Meredith Schorr read. The book was actually released before ‘Blogger Girl’ and I was curious to check out some of the author’s earlier work and hoped I would end up enjoying it!
Twenty-something Jane Frank is single and willing to at least try to mingle. After ending her long-term relationship with her high school sweetheart Bob, Jane needed a year to herself but now she is ready to find her Prince Charming. However, it doesn’t take long for Jane to realise that finding an attractive and nice single guy in New York City is like looking for a needle in a pretty big haystack. With her LSAT exam, and with that also her future, coming up quite quickly, Jane has more than enough to keep her busy, especially as she starts on her very own dating adventure. But will she be able to find that one guy that will make her heart beat faster, or should she perhaps have held on a bit tighter to the great guy she used to have….? 
Just like many other female readers I really enjoy stories focusing on what it is like to a single twenty-something in our modern day and age. ‘A State of Jane’ is a novel that tackles that particular topic in an entertaining way, and pays attention to that enormous pressure to find your soulmate, get married, and live happily ever after. Leading lady Jane is determined to find the right guy for her, but the search is not as easy and straightforward as she initially expects. Next to her search for romance, Jane is also dealing with her future; she is planning to take the LSAT exam, but is that really her calling? Her friends and family all seem to have an opinion on her life and what’s going on in it, but Jane is the only one that can eventually figure it out, and I really enjoyed joining her on this trip.
It was easy to like Jane at the start of the novel and I loved seeing her dating different guys, trying to find ‘the One.’ However, I have to say that as the novel progressed, Jane seemed to become more and more self-absorbed and I found it quite challenging to continue to like her and feel for her, which was too bad. However, I do understand what the author tried to do with the story, and I definitely still enjoyed it and am sure other chick lit fans will as well. Yet, I do believe that Meredith Schorr’s writing has only gotten better over the years, so if you are looking for your next chick lit read, first contemplate picking up ‘Blogger Girl’ instead. All in all, though, ‘A State of Jane’ is an enjoyable and fun novel with a relatable heroine at its core; a book that has managed to turn me into an actual Meredith Schorr, if I wasn’t one already….!

Rating:8,5/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.