First and foremost, this book should ONLY be experienced by way of the audiobook. Yes, the print exists, but much of the charm is lost and the flaws more apparent. My rating is an average of a 2-star story and a 4+-star audio entertainment.

Also, the narrative won't make any sense outside of the established audience for Jane the Virgin. I can't imagine the appeal being anything but the significant good will amassed by an excellent and innovative show.

What works:
- the dedication, which made me weepy right from the get-go
- the evocation of Jane's story through her fiction and the accompanying emotional beats
- the depiction of Jane's Josephine's relationships with her mother and abuela -- by far the most wonderful part of the series
- above all, the narration (note below) both in quality and in commentary style

What is less successful:
- that cover. I didn't care for it in the context of the episodes, and it is worse in reality
- the translation to historical romance rather than contemporary (though somewhat understandable given author Jane's proclivities), which leads to the most problematic development:
-

Spoiler

since artificial insemination isn't really an option in this setting, the impulsive one-night stand was sort of necessary; however, it significantly compromises the heroine's established character

- the telenovela elements, so entertaining in the program, even the ridiculous arch-villain, are simply goofy here
- the tension of the love triangle isn't fully realized
- the character of Michael Martin is nothing short of hagiographic, which makes him less interesting and more of an idealized construct

audiobook note: So how is it I can still recommend the story? It all comes down to the voice talents of Anthony Mendez and Ivonne Coll. I adore Coll's performance as Alba on the series, and I could listen to her read almost anything (though, truth be told, hearing her narrate the love scenes was a bit odd). She has a warmth and a dexterity that shines in storytelling, no matter the content. Anthony Mendez continues his role as the silky-voiced Narrator who also serves as audience fanboy surrogate, cheering on the characters, breaking in with real-time reactions, and magnifying the delight, pathos, and humor of the entire story experience. A true and gifted professional.

CONTAINS jtv spoilers also,

i hated this book so much. obviously, the writers knew the majority of people reading this book would’ve seen the show so why did they just make it book form? everything. was identical to the show, to the point where after marcos (mateo’s) birth, i was wondering when his kidnapping would be. sure enough, it was the next chapter.
it was overly descriptive, lazy, and is just not a great piece of literature at all. the reactions jane got in the show in regards to this book ….. they were all liars. also, if jane’s family had really read this book there would’ve been ISSUES. this book was obviously not written by the jane i know, especially since she DEDICATED the book to michael, but looses her virginity to RAKE (rafael) at the very beginning. what kind of name is rake anyways?? terrible. she acknowledges rafael at the end of the book as well, and if he had read the way she had written him… he would’ve actually cried, some of it was brutal. obviously, there’s meant to be differences between the show and the book (in the show world) but the extreme similarities make it pretty much unreadable. the worst line in the whole book? “he picked up his fountain pen, a piece of stationery, and began to write.” HELLO??????? could you get any more lazy writing than that? AI generated text for real. 0 stars if i could, worst book i’ve ever read.

It’s literally a replica of the show.. with minor changes. There’s no point in reading this if you watched the show tbh

Cute and probably only entertaining to fans of the show. I can’t imagine why anyone would read this book without having watched Jane the Virgin.
Probably would have only been a 2 star read for me if not for the Jane+Michael feelings the book gave me.

Now I’m off to binge the show (again).

DNF at 17% or page 40. (1.5 stars, rounded to 2 because I feel bad)
*spoilers for Jane the Virgin and Snow Falling*

One hour into this book, I'm already severely bored. So, I skipped to the last page and read it. If I had known that this book would end with Jane and Michael together I wouldn't have gotten it, because I'm 100% team Raf for life. I cannot fathom reading a book based on one of my favourite shows, knowing that it ends completely different to the show itself. I would much rather just go continue my rewatch or read one of the other 90 books currently on my physical tbr.

I'm going to keep the book, but I'm going to pretend that it ends a completely different way.

Chose Snow Falling for a historical and Winter reading challenge. All the comedic drama in Jane the Virgin is in here, but in the Edwardian time period. Not a whole lot of new content, but the audiobook is pretty hilarious.