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Review: By the Book by Julia Sonneborn



Blurb from Goodreads:
An English professor struggling for tenure discovers that her ex-fiancé has just become the president of her college—and her new boss—in this whip-smart modern retelling of Jane Austen’s classic Persuasion.

Anne Corey is about to get schooled.

An English professor in California, she’s determined to score a position on the coveted tenure track at her college. All she’s got to do is get a book deal, snag a promotion, and boom! She’s in. But then Adam Martinez—her first love and ex-fiancé—shows up as the college’s new president.

Anne should be able to keep herself distracted. After all, she’s got a book to write, an aging father to take care of, and a new romance developing with the college’s insanely hot writer-in-residence. But no matter where she turns, there’s Adam, as smart and sexy as ever. As the school year advances and her long-buried feelings begin to resurface, Anne begins to wonder whether she just might get a second chance at love.

Funny, smart, and full of heart, this modern ode to Jane Austen’s classic explores what happens when we run into the demons of our past...and when they turn out not to be so bad, after all.
My Review:
 
Persuasion is my favorite novel by Jane Austen and despite there being so many good P&P retellings, there are actually very few retellings of Persuasion.  As such, I was so excited to read this one.  It was definitely a very fast read - it flowed very easily and wasn't taxing to read.  It was a pretty good retelling as well.... I just think a few things were missing (not just from the Persuasion plot but for this to be a truly stellar book).  I think the history could have been developed a bit better as well as some of the characters.  That being said, the setting was good, the faithfulness to the original was good and it was a fun, fast read.

By the Book comes out soon on February 6, 2018 and you can purchase HERE.  I definitely recommend this one for fans of Persuasion or Jane Austen.
I'd learned my lesson after that. It was a rookie mistake, imagining that I could be friends with my favorite writers. Now I knew that I preferred my authors to keep a safe distanceand they preferred the same of me.

Comments

  1. I haven't read Persuasion although I do want to read a Jane Austen book this year ( I know it is bad I haven't read one yet.) Glad this was a good read for you. Great review!

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  2. Persuasion is one of my favorite Austen novels as well but like you said, it is hardly ever retold for some reason, which might be a good thing since I have yet to find one I've really liked. Glad this was good though even if it wasn't mind blowing.

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  3. I love Persuasion and I'm glad to hear this one was good! It's good to hear that it sticks to the original pretty closely too. I'll pick it up next week! :)

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  4. I really like the sound of this one, and I actually would've never though to pick this up. Thanks for sharing this one!

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  5. I’m glad you liked this one! Persuasion was okay for me so I’ll probably skip this one. But I’m thrilled you enjoyed it! 😊😊

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