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romylu's review
2.0
I listened to the audiobook version of this... not sure if it was the reader’s interpretation of the characters or the writing that I didn’t care for... or both. The voices given to the characters, particularly the protagonist, Anne, seemed off the mark. She came across as immature and very unsure of herself. If she was supposed to be a modern version of Anne Elliot from Persuasion, she definitely missed the mark. In fact all the characters came across as shallow and uninteresting. Persuasion is my all-time favorite book, so I was hoping for more. I was disappointed to say the least.
morgob's review
4.0
I read this book on the side while taking a mini road trip over the weekend. It's always nice to have a backup book on your phone, just in case. This was a nice little book! I appreciated it for a few reasons, namely for its humor and its Austen-esque plot. I really enjoyed this "second chance romance" even though I don't normally read romance novels, especially modern ones. I was in the mood for another Austen-based novel, and I wanted to try out Libby, the library app. The characters were amusing and fun to follow, the love story wasn't too forced or cliche (okay, maybe it was a little cliche, but it wasn't terrible), and I just love characters that love books. In this book, that was almost all of them. Larry was my favorite, for sure. In short, this was a really fun book. Nothing amazing, but really sweet.
magicshoes's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
scstearns19's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
This book was charming, a must for Jane Austen fans. Very cute, I loved the pacing and the development between Anne and Adam. Maybe a little predictable but still a great read.
adorkablybritney's review
2.0
This was an incredibly dull story. About 95% of the story builds up no romance between the two supposedly “past lovers” and the last 5% you are playing catch up thinking… really?
Definitely could have built the relationship up more throughout the entire story not just at the end to wrap it up neatly.
Definitely could have built the relationship up more throughout the entire story not just at the end to wrap it up neatly.
amandae129's review
3.0
Cute, easy read. Great for lovers of women's fiction and those who need a palate cleanser from heavier reading. Out February 6th, 2018.
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advanced reader copy.
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advanced reader copy.
jojo_27's review
3.0
Mostly pleasant, a few weird/distracting moments that I had to text my friend about to make sure they were indeed weird, but overall delivers a fun modernization of Persuasion (with a side of P&P, unless I am forgetting something about Persuasion, which is totally possible).
areidbarnes's review
3.0
Easy, light literary fiction. Cheesy cheesy story with way too many moments that I wanted to gag. But I loved the characters, so it gets 3 stars.
amym84's review
4.0
Based loosely on Jane Austen's [b:Persuasion|2156|Persuasion|Jane Austen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1385172413s/2156.jpg|2534720], By the Book is about Anne Corey a literature professor at Fairfax college in California who is trying to secure a tenured position teaching, but in order to do that she must get a publishing contract for her work-in-progress and the deadline is quickly approaching. To top all that off, Anne's ex-fiance just became the President of the university. Seeing him again for the first time in thirteen years, Anne begins to evaluate her life and how certain events have led her to where she is today. And as she looks back, she begins to wonder if the decisions she's made have led her to the right place.
Overall, I really enjoyed this read. It's a light, sweet story. The romance is there but I mostly loved that the story as a whole is Anne's reflection on her life rather than Anne trying to get back together with her former love because she suddenly feels lonely. The ruminations that go through Anne's head throughout the course of the story don't really take her down a new path, therefore, telling her and readers that despite the broken heart, and despite some tough times along the way, she ended up exactly where she was supposed to be. With or without a relationship. Her accomplishments are her own and she doesn't owe them to anyone else. I loved that this distinction is written out very clearly.
But with that said, there is a strong romance plot throughout; that of Anne and her ex-fiance Adam. While we do get the basics on how they got together in the first place, and why they broke up, I wanted a few more of the in-between moments. The moments that solidified their relationship with one another once upon a time. I think this would have made the devastation of the break-up more apparent, which I think it's supposed to be but didn't really come across strongly enough for my tastes.
One of the relationships where Julia Sonneborn really excelled was the friendship between Anne and her fellow professor Larry. They are truly best friends and I loved that they are both totally devoted to one another. One of the things that was on the negative side for me while reading was the predictability of some of the story threads. Most notably, the "new" romance that Anne gets into. If you've read any book by Jane Austen you can pretty much guess how this new relationship will go. It's entirely possible being a retelling of a Jane Austen novel that is the exact reason why the author decides to follow certain edicts, but I think it would have been ok to break out of the box a little more with it. In the background a secondary romance for Larry totally engrossed me and at times had me thinking the book from Larry's perspective would have been delightful to read.
I think that Julia Sonneborn really pays the source material quite the homage with this story, but I did like how it's not too overt, it's subtle. Actually, I would go so far to say that the love of reading / books in general is more blatantly obvious as more than just Austen are referenced throughout the story. You could feel the love for the written word coming through the pages.
Overall, I enjoyed this debut it hits a lot of what I love reading in contemporary romances. I really look forward to seeing where Julia Sonneborn goes next.
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Overall, I really enjoyed this read. It's a light, sweet story. The romance is there but I mostly loved that the story as a whole is Anne's reflection on her life rather than Anne trying to get back together with her former love because she suddenly feels lonely. The ruminations that go through Anne's head throughout the course of the story don't really take her down a new path, therefore, telling her and readers that despite the broken heart, and despite some tough times along the way, she ended up exactly where she was supposed to be. With or without a relationship. Her accomplishments are her own and she doesn't owe them to anyone else. I loved that this distinction is written out very clearly.
But with that said, there is a strong romance plot throughout; that of Anne and her ex-fiance Adam. While we do get the basics on how they got together in the first place, and why they broke up, I wanted a few more of the in-between moments. The moments that solidified their relationship with one another once upon a time. I think this would have made the devastation of the break-up more apparent, which I think it's supposed to be but didn't really come across strongly enough for my tastes.
One of the relationships where Julia Sonneborn really excelled was the friendship between Anne and her fellow professor Larry. They are truly best friends and I loved that they are both totally devoted to one another. One of the things that was on the negative side for me while reading was the predictability of some of the story threads. Most notably, the "new" romance that Anne gets into. If you've read any book by Jane Austen you can pretty much guess how this new relationship will go. It's entirely possible being a retelling of a Jane Austen novel that is the exact reason why the author decides to follow certain edicts, but I think it would have been ok to break out of the box a little more with it. In the background a secondary romance for Larry totally engrossed me and at times had me thinking the book from Larry's perspective would have been delightful to read.
I think that Julia Sonneborn really pays the source material quite the homage with this story, but I did like how it's not too overt, it's subtle. Actually, I would go so far to say that the love of reading / books in general is more blatantly obvious as more than just Austen are referenced throughout the story. You could feel the love for the written word coming through the pages.
Overall, I enjoyed this debut it hits a lot of what I love reading in contemporary romances. I really look forward to seeing where Julia Sonneborn goes next.
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.