This is a fun and light read. I loved the whole lit teacher angle, but I was disappointed by Anne. I hated that she was so scattered and unsuccessful in her life. She felt a bit cliche. I know this is a romance novel, but still. Can't we have a put-together female lead? I still enjoyed the book for what it was, though. And I really loved Larry. Overall, an entertaining yet meh book for me.

A little difficult to follow at times assisted by a main character not completely likable. The author leaves little bits of the story out until revealed later which may allow the reader to lose interest rather than intrigue one. A good story, but not as engaging.

DNF
I loved the sound of the book and I love Persuasion retellings. As a fan of all things romance, I was very much looking forward to By the Book. Unfortunately, I found the writing hard to connect with. I also seemed to have a tough time liking the characters. I decided to set the book aside, but thank you to the publisher for considering me for a review copy.

Being a Janeite and a Persuasion lover I may be a bit biased, but I LOVED it!

I gobbled this book up. I enjoy books whose settings are boarding schools and universities. Anne Corey is the modern Anne and Adam Martinez is the Mr. Wentworth. Anne is a Professor who needs to publish a book for tenure and discovers her college boyfriend (she turned down his proposal) is the new President of her University.

Anne is very naive, irritating and comes across as having low self esteem. In 'Persuasion' by Jane Austen Anne was naive, but had a mind of her own and was good with making rational decisions. Adam mirrored Mr. Wentworth more closely. There's a devil in this mix, of course (the distraction) and that is Rick. I knew he was a bugger and Anne just couldn't see it. This is were I find annoyance in the plot. I wanted better of Anne's character.

Anne's Bff Larry and his scandalous relationship with Jack is the high of the book. It really keeps it going. I had a great time reading 'By the Book' and will re-read it again and again.

I truly enjoyed this modern day ode to Jane Austen! I loved the characters and the setting so much - it made things so interesting. I enjoyed that it was more character driven than plot driven. These characters were a mess all the way around, and it was interesting to see how they grew, and changed throughout the book. There was not enough actual romance for me at all - but that is pretty true to a re-telling of an Austen novel. It was overall a pretty light, easy read. I was satisfied by the end.

By the Book by Julia Sonneborn is a fun summer read. This book is a modern retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion. Anne is a professor/writer who finds out that her new boss is an ex-boyfriend. Will they rekindle their love? Or will Anne find a new love interest? Those questions basically drive the plot of this book; however, Anne's friendship with her colleague Larry gets a lot of time in the book. Overall, I thought this was an okay read if you like modern Austen retellings. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher. These opinions are entirely my own.

If you like Jane Austen, you may enjoy this retelling of Persuasion by Jane Austen. I enjoyed picking out Lady Russell, Captain Wentworth, and of course, Anne Elliott. Other characters were less obvious but the story was engaging.

Adam Martinez is the hot new president of Fairfax College. Anne Corey nearly choked on her wine when she discovered that Adam was her former fiance. The characters were engaging and the story was lively. Anne's family definitely rejected Adam when he was a college student who didn't seem to have the bright future they expected for Anne. Anne, for her part, tried to please her advisor and mentor Professor Russell, who was the catalyst for Anne's moving away from love to finding herself alone. Now, years later his CV was proof of his wonderful accomplishments that led to the top spot at the college.

Adam is just as caring as Frederick Wentworth was and stayed in the background while Anne was trifled with by Rick, the famous writer whose schemes just winnowed away throughout the story. He was just what I would have expected and he was a good stand in for young Mr. Elliott of Persuasion fame. In the end, amid distractions like Larry, Anne's friend and colleague, the story unfolded to provide Adam his due. He was a handsome, worthwhile hero who deserves to get the girl!

If you're a lover of Jane Austen, you're in for a treat. (And if you've never read Austen - first, don't tell me, and second, you don't need to have read her to enjoy this.) Julia Sonneborn offers up a retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion, as well as a bit of an homage to Austen in her mail character, College English Professor Anne Corey is finishing up her book, which she needs to publish in order to nail down her tenure, while taking care of her aging dad (which is work on its own). In the middle of all this, her ex-fiancé Adam turns up as the new college president.

Of course, she will run into Adam over and again, and put herself in plenty of awkward situations as we slowly learn the nature of her breakup. Of course, the dashing visiting writer-in-residence that she is attracted to cannot stand him for reasons to be discovered. There is plenty of humor and awkwardness, and angst, of course, although I would have liked to seen even more interaction between Anne and Adam in the story.

Another wonderful relationship in the story is the one between Anne and her friend Larry - he is a bit of a cliche, the gay college professor, but he is hilarious and their interactions are priceless.

Overall, this is a wonderful light and entertaining read, perfect for the beach. What a delight!

I really liked the general concept of this book, and the writing was overall fine but I just couldn't feel myself connecting with or caring very much about the characters at all. Halfway through I found turning the pages a bit of a slog. This book should have been right up my street, but sadly I just couldn't make the connection.

Pride and Prejudice is my all-time favorite Jane Austen novel, with Persuasion a close second. So I went into this book quite excited to read Julia Sonneborn's modern-day retelling, and I was not disappointed.

Anne Corey is a little less staid and constricted than Anne Elliot. She has a goofy side to her, and she looks at life with a bit more optimism. Adam Martinez has Captain Wentworth's quiet, brooding passion. The circumstances that tore these two asunder lo those years ago are given a nice, contemporary twist.

The interplay between the characters makes this book so much fun to read. Anne's sassiness, particularly with her friend Larry, gives this romance more comedy than you might expect, yet the longing and wanting between her and Adam gives it great heart.

I also liked the college setting. Anne wants tenure, and Adam might be what blocks that. So in addition to the romantic tension, there is some professional tension, too. My only complaint is that I don't get to know Adam better, a similar complaint I had about Captain Wentworth, I get that we need the mystery about him, but I wish I knew him better.

3.5 stars

Though it happens to be a loosely based, modern-day adaption of Jane Austen‘s Persuasion, By the Book is entertaining with its fun, comedic timing, as well as a premise that had me engaged from beginning to end!


My Synopsis:

In By the Book, Anne Corey is the contemporary version of Persuasion‘s Anne Elliot, with a bit more ambition to fit in with the modern storyline. Like the latter, she’s still single after having allowed herself to be persuaded to break off an engagement with this story’s Wentworth, Adam Martinez some years earlier. But while she’s working on retaining a position as a professor of the college she’s currently employed with – as well as writing her first, full-length novel – she’s startled by the reappearance of her ex, who also happens to end up being the school’s newly appointed president… Though Anne feels she’s moved on, what with a new romance and all the busyness in her bustling life, with Adam in her sights, she can’t help but find it hard to ignore him and wonder if maybe he feels the same way, too.


My Thoughts:

By the Book really was an easy, entertaining read, and a lot of that definitely has to do with the fact that the characters were so well-written! I loved reading about Anne’s past with Adam, as well as her current romance with the suave, Rick Chasen. Obviously, I couldn’t help comparing events and peoples to those found in Persuasion, but I feel like Julia Sonneborn did a good job with putting her own spin on things, and I can’t even begin to say how much I loved Anne’s best friend Larry!!! He was hilarious, and brought with him some new elements that helped with the modernization of Jane Austen‘s story.

Another thing I personally liked, was that this Anne’s father wasn’t so unlikable. I found myself detesting Anne Elliot’s father because of how pompous he was and his narcissism, but this Anne’s father seemed to have more reasoning behind his actions and words, even if they didn’t end up bringing the outcomes we wanted to see.

I could go on with the things I liked about this book – for instance, all the hilarity involving one Jack Lindsey – but I think I’ll leave the rest for you to discover when you read this book, because yes, I do recommend it!

Available now: By the Book by Julia Sonneborn

**** 4 stars - Loved it!: A fun, quirky modern retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion.

Recommended readers:

If you like modern romance (and maybe a romance book worm)
If you like a modern retelling of Jane Austen books
Here's my Rankings:

4/5 for characters
4/5 for plot
4/5 overall

REVIEW FROM BOOKS FOR HER:
I'm a lover of all things Jane Austen - the original books, the many movies (both old and new) and I haven't read a modern retelling that I haven't liked. Curtis Sittenfeld retold Pride and Prejudice with Eligible (here's our review), and Julia Sonneborn does a great retelling of Persuasion with By the Book.

Anne is a English Professor working hard (and stressing) about her tenure at her school .... not to mention taking care of her crazy father and now the super-hot new writer/colleague who's just joined the staff, when she learns a man she once wanted to marry is now becoming president of her college. As with the original Jane Austen novel, By the Book dives into Anne's past just as she thinks she's figured out her future.

Available now: By the Book by Julia Sonneborn

Julia Sonneborn's By the Book was a fun, creative re-telling of Jane Austen's Persuasion.

Persuasion, even more funny and quirky and updated to retell in current times.

By the Book by Julia Sonneborn is a modern take on Jane Austen's Persuasion. Set at a fictional California college, Anne Corey is an English professor who broke up with her fiancé, Adam Martinez, years ago when they were graduating from Princeton. Now, he is the new president of the college where she works and is hoping for tenure. I absolutely loved this adaptation of Persuasion. The plotline follows the original storyline enough that I could see it, but not so much that it dragged down the story. The unabashed love of books and pop culture really spoke to me but didn't overburden the actually story. As an avowed Janeite, I enjoy reading adaptations, variations, and sequels of her works if they are done well. However, the story is easily read and enjoyed if you have never read Persuasion. I'm looking forward to more from Julia Sonneborn!

This title is a modern take on Jane Austin's Persuasion which will delight readers.

I enjoyed the characters and setting for this title as well as the way they had to face the past and decisions made that affect the present. While things are modernized, you can recognize the classic storyline playing through the pages.

For me, this was an okay read.

I could definitely tell it was a first book when reading it. I liked the characters and their development for the most part.

As for the plot. It seemed to jump around at times. The ending seemed forced and not really thought out or "told out".

I absolutely loved the cover which was my main draw. Unfortunately, it still is.

Thanks to Gallery, Threshold and Pocket Books and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I really enjoyed this book. It's marketed as a retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion, but since I've never read it, I can't really say how well it did in that regard. However, I did find the characters engaging and interesting. Parts of it really made me nostalgic for college. I kept imagining some of the settings as my alma mater. The writing was rather straightforward, but it worked for this story. I found myself looking forward to getting home from work so I could continue reading.

I got about 70% of the way through this book, but ended up just feeling that it was fine but not quite what I was hoping for. It doesn't quite do justice to Persuasion the way I wanted it to, and I wasn't strongly compelled to pick the book back up. I read it in a few chunks, but it took me a while in between sittings to want to pick it up again. And, standing on its own apart from being a Persuasion retelling, it wasn't sparkling enough to hold my interest.

I could not finish the book. I just couldn't connect with the characters.