Review

If I haven’t mentioned it yet, not only do I love Jane Austen but Persuasion is my favorite. Hands down. So when I saw this book on Net Galley, I JUMPED at the chance to read it! And I was not disappointed in the slightest.

The author, Julia Sonneborn, used the original source material and made it flourish in a modern tale of pressure from others, love and figuring out what you truly want. I almost like it better than the original. The main character, Anne, is strong, smart, has a thriving career and so much heart she is an inspiration and someone I wouldn’t mind being. While I loved Anne in Persuasion, she always seemed a little too self-less for me to truly identify with her. Anne from By the Book, however, has the heart but also a little more spunk.

Speaking of spunk, her BFF Larry is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Major kudos to Ms. Sonneborn for making a modern and authentic version of Anne’s sister Mary. Larry is funny and dramatic similar to his Persuasion counterpart but I feel like he has more depth.

Ms. Sonneborn’s writing was smooth and I simply loved how she made my favorite novel modern without losing any of its heart. Bravo! With some retellings, they can feel overdone, or that the author strayed to far or stayed too close to the source material, I can happily report that none of that occurred in this brilliant novel.

Bottom Line

If you like a sweet romance, pick up this book. If you like Jane Austen, pick up this book. If you want to tear, giggle, and have warm and fuzzy feelings, pick up this book. Pick up this book, end of story. IT COMES OUT FEBRUARY 6th!

RATING 5 Stars

This was a fun, fast-paced romance read. I loved that it took place in academia; I spent enough years there to recognize some of the light-hearted humor directed at students, staff, and the administration. While the novel wasn't anything too crazy or new (it is a remake, of course), it left me feeling happy and content.

The protagonist is suffering from what I assume is a mid-life crisis, and working through her family issues, work issues, and *romantic* issues will leave you breathing out an understanding sigh.

My 3-star review is a positive one, but not outstanding.

This book was delightful. It was one where I felt warm and fuzzy reading it, like returning to an old favorite but with new surprises. At a few points I made a girly squeal because of the cuteness of something that happened. It was well paced, and the writing was breezy without feeling superficial.

I loved the college setting. It evoked and environment of brick buildings and fall leaves and most importantly, BOOKS. Books were almost a character unto themselves in this book (only to be expected from a retelling), even representing the state of the relationship between Anne and Adam. It also worked well for the placement of the characters in terms of career and love life, like Adam becoming the president of the university, or Rick being a writer in resident (like a soldier wintering for the season! So clever)

I love that the book combined a little bit of Persuasion with elements of Pride and Prejudice. This is evident in the character of Rick, who is something of a Wickham.

The only thing I dodn’t like was that there weren’t enough interactions with Adam, in terms of rebuilding the tension between them that leads up to the end. The story focused more on her relationship with Rick and her friend Larry, which is fine, but I feel like I needed to see Adam and Anne together more, learning about the people they have become and thus that they are even more in love with each other than ever.

So, i was cheering for Anne this whole time. She's a strong independent woman who i admire. Yes, she had her doubts, but who doesn't. At the end she proved that she shouldn't have regretted anything because it all fell in to place. I am in love with Adam. Where can i find him? I was too happy for them that i almost cried but i'm in public ,and i gotta hold it together. By the way, i need a friend like Larry. He sounds too cute. And mostly, i love how this talked about books because i love them too. GO BOOKWORMS!

This is an easy and enjoyable book to read. I finished it in a day. I liked Sonneborn’s writing and will gladly keep an eye out for more books by her in the future. I wouldn’t read it again which is why it’s more of a 3 than 4 star book for me. The ending just left me unsatisfied and that’s my biggest issue with it. If you like Persuasion or Jane Austen retellings, I’d recommend checking this book out!

For full review check out booksbeautyandbuys.com

Title: By the Book
Author: Julia Sonneborn
Publisher: Gallery Books
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:

"By the Book" by Julia Sonneborn

My Thoughts....

I found this read very similar spin to 'Persuasion' by Jane Austen novel, however it was still a interesting read that can give you a good feeling after the read. The main character Anne Corey I didn't know if I felt sorry for her or what at times. What will happen when Anne finds out that her true love and ex [Adam Martinez] is the Fairfax College President at the college as she is trying to get her tenure as an English professor? It was hard for me to see her giving up her true love of her life because a 'all knowing' professor persuaded her to do so if she wanted a career. One thing I will say is thank God for a best friend like Larry that Anne did have in this good story.

Be ready for some twist and turns but in the end will Anne and Adam get their second chance and have a HEA?

Well to find out you will have to pick up this overall enjoyable read "By The Book."

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of By The Book by Julia Sonneborn.

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 distance—and they preferred the same of me.

What I liked about this book: I am sure, the author, Julie Sonneborn, brought a lot of her own knowledge of college life and the long road to took to get to her position as far as student debt and hours spent studying. Therefore, I felt that the setting was very realistic. Anne Corey and Larry, two of the main characters, are well fleshed out and their conversations were often amusing; they added a light touch to the book. I also enjoyed the emails that Anne received from people around the college.

What I didn't like: I hoped this would be a break for me from the cursing and sex that saturates so many books these days. Having said that, I have to add that this story isn’t exactly squeaky clean: I came across the f word, and while there weren’t any moment-by-moment sex scenes, Anne hopped in bed with an author on what appeared to be their second date and Larry started an affair with an male actor who had a wife. While I haven’t read a lot of Austen’s works, I feel fairly certain that this kind of material does not come up in any of them.


Close to the mid point, I felt I really wasn't that into the book, so I did not finish reading it. My review is based on the first 42% in my kindle.

Ahhhhh!!!! Oh my goodness, where to begin? I originally wanted to rate this book a 3/5 stars but have since changed it to a 4/5. Let’s starts with the ending. What a perfect ending to this book! Everything I could’ve hoped for and imagined. I love how this book is about Anne and her goals and aspirations. She takes the time to focus on herself first, putting her desires and love life later. Her ex-fiancé Adam lands the job as the college president at the college she teaches at. Trying to make tenure and get a book published to keep her job, does she let him distract her? Her first love? Instead, she focuses on a new life with a new lover. SPOILER: he’s a huge phony, honestly couldn’t believe his guy by the end of the book and couldn’t stand him. Adam however, is a dream. This fun, flirty book was great, but absolutely FANTASTIC the second half. Took a while to really kick in but things intensified and boy, were you left wanting more! I truly am one of those believers of “if you love them, let them go. They’ll make their way back to you.” This book was just further proof of them and so well played out and beautifully written (a cliche, I Know, but it’s true). If you’re looking for a fun and light read with some happy tears romance, this book is for you.

This is a good day-at-the-beach book. It is a quick read, has some funny parts (I love Larry!) and has a predictable story line.

Boy and girl meet. Boy and girl fall in love. Boy and girl break up for an unrealistic reason. Boy and girl part ways for years. Boy and girl meet up again and fail to communicate. Boy and girl cause unneeded tension. Boy and girl are together. The end.

I sincerely thank NetGalley for letting me read an advance copy of By the Book. However, this is probably the only way I would have read the book. It was not bad, but it was also not great. It is an average mild romance novel.

It does offer some interesting insights into the life and issues of college professors and how tenuous their jobs are before they get tenure. So if you ever want to do that job, you may want to read about how Anne (the protagonist) deals with the struggle of obtaining tenure at a university (the author is an English professor so she does a great job explaining this issue in detail).

We also get to meet Larry. Anne's gay best friend who is also a professor. He was the comic relief throughout the story and brought about his own drama. While Larry did not move the story along, he was a fun diversion throughout the book and I really enjoyed his antics.

The story itself becomes frustrating at times. It was obvious that Adam (Anne's ex-fiance) wanted to talk to Anne but she constantly had to leave for some reason. If she would have just given him five minutes, this story would have been done right away. But what fun would that be? I do like that Rick (a villain in disguise that you can see from a mile away) is put in the story. He was a fun addition and I like that Anne didn't constantly pine for Adam, but instead hung out with Rick for a while. But, as I said, after a while I have a feeling that quite a few readers will just yell at Anne to wake up already and see Rick for who he is and Adam for who he always was.

So if you want a light-hearted, fun and quick read, I definitely recommend this book. If you want something a bit richer literary-wise, read Jane Austin's Persuasion. Either way, you can't go wrong.

Jane Austen's Persuasion is rather loosely translated into a light contemporary romance, set among the faculty of Fairfax, a small California liberal arts college. Anne Corey, a 32 year old English professor trying to get tenure, has to deal with Adam Martinez, her ex-fiancé from over ten years ago, becoming the president of the college. Rather than having one good heart-to-heart talk with him, she avoids him and quickly gets involved with a suave author who's at Fairfax for a year as a writer-in-residence.

This main plotline shares time with a few interesting subplots: Anne's best friend Larry, a gay professor, falls for a handsome actor who's firmly in the closet; Anne and her sister deal with their aging father's health issues; and Anne is anxiously trying to get her literary criticism book published - if she fails, she'll probably be denied tenure.

It was a decent read but never fully engaged me. The writing style, plot and characters are all straightforward, without a lot of depth, and the romance felt a little underbaked. Frankly I was hoping for more from this book, but it's fine for a quick, breezy romance read, if that's what you're in the mood for. The author (who is an English professor) has some telling insights into the travails of life as a non-tenured college professor. Anne's - and by extension Julia Sonneborn's - love for libraries and the classic authors like Austen shines through in many parts of the story.

By The Book is the first fiction novel from Julia Sonneborn, a contemporary retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion. Because I read Persuasion last October 2017, the plot line is still fresh in my mind so when I downloaded this galley, I was kind of expecting to see all the plot lines covered. If memory serves me right, By The Book did not cover all the plot lines. Instead, it has the main elements of Persuasion: a broken engagement, the reunion of the two main characters 10 or so years later and the emotional struggle of the two main characters revealed, towards the end. There's also the part where both the readers and a few of the characters are playing at guess who Adam's going to end up with between Tiffany and Bex. Overall, the main plot lines were satisfied to easily match and identify with Persuasion. I mean, for a contemporary retelling with a limited word count, it was good enough, otherwise it wouldn't be 384 print pages.

As for the characters, Jerry Corey and Lauren Corey Winston perfectly matched Sir Walter and Elizabeth Elliot except that I feel Jerry and Lauren are very slightly more likable than their Persuasion counterparts. I truly detest Sir Walter & Elizabeth and I'm still wishing them both ill luck. Unfortunately, Dr. Russell was not as strong of a character (for me) as Lady Russell was. Don't get me wrong, the dialogue in that flashback scene between Anne and Dr. Russell was awesome and quite pivotal and showed the reader exactly who Dr. Russell is but let's face it, she's not as warm and caring like Lady Russell is to Anne Elliot. Then we have Tiffany and Bex who are very similar to Henrietta and Luisa Musgrove in the sense that they both were portrayed as Adam's current love interest but mostly for Bex, I get the feeling that it was forced to look that way for the sake of having a Henrietta counterpart. Rick Chasen, is definitely charming and likable but you get the feeling that he's not what he seems just like how you'd feel about William Elliot. And when all is revealed, you just want to see him in all manner of suffering. Very well done on this one. As for Larry, I'm not quite sure who his Persuasion counterpart is other than to play the part of Capt. Harville in that one scene where Anne [Corey and Elliot] talk about how women "kept loving someone, even when you know there's no hope" since Anne Corey can't very well just talk to herself about this in order for Adam to overhear her and write her that note.

Now, for the two main characters, let's start with Adam Martinez. He definitely is Capt. Frederick Wentworth with a little more heart compared to Wentworth. Wentworth was very aloof, guarded and properly civil, almost cold. But Adam is shown to be more caring in the way he built his home library with Anne in mind, how he was there for Anne at the ER and during the funeral service and that New Year's Eve scene. Sure, he was sometimes portrayed as a bit guarded and civil especially when Rick was around but that could also easily be because Adam doesn't trust Rick because they've known each other back at Houston which is the exact opposite of Wentworth and William Elliot's lack of previous acquaintance, which is fine I suppose since we don't really have a Mrs. Smith counterpart. As for Anne Corey, she does seem a bit more introverted than Anne Elliot and far less loved. I mean, Anne Elliot has a lot of friends and is loved by Mary and Charles, the Musgrove sisters, the Crofts, the Harvilles and Lady Russell whereas Anne Corey only has Larry on her side (I'm not counting Dr. Russell as she was really cold and harsh in the flashback scene and Emily, Anne's star student, was just there to validate Rick's infidelity and dastardliness). Compared to Anne Elliot, Anne Corey is more worried about getting a book proposal, getting tenured, and book revision deadlines than caring for people. Sure, she was supportive of Larry while he was having a breakdown over Jack and she thought Bex would be a great professor but that was about it. The author did try to show Anne Corey as having that compassionate and understanding spirit that Anne Elliot has in the final scene with Emily but somehow it didn't come out as strong as I would've liked it to be. And that scene with Anne and Lauren when Jerry died and throughout the whole funeral and thank you card scenes, it felt like it had to be there for closure and continuity of the story. It didn't make Lauren any more likable or Anne more complex. I truly wish there's something more to Anne Corey.

In conclusion, By The Book by Julia Sonneborn is a short, fun read for a contemporary Persuasion retelling as long as you are reading for pleasure without thinking of parallels too much. But if you love Persuasion, and if you can look past the differences in characterization and some of the plot lines, you might enjoy this book, otherwise you've been warned.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I have not read Jane Austen, so the comparisons are lost on me. But I truly enjoyed this book. Anne was a wonderful character, filled with humor, intelligence and flaws. While I was pretty sure we were going to end up exactly where we did, the trip itself was fun. The characters were all well developed and interesting, my favorite being Anne's BFF Larry. So funny, I could hear him talking in my head! I learned a lot about the literary world, college, and teaching. Fast paced, contemporary, and fun.

Anne Corey has spent her adult life struggling to attain a career as an English Professor and its attendant brass ring: full tenure. Those positions have become ever more elusive as funding for the Arts decreases eliminating positions in her field. Anne’s sacrifices to reach this goal include breaking up with her first and only love, Adam Martinez. He comes back into her life as the president of the small liberal arts college where she teaches in California. Anne has a lot going on in her life including the extreme pressure to publish or lose her job, an aging father to help care for, plus romance with a celebrity writer-in-residence, and then there is Adam. She made a decision about their relationship which has haunted her for ten years calling into question all the sacrifice and hard work. Anne wonders was it worth ending up alone, and without the man she truly loved?

Clearly, Ms. Sonneborn knows her subject well including academic world of the burdens of tenure track, pompous professors, as well as students who don’t quite fathom the concept of actually reading an assigned book and showing up for class. Adding to the fun as in fundraising, Anne deals with rich and famous California types whose money the college desires very much.

As a proclaimed version of Jane Austen’s PERSUASION in a modern day setting, this book does not always work or follow the tenor of the original. That being said, I find this a quite witty tale, parts will especially appeal to those of us former English Majors who will recognize not only the classic works, but the academic side of both teaching and laboring under demanding professors. Also in the story that goes along with the trope of retelling classic literature is an “updated” movie version of Jane Eyre called Jane Vampire. This cinematic travesty provides quite a bite of contextual humor for those of us who prefer book versions of well-loved stories while disdaining Hollywood’s proclivity for ruining them. Anne spends quite a bit of time in introspection wondering if all the costs including, literally, a crazy amount of debt where worth losing Adam and giving up time with her family that she chose instead. While having achieved her academic goals, much of Anne’s life seems rather empty of the things that make life good besides work.

I am in two minds of this book because while I enjoyed the writing style and some of the characters, especially Anne’s best friend and very entertaining colleague, Larry, the love story fell a little short. Whether one is familiar with the original story or not, something is missing from the romance portion of this book. Anne’s boyfriend for much of the book, Rick, has little to recommend him. Her encounters with Adam are often brief and frustrating or told in flashback. It was so slow burn that by the time Anne and Adam are finally together, I was left wanting much more.

I love me some Jane Austen. Always have. Always will. So when I saw that this was a modern retelling of one of my favorites–Persuasion–I grabbed it. As enjoyable as it was at times, it did fall short of my expectations.

Anne Corey is trying to make the tenure track at Fairfax University by landing a coveted book deal. She’s shocked to find out, however, that her ex-fiancé, Adam Martinez, was appointed as the new President of her college. Anne is determined to stay focused on her job, her new love life with the hot writer in residence, and her family. Life has other plans for her though, which makes her wonder if there really is such a thing as a second chance in love.

This had a lot going for it (Ummm it was based on Jane Austen so, DUH), but as much as I liked the nod to it’s inspiration, it failed in a few things.

I really liked Anne. She was a great MC for me. Determined, a bit flawed, caring, and fun. She was what really kept me reading. My main issue with this book was the rest of the characters and the lack of character development. All the secondary characters seemed trite to me and rather cliché. Her best friend, Larry, was almost a parody at times and Rick, the hot writer in residence, you could read right through. Adam was ok. I say that because there really wasn’t much else there. He just happened to randomly show up at different points in the novel and interact with Anne. We see some glimpses into their shared history, but it all seemed a bit forced. I just couldn’t get behind any of them.

The plot moved at a good pace, but it didn’t necessarily keep me turning the page (partly because I already had a basic premise of what was going to happen).

I did enjoy this, but it wasn’t necessarily my favorite Jane Austen retelling. Was it horrible? No. It’s a fun, cute, story that gives a nod to one of history’s most famous female writers. I just would have liked a bit more originality.

I LOVED this book! This is the Austen modern retelling I have been looking for. This is a book about and for book lovers. It gave me the warm, cozy book love feeling.

4.5 stars. This book is thoroughly, completely charming. To be fair, I've never read <i>Persuasion</i>, the Austen book this is retelling, so I can't compare to the source material (it's one of the classics I'm planning on getting to this year! After reading this, it's probably next on deck after I finish my current classic read, which also features in this book, <i>Jane Eyre</i> ). However, I found it to be sweet and fun, and considering the reverential way the main character feels about books, I can only assume that the retelling is, if not thoroughly faithful, entirely good spirited. Anne is every reader who grew up clutching her beloved Austens and believing in both romance and in the power of books and language. When she discovers that her long-ago fiance is now the president of the university she's teaching at, all of her memories of their relationship and its ending are brought back.
Books about books and retellings are completely my jam, and combining them with a bit of romance in this story worked very well for me. It's been awhile since I found a story to be so thoroughly enjoyable. It's an incredibly quick read, and while I wouldn't have been sad to read more, overall the plot is tidy and well done. This is a debut novel, and I'll be watching this author in hopes she has more stories to tell.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book. Though I've never read Persuasion I did see the both movie adaptations which I loved. If it wasn't described as a modern retelling I wouldn't have made the connection. It was a easy read, light on the angst, drama and most important romance, and the ending felt flat with very little build up. My favorite character of the book was Larry, Anne's professor best friend.
**2.5-3** stars for readability..

Before reading By the Book, I did peruse the existing reviews and saw that they were mixed. Those who read Persuasion didn't seem to be fans and those that didn't were more positive. I have not read Persuasion, so I thought I'd be able to give it an honest review. I'm so glad I read this book. I chugged through it and finished in less than 24 hours. It is super-engaging and I literally didn't want to put it down. My only criticism is the ending. While readers get the happily ever after, it happened so fast I was left wanting a little bit more.

While not a criticism, one area that I think could have enhanced the story would have been to provide the prospective of both Anne and Adam. By the Book is written in first person, from Anne's perspective, with Anne and Adam having limiting interactions. Adam becomes a secondary character. maybe this is why when he redeemed himself at the end, I left wanting more.

This book was cute, but it was missing that spark that really drew me in and wrapped me up in it. However, people who love the academic setting will probably enjoy this!

Amazon would not let me add a review.