I did not finish this book. I found it to be trite and predictable. I wanted to like it, but couldn't read very far into it. The main character was a stereotype and I could not get invested in her. The foreshadowing was obvious and not intriguing.

Persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen novel, so perhaps I shouldn't have read a "modern" retelling. There were similarities, but the tender yet grave tone that gives the original Persuasion its powerful message was missing in this lighter read. Those who aren't such devotees of the original might enjoy this as an easy read, but for me it missed the mark.

This was such a delight to read and a great break from all the murder and mayhem I normally read. “By the Book” is a modern day retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Our heroine, Anne Corey is an English professor in California, and she is one hot mess. Except, when she is in her classroom teaching. And I enjoyed her character so much! She was just so normal (and really what is normal?) and so gloriously flawed. Right from the beginning you understand Anne is on a mission to get published so she can can get tenure and secure a promotion. And then walks in, Adam Martinez (sigh), the new college president, can I just insert here how much I just loved him, Adam also just happens to be her first love and ex-fiance’.

I had so many laugh out loud moments with Anne’s journey. Especially her relationship with her BFF Larry. He was such a hoot! I want a Larry for my own. I also shed a few tears, but they were beautiful sad moments that life throws at us all. If you are familiar with Austen’s Persuasion, then you know the turns this story takes. But, Sonneborn had me second guessing if we would really get that ending. Her writing flowed quickly and beautifully. The only issue I had, is I wish we had more time with Anne and Adam together, the ending seemed a bit rushed, but I still teared up. This author has found a new fan with me. Also, that cover, stunning!

This would make a great Rom-Com movie and I would love to see this on the big screen. Unfortunately, Hollywood always takes a great book and destroys it.

Thank you NetGalley, Gallery Books and author Julia Sonneborn for a free advanced e-book copy for an honest review

I adored this modern adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion. The writing is lovely and the story is well-paced. The characters had depth, with just enough sass for modern-day. Sonneborn did a fantastic job and I can't wait to read more by her.

Bookworm that I am I adored this book! The mere mention of being in a library and attempting to publish a book made me giddy because those are major interests of mine. But we're here about the book so I'll cease my fangirling on that particular note anyway.

This is the story of college sweethearts Adam Martinez and Anne Corey. The gooden couple up until graduation day this duo split on less than happy terms to persue different careers and different schools. Fastforward a few years and they meet again. Anne with the hard realization that maybe she shouldnt have doubted her relationship with Adam. And Adam well we're not sure what he's realized. Anne is the open unpublished book (pun intended). Amidst recalling their entwined past a new man rides into Anne's life and sweeps her off her feet thus making this delightful novel a bit more topsy turvy.

The story was cute but the big seller for me were the characters my favorite being Larry and once you read the novel you'll see why. So on that note get reading would ya!

I enjoyed reading this book. I liked the main character, Anne. Her story is about her lost love after a serious relationship in college with Adam. Things didn't work out and they parted ways not knowing what the other's life turned out to be. Until......fate? brings them back together years later. I was drawn into the story right away even though I was fairly certain how it was going to end, it was entertaining getting to that end. I received a kindle copy from netgalley in exchange for my honest review. TY

Sadly I didn’t care for this book. I found myself thumbing through trying to see if the story would ever become relatable for me. I don’t think it was poorly written it just didn’t gel with me

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Like the book summary states, the novel is based on <i>Persuasion</i> and my knowledge of the novel extends to the mini-series with Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones.

Reading the book without reading Austen's novel made me enjoy what I was reading.

As a character, I love Anne. She has the burden of tenure, family, and dealing with student loans. She wants to provide the best for her students. She spends time researching for her book (to be honest, I loved these parts). As a former English Masters student myself, she is living the dream.

Her best friend Larry was one of my favorites because of his similarities to my undergrad mentor. He was a good foil to Anne and her almost "emotionless" stance on love. Side note: I love how Anne almost contradicts herself-- she's seen as being cold at love while being ready to commit to Rick and acknowledging her attraction to Alex in college.

There were a few plot twists I didn't expect and others I expected. There's definitely no way Alex called beat "half agony, half hope," but damn he tried.

One of the things that bugged me was Anne's immediate response to defending Rick. She was undying loyal and that irritated me. However, with Rick, he irritated me beyond belief. He was smug and dismissive towards Anne and treated her like shit whenever they talked. By the time, he hit his point, I was more than happy to see him gone.

<i>By the Book</i> is those for a romantic book with a happy ending. The professor storyline and clever meta acknowledgement of <i>Persuasion</i> makes everything more fun.

First off this cover is absolutely gorgeous. It absolutely pulled me into wanting to find out more about the book. What sealed the deal was it was described as a modern re-telling of Jane Austen's Persuasion. So how could I not want to read it?!

The book is about an English professor named Anne working on getting tenure and guess who happens to become the new president of the college she works at, her ex-fiance. Duhn duhn duuuuuuhn. The position she is working toward is very coveted so she has to write a book and have it sell in order to secure her permanent position. Definitely does not seem simple and I seriously feel for her.

Anne as a character is really admirable. She just wants to secure her position and get her head above water. She has so much on her plate, she definitely deserves tenure.

The romance part of this book should have definitely been left out. I would have just loved to see Anne working through her struggles in life. But for a modern re-telling of a classic, this book was pretty good.

I'm a big fan of contemporary retellings of Jane Austen's works and have read some great and not-so-great ones. BY THE BOOK is definitely one of the better ones I've read. I am always so impressed when a debut author creates a novel that feels like they've been writing for years, and that's how I felt about Julia Sonneborn's writing. Plus, she managed to take a novel like PERSUASION, and yet create a thoroughly new story, keeping the basics of the plot. There was a lot of humor, as well, though more overt than Austen's would be; but that goes with the contemporary aspect of this novel. The campus setting was perfect, and it was enjoyable to read about the life of academics (publish or perish, gossip, drama, student behavior etc.). As the author states in her acknowledgements: "This novel is a love letter to books...and book lovers." I felt that love as a reader, and look forward to recommending this book to my patrons (and peers) who I know will enjoy it, too! Thanks for sharing this great story!

I received an ARC of By The Book from NetGalley: ***3.5 Stars***.

First off, I’ve never read Persuasion. I know all about the obsessive nature of Jane Austen’s fans—their fierce love of her books and characters—but I’m not one. I’ve read Pride and Prejudice and (shocker) didn’t care for it or its characters.

Sue me.

That said, I didn’t choose to read By The Book chosen for its connection to Austen, but rather because the cover looked exquisite and I was intrigued by the story—its similarity to Persuasion being completely irrelevant.

Briefly, this is a story about two ex-lovers reconnected via chance, or so we’re led to believe. There’s plenty of miscommunication, extended scenes of tortured longing, and hyperbolic affection to be found in this one.

I was less interested in Adam and Anne than I was I Larry. Larry could’ve had the book all to himself and I would’ve been happy: he was the perfect blend of humor, heart, and real. Without him I’m not sure this book would’ve been half as entertaining.

Adam and Anne’s story seemed to take too long to play out. I kept waiting for them to connect, but they continually stayed in separate chapters, of completely different books, for far longer than seemed necessary.

Rick was the quintessential narcissistic a-hole. However, his cat and mouse act wasn’t easy to parse out until much later. Clever, but effective in making sure the main characters stayed oblivious of each other.

Overall, it was an good story, with likable characters, and a decent story.

This is another one of those reviews where it is impossible for me to be unbias. I love Jane Austen! I've read every novel written by her, every novella, and even her lesser-known works. I've read Austen fanfiction and a ton of the variations that have been written for Pride and Prejudice. You could say I'm a fan. So, when I saw that a book based on Persuasion (my favorite of Austen's books) was available on NetGalley, I had to have it (Thank god I was approved!). By The Book by Julia Sonneborn did not disappoint.

Synopsis:

As an English professor in California, Anne Corey is 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 hot new 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.

For fellow Austenites, Anne Eliot is Anne Corey and Captain Wentworth is Adam Martinez. 

For everyone else, you will fall in love with Anne and her journey. We see her trying to get tenure, taking care of her sick father, laughing with her best friend, and possibly falling in love. I laughed with her, cried with her, and rooted for her through most of this book. As with any good Austen-like book, there are misunderstandings, lack of communication, lots of assumptions, but ultimately a happy ending. If you don't like your books with happy endings (what is wrong with you?!), then this book is not for you.

There are clearly a lot of differences from the original. This takes place in modern times in a college town. Anne has a job, a cat, makes her own money, and is not considered a spinster because she isn't married. She doesn't start off as the strongest person, but that changes as the story goes on and she is much stronger than Jane Austen's Anne Eliot. The one big change from the original was that Anne's family aren't complete assholes. In Austen's version, The Eliot's (minus Anne) are the least sympathetic characters in the whole book. In By The Book, Anne's father is sick and in an assisted living center where he has two girlfriends. He may not be the most caring parent, but I came to care for him as much as I did Anne. I wouldn't have cried during a scene between the father and daughter if I didn't feel connected to him in some way. Bravo, Julia Sonneborn! Great authorial choice. Anne's sister, Lauren is also much more sympathetic than in Austen's book, although she doesn't start off that way. She begins the book coming off as entitled, conceded, and a bit full of herself. But the two sisters bond about halfway through the book and really begin to take care of each other for possibly the first time in their adult lives. It is lovely and refreshing to see these two characters put their differences behind them and move forward.

Now that we've talked through her family, let's talk about a few of the men in Anne's life. I know you're thinking, "ugh, why?!" But by seeing the people that make up Anne's life (besides her family), we get to know Anne a little better as well.

Let's start with Larry. My favorite! He is Anne's balding, slightly chubby, fellow-professor friend. He is delightful. He enters into an affair with much younger, married movie star and falls deeply in love with him. Anne is there to hear all the trials and tribulations of the tumultuous relationship (Larry ends up in the tabloids!) and Larry is there to provide Anne with a buddy through the boredom that can come with teacher meetings, alumni fundraisers, and graduation ceremonies. He keeps Anne up on the gossip on campus and in Hollywood. While he is the epitome of the "gay best friend" trope, he has his own storyline as well. It's not as extensive as Anne's but it is there. And it is scandalous and wonderful. He is just so fun to read, even in his sorrow.

Okay, now on to the college president, Adam Martinez. He is a first-generation American and has known Anne since their college days. He is smart, loving, and takes his new position very seriously. He is a definite charmer. You probably have to be a little bit to be a college president where you have to ask people to give you money for the school. But because the book is from Anne's point of view, we don't really get to see thing from Adam's point of view. He comes off a bit mysterious until about the last third of the book. He is in a good number of her scenes as they seem to bump into each other a lot, but you never really know what he's thinking. If you don't know the story of Persuasion, you will not be sure whether he is good or bad.

Now for some critique (*gasp* I know!) Despite my love for Austen and any homage to her, there's one thing I think could have been done better: the backstory of Anne and Adam's relationship. They are together in college, Adam even proposes, but they ultimately break up the day before graduation. The reason for their breakup is something I am still not entirely sure about. It seemed to almost come out of nowhere and with no real reason given. Maybe that was the point. To show how they weren't quite ready for a serious, adult relationship at that time in their lives, but if that was the case, I think it should have been more explicit. They argue, but I never felt the tension or heat of their fight get to the point that a breakup made sense. All of a sudden, Anne takes off her engagement ring and their done. Having a more concrete reason for their breakup would have given the reader a better understanding of just how impactful it was for them to see each other again. I needed a little bit more.

Overall, this was my kind of book. Good character development and a slow-burn romance. Sign me up for all of that. It took just enough from Persuasion for me to recognize it but not too much that it just seems like a copycat. All the characters seem like people you would meet in real life on a college campus. They all have their own idiosyncrasies, passions, and problems, and then are put in situations that make it all interesting for the reader. Anne Corey is the prime example. If I wasn't already done with school, I would jump at the chance to have her teach me about 19th-century women writers. Sonneborn really created a 21st-century version of what one of Austen's heroines would be like today. It is quite well done. I give By the Book 4 out of 5 stars.

By the Book by Julia Sonneborn comes out February 6th, 2018

Thank you, NetGalley and Gallery Books for this free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Julia Sonneborn tells an entertaining, modern version of Jane Austen's classic Persuasion in By the Book. While I typically love the creativity involved in such retellings, my personal opinion-- as an adoring fan of Persuasion-- is that Sonneborn went a bit too far in changing the ultimate premise of the story. Sonneborn's development of most of the characters was masterful and spot-on. Her interpretation of both Anne and Adam, however, left me frustrated. The best parts of Persuasion were missing. In the modern novel, Anne breaks off her engagement with Adam after a conversation with a mostly unlikeable professor whom Anne admires. The fact that the original Anne took the advice of a much more established mother figure in Austen's version make it infinitely more believable and gut-wrenching. Similarly, Captain Wentworth's slow realization of Anne's true worth is the most beautiful and central storyline in Persuasion. I ended the novel not quite sure who did any persuading, or whom was persuaded to do anything. Again, I realize that others may chalk these complaints up to artistic license, and they would be correct. I would simply argue that too much license was taken, and resulted in an entirely different story.

Billed as a modern look at Jane Austin's Persuasion, the lead character, Anne, was possibly a Lit snob. A typical thirty something with enormous student debt, needing a book deal to secure tenure. Of course her book is on 19th century women authors. 

In the book she is about as scatterbrained as most professors and although she has her PHD, why is it that the Jane Austen types are always so intelligent except for men. They are continually languishing over some troubled and large and unavailable men. This is rather a sore point with me. 

How can you be so smart and fall into bed with someone you just met? Knowing absolutely nothing about them?

Along with her best friend/mentor, Larry, who is not only gay but was almost a cliched stereotype. And there's the new Author in Residence who is my idea of a horrible author and person. It was difficult to like any of them but at least Larry made me laugh the entire time!

This will be released on February 06, 2018   Netgalley/SimonandSchuster

Writing: 4 Plot: 3 Characters: 4

Modern chick lit version of Jane Austen’s Persuasion complete with posh lifestyles of the rich and famous (Hollywood style) merged with the not-so-posh lifestyles of the poor and academic. A gay, “best bud” professor sidekick adds both pathos and comic relief. Fun, well written, a little obvious as chick lit tends to be, but nice and satisfying.

I enjoyed the fact that the heroine is a professor of English literature at a small liberal arts college and that the book didn’t shy away from lauding her (somewhat arcane) passions for women writers of the 19th century, also providing some entertaining and realistic classroom scenes with today’s undergraduates. The story veered away from Austen’s Persuasion quite a bit, and I feel that the primary point of Persuasion - that the heroine had allowed herself to be persuaded away from what she believed to be the right path forward when she was first engaged to the hero - was kind of lost. There was also a line that bothered me - a character in the novel blows off Austen as just “old-fashioned chick lit” to which our heroine replies “so what?”. Austen is a lot more than “old-fashioned chick lit” and it would have been nice for our professorial heroine to elaborate on that theme for at least a paragraph! However - bottom line - a fun read, with some good LOLs and plenty of likable characters.

“‘It’s like something out of a dream.’
‘No,’ I said, smiling into his eyes. ‘It’s like something out of a book.’”

I am pretty much always down for a retelling, and particularly a retelling of classic lit by one of my fav women: Jane Austen. She and the Brontës are pretty much my “lady writers of history” goals. I realize that’s a very specific category. I have lots of lady goals. Regardless, this book is right up my alley and I jumped at the chance to receive a ARC. Also, this is the time of year that I am always looking for a little bit of a feel-good read, something that makes you feel warm and fuzzy and isn’t overly intense. So for many reasons, this was the right book at the right time.

To be perfectly honest, Persuasion, is one of Austen’s books that I know the least about. Just…I haven’t read it as much as some of the others and I haven’t seen the most recent movie adaptation, so the story isn’t fresh in my mind from something like that either. However, I know the gist of the story, and that was definitely enough. By the Book has all the same basic traits as the original, a second chance love story and secondary (current day) suitors who threaten to keep our main couple apart (despite the reader knowing that they should still be together!). This retelling also had some really fun additional characters and story lines, like the unlucky in love gay best friend and a fun pop culture vampire Jane Eyre retelling/movie (but seriously, can that be real, please??). Also, the whole thing took place at a university and our main character, Anne, is an English professor writing a novel about love interests for famous classic women writers. Honestly, she’s living my best life: books and libraries every day!

There was definitely lots to love about this novel. It does a great job taking pieces of the original and spinning them into something similar, but unique. And the modern-day updates to the story are handled nicely. The “string the reader along” pacing of the story was on point. So many times you’d think it would be about happen for our “meant to be” lovers, but then something would come up and we’d be disappointed once again! But it was all written smoothly enough that you couldn’t entirely lose hope. And it just really built up the tension and expectation, so that what we finally get our denouement it’s perfectly fulfilling. Some of the little details, like the mirroring of the proposals, are super sweet and just made me smile so much. I do wish we had seen a little more of Adam (the second chance guy), but that’s not in the cards for this story line. I get that. And of course, we do get more of his perspective than we ever usually get in the originals, so I shouldn’t complain. I’m just greedy for more adorable love story sappy right now.

The one criticism that I have is that, and I find that this is often an issue with retellings, there is a little too much reliance on the reader knowing the original story. I can’t put my finger on what any of it is exactly, but for some reason, there are a few moments where explanations seem rushed or details fall through, but it’s kind of just assumed that since the storyline is, in essence, already known, that takes care of these little breakdowns. Maybe that’s not a retelling issue and instead it’s just a “not quite polished and any book can have those problems” issue, but I think it’s particularly common in retellings. Also, and this is a small thing, I think Anne’s intermediary love interest was, perhaps, a little too much…in all senses of the word. He was just written to an extreme from all angles, both the good and the bad, that made it slightly too much. All in all, this is definitely the light-hearted, happy ending, classic lit nostalgia that I was looking forward. An uplifting and cozy end of the year winter read. Very satisfying.

As stated in the Acknowledgments of this book, “This novel is a love letter to books, but it is also a love letter to book lovers.” I cannot think of a better way to describe this book. Filled with wonderful tributes to classic authors such as Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters, this book is sure to light your classic literature fires. From all the talk of the classic books, dream libraries, and first edition copies of books, I just wanted to curl up and keep reading forever. This is truly a book lover’s book.

I have read Persuasion by Jane Austen, but I couldn’t remember it real well to give a complete comparison to this book but it definitely had a similar feel and I think this retelling was really well done. Persuasion by Jane Austen was a very prominent part in this book as well, it felt like a true tribute.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was a nice light happy read and made me want to go out and read a lot more classics!


*I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher. A positive review was not required. All opinions are my own.*

I love contemporary stories that parallel classic authors, namely Jane Austen. I thought this was an adorable story with all of the elements one would expect to find in an Austen-esque retelling. I will be recommending it to my fellow Austen fans.

I devoured By the Book in a weekend! The setting was wonderful (I could picture the campus and the wonderful old houses), and Anne was a character I could imagine meeting for coffee. (Wine with her and Larry would be a hoot!) This would be a fun book club book--I suspect the conversation about Rick vs. Adam would be pretty lively. I would definitely read Ms. Sonneborn's next book!

Did not find this story interesting enough to finish. Sorry.