"Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review."

Loved this book very much. It had just enough sweet romance and the storyline was great! I highly recommend!

Wow what a wonderful emotional and captivating story

This is the first Jenny Holiday book I‘ve read and I am in love with her writing style. From the very first page it felt like I was right there in Bishop‘s Glen with Adam Elliot of Kellynch.

As Adam and Freddie‘s story anfolds my heart broke for both of them and made me tear up a quite a few times.

I loved that the little flashbacks into their past were nice and short, so the pace of the present storyline didn‘t feel interupted.

Adam is such a sweet and gentle soul and Freddie is so caring, I instantly stole a piece of my heart.

If Freddie hat known that actually having your heart invested in someone could make touching them feel like this, maybe he would have tried to fall in love sooner.

There was no again. There was only still. Always.

5-page-turning-stars

Sorry but I was forced to DNF this title, as it was rather boring. I couldn't see any spark between the leads and there were too many side characters that weren't interesting enough. When I got to the point where a supporting character jumped into a lake, I decided I could take no more and would jump ship.

I have to admit that I was a little confused by this novel to begin with. Having got a copy from Netgalley, I assumed that it was a new title. Something just didn't seem right though, there were no mobile phones, computers or modern technology. The main character, detective novelist Mel seemed older than 45. I soon found out that this was a reissue of a book from 1990 and suddenly everything made sense. Once I'd placed it in a time frame, it was much easier to get into and enjoy.

This is a character-led novel that moves at a gentle pace. Although it's described as a cosy murder mystery, I felt that it had more depth than much of the books in this genre. There weren't the cliched animal companions or silliness disguised as humour that often pops up in similar books. Personally, I'd call it a classic mystery.

I really enjoyed this read and am looking forward to getting into the next in the series. I didn't manage to solve this until almost the very end. The solution itself worked well which is always a good sign. If you enjoy gently paced mystery novels then this may well be for you.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

i mean, it's a truth universally acknowledged that if someone is writing a jane austen retelling, i'm going to read it, right? and undue influence retells one of my absolute favorite of jane's stories, persuasion. while this is not the first persuasion retelling i've ever read, it's the first that switches up the genders and has two heroes as romantic leads.

even though it's moved to a contemporary setting, a lot of the socioeconomic commentary in austen's original story come into play here. freddy wentworth is the boy from the wrong side of the tracks who everyone thought would burn out. but after a nearly decade away from bishop's glen, he's back in town after his sister buys the kellynch winery away from the elliot family.

even if adam elliot hadn't broken his heart all those years ago, freddy would be wary of being back in bishop's glen, but re-encountering adam has him all tied up in knots. this tied-up feeling goes both ways, because adam has a lot of baggage and regret holding him back.

if you know persuasion then you know how this story goes, and the author maps the characters and action to the original, while still making this story her own. not every austen adaptation knocks it out of the park, but this one does a very good job of being utterly enjoyable.

**undue influence will publish on september 4, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/jenny holiday in exchange for my honest review.

The answers to life questions aren't always as easy they would seem. Love is love. What happens when love for family (and friends) collides with true romantic love of the heart-- finding 'the one'? How do you reconcile the influence others force on you at the risk of your own happiness?

Author Jenny Holiday explores this through her modern retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion as a M/M romance novel. I have not read Austen's original work, so I had no comparison or expectations reading Undue Influence. I found Holiday's book to be a rather bittersweet view of love and life.

The bottom line: live life on your own terms, without pride or regret. Of course, getting there is a rocky and uncertain journey.

I love the perfect imperfection of all the characters here. Particularly, I loved the depth and layers of Adam and Freddy, that go far beyond the simple description of them in the synopsis. They are two very complicated people-- judged and tossed about by societal expectations.

I thought the 'then and now' technique of story-telling worked really well here. It felt very natural as the story unfolds, both in real time experience and at times, painful remembrance as it is slowly revealed to the reader. The real bonds between people have deep roots in the heart that cannot be killed by other people.

Rich or poor-- a life that is simple or complex-- these are incidental inconveniences that tend to color and muddy the experience of true love. Holiday brings this all beautifully to life in Undue Influence. If you are a student of life, like I am, this book really makes you think and reflect on the importance of life's journey.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

PERSUASION is my favourite Austen so when I saw this modern retelling, with an m/m update, was for request, I did some flailing and then prayed to the NG gods for approval. It could be that my hopes were way too high but nonetheless I had those hopes.

"<i>It is a truth universally acknowledged, that--</i>"
"<b>Oh, fuck off.</b>"

UNDUE INFLUENCE really shines when it comes to the romance. And also with certain modern updates ala Mrs Russell becoming Rusty the drag queen, Freddy working his way up from dishwasher to rich and famous restaurant owner with his own Food Network show, stuff like that. Where this retelling fell apart for me, or just didn't work, were the constant 'if this were a <i>Masterpiece Theatre</i> show' comments -- we already know it's a retelling/homage and some of that was laid on a little thick -- as well as some of the other bits taken rather directly from the story, ie, the scene where this version's Lulu jumps into the lake for attention and hits her head. But worst of all was Rusty's reasons for persuading Adam to dump Freddy which felt thin and awful for no reason (his eventual reasoning didn't work for me and the constant bitching about not going to university just pissed me off). Infact, full stop, his character in particular just didn't work for me and I know he's meant to be the well-meaning villain of the piece but.. I just feel the awesome of the drag queen mentor, the only friend Adam really had, could have been used as less of a browbeater and more of a subtle influence. It might have felt less awful.

<i>All good behaviour had done all these years was make him miserable.</i>

So, yes, I struggled a bit with Rusty, obviously, as well as the characters of Adam's mother and sister, snobby wannabe-rich ladies who run the family vineyard into the ground after the father dies, and I so wish bestfriend Ben had been fleshed out more. But when the focus was on the relationship, both present day and in flashbacks, I loved it. I loved Adam and the changes Holiday made in his character from the original, I loved Freddy fullstop. He actually felt truest to his original and I was so fine with that.

<i>What did you become if you were of a place and you lost that place?</i>

I would probably recommend this more as a sweet or cutesy m/m romance as opposed to those who loved PERSUASION. But if either of those interest you, the way they do me, I would say give it a try. I just wanted something a little more.

Okay. So. I read and absolutely hardcore loved One and Only & It Takes Two. So much that I got a hold of her other books and I signed up for her newsletter so I could keep up to date with her new releases. I think it was in her newsletter that I first heard about this one and I almost squealed in excitement. Persuasion retelling? Sign me the shit up, seriously. Dead. I adore Austen retellings. She warned that it wasn’t her usual kind of book, not a rom com and no sexy times. I was a bit bummed because I adored the two books of hers I’d read... Now, honestly, I have no idea if she mentioned it was M/M and I just missed it, or she didn’t mention it. Either way, I obsessively checked netgalley and then it was up there so I requested it. Woo. Again, I didn’t notice that it was M/M or tagged as LGBTQIA on netgalley.

Then my best reading friend said – uh, did you know this was M/M? Record scratch… nope, I didn’t. I have nothing against M/M it’s just not my personal reading jam. I’ve never read one, so you might say how would I know, but I like what I read and read what I like.

So I kind of hoped that netgalley would decline me (rude, I know) so then I wouldn’t have to decide to read it or not myself. I know, I’m rude and a big baby. Doesn’t matter because clearly it was approved. See, the reason I didn’t want to read it was because I don’t understand people reading things they know they won’t like. That’s stupid, pointless and a waste of everyone’s time. Plus, because you know you won’t like it, you’re going into this book wanting to hate it, wanting to rate it low – which is unfair to the author. I didn’t want to do that to Jeny Holiday (or any author).

Ultimately that’s what made me decide to read it (I know netgalley has the option to ‘not leave feedback’ now but I didn’t want to do that), the fact that I like Jenny Holiday’s books and I *love* Austen retellings. P&P and Persuasion are my favourites because they translate so freaking well to modern adaptions. The thing is, when reading an Austen retelling, specifically Persuasion, I don’t treat it like any other book. If it wasn’t a Persuasion retelling, I’d get annoyed with the Anne character and her family. But I don’t, because that’s how the characters were in Austen’s book and all of that is important to the story. If Anne wasn’t easily persuaded, if her family weren’t so annoying, uh the story wouldn’t exist. So if you’re not a Persuasion fan, I feel like those things might annoy you. I don’t think you need to read Persuasion to enjoy this, but if easily persuaded characters and annoying family members are things that make you dislike a book, you won’t like any Persuasion retelling. But obviously I am a Persuasion fan so they work well for me.

So anyway – get to the point. I actually liked this. I’m not surprised, I love Jenny Holiday’s writing and I love Persuasion. The only thing in this that I was worried about not liking was the M/M part. But because of the writing and the story, it all flowed really well and I thought it was super adorable. The end was cute. I don’t think I will continue reading M/M (again, personal choice) but I think this was the perfect first one for me and I do recommend it.

The title on the cover clearly mentions that this book is a retelling of Persuasion and also an m/m romance. I actually don't remember much about the last Austen novel, so I will not be able to compare or give any idea about how close this book stays to the original. However, this is still a fun romance novel and not remembering the origin story didn't hamper my enjoyment.

After his dad's death, Adam tried very hard to keep the family's Kellynch vineyard afloat but there was nothing he could do amidst his mother and sister's excessive spending. After it's auction, all he wants to do is lead is quiet life in the small town of Bishop's Glen but Freddy's return brings all the turmoil in his heart to the forefront. Freddy is sure that he hates the town and Adam for breaking his heart, but seeing him again is like a jolt to his heart and he is not content anymore in the life that he has built for himself in the past eight years.

This is a dual perspective story told in two timelines. The story eight years ago starts off with Adam and Freddy's first meeting and it's beautiful to watch the progression. Their friendship develops slowly, with sweet smiles and long silent walks and they are just so adorable. Adam is a little naive and is very exhilirated by all the new feelings whereas Freddy has never had his heart involved before. They are both very kind and considerate towards each other even though Freddy never shows that side of him to anybody. The development of their romance is just so organic and it felt perfect and when they finally separated, it just about broke my heart.

The present timeline has Adam coming to terms with the fact that he still regrets his decision for pushing Freddy away and tries to squash his hopes for a second chance. Freddy doesn't want to do go through it all again but he can't keep his thoughts about Adam away. It's so obvious to us they still have feelings but they find it difficult to communicate. Their little conversations and getting to know the adult versions of eah other is very adorable and sweetly written. The romance is very very slow burn but their relationship is worth it.

Freddy is a wonderful character. Despite his asshole persona, he is actually a very good friend and considerate person and the way he takes care of Adam is just awesome. He is also very driven and passionate and I loved reading from his POV. Adam is a sweet and hardworking guy with very simple pleasures in life (especially readng) and not much expectations. But he is also too much of a pushover and I hated that about him. His insecurities and loneliness drive him to always act to please others without ever considering his own happiness and I just couldn't completely connect to that part of him.

Adam's family are some of the most selfish characters I've ever read and I hated how much they used him or tried to dictate his life. And despite all this, I don't begrudge him for loving them but I do hate that he let them do all that to him. He is also very dependent on his best friend/father figure Rusty because he has always been there for him; but I thought Rusty took undue advantage of that and forced Adam to choose between his love and Rusty's friendship. It's such a shitty thing to do to a 19 year old vulnerable boy and I just couldn't warm up to him. Everything wrapped up too neatly towards the end and I just felt that neither Rusty nor Adam's family ever acknowledged or apologized enough for the harm they did to Adam due to their selfish behavior. 

The romance in this book is adorable and the two MCs are very sweet nice guys but the side characters reallly irritated me and I couldn't enjoy the book as much as I wanted to. It's still a fun and emotional read and I cried a couple of times but I just wish the bad things were adressed more properly. The epilogue is sappy and perfect and a wonderful happy ending. I would definitely recommend this book if you like contemporary Austen retellings or cute m/m romances.

This contemporary re-imagining of Jane Austen's Persuasion was impossible to put down. I will admit, I've never read Persuasion so I checked out the Wikipedia article beforehand. I'm glad I did because I gained a better appreciation for Holiday's story.

Adam (Anne) is the sweetest, most sensitive character, and I loved him. Freddy (Frederick) is also sweet, more so when it comes to Adam. The reader learns piece by piece of the couple's meeting and courtship, and eventual parting. Circumstances throw these two together after years apart, and I was rooting for them with every fiber of my being. Freddy's gentle, caring nature for Adam is so well-written, even the coldest of hearts will defrost. Every page clearly conveys that Adam and Freddy are meant to be together.

Toward the end, I missed Mr. Collins. I wonder what happened to him as he's not mentioned after about halfway through.

Even if you have not read Persuasion, you'll still enjoy this slow burn, second chance love story.