Never take yourself too seriously. Should be or could be the mantra of Jude Deveraux beloved by her myriad of fans which absolutely includes me. Haven’t met/read a Jude Deveraux work of literary art that I haven’t fallen madly in love with. She is one of those authors whose books get dog-eared from multiple visits. Her genres include time travel to romcom. And references to classics will make you sigh remembering all the moments that you spent with them.

So in THE GIRL FROM SUMMER HILL we meet with a group of wannabe actors and actresses mixed in with a couple of seriously famous ones who are putting on a version of Pride and Prejudice to stir up new interest in Summer Hill which has been losing in the battle for tourism and business. Small towns need their businesses to have the ability to survive from within. Shoppers taking their business to larger towns certainly hurt the towns’ bottom line.

So Jack and his friend Tate are in Summer Hill to help with the production. Learning to live like normal folk is going to be a challenge. These two men are genuinely nice but just used to being in the eye of adoring fans. Especially women. Now in Summer Hill they are probably going to have to adapt to being shall we say normal.

Normal in Summer Hill is sort of an oxymoron. With Jude Deveraux’s creative sense the community is filled with characters. An homage to character development and devotion. Taggert. Conjures up all sorts of delicious memories. Small reference to a family that brought amazing joy and entertainment to Jude Deveraux horde of devoted fans.

Casey is an amazing chef entrenched in the world of this production being used to help the community and finances of some deserving organizations. Definitely an outsider to the world of performance. But somehow Casey finds herself face to face on a somewhat daily basis with the resident heartthrob Tate. She is to play Elizabeth to Tate Lander’s Darcy.

THE GIRL FROM SUMMER HILL has been written like a classic novel set in current times. Each chapter sets a new scene. The dialog is crisp and clean and clearly written to entertain. Don’t be surprised if you suddenly get the urge to laugh aloud. Jude Deveraux has upped the ante with this novel. It is bright, brilliant, engaging, fun, sassy, and relevant. Totally expected from one of the best. When Jude Deveraux starts describing the movie Tate and Jack are currently working a huge smile broke out on my face. Fans are so going to get a kick out of this not too very subtle reference to one of my favorite time travel novels of hers. Again genius and a huge thanks for this one.

Shopping against the walls instead of the middle in a grocery store. Do you get it. Some of Casey’s pearls of wisdom, courtesy of the inimitable Jude Deveraux. So THE GIRL FROM SUMMER HILL is basically a reenactment of Pride and Prejudice Jude Deveraux style. This enigmatic writer puts the classic in current times through subtle shifts in dialog, characterization, references, and sensitivity. Fans of the original will love spending time with newly created characters playing the parts of some of the most recognized original ones. Be prepared to absolutely fall in love with this new cast, many who steal every scene they appear in.

There are a handful of POVs right off the bat and it made it harder to get to know any of the characters right when we started. As the book went on it became easier but there was a bit of a learning curve right up front. This felt a little on the nose since it was a Pride in Prejudice play inside a Pride and Prejudice retelling so it was kind of clear where we were going. I felt like she was unnecessarily rude to Tate right off the bat. It fits but also, that's the love of your life you're being really dismissive to. Thank you to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Small town, contemporary setting dealing with family, relationships, and a twist on Pride and Prejudice.

I love Pride and Prejudice so much that I try to feed my fix by not only re-reading it 1000x times, but by also searching out PnP retellings and reading them. *shakes head*
So, this was actually one of the good PnP retellings that I've read in the past few years. It was a refreshing modern take set in a small town backdrop. The book focuses not only on the main characters - Casey and Tate, but also on the supporting characters too. The romance between them was super cute. I loved watching the hate turn to attraction. And it looks like there might be a sequel too! Squee!

Really liked this book. Interesting characters and good story flow. Hard to put down. Liked the conflict between characters and the entertaining banter. Concept book based around Pride and Prejudice was very creative. Would recommend this read!

Think Pride and Prejudice in a modern day setting and you will be prepared to read this first book in the Summer Hill series by Jude Deveraux. Throw in a peacock, a town full of quirky but loveable characters, a charmingly deceptive villain and you have the makings for a great story.

Casey is a chef who is living in an old home for the summer. She has just left a job under duress and is looking for some time to regroup. Her first encounter with Tate, who is an actor in town to help out a friend with a community theater production, is quite humorous. They start off on the wrong foot and try to deny their obvious chemistry. How they come around to accepting each other in spite of themselves is the basis of the book.

As the story progresses, secrets from the past are uncovered and deceptions fall apart. Memories are stirred up which all play a part in the plot. The characters are well-developed and I suspect we will see them in cameo roles in future books in this series.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to another visit to Summer Hill.

This book features Casey Reddick and Tate Landers, a chef and an actor. Casey seems determined not to like Tate, but he somehow worms his way into her heart. These two clash as their story and feelings develop. Interesting characters and a fun storyline made this one a book to enjoy.

I love Pride &Prejudice and Jude Devereaux ingeniously wrote a story of modern characters who parallel the story line of Jane Austin's classic. From the very beginning, I laughed, smiled and enjoyed the characters development as if I was reading the witty classic. I have read a few books from authors who tried to encompass Litzy and Darcy's romance, but it could never tickle my interest, but this one has. Thank you Net Galley

Pride and Prejudice against a backdrop of…Pride and Prejudice. And it works. This is the first in a new series by Jude Deveraux, and it was a fun read. Light, with interesting characters against the backdrop of a local production of P&P, but with a cast that includes a famous actor with ties to the area. It’s a bit of a rom-com - action movie mega-star and a chef cute-meet in a most embarrassing way. Mis-communications abound. Bad guy keeps throwing monkey wrenches into the budding relationship. In the end, true love prevails. There’s a character or two from previous Deveraux series - I seem to be reading Ms Deveraux “backwards” - one of these days I should really buckle down and start at the beginning and see the origins of these characters I keep seeing in her newer books. And since I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read, those older books are moving up on my TBR list.

Since Jane Austen wrote only so many books, Jude Deveraux has stepped in nicely with this re-imagining of Pride & Prejudice set in a small Virginia town. This 21st century take on Elizabeth & Darcy is a great addition to the genre with good writing and likable characters, except the ones who are not meant to be likable! An enjoyable "comfort read" especially knowing this is the first in a trilogy.

Having never read Pride & Prejudice this story was especially interesting. I enjoyed it sincerely. Jude Deveraux is an eloquent writer. Lots of drama and laughs abound!

This addition to Jude Deveraux's works is a great beach read--light, funny, and 'happily ever after'. Though characters cross over from other works, this book can be a stand alone read.