As a book lover myself, "By the Book" drew me in from the first page and kept me entertained until the satisfying ending. It was a quick, fun read with an engaging story and likable characters. I've never read Jane Austin's "Persuasion" so I can't comment on the modern-retelling aspect of this book. I do wish there had been more romance in the book between Anne and the two men in her life. I still recommend it to others, though. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review. LOVE the cover of the book! Well done!

I cried, I laughed, I giggled and I was anxious to find out what would happen next. Even though it was a retelling of Persuasion, not everything was foreseeable and I loved to find out what would happen next and believe me, I enjoyed every single page in this book. This is definitely a book that I will also buy in print in addition to the ebook because I simply loved it.



It was fun, it was modern and it wasn't afraid to touch rather sensitive issues like the fact of someone being successful despite initially being an undocumented citizen as well as affairs, the loss of loved ones, plagiarism and the choices in life that we make due to love.

A wide range of subjects to think about, a wonderful retelling of one of my favorite stories (by the way, guess which book is the favorite book of our heroine?) and, of course, books. It's not just about love and people, even though they make up a big part of the story, of course, but it is also about books and the love for books and words.


I loved to see how Anne and Adam's paths crossed again and again and even though they seemed to have moved on you felt (well, and knew of course, I mean, it is a retelling of Persuasion, right?) that there still were some feelings left and hoped for those feelings to blossom. Soon.
The end was, well, on the one hand, it was a bit sudden but on the other hand, all of it had been at least thirteen years in the making, so I didn't really think about it being too soon but just took out my hankie and cried a little bit because it was so beautiful (and I might be a bit sentimental and of course, it was this irresistible combination of books and love - who wouldn't cry?).


Oh, and I loved those amazing characters. Be it Larry or Jack (oh, my... Jack and his questions concerning Jane Eyre almost killed me... ), Anne, Pam, Tiffany or any of the others - they were great, vivacious and I could totally imagine them when I was reading about them. What I loved about Adam was that he reminded me a lot of the original Captain Wentworth with his rather aloof manner. You can guess, you think you know what he feels but you never really know because he is always a bit distant and bit reserved - at least that's what it looks like on the outside.


An amazing book that made me google things like "Jane Vampire", half expecting to find a movie in the making and checking out the works of e.e.cummings as well as those of nineteenth-century women writers and - well, the emojis in my messenger. I mean, who knows when a combination like 🌭 and ✂️ might come in handy....

Choices have consequences. Anne Corey is an expert at that. When she wanted to pursue a teaching career instead of the Law path her father wanted for her, Anne found she was on her own financially and is now drowning in a sea of educational debt. When she and college fiancé broke-up, she vowed she’d find love again no matter how shattered and destroyed her heart was. And now she’s dating a hot new writer in residence at the college where she teaches and really knows nothing about him except what he’s told her.

Add in to that mix the necessary need to publish or perish – in Anne’s case gaining tenure and job security so she pay off her mountain of debt – and the fact her ex fiancé is now her new college president, and Anne’s new semester can’t get off to a worse start.

Add in a friend who’s following his heart down the wrong road, an ailing father who’s brain is slowly deteriorating, and a sister who’s never been the understanding one, and Anne’s semester just got worse.

This was a charming little book and I was intrigued from the first few pages. Miscommunication, outright lies, and stubbornness play major factors in Anne’s struggle to maintain her dignity, independence, desire to teach AND find love.
While not a traditional romance (it falls more along the lines of a woman’s fiction book, I feel) the book did have a nice resolution.

I was given an ARC of this book from Netgalley for an honest review and opinion.
Nice job.

I loved this modern take on my favorite Austen novel. It wasn’t too on the nose with the adaptation; there were enough differences to make it fresh.

I love Persuasion so I was so excited when I read from the description that this is a modern retelling of the story. It really wasn't. It had the very bones of the story but there was too much romance. There wasn't enough about Anne finding herself. You know who she really going to end up with at the end but I didn't know what was keeping the OTP apart. Still the book is well told and is a fast read.

Publish or perish. Those words are everything in the halls of academia and Anne Corey knows that if she wants to get tenure at her college, she needs to write a book and get it published, the sooner the better. If only it was that easy. Her life is further complicated when she learns the new president of her college is none other than Adam Martinez, ex fiance and love of her life. Anne has already begun a serious “friendship” with the college’s writer-in-residence, Rick and she has no intention of rekindling the flame with Adam. The ending of this story is pretty much a foregone conclusion, but it was hard to feel any real heat, or even warmth from Anne and Adam’s encounters. The real strength of this book was Anne herself, I liked her and how she grew through the story, but I wish she had kicked both men to the curb