First I will state that I cannot believe this is a debut novel.  I was drawn to this novel first by the cover, I mean seriously how cute is it?? Second, the synopsis is written perfectly to attract any book lover.  

This novel has it all; a beautiful package, sweet romance, subtle scandals, a little drama, and a happily ever after.  Oh, and don't forget the literary references!!  Ms. Sonneborn references Jane Austen to Harry Potter, which I actually squeed over!!  With that, I have to say, I totally pictured Rick to be modeled after Gilderoy Lockhart, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  (I must make sure I give credit there, wink)

This novel is perfect for those who enjoy "Clean" Romances and Chick Lit.  I have already recommended it to several friends.  Had I know how great it was going to be, I would have saved it for my book club group.

I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

I don’t know about you, but I love, LOVE modern adaptations of Jane Austen classics. Is it just me? Seriously, I’m obsessed with them. I can’t get enough! It always astounds me how Austen’s thoughts on women, relationships, romance, and politics can be transferred to today. This is a woman who lived in the 18th century and yet her work lives on today, over two hundred years later AND it is still relevant. By the Book by Julia Sonneborn is a testament to that!

Following the story of a college professor, By the Book is a loose, modern retelling of Austen’s classic Persuasion. Anne Corey thinks she has it all figured out. She’s finally landed a job in Fairfax, a small liberal arts college, and is living her dream, teaching the books she loves. Her own book is finished and sent off to publishers, awaiting replies and hopefully a book deal. She thinks she doesn’t need a man and only occasionally does she think about and miss her college sweetheart and ex-fiancé Adam. Then he shows up as the new President of her college and she becomes consumed with “what ifs.”

Adam is a hard character to read. At one moment, it seems as if he has spent his time pining away for Anne. At others, he’s distant and aloof as though they never shared intimate moments together. Despite all of this, I rooted for him. I found his quiet steadiness refreshing.

While Anne tries to avoid Adam (because even though it’s been years since their breakup the hurt is still fresh), she meets and falls for the college’s new writer in residence Richard Chasen. I honestly couldn’t stand this guy. I wanted to reach through the pages and smack the smug smile from his face. He is SO full of himself, and yet somehow Anne falls for him. As I was reading, it was easy to see why. He’s a smooth talker, and with a few words he was able to persuade Anne to believe in him. Smug *insert bad word here*!

In addition to this main plot, there are several subplots that made the book feel true to life: Anne’s best friend falling for a firmly in-the-closet actor, her father’s failing health, her pursuit for tenure, and her book deal. These added to the story, but in all honesty I would have liked more about Anne and Adam. 75% of the book is about everything but them. The other 20% is their past relationship (which I loved how the author explored Anne’s past through present circumstances), and only 5% actually dealt with the main love interest. Rather disappointing for a contemporary romance.

Overall By the Book exceeded my expectations and is a refreshing adaptation! I highly recommend it for anyone that enjoys Austen and second-chance romances.

By the Book is a loose, modern retelling of Persuasion by Jane Austen, and for the most part, I enjoyed it quite a lot.

There were a lot of insights into professorship tenure track which I find really interesting. I really liked Anne, the heroine. She's a struggling professor who just want to get tenure at the liberal college she teaches at and pay off her college loans. The problem was the path to tenureship isn't as easy as Anne would've liked to be.

For one, she needs to be published before they can even consider giving her tenure. And no one seems interested in the book she's writing.

Two, her ex-fiance, the one who got away, is back and he's now the new president at her college. It threw Anne for a loop because there are still feelings, feelings she doesn't quite know what to do with. Worse still, Adam seems to detest her. And how could he not, she broke it off with him in the first place and their relationship, even their friendship didn't survive her rejection.

Third, her personal life is a mess. Her relationship with her father is still difficult. Anne has long suspect that her father was disappointed in her career of choice and although they never really talked about it, the tension between them coupled with Anne's guilt hovers in the background throughout the book.

All of these elements held my attention throughout. In fact, this book was pleasantly readable. But there are some things that could've been handled better like Anne's obviously gay professor best friend whose romantic entanglements was sort of a side plot in the book and didn't really go anywhere.

But what really disappointed me was the lack of romance. Reading from the blurb, you'd think that the romance would be stronger but it's not. The two main characters, Anne and Adam barely spent time together in the book. They see each other here and there but they never interacted in meaningful ways until the very end. There was no spark or intrigue.

In fact, Anne spent 80% of the book getting cozy with another man. Now I wouldn't have minded if the man in question was a character that I at least liked but unfortunately, he's the worst character in the book. I hated his smug face. I wanted Anne to spend more time with Adam but alas, that didn't happen until 90% of the book and by then, the book was over.

I understand that it's a modern retelling of a classic but I would've wanted more Adam and Anne pining for each other or loving each other from afar instead of her bestie's side plot and the inordinate time she spends pining for another guy.

Overall, this was a good, well written novel. But if you're looking for more romance, then you might be disappointed with this one.

A sweet and enjoyable modern remake of Jane Austen’s Persuasion.
By the Book by Julia Sonneborn modernizes Jane Austen’s classic tale of lost love, Persuasion, which just happens to be my favorite of Austen’s works. So I went into By the Book with a more critical eye, as I don’t always care for remakes, especially those based on Austen’s books. But, I really did enjoy By the Book and thought it was fun and sweet. Nothing too tremendously earth shattering, but worth a read.
By the Book is set in the small city and college of Fairfax, and our main character is Anne Corey who is an English professor working on a book when her ex-fiance Adam Martinez becomes the president of the college and returns back into her life. You can see where the plot goes from here, and while there was really nothing new explored here, it was still enjoyable!
Anne’s best friend is a fellow English professor named Larry, and Larry gives us most of the comedic scenes in the book. He ends up having an affair with Jack, a married actor with an open marriage who is trying to hit it big in the movie Jane Vampire, a vampire take on Jane Eyre. Some of these scenes were pretty funny, but I admit that it took me almost half the book before I started to find Larry funny and not like he was acting too young for his age.
Anne gets distracted by Richard, the resident writer at Fairfax, and Richard was one of those annoying characters who just seems too perfect to be true. I’m always distrustful of these types of characters! While none of the plotting here will come as any surprise to anyone who has ever read Persuasion, or any romance novel, the nice thing about By the Book is that I genuinely wanted Anne to be happy. I wanted her to find love, and of course I wanted it to be with Adam. The ex-love returning back into one’s life is one of my very favorite tropes out there, and I enjoyed this modern take on Persuasion. I’d definitely recommend it to those who enjoy modern versions of classic tales, and for those looking for a sweet, cute read that doesn’t bog you down with sadness.
Bottom Line: Sweet and romantic. An enjoyable read!

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

This book is a modern retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion, which I've never read before so I can't say exactly how the books parallel. Although from the description of Persuasion it sounds like "Rick" was the old fiancee, whereas in this novel the old fiancee is Adam. Reading this novel though did inspire me to read Persuasion at some point (hopefully soon). I was especially drawn in this book to the description of the world that Anne lived in the academic world. I have always loved learning and school, and I considered continuing my education further and maybe teaching college classes. Hearing about Anne's life and her career as a college professor really drew me into the story. There was one thing that I didn't particularly like about the book though, I thought that Adam and Anne's relationship could've been developed more in the book. The ending came about a bit suddenly for me as a reader, I felt like they'd hardly had any substantial interactions during the novel. Other than that though, this was a quick and sweet read and I really enjoyed it!

This book started strong, dipped in the middle, and sought redemption with a charming ending. At the beginning I was rooting for the protagonist, Anne, but as the plot moved along I felt frustrated with her point of view and choices. She felt like a friend that you like less and less the more you get to know her. She was surprisingly insecure and easily manipulated and seemed to constantly need external validation. It was hard to reconcile these traits in an accomplished woman with a PhD. She seemed to view her friends and family in stereotypical ways: the gossipy secretary, the judgy sister with her obnoxious children, the mindless stay-at-home moms, the clueless students. And, of course she has a trusty sidekick: the gay best friend. Her opinions and feelings seemed to fluctuate easily, dictated by the last person to speak with her. I enjoyed Adam, and wished for him a better, stronger,  more coherent female counterpart. Anne received an ending straight out of a romance novel, but it was not the ending she would have deserved in real life.

By The Book is marketed as a retelling of Jane Austen's classic novel, Persuasion. I personally cannot attest to the similarities or differences of these two books having not read the latter. I can say that if you are a lover of literature, romance, and drama then this book needs to make an appearance on your "TBR" shelf. 

This book is one of those that I would take to the beach or to the coffee shop on a lovely afternoon. The writing itself is simple and lovely. The author keeps you interested while not overwhelming you with unnecessary fluff. The pace was fantastic and the characters were well executed. I really loved this story, which means I should probably go out and buy Persuasion as soon as possible.. 

***Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.***

it's no secret that i love jane austen. and i know i've previously expressed my love for pride & prejudice and pride & prejudice retellings. but did you know that i feel the same way about persuasion? i've re-read jane's entire catalogue many times, but the two that get the most love from me are pride & prejudice and persuasion.

i love anne elliott. i love elizabeth bennett. both are very different leading ladies. i love that about them. it's hard for me to pick a favorite between these two. they each embody a different trope that i am an acknowledged sucker for: enemies-to-lovers (pride & prejudice) and second-chance-at-love (persuasion).

anyway, that very long intro basically explains why i am predisposed to love by the book, a retelling of persuasion. it resettles bath society on a small university campus. all the characters have modern equivalents, even though the story is created and told in a way that pays homage but does not carbon copy the original.

and i loved it. it hit all the right notes. it made me want to pick up the original again, but only because i have such love and affection for the story. not because i needed a palate cleanser.

one of my favorite modern touches to the story, involves anne corey, our heroine, trying to get her research published. the fictional query letters and rejection notices were pitch perfect. i mean i probably enjoyed this more than the average reader might because i work in publishing, but whatever, it worked for me.

**by the book will publish on february 6, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/gallery, threshold, pocket books (gallery books) in exchange for my honest review.

***ARC Provided by the Author/Publisher via NetGalley***

I enjoyed this debut title by Julia Sonneborn.  I liked the world of literature, and writers in which it was set and I thought it was interesting to see that same world from the eyes of someone who was in it, but was also struggling to find her place in that same world.


Adam, another man she meets, and Anne are involved in a love triangle.  Of sorts.  Adam and Anne were together years ago, and there was a break up and now he is back, and the president of the small college where she teaches.


I was expecting a little more from this title.  All of the elements were there: a love triangle, a heroine torn between the present and the past, a man in the present who maybe is just a little too perfect and maybe not as good as he seems.  Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me.  The big declaration happens with what feels like a rushed toss in at the end.  I wanted more, I wanted the passion, and to believe it. 


I liked each of the characters separately, but I wanted more connection.  The blurb gives the idea that this is a romance.  While it has heart, it is not really a romance.  More time is spent detailing the relationship with the man she meets who is not Adam.  And, this would have worked, except I didn't like him, and I was not sure why she did.  There were also a few points where Anne acknowledged that she was not totally fair to Adam in the past, but she was very willing to ignore the things he said and the warnings he gave her.


I think, based on the blurb, I wanted more of the connection with Anne and Adam than I got.


The secondary characters were also not quite balanced.  The things with the dad were odd and seemed to jump from point to point.  I wanted a little more with some of the interactions with her sister.  And, I am not going to even get into the gay best friend, who was more a caricature than a person.


Overall, I mostly enjoyed this title, and it was good as a first novel, but I would not really call it a romance.

There are many things to like about this book -- a quick peek behind the curtain of academia and tenure at a small college, lots of witty literary references (the main character and her best friend are both literature professors), and the chance for long lost love to be reunited -- but in the end it doesn't deliver. The reader has little opportunity to appreciate the main character's brilliance in her field (for which she has sacrificed much) and the object of her affections comes off flat and uninteresting when he should be anything but given the cursory back story we are privy to. More time could also have spent on the relationship between the main character and her father, which was rendered in brief detail. Ultimately, this deficit deflated what should have been a very moving part of the story. Nevertheless, I have to say that I enjoyed being along for the ride even if the destination was fairly predictable.

I am torn on my rating for this book, I would probably give it a 3 for entertainment value, but as for my taste in the story line, I give it a 2. I love Persuasion by Jane Austen and in the blurb of this book it says it is a whip-smart version of said book. However, I disagree. Now, I'm not an English Professor, however, I didn't think the book was very much like Persuasion. It had parts, but too many others things don't fit my expectations. First Anne Correy is like Anne Elliot in that she regrets decisions she made in the past regarding her es-fiance. Adam is now successful, but at the time of their engagement he was a student. Anne's family also looked down their noses at Adam because of his background. In my mind that is where the similarities stop. Anne Correy falls in love with a bad boy (think Wickham in Pride and Prejudice). She also falls into bed with him on their first date--very NOT Jane Austen. Her best friend is a gay, college professor. Again I don't see the resemblance to Jane Austen. The gay friend also has an affair with a married man--sound like Jane Austen? I don't think so. Others may like the book, it just didn't meet my expectations.

Now for things I did enjoy. I did enjoy this authors writing style. It was easy to read and kept my attention.

I love when I finish reading a book and I just sit there smiling to myself for awhile.  That’s how I felt after reading By the Book by Julia Sonneborn, a loose retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion.   The very first line of her acknowledgments goes something like this, “Tis novel is a love letter to books, but it is also a love letter to book lovers.”   

It is a lovely little romantic comedy set in a college town. The main character Anne Corey is an English professor.  She is currently struggling to get a book published so that she can start on the tenure track at the college.  By her side is her colleague Larry, who happens to be starting a hush hush affair with a movie actor, Jake.  Larry’s comments keep a humorous thread running through the novel. 

Anne is alarmed to find that the new president of the university is Adam Martinez.  Someone she was once engaged to, but broke off with on the night before her college graduation.  Before she can decide how she feels about that another new man rolls into college, Rick.  Rick is handsome and an established author.  Soon Anne and Rick are dating.  

This book was exactly how I like my romantic comedies.  Such it was predictable.  Humorous gay sidekick a littler stereotypical?  Kind of.  But it was just what I was in the mood for.  A love story surrounded by books.  If it was made into a movie, I would watch it, probably several times, because I do love a sweet romantic comedy, especially one in a bookish setting. 

I received an ARC of the book.

Anne Corey is an English professor at Fairfax College.  She needs to have her book (a scholarly work on several 19th-century woman novelists) published so that she can keep her job.  She wants to keep her job – she loves teaching at Fairfax and she doesn’t want to bounce around trying to find another position. Her friend, Larry Ettinger, is a professor at Fairfax; he helped her get the position. She is running out of time and publishing options.  If that isn’t enough stress, her family was not supportive of her decision to get her Ph.D. in English and the accompanying cost of that education.  She has student loans she is trying to pay off. Losing her job will not help keep her head above her debt.

Fairfax College has a new president.  Anne has not paid much attention to this as she has many other things on her mind. Her friend, Larry, tells her that she needs to go to a reception to meet the new president and then mentions that the new president went to the same school at Anne.  When she askes Larry the name of the new president, she is shocked.  It is her ex-fiance.  She had broken up with him at graduation 10 years ago and had not spoken to him since. She goes to the reception and it is definitely her Adam Martinez. So, her ex-fiance is now her boss.

That is the start of By the Book by Julia Sonneborn. It is a good premise for a that keeps blossoming. Throw in an extra-marital affair (not Anne),  a romance that is full of deceit, a death, and success (publishing? love?).  Through the story, we find out more about Anne’s family, her research, and romance. Will the dashing, successful writer Richard Forbes Chasen be the perfect man for Anne?

Some might recognize the storyline as a modern retelling of Jane Austin’s Persuasion. I liked the book.  It was fun to read and find out all the twists and turns. The cast of characters is interesting and believable.  A good first outing for Julia Sonneborn, who is an English professor.

Anne Corey is a 30ish professor at a small liberal arts college in California. She has little to no time for a personal life, teaching a full schedule and trying to get tenure with the publication of an academic work on 19th-century women writers. Without a book contract, Anne is out of a job. If not for her friend, Larry, a colleague and best friend, she would have no life at all. It's the beginning of the year when she discovers that the new president of the college is Adam Martinez, a former classmate at Princeton and ex-fiance. The two dated throughout their university years and only broke up the day before graduation. Anne was feeling pressure from her judgemental father who wants her to be a lawyer, harpy of a sister, and college mentor to skip marriage in favor of a career. The argument was a silly one, but Anne used it to break up with Adam, and he, out of pride, let her do so. She is conflicted, having never really gotten over Adam. Adam is cooly friendly, but the two have little to say to each other. The writer-in-residence at the college for the year is a multi-award winning journalist and novelist who shows an interest in Anne. The two plunge into an affair quickly, but thoughts of Adam are never far from the surface.


By the Book is a thoroughly enjoyable read that gave me lots of laughs and even a few tears. The process of being published is represented by a series of rejection letters that range from hilarious to brutal. My favorite was one stating that her manuscript about 19th-century women writers would be significantly improved by the inclusion of....you guessed it...men. Based on Jane Austen's Persuasion, By the Book is a delightful updating of that classic. Anne's sister, Lauren, turns out to be not such a harpy, as the two sisters bond in shared grief. Larry, Anne's gay colleague, and friend is exceptionally supportive and often hilarious. Anne discovers that "all that glitters is not gold" but will she and Adam have their "happy ever after.?" 

Thanks to Gallery and NetGalley for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own

When I heard this was a Persuasion retelling about an English professor, I could not get my hands on it fast enough. Persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen novel and I loved seeing it translated to a college setting. It was as deliciously book nerdy as I hoped it would be.

Anne's lack of tenure highlights the precariousness of her situation at the college, as well as her own financial straits. She's struggling in many ways and as a reader, I wished something would go right for her. The lack of security permeates the pages the story. It's the undercurrent of her decisions and it, as well as the influence of her family, informs why she doesn't always make the best decisions.

My heart really went out to Anne, even when she was clearly making the wrong choice. Like dating Rick. It wasn't even that I wanted so badly for Anne to reconcile with Adam, her ex. Although I totally did. It was that Rick had such a skeevy undercurrent and I couldn't believe Anne didn't recognize it.

Adam was such a strong presence in this novel. He was such a good guy, even when he didn't have to be. We know how badly Anne hurt him when she broke off their engagement. We know just how far he's come since then, especially in becoming the president of the college. He's clearly a catch in every way and I could easily see why Anne fell for him then and why she's drawn to him now.

Even though life keeps making their paths cross, it takes Anne and Adam a while to really discuss their past and to finally be honest with one another.

I wanted Anne to be honest with herself, in fact. To ignore what everyone else told her and to focus on what her heart said. I wanted Adam to give her another chance, even though she might not have seemed overly deserving of one. 

Adam's letter to Anne made me so happy and seeing them finally take a risk on one another was worth the wait. The ending might seem a little rushed if you don't remember this is a Persuasion retelling. But it made sense to me at the same time.

The side characters are a little on the wacky side but they illustrate how Anne became the person she is and why she doesn't always have the best track record. I liked Larry as her best friend, even if his storyline (or rather his overdramatic reactions to it) was a little over the top for my taste. 

This was such a fun novel to read. While the matters of the heart are real, the novel also offers deft commentary on campus politics and relationship dynamics. Plus, there are many lighthearted moments. When Adam and Anne share the page, I couldn't get enough of it. A great choice for a chilly winter day.

Anne Corey is an English professor at a small California college.  Her college ex boyfriend, Adam,  becomes the president of the college.  As these things typically go, the break up was not on good terms.  Anne becomes interested in visiting writer, Rick.  Eventually it becomes clear that Anne is not over Adam no matter her involvement in Rick.   

This story is loosely based on Jane Austen's Persuasion, which I admit to never having read.  My favorite character in this story by far was Anne's best friend Larry.  He was both flamboyant and funny.

This story was well written but there were times I could not get past how silly Anne could be.  Given her age and profession, I would have expected a little less silliness on her part.  For example, she wants Adam to hire Rick as a full time faculty member and thinks to herself in her discussion with Adam that he should hire Rick to keep her happy since she has not been happy in a long time.  It was immature and not the only example.  Overall, it was an enjoyable novel despite Anne's lapses into silly thoughts and behavior. 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel.

I have never read a book by this author, but the cover and blurb looked interesting so I thought I would give it a try, and boy am I glad I did. This book is more what I would call a  Women’s fiction genre based on the classic Persuasion by Jane Austen rather than a straight romance.  The book takes place on a college campus and revolves around Anne, an English professor trying to get tenure, and those around her.  I loved Larry, her best friend who is gay.  There is also Rick, an author in residence at the campus, and Adam, Anne’s one time fiancé and now the newest President of the college campus.  The book had a slow pace to me, building the story naturally to a crescendo.  The only part of this book that bothered me a little was the ending.  To me, it felt rushed, as if ok, now let’s end this book.  But, that is me being picky.  Loved her writing style, and thoroughly enjoyed this book.

This one got me right in the feels.

Number one, I didn't realize the author was a native Angeleno like yours truly so I immediately like her even more and want this book to be successful.

Number two, this book takes place in a beautiful neighborhood which I'm very much drawn to so that gorgeous image was in my head the entire time. I think it's a bonus when an author uses a location that you've actually been to, it makes the story come to life because you can place everything.

Number three, the characters are book lovers so I was obviously going to like this.

 

As someone who is about to turn 32, I immediately felt a kinship with Anne and was on her side from the start. I'm not going to go into the entire plot but here are the things that stood out to me:

I enjoyed the way Sonneborn brought us the backstory without it feeling too disjointed. I think the book read very smoothly. I couldn't help but be hilariously amused by Larry's affair! Just the sheer drama and mystery made me giggle and when the Paris thing happened, I was literally laughing aloud! 

When Rick was first introduced, I was like "yaaasss girl, get some" and when it was obvious he and Adam had some issues, I was certain it was because Rick probably screwed Adam's girlfriend (I was wrong). I knew that little tiff would come to some sort of climax but could not have predicted the shitstorm that would go down involving Rick! Talk about taking a character down a million pegs (I enjoyed it). The family angle was nice but not a major part of anything for me, expect for the death of course.

Then there's Adam. He was a mysterious little treat, wasn't he? The more the layers of his and Anne's history were shared, the more I wanted the inevitable to happen. Though the way it finally came to be and the fact that he built her dream library was too much for this romantic bookworm. I cried. It was glorious.

Can't wait to read more by Julia Sonneborn and what fun would it be to meet up for coffee and chat books with her? 

Anywho, go get this book when it comes out on 2/6. Even though I received an e-copy, I'm going to go buy a physical copy because I want this on my shelf. I know I'm going to reread it!

Not sure if this ever happens to anyone else but whenever I read a really great book, it inspires me to get my ass in gear and start writing. Time to schedule writing time in my planner!

 

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Gallery Books via NetGalley. Opinions are my own.

**I was able to read this via an advanced reader's copy courtesy of NetGalley**

I am a sucker for retellings or novels inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion. There is something about the premise that just hooks me so my liking of this book is pretty much a given. The novel is also set within the world of a university and Anne Corey, our heroine, is an English professor which again is highly appealing to me. I really liked Anne as a character and I found her really relatable. Her best friend, Larry, was also a hoot and I liked their friendship dynamic. As this is a loose retelling of Persuasion, Anne's former fiance, Adam, enters her life again as he becomes the President of the college where she works. I really liked Adam as a character and wish the relationship between him and Anne was explored more thoroughly. That is my one qualm with this book. There is a sense of underlying feelings between the two of them, but it is extremely subtle, at least on Anne's side. I wanted a little bit more to really get a sense of how profound of a relationship and break-up this was for them. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this novel. It is a light, fun read and a perfect book to read when you want to unwind after a long day.