I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I'm a bit of a retelling addict. Whether a book is a fairytale retelling, based off of mythology, or a new take on an old favorite, I'm almost guaranteed to get my mitts on it eventually. Admittedly, I have never read Jane Austen's Persuasion, and cannot speak for the original. Despite this I can say that By the Book was a sweet story full of loveable characters, written with beautiful prose, and contained its fair amount of humor. It was a nice and overall pleasant read, but I hadn't anticipated such a miniscule amount of romance, especially between the main character and the main romantic interest. It was a great read, just venturing more in the "women's fiction" genre, as opposed to the "romance" genre I was expecting.
Despite this, I would recommend this to women's fiction fans, and would definitely read more from the author.
I'm a bit of a retelling addict. Whether a book is a fairytale retelling, based off of mythology, or a new take on an old favorite, I'm almost guaranteed to get my mitts on it eventually. Admittedly, I have never read Jane Austen's Persuasion, and cannot speak for the original. Despite this I can say that By the Book was a sweet story full of loveable characters, written with beautiful prose, and contained its fair amount of humor. It was a nice and overall pleasant read, but I hadn't anticipated such a miniscule amount of romance, especially between the main character and the main romantic interest. It was a great read, just venturing more in the "women's fiction" genre, as opposed to the "romance" genre I was expecting.
Despite this, I would recommend this to women's fiction fans, and would definitely read more from the author.