By the Book

By: Julia Sonneborn

Genre: ChickLit, Retellings, Contemporary

Rating: 4.5 stars

Summary:

An English professor struggling for tenure discovers that her ex-fiancé has just become the president of her college—and her new boss—in this whip-smart modern retelling of Jane Austen’s classic Persuasion.

Anne Corey is about to get schooled.

An English professor in California, she’s determined to score a position on the coveted tenure track at her college. All she’s got to do is get a book deal, snag a promotion, and boom! She’s in. But then Adam Martinez—her first love and ex-fiancé—shows up as the college’s new president.

Anne should be able to keep herself distracted. After all, she’s got a book to write, an aging father to take care of, and a new romance developing with the college’s insanely hot writer-in-residence. But no matter where she turns, there’s Adam, as smart and sexy as ever. As the school year advances and her long-buried feelings begin to resurface, Anne begins to wonder whether she just might get a second chance at love.

My Thoughts:

Persuasion by Jane Austen is my favorite of all of her books. (I know there aren't a lot, but the competition is steep) So I love to find re-tellings of that particular story. This one most definitely didn't disappoint. Located in the Ivory Towers of academia and with characters that lend themselves close to readers hearts I read this in one sitting. Should I have been doing other things such as laundry, homework and housework...yes, but as most readers understand, the book was just too good.

I loved Larry, Anne's dear friend who also was facing love troubles of their own. As I was reading all I could think of was Peter MacNicol from his time in numbers. The dedicated professor with a few little quirks. I'm not sure if that's who Sonneborn was thinking of when she wrote him, but I found him to be endearing - even with his clandestine affair.

I think this is a book that I will return to again. It's hard to bring Austin to the modern day without being overly sappy, and I think that this was one of those stories. It's a great feel good book - you know the end from the beginning (at least you do if you read the original story) and it carries a sweetness that was a perfect way to spend a Saturday.

I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Keturah

Keturah
By: Lisa Tawn Bergren
Genre: Christian Historical Romance
Rating: 3.5 stars

Summary: In 1772 England, Lady Keturah Banning Tomlinson and her sisters find themselves the heiresses of their father's estates and know they have one option: Go to the West Indies to save what is left of their heritage.

Although it flies against all the conventions for women of the time, they're determined to make their own way in the world. But once they arrive in the Caribbean, proper gender roles are the least of their concerns. On the infamous island of Nevis, the sisters discover the legacy of the legendary sugar barons has vastly declined--and that's just the start of 
what their eyes are opened to in this unfamiliar world. 

Keturah never intends to put herself at the mercy of a man again, but every man on the island seems to be trying to win her hand and, with it, the ownership of her plantation. She could desperately use an ally, but even an unexpected reunion with a childhood friend leaves her questioning his motives. 

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this book well enough and read it in 3 sittings. I haven't been able to read a lot since starting my MBA program so it has been fun to get back to something that offered the familiarity found in the plot lines of Christian Historical Romance yet the difference of the time and place of 1700 Caribbean.  

Keturah is a woman who is battered from her abusive marriage with her now deceased husband (a question I have is how did he die? and did she maybe help with that? That would have been cool to explore.) I did appreciate her strength and ability to rise to the occasion when her sisters needed her to. While stilted at times, she felt like an independent woman who was intent on trying to fix her own problems rather than sit back and let others take over.  But at the same time she seemed to switch back and forth so quickly between being an independent woman who don't need no man to "oh my goodness he's so handsome!"  I felt like that made her more shallow that intended.

I also appreciated the bonds of sisterhood between Ket, Verity and Selah. They were the things that rang the most true to me throughout the novel.

Overall, while this was a fun beach side read, it felt shallow.  There were a lot of darker themes here that could have been explored. The ability to overcome abuse, the complexities of slavery in the 1770s and trying to reconcile with Christian beliefs, inherent sexism of the times. So many ways this could have gone deeper with an emotional payoff that almost was there but never seemed to come to fruition.

It was good enough for what it was, and if I see the sequels in the library I will probably snag them, but this wasn't something that was overly memorable for me.

The Draper's Daughter

By: Ellin Carsta

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 4 Stars

Summary:

Cologne, 1351: Elisabeth and Stephen Hardenstein are twins, but they could not be more different. While Elisabeth is inspired by the family business, absorbing everything her father shows her about the cloth trade, Stephen enjoys a leisurely life and pays little attention to their father’s teachings. Elisabeth recognizes her true vocation as a tradeswoman, and though the odds are stacked against her, she pursues her passion.

When the twins’ father suffers a tragic stroke, the tables turn. Suddenly Stephen is interested in running the draper’s shop his father left behind, and he takes the lead in managing the family business. But Elisabeth can’t sit idly by and watch as he makes bad decisions and accumulates debts. Stephen pushes her to marry as soon as possible, even proposing a suitor, but Elisabeth has her own ideas about matters of the heart. Are her talents in the art of negotiation enough to win her both the job of her dreams and the man she truly loves?

My Thoughts:
I just finished this amazing novel and am on a total girl power high! This isn't the first German novel translated into English I have read, and each time I do it makes me want to learn to at least read the language even more. I love German novels and story telling.

Carsta does a great job of pulling me into 1300's Germany - the details of the terrible pogroms, the plague that still goes around, the medieval views of depression and women's place - they all combine to set the tone for Carsta's story in Cologne. Elizabeth is amazing. She is strong, she is kind, she tries over and over and keeps getting set back. (I feel sorry for my coworkers as they watch me read. They could tell there were times when I just wanted to yell at Elizabeth "Don't do the thing, that is a bad thing, don't do the thing!" But they are great sports and only teased me about it a little bit.) She deals with misogyny, with slut-shaming, with actual physical assault to her person, but she comes through. She comes through wiser for it. I want to be Elizabeth when I grow up.

Another point I loved - the interplay between Christian and Jew, especially in a business setting was great to see. We are in a world of rising tensions between any groups who are viewed as "other" and more often need to emphasize there is more that pulls us together than tears us apart. This was true between business women centuries ago and it is true between all of us today. Part of me wishes that more was spent in their relationship (and maybe there was in the German version...I really need to learn to read this language!) but I am content with the glimpse that we got.

The only bit that I wish was different **Spoilers, click and highlight between the asterisks to read** was that she ended up with her Notary at the end of the novel. Let her stick with her mantra of looking to the future rather than pining for the past. She could have continued on with her business, known that she would always have amazing contracts (typically skewed to her favor) and a husband who was her business equal. I would have loved to have that move forward rather than going back to Raphael her girlhood love. ***Spoilers over

All in all I love it. I think this is a book I could come back to - it's definitely one I have on my "to read in German when I learn how" shelf and I will be finding more to read from this author. Also, something practical I took away from this - get things in writing, always get things in writing. Anyway, go give it a try, I bet you'll enjoy it.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.