Reviewing: By The Book By Julia Sonneborn

...notes from the cover...

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.

Funny, smart, and full of heart, this modern ode to Jane Austen’s classic explores what happens when we run into the demons of our past...and when they turn out not to be so bad, after all.

...my thoughts...

If you like Jane Austen, you may enjoy this retelling of Persuasion by Jane Austen.  I enjoyed picking out Lady Russell, Captain Wentworth, and of course, Anne Elliott.  Other characters were less obvious but the story was engaging.  

Adam Martinez is the hot new president of  Fairfax College.  Anne Corey nearly choked on her wine when she discovered that Adam was her former fiance.  The characters were engaging and the story was lively.  Anne's family definitely rejected Adam when he was a college student who didn't seem to have the bright future they expected for Anne.  Anne, for her part, tried to please her advisor and mentor Professor Russell, who was the catalyst for Anne's moving away from love to finding herself alone. Now, years later his CV was proof of his wonderful accomplishments that led to the top spot at the college.

Adam is just as caring as Frederick Wentworth was and stayed in the background while Anne was trifled with by Rick, the famous writer whose schemes just winnowed away throughout the story.  He was just what I would have expected and he was a good stand in for young Mr. Elliott of Persuasion fame.   In the end, amid distractions like Larry, Anne's friend and colleague, the story unfolded to provide Adam his due.  He was a handsome, worthwhile hero who deserves to get the girl!