Emma: A Latter-day Tale
by Rebecca H. Jamison
LDS Romance
August 13th 2013 by Bonneville
Cover Blurb
NOT Looking for Love: Single woman (23) seeks best friend to chat on
the phone, shop the clearance racks, watch chick flicks, try out messy cooking
projects, and eat Dove dark chocolates.
Emma isn’t so good at the
whole life-coaching thing. Her first client ended up with a broken heart and is
threatening to relapse in her bad habits. Now Emma has problems of her own to
deal with, and all those problems start with one name: Justin.
Justin is her best
friend, so it’s hard for Emma not to feel betrayed when she suspects he is
falling for her childhood rival. And she knows she’s losing him despite her
best efforts. No matter how much she tries, she keeps running up against
obstacles. How is she supposed to help other people when she’s drowning in her
own failures?
Fans of
Jane Austen’s Emma will love this modern retelling of the classic romance
novel. Fall in love with Emma’s latter-day tale of redemption, forgiveness, and
the quest for true love.
You can view the book trailer on YouTube.
You can view the book trailer on YouTube.
My Review
I love everything Jane Austen. I have read her novel, Emma, and seen two different film adaptations. It isn't my favorite of her books because it is fairly lengthy, with not much going on. However, I do love both of the movies. They take out a lot of the in-between stuff that was slow in the book. I have really enjoyed several Austen retellings as well, so I was excited to receive an ARC of this for review and join this tour. I also really love the cover!
It took me a good third of the way through the book before I really got into the story. The story was really close in events to the original in a lot of ways at first so it didn't really pull me in and there were places where the transitions from a conversation or one scene to another could have been better. I also didn't like that Emma hardly knows Hari, but she becomes almost instant friends and tries to immediately set her up with someone. I was trying to think if Emma is this way in Austen's novel as well and I think she is to some extent. Maybe the setting affected my perspective of the characters more.
However, once I got into the book and got to see the characters interact more, I started to enjoy the book. Some things that were better in some ways to Austen's novel are the glimpses of what is between Emma and Justin. Their friendship is strong and there is definitely attraction there, but Emma chooses not to notice even though she notices him. She knows the way he smells and all of his mannerisms. She is extremely comfortable around him and in his house, even just automatically doing some things without thought. She gets really jealous and worried about him liking someone else. Somehow she doesn't realize or make herself think about why that is. I'm sure some of it has to do with her friendship with him being safe and secure.
I really, really liked Justin. He is sweet, mature, good-looking, settled, strong, and he isn't afraid to call Emma out on things. I also liked how he would tease her and ask her why she wanted to know something about his interests or why she might be jealous. Emma really does have a good heart and redeemed herself in the end, but she really went through a lot to get there. I also thought that Hank and Jena and the twist of having a country music star as one of the characters were all interesting.
Overall, if you enjoy LDS Romance and need something sweet to read, then I would recommend this.
Content: Clean
Source: Copy from tour host/NetGalley, which did not affect my review in any way.
Excerpt
It was amazing how much more snow
Phil could pick up with his shovel than I could with mine. He cleared three
feet of the driveway before I was done with one.
“When we’re done, if you have time,
you should come in and meet Harri. I think you two will get along.”
Phil stopped and looked at his
watch. “I’m planning to do a couple more driveways before it gets dark.”
“I’ll go get Harri now if you’re in
a hurry. She wants to meet you.”
Phil leaned
on his shovel. “Harry is a she?”
“Her
real name is Harriet. She moved here a couple months ago and she’s hardly met
anybody. I think you’ll like her.”
Phil threw his head back, laughed,
and started shoveling again. “I thought you were trying to introduce me to your
new boyfriend.”
“You think I would be out here
shoveling snow while my new boyfriend stays inside?” I grabbed a handful of
snow and threw it at him. I didn’t mean to hit him in the face, but that’s
where it landed.
Phil wiped the snow off his face and
grinned. “I wondered why you were dating such a loser.” I expected him to throw
a snowball at me, but he just stood there. “So you don’t have a boyfriend?”
I giggled a little at his
awkwardness. “Nope. Harri doesn’t either.”
Phil threw another shovelful of snow
away from the driveway. “So you . . . I mean, you and your friend are . . .
available?” Phil didn’t open his mouth enough when he talked. That was the one
thing about him that always distracted me. I couldn’t help staring at his
mouth.
I had to force myself to look into
his eyes. “Why is that a shock, Phil? Every woman in that house right now is
available. You can take your pick—Harri, me, or Barbara. You’re surrounded by
single women.” It was safe to assume Phil wouldn’t pick me. I was at least
three inches taller than he was, and it was a rare man who dated a taller
woman.
About the Author
Looking
for love? Rebecca H. Jamison would love to set you up with that special
someone, but you’re better off reading her books. She has a terrible track
record as a matchmaker.
Rebecca
grew up in Virginia Brigham
Young University Portugal and Cape Verde
Rebecca enjoys
running, dancing, reading, and watching detective shows. She and her husband
have six children.
You can find Rebecca here:
Giveaway
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