As a Jane Austen fan, I knew that for this week’s Waiting On Wednesday, I had to read Persuading Austen, which is a modern retelling of Persuasion. Luckily, I was given an Advanced Reading Copy in exchange for an honest review!

In this version, the Elliots are a family of actors, except for Anne who must take care of her frivolous father and sisters. Just like in the original, Anne was in love with Wentworth, but persuaded to leave him by her Aunt. When Austen Wentworth, now a sizzling hot movie star comes back to star in a new production of Pride and Prejudice, will Anne set aside her pride and win him back?

Literary Geeks Will Love This

Apart from the story keeping relatively close to the original Persuasion (for the first part of the book), there were so many fun references to other Jane Austen novels. I loved this nod towards the originals, because it added an extra layer of depth to the reading experience for fans of Jane Austen’s work. In particular, Anne works for The Northanger Agency, there’s a new production of Pride and Prejudice and Wentworth’s first name is even Austen.  That being said, if you aren’t a lover of the classics, there is plenty to keep you turning the pages (quickly).

A Plot that Sizzles

Perhaps my most favourite element of this story was watching Annie crawl out from under the dominating shadow of her family and become her own person. I felt that Brigid Coady did an excellent job of providing Annie opportunities to achieve her goal only to pull them just slightly out of reach each time.  Even better, the tension between Anne and Austen keeps the plot sizzling along. It made for an exciting and fun read that I could not put down.

If you like remakes of the classics, or even just a witty, fun romance then pick up a copy of Persuading Austen when it comes on sale July 18th!