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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
It’s so hard to find a rewrite of a classic that conveys the feel of the original as well as the plot. This one does an excellent job!
C'est un peu comme de relire Persuasion... écrit au XXIème siècle :)
I enjoyed this re-telling of Jane Austen's Persuasion. One of my favourites by Austen, I'm happy I found this novel that tells the story in a modern setting. It was well and truly enjoyable throughout
After reading a few modern retellings of Pride and Prejudice and not really liking them I was skeptical about reading this book. Which is why it has been sitting in my e-reader for some months. But I was very pleasantly surprised with this modern version of Jane Austen's Persuasion and loved it.
If I tell you that Jane Austen is one of my favourite authors and has been since I was a teenager; that Persuasion is not only my favourite of all her books but one of my all-time favourite books; and that Captain Wentworth is my favourite literary hero, then you'll probably understand why I might have been slow to flick open Juliet Archer's Persuade Me, a modern retelling of Persuasion.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for modern revamps of classic books and films. When they're done well, they can give you a fresh take on the original and guide you back to revisiting an old friend or introduce you to a new one. But when they're done badly, they're a travesty and I rue the loss of valuable reading or viewing time.
Happily, Juliet Archer has done a fantastic job with Persuade Me and my love of Persuasion not only remains undimmed but it might even have been reinforced, if that's possible. The beauty of ChocLit titles is that they offer you the story not only from the heroine's perspective but also from that of the hero and, with such an appealing hero as Rick Wentworth, that's one of the main draws here. You finally get inside Wentworth's head and find out what he's thinking and feeling. Being able to do so does mean that the Will-they?, Won't-they? suspense of the original is compromised slightly but Juliet Archer handles things in such a way that she still manages to retain much of the tension, right up to the last possible moment. Besides, it was terrific fun to see just what a modern Wentworth might be like. Rick Wentworth, marine biologist, is a clever imagining of what Austen's hero could be today. He's every bit as passionate and impulsive as the Captain Frederick Wentworth of the original.
The heroine, Anna, is a character that I couldn't help liking and wouldn't mind being friends with, were she real. I also loved the Musgrove family and the Crofts every bit as much as I did the ones in Austen's novel and I definitely approved of Mrs Smith's modern-day equivalent and her situation. That was a lovely touch. It was a lot of fun to recognise each and every modern equivalent of much-loved (or hated, in some cases) characters and I enjoyed how Juliet Archer updated the key events, making it especially relevant in our seemingly celebrity-obsessed times.
You don't need to know or love Persuasion to enjoy Persuade Me. The book easily holds its own and is a great read in its own right and, if you haven't read Persuasion, you'll hopefully enjoy Persuade Me enough to want to see where the inspiration for it came from.
I read Persuade Me straight through in one sitting. I hadn't meant to but once I started I didn't want to put it down, even though I knew exactly how the story would end. I eventually finished it around 5am on Monday. That's the sign of a good read in my book.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for modern revamps of classic books and films. When they're done well, they can give you a fresh take on the original and guide you back to revisiting an old friend or introduce you to a new one. But when they're done badly, they're a travesty and I rue the loss of valuable reading or viewing time.
Happily, Juliet Archer has done a fantastic job with Persuade Me and my love of Persuasion not only remains undimmed but it might even have been reinforced, if that's possible. The beauty of ChocLit titles is that they offer you the story not only from the heroine's perspective but also from that of the hero and, with such an appealing hero as Rick Wentworth, that's one of the main draws here. You finally get inside Wentworth's head and find out what he's thinking and feeling. Being able to do so does mean that the Will-they?, Won't-they? suspense of the original is compromised slightly but Juliet Archer handles things in such a way that she still manages to retain much of the tension, right up to the last possible moment. Besides, it was terrific fun to see just what a modern Wentworth might be like. Rick Wentworth, marine biologist, is a clever imagining of what Austen's hero could be today. He's every bit as passionate and impulsive as the Captain Frederick Wentworth of the original.
The heroine, Anna, is a character that I couldn't help liking and wouldn't mind being friends with, were she real. I also loved the Musgrove family and the Crofts every bit as much as I did the ones in Austen's novel and I definitely approved of Mrs Smith's modern-day equivalent and her situation. That was a lovely touch. It was a lot of fun to recognise each and every modern equivalent of much-loved (or hated, in some cases) characters and I enjoyed how Juliet Archer updated the key events, making it especially relevant in our seemingly celebrity-obsessed times.
You don't need to know or love Persuasion to enjoy Persuade Me. The book easily holds its own and is a great read in its own right and, if you haven't read Persuasion, you'll hopefully enjoy Persuade Me enough to want to see where the inspiration for it came from.
I read Persuade Me straight through in one sitting. I hadn't meant to but once I started I didn't want to put it down, even though I knew exactly how the story would end. I eventually finished it around 5am on Monday. That's the sign of a good read in my book.
Have often wondered if and how Persuasion could be plausible in the modern age of communication and less strictures overall. This author manages it, very well, and retains the key pieces that make Persuasion the tale that it is.
This is the modern retake to read.
This is the modern retake to read.
Like the first in this series, this is an enjoyable retelling of Jane Austen's Classic.
I really like [b:Persuasion|2156|Persuasion|Jane Austen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385172413s/2156.jpg|2534720] and this had enough of the original elements to keep me happy but with enough fresh material to keep me on the edge of my seat. However, I think the core story loses something by being brought into the modern day.
I find it implausible that Anna's relations could have disabled communication between the two by messing with Anna's laptop and phone. It also felt like Anna's being on the shelf was a bit forced, so as to stay true to the original. And the same is true of Mona and Charles' relationship.
I really like [b:Persuasion|2156|Persuasion|Jane Austen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385172413s/2156.jpg|2534720] and this had enough of the original elements to keep me happy but with enough fresh material to keep me on the edge of my seat. However, I think the core story loses something by being brought into the modern day.
I find it implausible that Anna's relations could have disabled communication between the two by messing with Anna's laptop and phone. It also felt like Anna's being on the shelf was a bit forced, so as to stay true to the original. And the same is true of Mona and Charles' relationship.
Despite having never read a Jane Austen novel (please don’t lynch me), I do enjoy a good modern-day adaptation. I don’t entirely know why but it could have something to do with the fact that reading a modern version of a Jane Austen novel means I can get the gist of Jane’s books without having to read all the old-fashioned writing (now you can lynch me). So when I was asked if I wanted to read Juliet Archer’s second ‘Darcy and Friends’ novel I was dubious so I took a look at the excerpt available and that made my mind up that I did want to read it because it sounded fascinating. I’m quite pleased that I did as I very much enjoyed it.
Persuade Me, if you can’t already tell by the title, is a modern-day version of Jane Austen’s Persuasion (or so I’m told, since I haven’t read Persuasion). I can’t compare the two books, but they feature characters with the same names and a similar plot… So I’m going to go out on a limb here and say: They’re fairly similar. Juliet’s is obviously more modern and ‘now’ though. Although saying that, it was still relatively old-fashioned and posh. The Elliot family were rich, living in big houses in the country and Sir Walter was a Baronet, so it retained everything that was probably in Jane’s book. It was a very civilised book!
Despite not having a clue about Jane Austen, and Persuasion in particular, I thoroughly enjoyed Persuade Me. It was a very quick read and one I found difficult to put down. It was definitely more of a character-driven novel than a plot-driven novel, since there were numerous small plots rather than one massive plot that tied the book together. But that wasn’t necessarily a problem. I’d have perhaps liked a bit more of what went on when Anna and Rick were teenagers. The whole book revolves around the fact that when they were younger they were in love, but because of Sir Walter they broke up and Rick went to Australia whilst Anna became a Russian professor and it would have been good to flashback to the time when they broke up to give us the full story as to why exactly Anna allowed her father to do that as that’s never really touched upon during the novel.
I found the characters to be very fascinating and I daresay most of them will bear a resemblance to Jane Austen’s characters should I go back and read Persuasion. I’m sure they have the same characteristics and mannerisms – quite honestly, at times, it felt like Sir Walter had walked out of the 1800s. I found Anna to be a very fascinating character, I thought I would find her weak for allowing her father to overpower her when she was younger, but I didn’t. Instead, I felt sympathy for her that her dad had such a dominating effect over her life. I liked her as an adult and I found both her and Rick to be very fascinating characters and I enjoyed their interactions again as they met again after a decade apart. The whole will-they-won’t-they aspect was done very well indeed.
I really enjoyed reading Persuade Me. The novel isn’t just about Anna and Rick and I found the other characters – particularly the Mosgrove family, I found I really liked them, the same goes for Jenny and Tom, who Anna rents a room from. There were plenty of lovely characters to balance out the somewhat devious ones – Anna’s family were just terrible people, and there wasn’t one person in Anna’s family I liked. Juliet Archer has written a very enjoyable novel and I’ll definitely be going back to take a look at her first Jane Austen adaptation, The Importance of Being Emma. Jane Austen fans will really love Persuade Me, and I’ll be interested if any one can tell me how similar this novel is to Persuasion, just out of interest. I hugely recommend Persuade Me, I found myself sucked into the story and couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen to Anna and Rick – and everyone else, for that matter!
Persuade Me, if you can’t already tell by the title, is a modern-day version of Jane Austen’s Persuasion (or so I’m told, since I haven’t read Persuasion). I can’t compare the two books, but they feature characters with the same names and a similar plot… So I’m going to go out on a limb here and say: They’re fairly similar. Juliet’s is obviously more modern and ‘now’ though. Although saying that, it was still relatively old-fashioned and posh. The Elliot family were rich, living in big houses in the country and Sir Walter was a Baronet, so it retained everything that was probably in Jane’s book. It was a very civilised book!
Despite not having a clue about Jane Austen, and Persuasion in particular, I thoroughly enjoyed Persuade Me. It was a very quick read and one I found difficult to put down. It was definitely more of a character-driven novel than a plot-driven novel, since there were numerous small plots rather than one massive plot that tied the book together. But that wasn’t necessarily a problem. I’d have perhaps liked a bit more of what went on when Anna and Rick were teenagers. The whole book revolves around the fact that when they were younger they were in love, but because of Sir Walter they broke up and Rick went to Australia whilst Anna became a Russian professor and it would have been good to flashback to the time when they broke up to give us the full story as to why exactly Anna allowed her father to do that as that’s never really touched upon during the novel.
I found the characters to be very fascinating and I daresay most of them will bear a resemblance to Jane Austen’s characters should I go back and read Persuasion. I’m sure they have the same characteristics and mannerisms – quite honestly, at times, it felt like Sir Walter had walked out of the 1800s. I found Anna to be a very fascinating character, I thought I would find her weak for allowing her father to overpower her when she was younger, but I didn’t. Instead, I felt sympathy for her that her dad had such a dominating effect over her life. I liked her as an adult and I found both her and Rick to be very fascinating characters and I enjoyed their interactions again as they met again after a decade apart. The whole will-they-won’t-they aspect was done very well indeed.
I really enjoyed reading Persuade Me. The novel isn’t just about Anna and Rick and I found the other characters – particularly the Mosgrove family, I found I really liked them, the same goes for Jenny and Tom, who Anna rents a room from. There were plenty of lovely characters to balance out the somewhat devious ones – Anna’s family were just terrible people, and there wasn’t one person in Anna’s family I liked. Juliet Archer has written a very enjoyable novel and I’ll definitely be going back to take a look at her first Jane Austen adaptation, The Importance of Being Emma. Jane Austen fans will really love Persuade Me, and I’ll be interested if any one can tell me how similar this novel is to Persuasion, just out of interest. I hugely recommend Persuade Me, I found myself sucked into the story and couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen to Anna and Rick – and everyone else, for that matter!