Persuasion by Rebecca H. Jamison

I am so lucky today to be a part of the Blog Tour for the book Persuasion: A Latter-Day Tale!

From the back of the book:  "I saw him.  We spoke.  Now I have nothing to worry about.  We can treat each other as old friends...But all the logic in my brain can't change my feelings.  Eight years might as well be eight days.  I still love him."  
When Ann broke off her engagement seven years ago, she thought she'd never see Neil Wentworth again.  But when Neil's brother buys the house she grew up in, it seems fate has other plans in store, and Anne is woefully unprepared for the roller coaster of emotions that come when Neil returns and starts dating her younger friend.
Convinced that Neil could no longer have strong feelings for her, Anne pushes away all thoughts of the past.  But when the handsome man she's been dating decides he can't live without her, Anne must come to terms with her past.  Fans of Persuasion will love this fast-paced, modern version of Jane Austen's most romantic novel.


From Heather:  If you have read any of my reviews before, you'll know that I'm not very good at digging into a book and finding deeply hidden meaning in the pages.  I never have been.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that I slept through most of my high school English classes.  And it wasn't that I didn't like to read...I LOVED to read!  But I wanted to read what I wanted to read!  THIS was a book that I wanted to read.  The premise appealed to me, and the book didn't disappoint!

Rebecca Jamison has done a wonderful job with her characters.  It's so fun to watch Anne and Neil being unintentionally thrust into situations together, knowing what has happened between them in their past.  It's fun being able to see that they belong together, but watch them NOT know it!  I loved that dynamic, and it was written SO well!  My heart breaks for Anne and Neil and the time that they lost together, but I wonder what kind of people they would have been had they not gone through the separation.  The flashbacks into Anne's life when she was dating Neil were fun to read as well.  They were written as journal entries at the beginning of each chapter, and it was so fun to see how things HAD been between them and the things that happened in each of their lives to make them do what they did!

I've got to say, Neil was my absolute favorite character!  He's charming and thoughtful and kind and a police officer (yay!) and an all-around wonderful guy.  He probably even rushes into burning buildings to rescue stray kittens!  If there was one character in any book that I would love to know in real life, it would be Neil Wentworth! 

Like I say, I'm not much into thinking too much about what I read.  I know what I like and what makes me feel like I'm better off for having read.  And I really, really liked Persuasion!  (Now I may have to go check out Jane Austen's Persuasion and see how it compares!)  The characters were well written and engaging.  I couldn't wait to see what would happen to them.  The creepy characters were sufficiently creepy (although I wish Will had had a different name...I kept getting Neil and Will mixed up.  Which is sad because Neil was SO wonderful and Will was SUCH a creep!)  I absolutely gave Persuasion 5 stars and I can't wait to see what Rebecca Jamison comes up with next!

While I was given a copy of Persuasion: A Latter-Day Tale by the author, all of the opinions expressed in this review are my own.