Persuasion, Captain Wentworth and Cracklin' Cornbread --- Book Review & Giveaway

I was given a free copy for review purposes. All opinions are honest and are my own.

Persuasion, Captain Wentworth and Cracklin' Cornbread.

Yep, that's pretty much all I have to say---and you're hooked, right? I am totally in love with this Jane Austen Takes the South series by Mary Jane Hathaway. What an awesome idea.

This third book of the series finds Lucy Crawford, daughter of a well-respected and well-to-do Southern family fallen on hard times, struggling to find a way to keep the family from losing all they have to her father's debtors. When the local free clinic rents out a wing of the house, Lucy is shocked to find that the doctor in charge is her former love-interest, Jem. 

Growing up, Jem's family was poor and redneck and Lucy's family once persuaded her to give him the boot when they found things were serious between them. Now that their paths have crossed again, well...you'll have to read it to find out!

I love this excellent retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion. I may even love it more than Persuasion. At least the heroine isn't so depressed and mousy---Anne Elliott can be a real downer sometimes. The first thing I loved about the story was that the "traditional" race roles are reversed. Lucy's family is black and her family has been wealthy for generations. While this is surely a common scenario in real life, it's not one we see often in Southern fiction. I liked that. It was also fun to see the reference to the Bath festival I attended last year, as well as the BBC house tour my friend Katrina went on before our tour started.

It was refreshing to see romantic references that weren't contrived. They were touching and believable and the characters were likeable---or hateable!

Want to know something else that's awesome? The author lives not 30 minutes away from our old Oregon town! Those of you from the big city won't realize what a big deal that is, but since her town and my old town are pretty tiny, that's like finding out she lived just around the block from me! I think it's neat that she's writing about the South and living in Eastern Oregon, while I'm here living in the South and working on a manuscript set in---Eastern Oregon! Small world, this is!

So...you want your own copy, right? Because I'm not parting with mine. Enter your info on the Rafflecopter widget below and Family Christian bookstore will send one US winner a free paperback of Persuasion, Captain Wentworth and Cracklin' Cornbread---most excellent newest novel by Mary Jane Hathaway. a Rafflecopter giveaway Linking with:

The Homemaking Party: Reading Challenges Update

Over the next two months, I'm participating in two reading challenges and am keeping a running list of what I've read here. Here's the info on the challenges I've joined---in case you're wanting to join too!

Since August 1st, I've finished these books:
French Lessons by Peter Mayle
Persuasion, Captain Wentworth, and Cracklin' Cornbread by Mary Jane Hathaway

Tonight I'll finish Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart.

Here are my plans for Simply Audra Marie's Friday "It Begins with SUMMER" challenge:

S---SPAM: A Biography (will read in September)
U---Undone (will read in September)
M---Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart (reading now)
M---Motel of the Mysteries (will read in September)
E---Emma, Mr. Knightley, and Chili Slaw Dogs (will read in August)
R---Recipes for Easy Living (will read in September)

What are you reading?

Thanks for stopping by the Homemaking Party! Have a blessed night!

A Jane Austen Encounter by Donna Fletcher Crow -- Book Review #AusteninAugustLGR

English professors Elizabeth and Richard are celebrating their 20th anniversary by visiting Jane Austen’s old stomping grounds. From Bath to Hampshire to Steventon and more, this couple has planned the dream vacation. But, when some old papers are donated to the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, Richard ends up helping go through them and begins what will become a multiple-victim mystery, complete with a search for a missing Austen manuscript. 

Before I even began reading this book, I wrote this in my notes: "I haven't even opened the book yet and I'm excited! I just took a Jane Austen-themed tour this past September to all the places mentioned in the back cover description. I am so looking forward to reading this!"

I absolutely adored this book---totally was not disappointed! The author has obviously spent time in the places she's describing. The Jane Austen Centre tea room---oh, I can just see it! She mentioned so many things I just loved about England. The performers in the courtyard and Holy Communion at Bath Abbey, the beautiful assembly rooms, Chawton Cottage---I followed her every step of the way!  One line in the book said, "Jane never wrote about a place she did not know personally." This story completely came alive for me because I do know these places personally!

The writing style is simple and sweet. My favorite line from Elizabeth: "Logic can be such an inconvenient thing." Love it!

I'm definitely looking forward to reading the other two in this series, as well as looking into the archaeological dig at Steventon---the only place mentioned in the story that I didn't visit.

Thanks so much to Donna Fletcher Crow for the complimentary review copy. My daughter is enjoying it now, and then it will go into our personal collection.

#AusteninAugustLGR

Linking with:
Cozy Book Hop @ Reading List
Booknificent Thursday