Soak Up the Sun and Fun of Summer!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Source: Review Copy from Authors
Summer is my favorite time of year, I love warm weather and being in the water! I couldn’t think of a better way to start the summer season off than to read the summer-themed anthology in the Holidays with Jane series! There are six short stories in this anthology (one for each Jane Austen novel) and each story takes place in present-day. In this collection readers witness various summer activities such as traveling on a Caribbean cruise, attending sleep-away camp, and hanging out with friends home from college.
I hope you find this breakdown helpful!
TWICE UPON A SEA – Melissa Buell
– The Premise: Six years ago Anne was persuaded to break her engagement with Finn Wentworth. Now he is a successful naval archaeologist and is in town filming for a television show about shipwrecks.
– What I Loved: Scuba diving and sunken ships – what a fun setting to explore! And one that relates well to a Persuasion-themed story. I enjoyed the flashbacks and the sweet mementos Anne saved from six years ago. However, I did wish this one was a little longer.
CASTLE OF THE SEAS – Nancy Kelley
– The Premise: The Morland, Thorpe, and Tilney siblings all meet while aboard a two-week cruise in the Caribbean. Cat Morland finds herself forced to navigate some tricky waters when her friend starts acting a bit too possessive and her brother’s friend is imagining himself her boyfriend.
– What I Loved: A vacation in the Caribbean – just what I needed! 😉 Loved hearing about all the excursions, sights, and islands on this cruise (would totally love to follow Cat’s itinerary!). I also loved Cat’s interests in history and that she is a writer of historical romance novels (quite a refreshing change!) One of my faves!
An (UN) EVEN EXCHANGE – Jennifer Becton
– The Premise: Nora seems to be hitting it off with her ‘charmingly awkward’ work colleague, Edward Ferrars. But her sister Marianne is suspicious after finding a picture of him on the internet, so she enlists the help of a private investigator named Brandon Pennings.
– What I Loved: I love how this story selected bits and pieces from Sense and Sensibility and used them in decidedly new ways. I enjoyed seeing Marianne meddle in Nora’s relationship instead of being consumed by her own! In addition, I loved the clever resolution and the sweet sigh-inducing happily-ever-after! One of my faves!
FIRECRACKER – Jessica Grey
– The Premise: Emmalyn is excited to finally be a Senior Counselor at her beloved Camp Hartfield. While Emmalyn is firm on her belief that high schoolers and love “isn’t a real thing,” she engages in a little matchmaking with her Junior Counselor (purely for social reasons!)
– What I Loved: What a clever way to capture the essence of summer! I loved seeing the familiar characters from Emma in the roles of camp counselors, and I thought it was great that Emma was such veteran with pranks! LOL! Also, had a blast spotting some references to The Parent Trap, Clueless, and Emma Approved. (I see what you did there, Jessica Grey!)
MINE – Cecilia Gray
– The Premise: When Eamon comes home from college, Fanny is hoping this summer brings them closer. But her plans are ruined when Eamon comes home with some new college friends and some new changes.
– What I Loved: It was an interesting dynamic to see Eamon (Edmund) be more of a flirt with a string of ex-girlfriends. I liked the flashbacks to previous scenes between Eamon and Fanny, and that Fanny becomes friends with a girl from work (Mansfield Perk) named Susie. Fanny’s selflessness and sense of right are very admirable in this story, however, Eamon’s obtuseness and thoughtless attitude was a little frustrating!
OF RIVERS, ROCKS, and RICH MEN – Rebecca M. Fleming
– The Premise: Rather than return home, Liz Bennet decides to stay in a cabin at the natural and picturesque, Pemberley Acres for the summer. After several unpleasant encounters with the owner (who also lives on the property), Liz’s prejudiced opinions against wealthy men becomes even more confirmed.
– What I Loved: That Liz calls Darcy ‘Grumpus’ and that both her family and his are in the vacation destination business. The setting of the story was so lovely and I enjoyed the way Darcy delivered his famous letter. (Also a fan of the Tolkien references!) However, this story’s timeline did feel a little jumpy and fast at some points.
CONCLUSION:
I’m so thankful for the continuation of this marvelous anthology series! Congrats to the authors for another brilliant collaboration! Whether you enjoy soaking up the sun or swimming in the sea, these sweet, bite-sized Austenesque tales are a perfect companion to your summer days!
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GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
The lovely ladies of Indie Jane Press have generously donated ONE lovely new paperback copy of Holidays with Jane: Summer of Love for me to give away to ONE lucky winner!!
To enter this giveaway, leave a comment about my review!
- This giveaway is open worldwide. Thank you, Indie Jane Press!
- This giveaway ends June 2nd!
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~ Holidays with Jane Series ~
All $0.99 on Ebook Right Now!!
Holidays with Jane: Christmas Cheer
Holidays with Jane: Spring Fever
Holidays with Jane: Trick or Sweet
Holidays with Jane: Summer of Love
Holidays with Jane: Thankful Hearts
Holidays with Jane: Will You Be Mine?
I have the Christmas anthology which I really enjoyed so I would love to win the Summer one. I do prefer to read about Darcy and Elizabeth but a short story about other Austen characters is acceptable .
I enjoyed this review with its breakdown of each story so thank you.
Thanks for checking out my review, Glynis! I really love this series! They all are fantastic, but I think the Spring-themed anthology is my favorite so far! 🙂
I love anthologies like this! They make me want to go back and reread Dear Jane to see the author’s connections to the original. Thanks for the review and reminder to add the canon to my reading list.
Yes, get them all! 😉 I love seeing the unique ways each author connects their stories to Jane Austen and her characters!
The review is wonderful. Makes me not want to wait if I win the giveaway beofre getting a copy!!!
Thanks, Nancy!! LOL! I hope you get the chance to read it soon!
These short stories sound like perfect summer reading. I love the name Camp Hatfield! I wonder if Mr. Woodhouse is running around fretting about the campers’ health! Thank you for the giveaway.
They are indeed! LOL! That would be quite a scene, wouldn’t it! I do like Mr. Woodhouse. 😉
Thank you for the review, Meredith! We appreciate it. <3
My pleasure! I adore this series so much. I had to laugh at your ‘Mr. F’ usage in your story, I kept thinking of Arrested Development when I read it!
These short stories look wonderful!! What a lovely review, Meredith!!
Warmly,
Susanne 🙂
Thanks, Susanne! I loved this collection! I hope you do as well!
Nice! I love anthologies, it’s a great way to get to know new authors to check out!
Thanks for the giveaway (and thanks for making it international!).
Absolutely! 🙂 When I started reading this series some of the authors were brand new to me. I definitely plan to read other works of theirs!
I have read several in this series and totally enjoyed them…as well as The Darcy Monologues anthology which was just recently released. I would love to win a copy but will be reading this sooner or later even if I am not so lucky as to win. Thanks for the chance to win.
Yay for some great anthologies!!! I hope they keep ’em coming! 😉 Best of luck!
Odd: this arrived in my mail box twice.
I’m sorry about. I’m switching back to my previous email subscription service, for months I’ve tried to figure out how to add the ability to subscribe to comments, but it doesn’t seem to be working out no matter what I try. So long story short, I’m going back to the former. If you don’t want to get two emails, you may want to unsubscribe from one of them. Sorry for any inconvenience!
Mine too Sheila. But I’m thinking better twice than not at all .
True.
I love how you decided to do your review with each story separate followed by premise and what you loved. Very informative, definitely one I want to read. Thanks for the giveaway!
Thanks!! With six stories I thought each deserved a bit said about them. 🙂
I have some of the other books in the Holiday with Jane series and from your review I should also enjoy this book
Definitely! Sea, sunshine, and Austen – what is not to love?!? 😉
Hi Meredith!
Thanks for your little reviews 😉
As you say, they’re the perfect companion for Summer. I’m looking forward to welcoming the new season with this anthology, no matter I am by the sea or the mountain.
I like the reference you say about Tolkien in Rebecca ‘ s story…I’m curious about it LOL.
Thanks for the giveaway, Ladies of Holidays with Jane!
Thanks for checking out my review, Teresa! I hope you have a wonderful start to the summer season! I know Rebecca is a fan of Tolkien so I’m glad she found a way to work that into her story a little!
What a great review, Meredith! I really want to read this book now! Thank you for the giveaway!
Thanks, Daniela! I hope you get the chance to read it soon!
This sounds like a great book and I just added it to my Goodreads TBR shelf as well so if I don’t win it I won’t forget I wanted to read it. All six stories sounded interesting. Good Luck to everyone and thanks for hosting this giveaway!
Awesome, Chelsea! Hope you get the chance to read it soon! 🙂 Best of luck!
I have 4 of the Holidays with Jane, but not the Summer of Love. Love your review. I’ll keep my fingers crossed, but if not lucky will need to add to my TBP pile.
Great! 🙂 This is the fourth one I read, I can’t wait to read the next two! Best of luck!
Thanks for the fantastic review, Meredith! I am so glad you liked Summer of Love (and caught all those references in Firecracker, lol)!
Ha! It helps when you are a fan of the same things! 😉 Thanks so much for the great pleasure, Jessica! I’m so happy to have read this lovely collection!
These look so fun! I would love to win
😀 Good luck, my friend!
sounds like a great anthology
denise
Yes!! 🙂
Would love the chance to read these short stories during the hot summer days to come. Nothing better than “Jane” and a cool glass of lemonade 😀
Definitely! I am in complete agreement!
This sounds like the perfect summer read. Short and sweet stories, I’m curious about it. So please count me in , thank you!
Best of luck, Jo’s Daughter! 🙂
thanks for this wonderful giveaway which I would treasure.
Best of lucky, Sharon!
I’ve got all of the Holidays with Jane books sitting in the TBR collection on my Kindle and was thinking about reading this one in the Group Read for Sophia Rose’s Austenesque challenge on Goodreads in July. Now I’m wondering if I can wait till then!
I’m another one who’s intrigued by the Tolkien reference, so I’ll definitely be looking out for that one.
Thanks for the collection of mini-reviews, Meredith
LOL! I wouldn’t wait! 😉 It is a perfect book to getting you feeling in the summer frame-of-mind!
Thanks for checking out my reviews, Anji! I look forward to hearing what you think of it!
This sounds like a perfect vacation read!
Yes! I agree! 🙂
What a lovely and thorough review, Meredith! This sounds like an excellent summer read!
Thanks, Paige! I appreciate you checking it out! I love all things about summer!
The review makes me wanna read this short stories anthology now. That’s how tempting it is. I love short and sweet romance stories based on Jane Austen’s novels. Thanks for the giveaway, Indie Jane Press.
Oh yay! I’m glad it tempted you! 🙂
I love the synopsis to these!
Thanks for checking out my review, Patricia! These authors did a great job of creating diverse and intriguing stories!
Lovely reviews of these stories!
Thanks so much, Janis! 🙂 I appreciate it!