Review & Giveaway of Dear Jane by Allie Cresswell

(Thank you to the publisher and Poetic Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!)

about book:

The final installment of the Highbury trilogy, Dear Jane narrates the history of Jane Fairfax, recounting the events hinted at but never actually described in Jane Austen’s Emma.

Orphaned Jane seems likely to be brought up in parochial Highbury until adoption by her papa’s old friend Colonel Campbell opens to her all the excitement and opportunities of London. The velvet path of her early years is finite, however and tarnished by the knowledge that she must earn her own independence one day.

Frank Weston is also transplanted from Highbury, adopted as heir to the wealthy Churchills and taken to their drear and inhospitable Yorkshire estate. The glimmer of the prize which will one day be his is all but obliterated by the stony path he must walk to claim it.

Their paths meet at Weymouth, and readers of Emma will be familiar with the finale of Jane and Frank’s story. Dear Jane pulls back the veil which Jane Austen drew over their early lives, their meeting in Weymouth and the agony of their secret engagement.

my thoughts:

As a fan of Austen's beloved novel, Emma, I just knew that I would be in for a treat with Dear Jane, the final book in Allie Cresswell's fantastic Highbury trilogy.  A story that focuses on the personal history of Jane Fairfax, a somewhat mysterious character from Emma - how could I resist, right? Plus, this last book in the trilogy reads like a standalone novel, so I don't feel like I'm missing out since I haven't read the first two books (although that will soon be rectified).  Talk about a fun and exciting read! I couldn't wait to dive right in.

In Cresswell's story we learn about Jane and Frank Churchill and finally get to understand how these two fell in love.  We see them adjusting to their lives and learning to navigate these new worlds they are now a part of, but don't feel a part of. We see Jane as fun, engaging, thoughtful, and itching for her independence.  And we see the story of Emma from Jane's perspective - her take on the situation, which I thought was just great. I loved meeting familiar characters (Emma, Mr. Knightley) in this book - Cresswell does a wonderful job with them. Plus, getting to know Frank was terrific - to finally be able to gain an understanding about his actions was great. I absolutely enjoyed every minute I spent with Jane and Frank. Such a delightful read. I would most definitely recommend Dear Jane to fans of Cresswell and fans of Austen - you will LOVE this book to bits!!

GIVEAWAY:
Enter to win a copy of Dear Jane as part of this book blog tour using this Rafflecopter link - good luck!!

Here's the link to the Poetic Book Tours schedule for: Dear Jane

Thank you to the publisher and Poetic Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!