- Publication date: February 2, 2021
- Grade level: 7-9
- Length: 384 Pages
Summary
In 1821 Elias Roch met and fell in love with a mysterious woman named Josephine De Clare. He wrote her a stack of love letters and a novel as he searched desperately through the English nobility for the woman of his dreams.
In 2021 Josie De Clare moved into the old English manor that had been her father’s final project before his tragic death. It is there that she finds a painting of the former owner, Elias Roch, and a stack of letters addressed to her–and written 200 years ago.
My Take
This has all the earmarks of a Austen-esque novel with a modern twist. Both Josie and Elias are wonderfully relatable characters, and their stories are unique yet interwoven in a way that would could not exist without the other.
I’ve read a couple of novels that try to emulate the Victorian-era romance style, and this is by far the best I’ve read. I would recommend it to any Austen fan or any YA fan.
I can’t say a lot about the plot without giving away the ending, but the characters are all well-developed. I hate reading books in which the main characters are “perfect.” This book avoids that trope while still presenting a likable protagonist and love interest. The best part is that this will be out before Valentine’s Day!
A Couple of B's 
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