Publisher’s Description:
“Emma Mitchell may enjoy sprinkling romance into the lives of others, but her own plans involve a single first-class ticket to culinary school in Europe.
When her best friend, Jon Noble, suddenly moves back to Ransom, Emma’s fairly certain her life can’t get any better…until her matchmaking schemes nosedive, her culinary future falls flat, and a life-long friendship begins to teeter on the brink of something unexpected.
With a little inspiration from Jane Austen’s classic and a touch of Blue Ridge charm, will Jon and Emma discover that what they need the most may be the last thing they’re trying to find?”
My Review:
I’m starting out this review by saying that I love everything about this book. I love the contemporary setting of the story. I loved the hometown characters; the beautiful small town setting in the Blue Ridge mountains: the dialogue that flows easily; and the discussions of faith that are scattered through the storyline. But most of all, I loved Pepper Basham’s characterization of Emma.
I’ve been a Jane Austen fan for many years. “Emma” is one of my favorite books ever, and I reread it at least once a year. So when it comes to “fan fiction” books that attempt to retell the story of “Emma”, I’m very picky about every detail in those books. This is my favorite retelling of ‘Emma” to date because the author truly understood the character of Emma. Emma has always been a character who is truly compassionate; loves her family deeply; tries to help those in need; and wants the best for her friends. She’s also somewhat unknowingly proud and self-absorbed, so she misses cues around her that her plans may not be working. And so it is with this Emma who lives in this small southern town. The characters of Jon and Emma work well together to and the romance between them blossoms as it should all the way through the book. The last chapter has a romantic scene that’s sweet and perfect. (I’m not giving anything away here. You’ll have to read it for yourself.)
I loved this quote from Emma’s mom when she’s comforting Emma:
“….There’s no mistake you can make that God can’t work out for your good and His ultimate glory. There’s no brokenness too big for his love. He works with the pieces, even the jagged and chipped ones, to make a beautiful picture of our lives, even if we can’t see it at first.”
That quote is truly the heart of this book. Even if you’ve never read any of Jane Austen’s books, you’ll love the this heart-touching and romantic story of love, forgiveness, and redemption.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
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About Pepper Basham
“Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes romance peppered with grace and humor with a southern Appalachian flair. Her books have garnered recognition in the Grace Awards, Inpsys, and the ACFW Carol Awards, with The Thorn Healer selected as a 2018 finalist in the RT awards. Both her contemporary and historical romance novels consistently receive high ratings from Romantic Times, with Just the Way You Are as a Top Pick. Most recently she’s introduced readers to Bath, UK through her novellas, Second Impressions and Jane by the Book, and taken readers into the exciting world of WW2 espionage in her novella, Façade. The second novel in The Pleasant Gap series, When You Look at Me, arrives in October and her contribution to Barbour’s wonderful My Heart Belongs series hits the shelves in January 2019 with My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge. Her books are seasoned with her Appalachian heritage and love for family. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC where she is the mom of five great kids, a speech-pathologist to about fifty more, and a lover of chocolate, jazz, hats, and Jesus.
You can get to know Pepper on her website, www.pepperdbasham.com, on Facebook, Instagram, or over at her group blog, The Writer’s Alley.”
Patti!!! You already know how much I love this!!!! Thank you!!!!!