Review: Persuaded by Misty Dawn Pulsipher

 

Persuaded by Misty Dawn Pulsipher
337 pages, published July 2014
Source: I received a copy from ebooks for review in exchange for an honest review

 

Description:
What's worse than never getting over your first love?
How about watching him fall for someone else...

Hanna Elliot had worn the ring faithfully at first. Some part of her still clung to the hope that all was not lost. As the days turned into weeks, she finally took it off and set it atop her dresser. When weeks gave way to months, the ring finally went back into its box, where it gathered dust until it was moved to Hanna’s unmentionables drawer. For the first few years, she had taken it out on the anniversary of the day she’d received it, allowing herself to wallow in what might have been.

She had been all but stamped out of Derick Wentworth’s mind. 

Sure, he thought about her occasionally, especially on cloudless nights when he lay on the bow of the Laconia looking up at the stars. But as time went on, Derick began to feel grateful that it hadn’t worked out, for one thing was certain: if he ever did settle down, it would be with someone who knew her own mind. Someone who went after the thing she wanted without hesitation. Someone who would never allow herself to be persuaded otherwise.

Persuaded, a modern adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion.

My Review:
I love Jane Austen's stories and I love it when they're made into a more modern version. This one was a surprisingly great retelling!

Each chapter began with a quote from Persuasion, which I loved and which totally applied to what happened in that chapter. Hanna hasn't ever really gotten over her first love, Derick. But he seems to have moved on. He races boats and has found himself in the spotlight. When he disappears for a time, there is much speculation. Imagine Hanna's surprise when she runs into him again after all these years...and watches him fall in love with her sister's sister-in-law.

My first impressions were mixed. Hanna is an absolute angel, completely selfless, and very patient and kind--to the point that she's walked all over by those she loves. I wanted her to grow a backbone. Derick is a jerk. As the story unfolded, I realized that my first impressions weren't completely accurate. There were reasons for these behaviors.

I loved the imagery and character descriptions. I really grew to love (and hate) certain ones and found myself completely involved in what was going on. I really want a beach house for the summer, where the houses go by names and not numbers.

I'll definitely be on the lookout for more by this author!

Content: a mild fight; mild-moderate romance--kissing, some mild innuendo. Clean!

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About the Author:

Misty Dawn Pulsipher was born and raised in Utah. She attended Snow College where she developed a love for writing. Misty served as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Washington, D.C. area. She and her husband now reside in Maryland with their three children, two dogs, and the colony of squirrels that lives in their back yard. When she's not writing or procrastinating an edit, Misty is reading, baking, sewing, playing the piano, or bribing her family to play Monopoly with her.

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