REVIEW: A Love for the Pages by Joy Penny

A Love for the Pages by Joy Penny
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Book Description: 

Kiss. Marry. Kill. Nineteen-year-old June Eyermann has always known exactly which of her favorite Byronic heroes goes where. She’d kiss moody and possessive Rochester from Jane Eyre and marry prideful but repentant Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, leaving obsessive and spiteful Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights to be chucked off a cliff—but no. She couldn’t leave any of her heroes behind. She lives for her favorite fictional worlds.

But June is about to get a serious wake up call when she returns home for the summer after her college freshman year. Stuck somewhere between feeling like a kid again under her parents’ roof and being forced to start acting like an adult with worries about her future career, June looks at the library volunteer position offered to her as a way to keep her sanity for the next few months before she can go back to school.

What June doesn’t expect to find at the library is her favorite romantic heroes brought to life—all in the same man. Obstinate, prideful and even a bit rude, Everett Rockford shouldn’t exactly be “dating material,” even if June’s heart rate accelerates whenever she’s near him. But after discovering his enigmatic past and witnessing a few fiery moments of tenderness, June can’t help but see Rochester, Darcy and even Heathcliff in Everett. If she’s going to make it through the summer without becoming a tragic heroine in her own story, she has to separate the man from the ideals of fiction in her head. Because if there’s one thing she knows about Byronic love stories, it’s that they don’t always end happily ever after.

This review is a double edged sword. On one hand, I really enjoyed it. But on the other hand, there were a few issues.

It dismays me to give this a 3.5. I was really looking forward to this book because it sounded awesome and I love Pride & Prejudice modernization. Reality is, the story was actually a 4 (hence the star rating instead of a 3), but I ended up docking it that half star for one reason...the relationship between Everett and June. I liked June, and I liked Everett. I thought they had a great budding friendship. I even thought there was chemistry between them. There could have been a great build up to them finally getting together. But for me, I felt like the build up was missing and his declaration of love came out of the blue. I didn't feel it, I didn't believe it. I actually flipped back a few pages just to make sure I hadn't missed something. It happened just as I was starting to see that both Everett and June were into each other. I think that if there had been a little more romantic tension, or even Everett's POV, I would have felt it more.

I don't typically comment on the cover of books, but I have to mention that the cover was cute prior to reading the book, but after reading the book, I appreciate it all the more. It's straight out of a scene in the book...one of my favorite scenes.

Even though I had a few issues with this book, I really did enjoy it. I'd definitely read more from the author. And I'd recommend this to any reader that loves a retelling/modernization of the classics.

I graciously received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews on Goodreads