By the Book

December 15, 2017
Professor Anne Corey is stunned to learn that her ex-fiance has been hired as Fairfax College's new president. Her troubles are only beginning.In her debut novel, Sonneborn retells Jane Austen's Persuasion, setting it in the rarified world of academia, where Anne's brilliant teaching and love of 19th-century women's novels--Persuasion is indeed her favorite--are threatened by the brutal circus of three-year contracts and the dangling sword of publish-or-perish. Supported by her best friend, Larry--a bracingly witty Henry James scholar who has embroiled himself in a clandestine affair with a married, rather dim, but gorgeous actor who's playing Rochester in a movie called Jane Vampire, based on the Bronte novel--Anne has embraced her career. Although it's nearly impoverished her, it has helped her forget Adam Martinez, her college sweetheart, whom she abandoned on the eve of graduation. Now that Adam has taken the reins at Fairfax, Anne will have to face her past: why did she leave him? And does she still have feelings for him? Meanwhile, brash Man Booker Prize-winning author Rick Chasen has swooped into Anne's life. A motorcycle-riding bad boy with stories to tell of surviving an IED in Fallujah and fomenting rebellion among college professors, Rick has secured a writer-in-residence position at Fairfax, but he and Adam clearly have bad blood between them, and no one will tell Anne why. Sonneborn handily translates Austen's tale into a modern context, creating a light, bright revision with quirkily compelling characters: Anne's 98 overdue library books, her willingness to watch the movie Jane Vampire over and over with a besotted Larry, not to mention her patient explanation of all things Jane Eyre to Larry's simple-minded lover, endear her to the reader, who eagerly awaits the famous words: "Reader, I married him."This decidedly filmable update of the classic romance--without zombies or vampires--will charm lovers of Jane Austen and chick lit alike.

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February 15, 2018

With trying to land a book contract, get tenure, help deal with her dementia-challenged father, and teach a full load of classes at Southern California's Fairfax College, English professor Anne Corey has more than enough to worry about without an old love showing up. But when the new college president turns out to be her ex-fiance, Adam Martinez--and he doesn't even seem at first to recognize her--she feels the chill and is afraid it's going to be a long, long year. Then Booker Prize winner Rick Chasen joins the faculty as writer in residence, and suddenly life on campus gets a lot more interesting. A professor herself, Sonneborn nails the modern academic vibe as a diverse cast of faculty, students, and administrators bring the school scene to life in all its colorful, complex glory. The first-person narration, educational setting, and interspersed emails make this a natural fit for the new adult set, but it will appeal as well to readers who appreciate their romances upbeat and dusted with humor. VERDICT Entertaining, romantic, and smart, this debut is a clever reinvention of Jane Austen's Persuasion and a delightful way to spend an afternoon. Sonneborn lives in the Los Angeles area.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2018
Anne Corey's college-aged love for Adam Martinez could not survive her father's disapproval of Adam's humble beginnings nor Adam's post-Princeton move to a finance job across the country. Now an almost-full professor of English at Fairfax College in southern California, Anne has no regrets, until Adam comes back into her life as Fairfax's new president. Sonneborn's first novel updates Jane Austen's Persuasion with lots of appealing, cozy details, old college architecture, a romantic rival (who's really more of a Wickham, but whatever), a gay best friend, and lots and lots of libraries. Though sometimes overstuffed with detailsAnne's love of gossip blogs is only brought up when it's blatantly convenient, and a subplot with her father and sister seems to be there just for the sake of emulating the originalreaders of light women's fiction with likable heroines will connect with the book-smart but not so love-smart Anne. Give this to fans of Shannon Hale's Austenland (2007) and unapologetic lovers of the Hallmark Channel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)