Jacqueline Firkins
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
In this charming debut about first love and second chances, a young girl gets caught between the boy next door and a playboy. Perfect for fans of To All The Boys I've Loved Before.REVIEW
Mansfield, Massachusetts is the last place seventeen-year-old Edie Price wants to spend her final summer before college. It’s the home of wealthy suburbanites and prima donnas like Edie’s cousins, who are determined to distract her from her mother’s death with cute boys and Cinderella-style makeovers. Edie has her own plans, and they don’t include a prince charming.
But as Edie dives into schoolwork and applying for college scholarships, she finds herself drawn to two Mansfield boys who start vying for her attention. First there's Sebastian, Edie’s childhood friend and first love. He’s sweet and smart and . . . already has a girlfriend. Then there's Henry, the local bad boy and all-around player. He’s totally off limits, even if his kisses are chemically addictive.
Both boys are trouble. Edie can’t help but get caught between them. Someone's heart is going to break. Now she just has to make sure it isn't hers.
Edie was trying to keep her eyes on the prize. She aspired to earn a college scholarship, and start her future the right way. But first, she had to endure several months in her wealthy aunt’s home. While there, she reminded herself of the pact she made with her best friend - NO BOYS, but as she attempted to fit into this new world, she found her heart torn between two. Would she still be able to focus on her future or would these young men be her undoing?
This book is a update of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, and for better or for worse, Firkins really stuck to the source material. If you are familiar with the original story, you know what to expect. If not, I think you will still delight in this story of girl trying to make her way in an unfamiliar world, while working towards her dream, and also, enjoying a bit of romance.
I really liked Edie. She had a few rough years, and sort of got herself into quite a predicament with her best friend prior to coming to Mansfield. Regardless of her situation, she tried to keep her head up and be true to herself. She had drive and ambition, and how could I not adore such a bibliophile? I found her easy to root for, and shared her pain, when things didn’t quite go her way.
For a good part of this book, she was torn between her affection for two young men. Sebastian, her childhood crush, who was unavailable, and Henry, the resident playboy, who was emotionally unavailable. I enjoyed when Edie and Sebastian relived parts of their past and engaged in literary wars, but Henry, he made me swoon.
Henry was smooth and debonair, and he came off as superficial, but as the story played out, I got to know him on a different level, and I absolutely fell in love with him. He fostered a beautiful friendship with Edie, and was there for her when she needed him. I am crying just thinking about his little-grand gesture. It sort of made my heart explode, and I have to commend Firkins on her portrayal of Henry, because he owned my heart.
* ARC received in exchange for an honest review.
GIVEAWAY
There giveaway for this tour is being hosted on Instagram. You can check it out via the embedded post below and enter to win one of these amazing dresses created by the author and a copy of the book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jacqueline's a writer, costume designer, and lover of beautiful things. She's on the fulltime faculty in the Department of Theatre & Film at the University of British Columbia where she also takes any writing class they’ll let her into. When not obsessing about where to put the buttons or the commas, she can be found running by the ocean, eating excessive amounts of gluten, listening to earnest love songs, and pretending her dog understands every word she says.
For a good part of this book, she was torn between her affection for two young men. Sebastian, her childhood crush, who was unavailable, and Henry, the resident playboy, who was emotionally unavailable. I enjoyed when Edie and Sebastian relived parts of their past and engaged in literary wars, but Henry, he made me swoon.
Henry was smooth and debonair, and he came off as superficial, but as the story played out, I got to know him on a different level, and I absolutely fell in love with him. He fostered a beautiful friendship with Edie, and was there for her when she needed him. I am crying just thinking about his little-grand gesture. It sort of made my heart explode, and I have to commend Firkins on her portrayal of Henry, because he owned my heart.
"Is that your real endgame here?" she asked. "Are you hoping to break my heart?"Overall, this book provided me with a wonderful reading experience. I didn’t just read this book, I inhaled it. I found that I needed to read just one chapter, and blazed through this book in order to learn Edie’s fate. Though, the ending was not perfect, it left me in a happy place, knowing that Edie’s future looked quite bright. I was throughly enchanted by Firkins’ debut, and look forward to reading more of her work.
"Actually, I was hoping to put it back together."
* ARC received in exchange for an honest review.
GIVEAWAY
There giveaway for this tour is being hosted on Instagram. You can check it out via the embedded post below and enter to win one of these amazing dresses created by the author and a copy of the book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Do you play a musical instrument?
Let us know in the comments!
Let us know in the comments!
I do not know how to play a musical instrument - I wish!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a well done book, and I like that you were fans of both the guys (even if one had your heart a bit more).
-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
I wish I had learned to play something too, but we didn't have money for stuff like that when I was a kid, and YouTube didn't exist.
DeleteI love it when a book won't let me go. This sounds like a good one.
ReplyDeleteIt was time well spent for me
DeleteI don;t think I have read enough college sotires! I think Beautiful Disaster was the one and only. I should remedy that! :)
ReplyDeleteI like that we are getting more YA-goes-to-college type books, because NA has always focused more on the romance, like Beautiful Disaster (which I enjoyed), and there is a lot more to going to college than that.
DeleteI've always wanted to learn how to play the piano, but my parents didn't think music was a necessity for adulthood. There was no band in my formative years, and I really regret that choice. My husband played the tuba, which I find endlessly hilarious, and my son has been taking piano lessons for over a year. He loves it, but lets me know this is just a stepping stone until he can get a drum set (my ears are already crying).
ReplyDeleteAs for this book... I just added it to my TBR! It sounds like it has everything I want and more. An unattainable childhood crush, and a bad boy character? Yes! Please! Also, that quote was swoony!
Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? ☃💬
Piano is an instrument I love too. My neighbors played and I was so jealous. I am a fan of this book. It's very much to my taste.
DeleteThis sounds really good. I had no idea that this was a Mansfield Park retelling. It sounds like this characters are very well done.
ReplyDeleteI played the trumpet and french horn when I was in school. My daughter is going to have to learn to play just about everything since she is wanting to be a music educator. It should be fun!
Oddly enough, it's not the first Mansfield Park retelling I have read, though, I felt this one stuck closer to the source. I am always so impressed with people, who can play multiple instruments. I remember my cousin going to school for music education, and she could play just about any instrument you can blow.
DeleteGreat review! I think I'd like to reread Mansfield Park and then pick this one up.
ReplyDeleteI must confess, I have not read any of Austen's books, but when I read retellings, I like to read the cliff's notes or summaries, so I can see what liberties the author too.
DeleteI do play a few instruments. Piano and guitar are the ones that I have played for quite some time.
ReplyDeleteI am really looking forward to reading this one. So happy to hear that you enjoyed it so much. :)
Piano is my all-time favorite. I always wanted to take lessons, but we did not have the means and now, I don't have the time. I hope you like this book, because I really loved it.
DeleteRetelling are such Fun! I love when another remains true to the original but make their new work uniquely readable at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThis is one time I wish the author had taken a different turn on the original, but I still really enjoyed it.
DeleteI've never read a retelling of Mansfield Park before so I'm very intrigued by this one, especially after seeing that 5 star review. Adding to my TBR right now. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is my second. Seeking Mansfield by Kate Watson was the other, but it didn't follow the source as closely as this one did. I have seen reviews all over the place for this one, but I loved it. Even if all the plot lines didn't work out the way I wanted them to, I had a great time reading this book.
DeleteMansfield Park used to be my favourite Austen read so I know that I will kind of know what is going to happen :P But sometimes with retellings it's less about the outcome and more about the journey to getting there. Which means I could still enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteI feel like that about most books. I mean, many books are predictable at this point, but if the characters are great, the spin is fresh, and the story is well written, it can be very enjoyable.
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