Book Review of Emmalee by Jenni James

I heart this story! I think Emmalee is my favorite character of all the books so far in the Jane Austen Diaries. She seems to have it all; a rich family with a big house, money to spend on anything she wants but she still lacks one important thing, love. She takes on a project Hannah Smith and thinks she’s helping her out by being her friend. Chase Anderson is the guy next door and he’s a perfect George Knightly (He's also the older brother to Taylor Anderson from Pride & Popularity). Chatty Claire Hart (which we meet in Northanger Alibi which I loved!) is the annoying younger sister to Chloe & Cassidy that Emma has to endure and is annoyed by her busy-body ways. You have all your favorite characters from Jane Austen’s Emma in a modern-day twist. Matching-making by Emma gets all messed up and her new friend Hannah is heartbroken. It’s a wonderful story and I want to read it again and again. I’d love to see this one made into a movie. I know we already have an Emma movie but I want a modern version and not Clueless (even though I did enjoy that one). There are a lot of characters that make appearances from the other books and you start getting a complete picture of how they are all connected. Jenni is brilliant in her writing, the way it all works together. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

Get to know the awesome author Jenni James and purchase her books:

http://authorjennijames.com/

http://jennijamesbookstore.blogspot.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Emmalee-Jenni-James

http://authorjennijames.blogspot.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2937053.Jenni_James

Book review Persuaded by Jenni James

Another wonderful story by Jenni James; I absolutely love the Jane Austen Diaries series. All four books are by far my favorite books I've read this year. Persuaded and Emmalee were my favorite Christmas presents I received. When I got home Christmas evening I started reading Persuaded and didn't put down the book until I finished it in the middle of the night. I love the way Jenni uses the characters and events that Jane Austen did but turns them into a modern situations we can all relate to; like four-wheeling in Moab instead of a walk to the Cobb in Lyme. The character Amanda Ellis became an instant favorite of mine. She was just as nice and sometimes to a fault as Anne Elliott was. It’s the perfect classic tale of girl meets a boy, he’s geeky but she still likes him. She lets friends talk her out of being with him and breaks his heart. Big Mistake! He comes back years later and he’s hot, smart, and very successful... And he doesn't want to have anything to do with her. Amanda has to deal with the choices she made. I love that so many guys are into Amanda but she is completely clueless of her effect she has on them. The song "She doesn't know she's beautiful" kept playing in my mind as a theme song for this book. It is a great adaption and wonderful read. 

Get to know the awesome author Jenni James and purchase her books:

http://authorjennijames.com/

http://jennijamesbookstore.blogspot.com/

http://www.amazon.com=persuadedbyjennijames

http://authorjennijames.blogspot.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2937053.Jenni_James

I failed at NANOWRIMO, but is it really a fail?

I started out good for the first couple of days on the NANOWRIMO. I was ahead of the game on words. 

 I lost steam when I couldn't come up with a realistic way to time travel. Maybe because it isn't realistic and my imagination was stuck. I was thinking to hard and I should have moved on in the story but instead I stopped writing. 

I kind of felt how Janette Rallison describes taking a trip without a map. 

"Writing 200 pages without knowing the basic tenets of your story is like driving 200 miles for a vacation without a map or street signs. You’ll get somewhere, but it may not be where you wanted to end up." Pep Talk from Janette Rallison 

I have found my map and now that I have made that first step as Lisa McMann says.  

"So you took the big step and decided to try NaNoWriMo. Maybe it’s your first time, maybe it’s your thirteenth. And it’s a big commitment—one you need a lot of motivation to complete. Like choosing to eat healthy, adopt a puppy, or quit smoking, motivation and commitment are keys to your success. And by choosing to do NaNoWriMo, you’ve made the first step." Pep Talk from Lisa McMann

I'm a little bit closer now to finishing my novel. Like Chris Angotti suggests, I won't focus on what I didn't do but look forward to what I'll accomplish. 

"Don’t beat yourself up if you’re not going to win this time around. Trust that you’ll do more—and make something equally great—in the months to come." Pep Talk from Chris Angotti