Monday, November 4, 2019

#AmReading YA - The Retelling Edition

Off Script
Kate Watson
Series: Seeking Mansfield, #3
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Flux
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
Emma gets a Hollywood-tinged, feminist update in this funny and fierce retelling of Austen’s classic about a well-intentioned but tragically misguided matchmaker.

The summer after her first year of college, teen starlet Emma Crawford returns home to Manhattan to prepare for the role of a lifetime—and play career matchmaker to her friends. When Emma’s search for an assistant leads her to the wide-eyed Brittany Smith, Emma sees the big screen in the girl’s future. And because Emma knows best, she’s sure that steering Brittany onto the right path is all she needs to do to make her a star—even if Brittany doesn’t know it yet.

Emma’s plans start to unravel, however, when professional soccer player Liam Price re-enters her life. Not only is Liam her former best friend’s older brother, but he’s gorgeous, smart, and has no problem pointing out the (totally exaggerated) flaws in Emma’s plans. But as Emma comes in close contact with the darker side of Hollywood, she starts to question the glamorous world she’s always known and realizes her role in it needs to change—if she can find the courage to go off script.
In the third installment of the Seeking Mansfield series, Watson gave us her spirit on Emma by Jane Austen. This Emma was still a matchmaker, but instead of love matches, she was making career matches.

One of the things I always do, when I read a retelling, is to get a refresher on the source material.  I am always curious to compare the old and the new, and I was really surprised by how much of the original Emma existed in this very NOW, very timely take on the original story. She also did a fantastic job capturing the spirt of Emma. That to me is sign of brilliance, and I must acknowledge how well the author accomplished this task.

This Emma was a successful actress, preparing for an upcoming blockbuster film, and therefore, a bulk of the book focuses on being a women in entertainment industry. Here, we saw the dark side of the entertainment industry - exploitation, lack of privacy, gossip, backstabbing, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. The MeToo movement rocked Hollywood, and therefore, definitely earned its part in this story. It's a timely topic, which deserves attention, and I liked all the different ways Watson tackled it.

I also adored all the people, who were part of Emma's life. The importance of friendship and found-family was strong throughout this book, and Watson gifted Emma with an amazing bunch of people to help her navigate this unpredictable world. I especially adored Weston. That man oozed love and support through his pores, and I could totally imagine him as the next Ellen.

Another character, who deserves a big mention, is Liam. Liam was a fantastic love interest for Emma. He was so sweet, kind, and swoony, but he also challenged her, a LOT. They had great chemistry, and their shared love of Finely was just another thing to strengthen their connection. I liked that he was often a voice of reason, but also there to remind Emma of who she was, when she sometimes lost sight of that.

I was beyond delighted that Watson reunited all three Seeking Mansfield couples for the final chapter of this book. She not only brought them physically together, but she also reminded us of how much each of these young women had overcome and accomplished. If this is her final retelling set in this world, it was a find send off, which, by the way, left me shedding a few tears.

**ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

Taming of the Drew
Stephanie Kate Strohm
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
Cass McKay has been called stubborn, temperamental, difficult, and that word that rhymes with “witch” more times than she cares to count. But that’s all about to pay off. She has finally landed the role she was born to play—Kate, in The Taming of the Shrew—in the summer apprentice program of a renowned Shakespeare theater company in the forests of Vermont.

But Cass can barely lace up her corset before her troubles begin. Her leading man, Drew, is a complete troll, and he’s going to ruin Cass’s summer. Even worse, Cass’s bunkmate Amy has somehow fallen head over heels for Drew. Cass can’t let Amy throw herself at a total jerk, so she comes up with a genius plan to give Drew the personality makeover he so desperately needs: they’ll tame Drew just as Petruchio tames Kate! But as Shakespeare’s classic plays out offstage, Cass finds it harder and harder to resist falling for Drew herself.

The best kind of entertainment, The Taming of the Drew is smart, funny, fresh, and original. You’re going to love this badass heroine and her friends. You might even end up liking Drew, too.
Cass watched her parents' marriage implode, and sort of lost faith in the whole institution of love. She was looking forward to this summer, though. It allowed her to escape her family drama at home, while also serving as her very first paid acting experience. However, her first impression of Vermont was not that favorable after a run in with Drew, her prickly co-star, who she was determined to tame.

I have been a fan of Stephanie Kate Strohm's books, since I read It's Not Me, It's You. It was love at first read. Strohm and I seem to share a similar sense of humor, and therefore, I find her hilarious. But, it's also her knack for writing delightful characters, as well as fun and engaging dialog, that keeps me coming back for me. The one thing I can depend upon, when reading a Stephanie Kate Strohm book, is a fun time filled with lots of laughter, and once again, she gifted that to me with The Taming of the Drew.

Strohm blended so many elements in such a way that was guaranteed to result in a good time for me.

The setting had this summer camp feel, but we were dealing with pre-college teens with very little supervision, and therefore, there was a lot more room for shenanigans. I especially loved all the attempts to "tame" Drew. Cass called upon the same tactics used by Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, however, she had to be more cunning, so as not to call attention to her plan. The creeping and pranking resulted in some very humorous situations.

Though this was a retelling, I also got to enjoy pieces of the source material in its original form. As Cass tried to recreate the taming, she was also part of the cast performing The Taming of the Shrew. I got to bear witness to their rehearsals and even part of their performance. But, the bard wasn't only represented by that play, as these thespians lived to quote him in almost any situation, which really sold their love and adoration of theatre to me. I also found the process the actors practiced, as they tried to connect with their characters, very interesting. Strohm's theatre background really shined during these scenes.

Aside from the show and shenanigans, I was fond of the friendship that developed between Cass, Amy, and Heidi. These three couldn't have been any more different from each other, but they shared their love of theatre, which grew into so much more.

Finally, let's talk about Drew. He was the perfect foil for Cass. This was a typical hate-at-first-sight, but Strohm did such a nice job revealing the little cracks in Cass' determination to hate him. As those small, sweet moments grew more frequent, I found myself more and more invested in this love-match. It all culminated to a really precious final scene, which stole my heart too.

For me, this was another solid book by Strohm, and now I can say, I have read them all. It was the type of lighthearted book I gravitate towards, which not only incorporated a classic in an entertaining way, but also showcased a love for theatre, and did a nice job pulling me into that world.



Favorite retelling?
Let us know in the comments!

26 comments:

  1. Ooh I'm glad to hear that Emma retelling is a good one. I love the OG Emma and I loved the Youtube mini series too. Liam sounds perfect! I can't wait to meet him!

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    1. You know I never read the original. I will admit, I read the Cliffs Notes in order to see how the retellings compare. Emma was still a busybody, but instead of arranging love matches, she was trying to arrange career matches. The MeToo focus really gave Emma a lot of substance as a character, and her struggle with speaking out vs staying quiet was well done. And, yes, Liam was a fantastic book boyfriend

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  2. These both sound so fun and I am always up for a good retelling! I will definitely look more into both of these!

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    1. I hope you get a chance to check them out. I really enjoyed both.

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  3. i love when a series wraps up in a great way. something about the cover for the taming of drew makes me want to know about her
    sherry @ fundinmental

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    1. Cass was a great character. I really liked seeing her views on love change throughout the book, but I also liked that she didn't lose all her fire.

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  4. I was all ready to be judgey of the Emma retelling Off Script but it actually sounds like an interesting take on a well known story. I'm kind of surprised I haven't put this series on my TBR before.

    And a Taming of the Shrew retelling? How did I not get that the first time I saw this book? Sometimes, I am a little dim missing the obvious. It sounds like the book did the original tale justice in a far more modern setting.

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    1. I have only read Emma retellings (and Cliffs Notes), and she is still the busybody, but with careers instead of romance. And, Watson gave her such a great crew to fill out the other parts. The Hollywood twist gave some weight to the story, but also preserved the essence of the original Emma character.

      That Strohm book is pretty old, but I loved the way she blended the original with her Taming twist. Like I said, I am a fan of her humor, and always enjoy her lighter-side reads.

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  5. I like the sounds of of these! I am always up for a good retelling so these both sound like they would be really good too!

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    1. I do like retellings, and both were nice twists on the originals.

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  6. I think I'd prefer the first one thanks to your description of Liam as "sweet, kind, and swoony and challenging" My perfect hero ;-)

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    1. Liam was the voice of reason, who helped Emma see the other side of things. His character had been verbally and physically abused by his mother, so he chose to be kind and gentle too. He was lovely

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  7. Retellings can be so much fun, especially when the author adds a little something different! I like that the author reunited all of the couples in the last chapter of Off Script! It's always fun when everyone comes together. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed both of these books! Wonderful Reviews Sam :)

    Lindy@ A Bookish Escape

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    1. Definitely fun twists, while still capturing a lot of the original story. When I read companion novels, I am always excited to see old friends. It's the best part for me, since I always want to know what happened after.

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  8. I've enjoyed Strohm's books, I really should try The Taming of the Drew!

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    1. If you appreciate her humor, I think you would enjoy the book. It was typical Strohm. Fun and funny and still sweet

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  9. The Taming of Drew sounds like my kind of story! I've loved a few film adaptations so I'll have to check this one out. Glad to hear you enjoyed both re-tellings. :)

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    1. I have seen Kiss Me Kate and Taming of the Shrew, so it was fun seeing the way Strohm melding the old with the new in this story. She also comes from the theatre world, and that shines through as well.

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  10. I love it when retellings *work* and are made contemporary and attract a whole bunch of news fans.

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    1. My opinion on retellings is that I should see something of the original, but I alway want it to be new. I think both these authors accomplished the task.

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  11. I don't think I've read an Emma retelling so I'm definitely going to have to check out that first book. It sounds great!

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    1. I feel like there are so many Austen retellings, especially in the contemporary genre. Watson put a nice modern spin on it, but Emma was still a little busy body, as expected.

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  12. Okay, these both sound wonderful! I am adding the second one to my wishlist. I like the sound of Off Script because Emma is one of my favourite Austen novels! And I love that it also includes the MeToo movement in it as well. And I think you have to be careful with Taming of the Shrew retellings as the original source material is not the best Shakespeare play. And it is easy for it to be problematic. But the lighthearted pranking, and the summer camp feel sounds like it handles it well!

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    1. They actually discuss the misogyny inherent in the play, so, it's acknowledged, and having Drew be tamed seemed like a response to trying to tame the woman.

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