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Guest Review: ANNE OF AVENUE A by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding
- Sophia Rose
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
Jane Austen’s Persuasion meets the Big Apple in this swoon-worthy holiday romance from the authors of Elizabeth of East Hampton and Emma of 83rd Street. Eight years ago, Anne Elliot broke Freddie Wentworth’s heart when she refused to give up her five-year plan for the sake of adventure. But despite big dreams, Anne, now thirty, is still living at home with hardly a plan in sight. Anne tries to be optimistic—she knows better than anyone that regret will get you nowhere—but that goes out the window when, thanks to her father’s bad spending habits, her childhood apartment is rented out to the very man still living in her head rent-free. Freddie Wentworth never thought he would see Anne Elliot again after she dumped him for accepting a job overseas. He spent years trying to forget her, and he’s been mostly successful. So, when a job opportunity takes him back to New York, he’s shocked to find out that Anne is not only his new neighbor, but also the former resident of his new Greenwich Village penthouse. Nearly a decade after Anne and Freddie’s fateful romance, the only thing they still have in common is a desire to leave their relationship firmly in the past. But between a disastrous off-Broadway show and a drunken Thanksgiving dinner, nosey neighbors, and flirtatious friends, Anne and Freddie suddenly find their lives more intertwined than ever before. When old feelings start rising to the surface, they must decide whether to put their hearts on the line or walk away all over again.
OPENING LINES
“You miserable, cocksucking tramp!” The words reverberated off the walls of the cramped edit room, hitting a part of Anne’s inner ear that made her cringe. Her editor was apparently unfazed, though— David just paused the video and turned to stare up at her from his keyboard, the light from his monitor illuminating his apathy.
GUEST REVIEW by Sophia Rose
The "For the Love of Austen" series introduced me to the writing marvels that are Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding, who tackled, to great satisfaction, bringing Jane Austen’s novels into the 21st century. I am persuaded once again, with this new release, Anne of Avenue A, that they have a gift for bringing out the core elements of Jane Austen’s originals and putting a sparkling contemporary spin on them.
Anne Elliot allowed her mother to influence her decision while she was still figuring out her adult life and future. She made a choice that pushed the love of her life away, leaving her no further along than she had been when she started. All that changes after eight years, thanks to her new neighbor in her family’s old East Village apartment. Yeah, he’s the guy she gave up family expectations and the stability of an MBA. His going out into the world didn’t end in a flaming disaster either. Freddie fulfilled all that early potential and lived his dreams. Love is tough, but it survives and matures with life experiences along the way.
Anne and Freddie were college kids in that prologue; he was gutsy and leaped into things, while she was not as settled about what she wanted, though she was one who needed to have each step planned out. Eight years later, she runs her high-spending father’s floundering TV production company and is still a hide-bound planner, but she has grown and learned to just wing it now and then. Meanwhile, Freddie, coming back home to NYC at last, has learned that some things need to be well thought out. Painful early meetups gradually change. They work past the bitter anger and discover love is right where they left it.
I really loved the New York City setting for fall and the holidays, which is more of a third lead character than a background. I enjoyed the circle of characters and the larking tone to balance the drama of the relationship conflict. Fun past couples make an appearance, too. Anne of Avenue A was an entertaining, heartwarming, slightly spicy contemporary holiday romance that satisfied me pretty well.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Audrey Bellezza is a two-time Emmy Award–nominated TV producer who has spent over twenty years writing, developing, and executive producing nonfiction television shows for a number of networks and streaming platforms. Audrey lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children.
Emily Harding is one-half of the writing duo behind the For the Love of Austen series, including Emma of 83rd Street and Elizabeth of East Hampton. She is a graduate of Emerson College with degrees in both creative writing and film. After working for over fifteen years in television development and production, she found her way back to writing. Emily lives in Dallas with her husband, two children, and an incredibly spoiled Texas heeler.
ABOUT GUEST REVIEWER Sophia Rose
Sophia is a quiet, curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants, and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and a loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, baseball, cats, Scooby Doo, and chocolate. As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. In 2012, she submitted her first book review and is currently an associate reviewer.
Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener, which allows her to experience many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction, particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Sorry, no horror...or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby. Connect with Sophia via FACEBOOK GOODREADS TWITTER
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