The Girl from Summer Hill: A Summer Hill Novel

“There was a naked man on Casey’s back porch. She would have called the police or, at the very least, screamed if he hadn’t been so damned beautiful.”FINAL DECISION: The funny and poignant drama of a cast of townspeople who perform Pride and Prejudice and live a version of it as well, THE GIRL FROM SUMMER HILL updates the story enough to be interesting while keeping the essential elements of Jane Austin’s timeless story.THE STORY: Casey Reddick was a successful chef who allowed her career to take precedence over her love life. After a failed relationship, Casey decided to take a break, spend time in Summer Hill and decide what to do with her life. Unexpectedly she ends up being Elizabeth in a local production of Pride and Prejudice. Darcy is played by Tate Landers, a Hollywood star, who winds up in the production as well. Tate has a rough, prideful exterior which ruffles Casey. The two start off on the wrong foot and their romance is played out through the play itself which mirrors their romantic journey.OPINION: This is an enjoyable light romance. For me, the best part was the similarities and differences from Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice. The story explicitly embraces its homage to Pride and Prejudice which makes the twists clever and funny. It also allowed me to accept reactions that might otherwise annoy me such as Casey’s willingness to accept stories which paint Tate as a bad guy. In this reimagining of P&P, I am willing to forgive story twists which also annoyed me in P&P. (FYI: I’m not really a fan of Austin’s P&P but I liked the romance between Elizabeth and Darcy).One difference for me what that I liked Tate a lot more than I liked Darcy. Tate is incredibly sweet which is typified by his incredibly lovely relationship with his niece. I liked him so well that it made up for my meh feelings toward Casey until the middle of the book.One thing I always love about Deveraux’s books is the great sense of place and community. This book is especially sweet because of the multilayed storytelling techniques — play, P&P and the actual events in this novel. This sense of being in the play is especially emphasized by the chapter divisions which reflect the scene divisions in the play.Adventurous fans of Pride and Prejudice should be tempted by this modern adaptation which respects Austin’s vision while providing enough contrast to provide modernity and creative contrast.WORTH MENTIONING: This story actually has several secondary romances which mirror those in Pride and Prejudice — but also some surprises.CONNECTED BOOKS: THE GIRL FROM SUMMER HILL is the first book in the Summer Hill series.STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.NOTE: I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in order to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

I was caught out by the reviews but fortunately I didn't pay full price. My fail safe method is that when the 4 and 5 star reviews total above 85%, the book is usually good. Not in this case. It's one of those Pride and Prejudice themed books in modern form. The h lives in a small town in a guest cottage on a big estate. One morning a naked man takes a shower on her porch and she sits in the dark and ogles him. When he catches her out, they have a confrontation because the man is a famous actor in historical romance movies (not a cliche at all). Am I the only one that found her sitting ogling him while he didn't know a bit creepy? She didn't recognise him because she doesn't watch romance movies (at that point anyway). They end up working on set together where the town is staging a summer production of Pride and Prejudice (don't get me started). Now the h is hired to do the catering but guess what? The director gets her to audition for the part of Lizzy. Besides all of this, the h is continually cooking for everyone all day, in between acting etc. Of course there's also a big misunderstanding. This book was just rubbish.

I received an arc of this book for an honest read. Charming. Jude Deveraux is on my “auto-buy” list as I always know she is going to tell me a good story. This one was a wonderful twist on Pride and Prejudice adjusting the story to modern times. Kudos to Ms. Deveraux’s clever take on how the modern world would view some of the actions of the characters in Pride and Prejudice most notably the odious Mr. Wickham.The primary story centers around Casey who has left her career as a chef running a four star restaurant to contemplate the next phase of her life. Enter Tate (our hero) a movie star with whom Darcy gets off to an inauspicious start. I was hooked from the opening scene and by the time I was reading the peacock scene (you’ll know it) this book had me grinning from ear to ear.I just wish we had more time with the secondary characters. Although I like the balance of the primary characters been center stage (so to speak) I wanted more of Jack and Gizzy’s story and would love a prequel (full length please) with Kit & Olivia and Letty & Ace. Then, maybe a sequel story for Josh and Nina.A light, crisp glass of lemonade on a summer’s day.

The Girl from Summer Hill by Jude DeverauxA contemporary romance with lots of family, friends and town characters. It’s cute. It’s engaging. It’s wonderful.It follows the Pride and Prejudice cast in a town play. For the most part, you don’t need to know Jane Austin’s story. The last fifty pages, as the played is performed, was a bit confusing for me. Character names are thrown around quickly as they enter and exit the stage either playing their parts or ad-libbing lines to contemporary times. It did add to the story but a few less people would have been ok with me.Overall I love this author. Always fantastic stories and epic romances. This had the main couple and included several other matches that made the story hopeful and satisfying.Happily ever after for the town of Summer Hill.

I love Pride and Prejudice. If you do too, this is not the book for you. What a jumbled piece of work this is. Where is the romance?? in the first 20 pages or so there were so many characters introduced ( in a weak effort to mirror the original classic) my head was spinning. If you happen to be someone not familiar with P&P, good luck. And if I had read one more pie description I was going to rip my hair out! Honestly it took a month to get through this book. I remember reading some teen romance novels from the 80s that were better at composing believable dialogue. Again, totally lacking in romance. Ah! And it seems it's the first in a series! I NEVER would have purchased this book had I known that. Unless your JK Rowlling or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, it's doubtful we need more of one character, setting or plot. So disappointed.

Turbulent tale of love, friendship,family, betrayal and envy all set around a charity playing of Pride and Prejudice. Brilliant read

Great contemporary beach read.

Only just started to read this one but this is my 43rd Jude Deveraux book so im sure it's going to be good!

Really good

Best read in a long time neglected everything to read first summer hill book looking forward to book number two