I've always been a fan of the classics, so I was beyond ecstatic whenever I found A Love for the Pages by Joy Penny. Keep reading for a peek at my review, an interview with the author, and a giveaway!
A Love for the Pages by Joy Penny
Genres: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Kiss. Marry. Kill. Nineteen-year-old June Eyermann has always known exactly which of her favorite Byronic heroes goes where. She’d kiss moody and possessive Rochester from Jane Eyre and marry prideful but repentant Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, leaving obsessive and spiteful Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights to be chucked off a cliff—but no. She couldn’t leave any of her heroes behind. She lives for her favorite fictional worlds.
But June is about to get a serious wake up call when she returns home for the summer after her college freshman year. Stuck somewhere between feeling like a kid again under her parents’ roof and being forced to start acting like an adult with worries about her future career, June looks at the library volunteer position offered to her as a way to keep her sanity for the next few months before she can go back to school.
What June doesn’t expect to find at the library is her favorite romantic heroes brought to life—all in the same man. Obstinate, prideful and even a bit rude, Everett Rockford shouldn’t exactly be “dating material,” even if June’s heart rate accelerates whenever she’s near him. But after discovering his enigmatic past and witnessing a few fiery moments of tenderness, June can’t help but see Rochester, Darcy and even Heathcliff in Everett. If she’s going to make it through the summer without becoming a tragic heroine in her own story, she has to separate the man from the ideals of fiction in her head. Because if there’s one thing she knows about Byronic love stories, it’s that they don’t always end happily ever after.
A Love for the Pages is definitely a contemporary romance, but it's so unlike other books in the New Adult genre that I've read. The inclusion and influence of so many great classics in this story made it something incredible for me. One of the first books I ever read was Jane Eyre when I was probably ten years too young for it at the time. Regardless, I loved that book. Over the years, I've returned to it many times. I fully hold it responsible for fueling my love of classics. A Love for the Pages is able to intertwine the feel of those great classics with a romantic contemporary.
I really liked the character of June. To see how she relates her life to the classics was something that made me bond with her immediately. I think a lot of readers who are fans of the classics will see a part of themselves in June and bond with her in the same way. The romance for June and Everett did seem a bit rushed and simplified, though. I would have enjoyed being able to see their love bloom slowly, but that's just personal preference. Everett was a good fit for the role of June's love interest, though.
For a debut, Joy Penny has hit it out of the park with A Love for the Pages. She's able to recall the feel of the classics with her very own spin in a satisfying love story. This is a book that I could definitely see myself revisiting and that's a huge thing for me. I'm not keen on rereading, but A Love for the Pages is such a quick and enjoyable read that I can't resist. Fans of Austen, the Brontë sisters, and other classics will fall in love with A Love for the Pages!
I really liked the character of June. To see how she relates her life to the classics was something that made me bond with her immediately. I think a lot of readers who are fans of the classics will see a part of themselves in June and bond with her in the same way. The romance for June and Everett did seem a bit rushed and simplified, though. I would have enjoyed being able to see their love bloom slowly, but that's just personal preference. Everett was a good fit for the role of June's love interest, though.
For a debut, Joy Penny has hit it out of the park with A Love for the Pages. She's able to recall the feel of the classics with her very own spin in a satisfying love story. This is a book that I could definitely see myself revisiting and that's a huge thing for me. I'm not keen on rereading, but A Love for the Pages is such a quick and enjoyable read that I can't resist. Fans of Austen, the Brontë sisters, and other classics will fall in love with A Love for the Pages!
**I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review with no compensation.
Homage. (It's an homage to three classic romantic novels.)
2. If you could choose any TV show to promote your book on, which would you choose?
Something on the BBC. Graham Norton? Because I devour BBC historical miniseries like June does in my book, and those wouldn't be a good place to promote the book, but something on the same channel might help.
3. Which scene of A Love for the Pages was your favorite to write?
The scene that matches the cover image. (And yes, I found the cover image before I wrote that scene!) It's the most passionate scene in the book and seems to be a hit with readers so far.
4. Which scene of A Love for the Pages was your least favorite to write?
I don't want to spoil too much, but it involves Sinjin, a secondary character. It's his last scene in the book. I wound up liking him a lot more than I expected, and I've even had requests to write a sequel about him.
5. Which author(s) do you draw the most inspiration from?
Although I'm writing in the contemporary genre, the entire reason I wrote this book was because of Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters. I love how they craft romantic stories. Especially Austen, whose books are full of humor.
6. You can only read one book (that isn't one of yours) for the rest of your life. Which is it?
Wow, that's a hard one! I'm a huge fan of some pretty popular books (Harry Potter, Hunger Games, etc.), but if I could have only one, I'd have to go with Jane Eyre.
7. Give us a brief glimpse at your writing process. Do you outline and think ahead? Or do you just write as the story comes to you?
I used to "pants," which is code for writing by the seat of your pants. I successfully wrote one book like that. Then I finished almost all of a second book only to get stuck at the end because I didn't plan ahead. So I vowed to outline for every book after that and it seems to be working well so far. I usually run with an opening scene and write a chapter or two without an outline. Then I put it aside and write an outline and character profiles. I usually wind up changing the outline as I write and come up with different ideas, but it's always good to have that outline there for when I need it.
8. Lastly, what's up next for you? Any projects we should be looking out for?
I'm currently working on a NA superheroine story that's part comedy, part romance. (And just a little bit action.) I'm hoping to have it published by the end of the year, but I'm not sure it'll be ready by then. Even though A Love for the Pages was supposed to be a standalone, I've had enough requests to write a sequel (and I also have the desire to write Sinjin's story myself) that that may be the project I work on after that.
Joy Penny is a pen name. I also write in other genres, particularly YA.
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