Summer Roundup: Classics and Modern Romance

TAMING LILY

If you want to reread EMMA by Jane Austen, pair it with…TAMING LILY by Monica Murphey!

Though the characters are different on the surface, I have always read EMMA as a story of two lovers with strong wills who care deeply about the other, which is exactly what TAMING LILY brings. Lily, like Emma, is able to put on a strong face when things are going wrong, even when she might have had a play in what happened. Mr. Knightly, like Lily’s Max, sees her in a way no one else does. Both pairs certainly butt heads, but at the end of the day, they want nothing more than to see the other happy.

TRANSCENDER

If you want to reread Shakespeare’s A MIDSUMMER’S NIGHT DREAM, pair it with….TRANSCENDER by Vicky Savage! Characters in both stories discover a new world, have confusing love affairs, and deal with family matters. You have to use your imagination for both, and the stories are rich with emotion, intrigue, and the perfect amount of humor.

RIVAL

If you want to reread GONE WITH THE WIND by Margaret Mitchell, pair it with…RIVAL by Penelope Douglas!

Who hasn’t had to fan themselves over the heat between Rhett and Scarlett? RIVAL holds the same intense, romantic banter from the main couple that sometimes toes the line between love and hate. Both couples are dramatic and wild about each other in a way that will leave you turning the pages to see what side of that line they end up on.

CAPTIVE

If you want to reread BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, pair it with…CAPTIVE by Brighton Walsh! CAPTIVE takes a contemporary look at what might happen if a hired man kidnaps a woman. In both stories, the characters are ripe with complexity and present an interesting moral discussion. In the end, it shows how deeply you have to look sometimes to find the heart of another person, and the joys that doing so can bring.

PERUSASION

If you want to reread PERUSASION by Jane Austen, pair it with…PERFECT TIMING by Laura Spinella! There is something so exciting about lovers who come together again after years apart. Much like Anne and Wentworth, Aiden and Isabel came close to being together once then became separated. Years later, fate brings them back together, but with so much history between a couple, it is impossible to tell if they can move forward as they once hoped to.

HOW WE FALL

If you want to reread PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen, pair it with…HOW WE FALL by Kate Brauning!

Though HOW WE FALL is considered a young adult novel, it has so much appeal for an adult or a new adult audience as well. The couple has intense romantic chemistry, and they’re surrounded by a situation that makes them have to mature quickly. I’ve paired this one with PRIDE AND PREJUDICE for several reasons. In Jane Austen’s time, it was entirely common for cousins to marry (although most will agree Mr. Collins’ still wasn’t the best choice). In today’s society, ‘kissing cousins’ are often considered taboo, or at least strongly, strongly frowned upon. HOW WE FALL, in addition to having great build up and various family dynamics, explores a romantic relationship between cousins whose family is strongly prejudiced against. In their own way, both stories force you to examine your own areas of prejudice and the consequences your actions can have on other people.