I’ve really been enjoying the Shelfbrooke Academy books so far! Twelfth Knight and Tessa were both a lot of fun. Last week the third book, Sway, was released and I had the opportuinty to read and review it for the blog. A big thanks to the author for providing me with an ARC to read and review!
Everyone deserves a second chance, right?
Three years ago, Anne Bennet broke it off with her summer love. At the time, her roommate’s advice to drop the dead weight and start boarding school without a boyfriend seemed like a good idea. But now, Christopher is attending Shelfbrooke Academy and Anne isn’t so sure she made the right choice.
The more time she spends around Christopher, the clearer it becomes that the two belong together. Too bad Christopher wants nothing to do with the girl who broke his heart with little explanation and no apology.
Can Anne convince Christopher to put the past behind him and give her another chance? Or is she destined to continue living with the consequences of letting others persuade her to go against her heart?
Sway is a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s final novel, Persuasion. It is the third book in the Shelfbrooke Academy series, a collection of retellings that promise to be a lot more fun than the originals.
Review
Sway is the third book in the Shelfbrooke Academy series and is a modern retelling of Jane Autsten’s novel Persuasion. I’ve never read that novel, but I can tell you that I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. There are definitely some references, but those were still fun!
I loved that this book started off with the prologue and us reading a bit about Anne and Christopher meeting each other. They definitely seemed to have had a fun summer love that could’ve continued if Anne didn’t end it when she started Shelfbrooke Academy.
Three years later, Christopher is attending Shelfbrooked Academy as well. This makes Anne start thinking, what if? Sending him that letter is something she still regrets, but she doesn’t know she’ll see him again. I did enjoy this twist seeing him come to the school. I loved his sister as well, she was a lot of fun and seems like a fun friend.
Anne is a character that kind of goes with the flow and definitely sensitive to what other’s think. I think this is what made it all begin! I loved how this story progressed and all the little schemes to get Christopher back. Rachel and Ashley really made this book a lot of fun and I wouldn’t mind seeing them have their own story.
I loved that it took time for everything to develop. In a lot of stories it’s happily ever after really early on. I never think that’s realistic, so it’s fun to see that go differently. That being said, I missed more interaction between Anne and Christopher. The book is only told from her POV, so it’s hard to get a grip on Christopher. I feel like I didn’t really get to know him. It would’ve been helpful if we got his POV in a few chapters.
Once again, this author wrote a cute romance that left me with a smile on a face. The characters are lovable and the story was very interesting! I definitely can’t wait to see what she does next.
Even though I’ve never read Jane Austen’s Persuasion, I still really enjoyed Sway. I am really excited for the next book in this series. It will definitely be sad when the series ends! Have you read any retellings lately? Let me know in the comments!
