Give Me a Reason by Jayci Lee: My Book Review

Calling all Jane Austen fans! Check out my book review of Give Me a Reason by Jayci Lee to see what I think of her modern retelling of Persuasion.

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Give Me a Reason Summary:

For ten years, Anne Lee told herself that Frederick Nam was her past. To save her father from bankruptcy, she dropped out of UC San Diego to pursue an acting career in Korea. Anne had to stop Frederick from following her and ruining his future. Breaking up with him was the best way she could love him.

After Anne left him, Frederick spent years loving her, missing her, and hating her until he decided to live his life for himself. He followed his dream and became a firefighter in Culver City. He didn’t need romance. He had his work and his friends.

When she returns to Los Angeles, Anne and Frederick find themselves in the same wedding―she as her cousin’s bridesmaid and he as his friend’s groomsman. Even though he is cold and distant with her, Anne can no longer deny that she never got over him. Not even close. As for Frederick, needing to take care of Anne is a habit he can’t seem to kick, but that doesn’t mean he has to forgive her.

Give Me a Reason: My Review

Fans of Jane Austen’s Persuasion will devour this modern retelling.

When I saw that Jayci Lee was releasing a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion in the year we are celebrating 250 years since Jane’s birth I was all over it. Plus, with the added bonus of writing Anne as an actress who starred in K-Dramas for years, it is the diverse read I’ve been waiting for!

I admit that I have never read Persuasion before, but I did recently watch the latest film adaptation starring Dakota Johnson so I had that film and its key plot points in my head the entire time reading this and I’d say that it hit all the marks!

You’re instantly thrust into the moment when Frederic and Anne once again come face to face with each other after ten years a part after a brutal break-up that neither has been able to forget.

Instead of them meeting in an English countryside, however, they come face to face in an elementary classroom where Frederic is going to talk about his career as a firefighter and Anne as an actress in K-dramas in Korea. From that very first moment Jayci does an amazing job of denoting their tortured pining and the hurt and the devastation of Anne cutting off their relationship all those years ago.

So don’t expect a subtle build up or a lot of background at the beginning just as you don’t really get in the movie. You’re immediately swept into their tortured reunion and forced proximity in the coming months as his friend and co-worker is set to marry her cousin.

If you are a fan of the film adaptations, then I think you will adore this book and love the modern twists that Jayci gives this popular story. If you’re completely brand new to Persuasion you might wish that there was more background at first but it’s just not how I saw this playing out given the original story. The letters from Frederic to Anne that he wrote in the past that are sprinkled throughout the book however do a great job bridging this gap to show just how enamored and devoted he was to her from the beginning and helps to explain why he would still be so in love with her all this time later.

When reading a modern retelling, I’m looking for the story to hit all the highlights of the classic which this one did. You got the ignorant father and spoiled older sister that Anne sacrifices for, the miscommunication that Frederic might be falling for someone else right in front of her eyes, Anne’s injury and Frederic coming to the rescue, and many other moments that stand out as iconic to Persuasion.

Their pining does gets a bit repetitive and it was hard to keep all the secondary characters straight but overall I think it is a wonderful retelling. Plus it has one of the most beautiful covers of the year!

*I received an advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

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