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 … 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?
A retelling of the classic novel Persuasion, Sway is a novel in the Shelfbrooke Academy series, a collection of retellings that promise to be a lot more fun than the originals.
Enroll at Shelfbrooke Academy today!
Other books in this series:
Twelfth Knight by Jessica Bucher
Tessa by Kayla Tirrell
Sway by M. F. Lorson
The Garden by Amy Sparling
Love Lesson by Daphne James Huff
more
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.
I really didn’t want to sympathize with Anne. What she did to Christopher put her in the same category as the members of the snub-club in my book. I get that it is hard starting over in a new place after a tragedy, but he could have helped her. There are weekend and holidays. Why couldn’t Anne see that, why couldn’t she have a mind of her own. And why didn’t it occur to her that in falling in line with all the other Cassidy club participants she was doing it all over again. But somewhere down the road I started to feel sad for Anne and Christopher. I wanted them to get a chance to figure things out. To get a real chance. And, yes, I cried in the end.
This book was a little harder for me to rate because I really enjoy this author’s humor in the other books I have read by her, but I felt that this book was a little lacking in that area, for me. Also, I know this is a retelling and I have not read the original, but I felt that the two main characters, Christoper and Anne, were not the most likable characters in the story. I wanted to like them both, but I felt Christopher was a little self-righteous and I felt Anne was too eager to change everything about herself to get a man. I am sure this was all due to the fact that it is a retelling, but it still made me long for the strong, confident woman as the main character.
That being said. I thought Ashley and Rachel were wonderful characters and really made the story. They were funny, observant, and really good friends to Anne, which helped me like Anne slightly better. I also thought the storyline itself wasn’t bad and I think that the ending was redeeming.
Overall, I thought the writing was good and, although some of the characters were lacking in personality traits I would have wanted for them, there were some schemes and shenanigans to be had that allowed the reader to enjoy the story.
This was a story that I would recommend for a teen reader except for some language that I would consider inappropriate. I enjoyed it but it wasn’t really something I would choose for myself. The Bennet and Anne are sweet characters.
The narration is well done.
I requested this audio book from Audiobooks Unleashed and have voluntarily left this review.
Sway (Shelfbrooke Academy #3) was a good read by M.F. Lorson. Anne Bennet broke it off with her summer love Christopher, three years ago. Her roommate advised her to drop the dead weight at home and start boarding school single. Now Christopher is attending Shelfbrooke and Anne questions if she made the right choice. When they spend more time together, she realizes that they are meant for each other. But Christopher wants nothing to do with the girl who broke his heart with no explanation. I enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read more by the author.
This is my second MF Lorain book. She does a fabulous job of remaining us of what high school was like. It is such a hard time of trying to figure out who we are and our place socially. We make bad decisions. We are swayed by those around us. We are unsure of who we are.
Anna was struggling with those issues too. I really enjoyed experiencing her trying to find herself. This book was a nostalgic walk through memory lane.
I would have loved more time with Anna and Christopher together, and I missed having Christopher’s POV.
I would recommend this sweet, innocent story of a young girl coming into her own.
The narration was read good and expressive but WAY too slow. I had to crank it up to 1.7 to keep my attention.
Though this was the third book in the Shelfbrooke Academy series, I did not feel lost reading this one first. Anne Bennet breaks it off with her summer love, Christopher, when she and her friends start boarding school… Three years later, Christopher begins attending Shelfbrooke and wants nothing to do with the girl that broke his heart…or does he? Is there hope for a second chance? Find out in Sway.
An Austen Lover’s Dream Retelling
This compelling why a novel is a retelling of Persuasion, hence the name “Sway”. Anne has lost her mother and found solace in a suite Romance riding the ferry boats with Chris. However, like all summer romances, there’s find an untimely end when Anne is persuaded that she cannot enter her new boarding school with a maybe boyfriend from back home. Since she craves attention, especially after losing her mother, She chooses to act on this advice and send a “Dear John” letter to Chris.
A few years later, when Chris is the new lacrosse transfer to her school, can she convince him that she is more than just some easily manipulated girl?
This is a beautiful tale of growing up, discovering who you are, and Romance. This is a must read for any Jane Austen fan!
I received an ARC copy of this audiobook, and I’m leaving a voluntary review.