Four sisters face new beginnings in this heartfelt modern take on Little Women by New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra.Amy March is more like her older sister Jo than she’d like to admit. An up-and-coming designer in New York’s competitive fashion industry, ambitious Amy is determined to get out of her sisters’ shadows and keep her distance from their North Carolina hometown. But … North Carolina hometown. But when Jo’s wedding forces Amy home, she must face what she really wants…and confront the One Big Mistake that could upend her life and forever change her relationship with Jo.
Gentle, unassuming Beth grew up as the good girl of the family. A talented singer-songwriter, she’s overcome her painful anxiety to tour with country superstar Colt Henderson. But life on the road has taken its toll on her health and their relationship. Maybe a break to attend her sister’s wedding will get her out of her funk. But Beth realizes that what she’s looking for and what she needs are two very different things.…
With the March women reunited, this time with growing careers and families, they must once again learn to lean on one another as they juggle the changes coming their way.
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After her excellent re-imagined for current times Meg & Jo, even though I’ve always loved everything Virginia Kantra has written, I admittedly had qualms about this book. After all we’ve all been through,during COVID, could I handle Beth’s death? Spoiler alert for those worried about the same thing, she does have a serious problem to overcome, but she doesn’t die!
My second concern was what to do to make Amy likable. As a writer myself, throwing Jo’s manuscript in the fire was nearly beyond redemption. (Especially after having a younger sister throw a six-foot-long scroll of four years of Spanish conjugations into the fireplace the weekend before I had to turn it in for my h.s. finals.) But Amy proved a delight and had so much heart and unexpected insecurities that it was impossible to not to root for her. I’m not going to give away any more spoilers, but the ending is perfection!
Well done! I enjoyed Meg & Jo, so I’ve been waiting for this book and am grateful to have received an ARC. Anyone who’s read Ms. Kantra’s work knows to expect a warm and carefully crafted story about people we would all like to befriend. This is no exception. I particularly liked the modern twist on Beth’s potentially-fatal illness (an eating disorder), which seemed very organic to her character and situation, and was also handled with compassion and care. Amy is also sympathetic, with her long-standing love for Jo’s ex giving her fits. Surprisingly, we also were treated to Abby’s point of view, which was really helpful. I loved getting her take on her girls, her life, and her husband. It is a big feat to take on a classic. Ms. Kantra did a superb job with these two books.
During these difficult times, a story like this–one of family and love and hope–is a perfect escape. Highly recommend!
I am a huge fan of Little Women, so of course I was interested in Kantra’s modern day retellings of it. Beth and Amy is the sequel to Meg and Jo which I thoroughly enjoyed. Beth and Amy didn’t quite live up to Meg and Jo for me, I really liked it, I just didn’t love it. This could be also because Amy and Beth were my least favorite characters in Little Women and also in this series. Jo will forever be my favorite.
“It’s a wedding… you’re not meant to be comfortable. That’s why God invented Spanx.”
” ‘I’m pretty sure that was Satan’ Jo said”
In Beth and Amy, I found Amy’s inner thoughts, about Trey and her relationship with and comparisons to her sisters to be extremely repetitive, to the point that her character really began to irritate me. I did like the direction that Beth’s story line took and how it ended. I found this to be an entertaining and easy read and would recommend this series to fans of Little Women and HEA romances that are light on steam.
TW – eating disorder
Beth and Amy
Virginia Kantra
Beth and Amy is the follow up book to Meg and Jo, the first book of this series, which is a contemporary retelling of Little Women.
Kantra graced us in this installment, a story that is centered on Beth and Amy. Kantra’s take on Beth’s devastating illness in the first book, is an eating disorder in this modern twist. Told in Beth and Amy’s point of view as well as their mother Abby’s, this story was so poignant and heartfelt that I enjoyed so much.
Though many things have changed in this modern retelling, the gist of the story’s characters and overall representation remains very nostalgic to me as a reader. I think it’s because it covers the overall themes of love, family, and of course the hopefulness that embodies the March family despite all the challenges and difficulties they may be facing.
Highly Recommend!
I’ll be honest – I’m a Little Women fan – and I’ll be honest again when I say always doubt the ability of authors to modernize well-loved books. Still, I found Kantra’s take once again charming and heartfelt. After reading Meg and Jo, I was eager for Beth and Amy’s stories. The two oldest always seem to get the fanfare, right? Yes, I do love Jo, but secretly, I’ve always been fascinated with Amy. She’s delightfully flawed, and I love a good flawed character. Kantra’s take on both these women was nuanced and authentic. Beth is a songwriter who struggles with self-esteem and Amy is a purse designer who struggles with….well, self-esteem (and unrequited love). The tale is well-written, warm, and just the sort of read that sticks with you. A perfect way to kick off summer!
Beth & Amy is the sequel to Meg & Jo, in a modern twist on Little Women. Both younger sisters feel less than their older counterparts. While Beth is timid and hides her pain, Amy is loud and vibrant in her need for attention.
Over the course of the novel, Virginia explores their character arcs as they come into womanhood and how to navigate the world as individuals. The biggest – and dare I say happiest – difference is that Beth did not die in childhood. (Sorry to all the Joeys of the world I just spoiled that for!)
I really loved going back to this world of the March sisters. I found a new appreciation for Amy, the sister I least prefer and a quiz told me I’m most like. Oh, the irony! Beth’s POV was my favorite though. I think I was so grateful to see that she had one to begin with that I devoured her parts and wanted more.
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.
Little Women is such an amazing book so when I saw that Beth and Amy March were getting a retelling of their stories, I could not be more excited to read it. I had already read Meg and Jo (the first book in this series) and love it so I was sure I would not be disappointed. I am happy to report that Beth and Amy is just as wonderful and heartwarming.
I really enjoyed how real Virginia Kantra kept the characters real. Beth has an illness and the way it was handled was with care and tenderness while still showing how serious it could be. The March family gathered around, protected their own, and showed her the love that they always have for each other. Amy is struggling to make it in New York and knows that the next step will be a big one. Looking for funding she looks towards her aunt who gives her an ultimatum. Her relationship with Trey was fun but had many serious sides. I loved how strong Amy was, she stood up for herself, protected her family, and did what she must just to get where she wants to be.
The March family is still wonderful. Abby, the mother, is still the backbone of the family keeping everyone in line but now that they have grown she realizes that sometimes she must step back and let them live their lives. Ash, the father, has a large part in this story and I love how he was portrayed and the choices that he was making.
Whether you have read Little Women or not I recommend buying your own copy and meeting the strong, loving, and family orientated March women.
Beth and Amy by Virginia Kantra is another wonderful, heartwarming modernized retelling of Little Women. Previously, I did enjoy the story of Meg and Jo, and now we get to see Beth and Amy’s story.
Amy works in New York with a successful start as a fashion designer of handbags, Baggage. She is going home to attend her sister Jo’s wedding, and dreads meeting up with Trey (Jo’s former boyfriend), whom she has always had a crush on; as well as keep the secret that she and Trey had sex a few years ago. Has she gotten over her feelings for Trey?
Beth is a singer, who writes her own songs, which has won awards; she is part of a band, with Cole, the lead singer. Beth has anxiety issues, and struggling to maintain control of her fears. She also goes home to attend her sister’s wedding, and the family worries about her being too thin, though Beth ensures them she is fine. But is she really?
We also get a few POV’s on the March mother, Abby, who runs the farm, and always watches over her daughters; especially with the father never around. With the family gathering, the father does come back and plans to stay, much to Abby’s discomfort.
Amy secretly begins to see Trey again, though he is not ready for a permanent relationship. Amy plans to go back to New York, but she needs financial help to allow her to hire more people, since the orders have risen drastically. Aunt Phee is willing to offer her help, but she has conditions for Amy, who must decide if she will accept the offer.
The family becomes concerned when Beth becomes sick and faints, though she says she is fine. When she is ready to go back to the band, Beth will suffer a collapse and the family learns the truth about her condition, which she will need to change her life for the better; especially her anxieties.
As I did in the first book, I really loved both Beth and Amy, as they both had their own issues, but it was great to see all the girls, as the sisterhood between the 4 girls was awesome.
Beth and Amy is another heartwarming and enjoyable story of family, loyalty, daily family problems and the sisterhood we came to love. Though most of the story centered on Amy and Beth, it was also great to see Meg/John and Jo/Eric wonderful relationship. Beth and Amy is a sweet, realistic and fun story that was very well written by Virginia Kantor.
Beth and Amy, as well as Meg and Jo, were both wonderful books that were fun, enjoyable, warm, loving stories. I suggest you read both books in order, as Virginia Kantra gave us a fabulous modernized version of Little Woman.
4.5/5
I read Meg and Jo when it first came out and loved it, so I jumped at the chance to read book 2 – Beth and Amy. Of course I was not disappointed, and I loved this book almost as much as I loved the first. I am a huge fan of the way Virginia Kantra writes and it had me gripped from the very first page just like Meg and Jo did. I will admit that Amy was my favorite storyline out of the 2, but I still appreciated Beth’s and I really enjoyed the fact that Kantra threw in the girl’s mom’s point of view this time. It wasn’t much, but it was just enough to get a better idea of her character and what she was thinking.
Beth and Amy brought tears to my eyes as well as made me laugh, and I love how conversational Kantra’s writing style is. It makes you want to be friends with all of the sisters, and I really felt like I got to know each of the characters. I haven’t read Little Women in many many years, so I really don’t know much in regard to how this retelling compares, but I loved it as its own novel. I will say that I feel like it gives basically everything that happens in Meg and Jo away, so if you want to know each sister’s story individually I would start with that one first. I would love to see these books continued, and I am looking forward to reading more by this author!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This is the second installment in Virginia Kantra’s Little Women retelling. I loved Meg and Jo, the first book, but I think I loved this one even more. How Virginia Kantra manages to make the March sisters so new, relevant, and real without losing the soul of Little Women I will never know, but I loved getting lost in them.
Another winner for Virginia Kantra.
Beth and Amy concludes Kantra’s modern take on Little Women. Kantra gave me everything “more” that I wanted and needed from Amy and Trey in the original. We understand them better, love them more.
Beth’s story arc was heartbreaking and yet perfect in Kantra’s setting.
And the bonus romantic arc for the elder Marches was too sweet.
A wonderful conclusion to a beloved story. A must-read for all the classic lovers.