Bestselling author Staci Hart brings you another installment of the Austen Series, inspired by theworks of Jane Austen, with a heartfelt contemporary retelling of Sense and Sensibility.The second Annie Daschle tumbles into my arms, I’m a goner.When she asks if we’re hiring at Wasted Words, I can only say yes, even though we aren’t—it’s that early on that I realize I can’t say no to her. Not when … can’t say no to her. Not when she asks me to show her around New York, even though I already know I should stay away. Not when she asks if we’re friends because I want her so much more than that.
But she isn’t mine, and she never can be.
She’s ten years younger than me–fresh out of high school, never been kissed. She’s my employee, just a kid with a heart condition that’s stopped her from living out loud like she’s always wanted. She’s never dated, never had a boyfriend, never lived, and I can’t be the one to break her heart the first time. I can’t be the one to show her what could be.
But God, how I want to.
Within a few staggering heartbeats, Annie and I are caught in the middle of something we can’t find our way out of, with no clear answers and no rules. And the moment she’s in my arms again, I realize she can’t control her heart. Not the decisions it makes.
Not the moment it stops.
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Wow. Absolutely stunning. This is why Hart is such a household name in indie romance. Unique, beautifully written and incredibly romantic, Living Out Loud will have Jane Austen fans losing their ever loving minds. Must read!
Five hundred billion stars because Greg!!
Annie’s live has never been in her control. Her condition has ruled every aspect of her life. The one thing she refuses to be controlled by her illness is her List, the one she diligently keeps and has every intention of fulfilling. She moves to New York with her family in hopes of starting all over.
Getting a job at Wasted Words was just one of many steps. The one person who was with her from that first step was Greg. As much as she tells her herself that he is just a friend, her heart refuses to comply.
Greg was enamored by Annie the moment he saw her. As much as he’d liked to go after her, he can’t. He is far too young for him on top of the fact that he’s her boss. But everyday spent with her makes him forget all the reasons why he shouldn’t pursue her. He knows she might break his heart but in matter of love sense rarely plays any role.
I just want to explain to you how much I freaking LOVED this story but there’s a 99% possibility that my ramblings won’t make a lick of sense.
Annie started as a naive girl who was experiences everything around her for the first time. She transformed into this beautiful woman who knew where she wanted her life to go. Her character development made me so proud I wanted to just hug her and cry for days.
I cannot even with Greg, y’all! I have lost the ability to can. *ugly crying* This man was so pure and good with the most beautiful soul and I just love him so damn much. I will never be over the fact that this man is so considerate, thoughtful and caring. Like I would give my kidney if there was a chance to bring Greg to life.
My heart aches in all the best places because this story will stay with me forever. I am planning to read it again and again till I can recite it by heart.
I inhaled this book like it was my last breath of air. And honestly, I’d die a happy woman if it were.
Such an amazing read!
Staci hart never fails with her words! A tragedy sends this family to New York. New place, new faces. And a girl with a list of firsts to check off. And a broken heart to fix. Love is book so much! – Tisha
Cinq douce étoiles ! Préparez-vous pour un voyage émotionnel en compagnie de l’un des couples de livres les plus doux.
“I will never know greater fortune than having you for my own. Not as long as I live.”
Saintes licornes douces! Ce livre avait mon cœur qui battait comme un fou parce que toutes les émotions douces que je ressentais en le lisant. Living Out Loud is a sweet, heartwarming and super emotional reading. My heart is still warm because all the emotions I felt while reading it. From the first chapters I was captivated with the story.
This is the first time I read something from Staci Hart and I am not disappointed of her writing. She is able to make you feel a rollercoaster of emotions through written words that warm your heart and soul. I felt like floating over soft cotton. I spend a exceptional time. It was a magical experience that I want to repeat.
The plot is as sweet as honey. The characters are amazing and well build. Annie is a sweet young girl and Greg is a handsome, friendly and charming man. Both have stolen a piece of my heart, especially Annie. She is how young girls should always be: innocent, full of live and full of dreams. Her condition just made her more human. She has a beautiful soul. She and Greg felt so real that their story quite intimidated me.
After reading so many books over the month Living Out Loud left me full of beautiful feelings. Staci Hart delivers a realistic and excellent book. I have a feeling that each book of her is like the sun: warm and bright.
Ce livre est plein de sentiments qui réchaufferont votre coeur pendant que le soleil réchauffe la terre. The deep emotions are still lingering inside me. It is really nice to read books like this.
The main characters were so strong and emotionally connected that I felt overwhelmed. This is a clear example of how Romance books need to be written. The world needs more books like this.
Annie taught me a great lesson. If you work hard, your dreams come true. There is nothing impossible if you have faith. Also love and hope can conquer everything. Life is not easy but you have to keep going. She is so alive that every first experience makes her perfect. She is unique and Greg will discover every sweet spot in her heart.
“I want this first to be ours, just as I want the rest of my firsts to be ours. I know… I know that I’m young, and even though I don’t know much about love, I know what it is at its very center. Love gives itself without condition or expectation simply because it must. Love is devotion, and I find myself devoted to you, body and soul. I love you. As little as I know, that is the thing I am most certain of.”
Greg just increased my expectations about men. He only wanted the happiness of the girl he loves. He wasn’t selfish as many others. Annie changed his world and he will do everything in his hands to keep her happy, no matter if he has to let her go.
There is not a sweeter couple than Annie and Greg. They redefine the meaning of Friends-to-Lovers-Romance. This book is perfect for those readers who long for a sweet and refreshing romance, for something real and emotional.
Living Out Loud by Staci Hart is the third book in her standalone Austen series. This is the modern day re-telling of Sense & Sensibility from Marianne Daschwood AKA Annie Daschle’s perspective. I always pounce on these Austen re-tellings and then find myself to busy comparing them to enjoy them as much as I perhaps might if I just read the story. This was NOT an issue with Annie and Greg’s story. I was absorbed from early on and while she is still flighty and young and indecisive, the modern world that Staci Hart built for these classic characters was perfectly donw. There was Annie’s view on the move to New York, her excitement at her new job and the pull between her and the older Greg Brandon. There was the rescue by the dashing Will Bailey. The unraveling of her true feelings. Dramatic, endearing, lovely and romantic. Enjoy!
4.5 stars
Living Out Loud is a beautifully uplifting story. The idea in the title alone leaves me smiling. Staci Hart has once again managed to seduce the reader. She lures you in with a tale that can’t help but be read. She teases you with the building emotions and the naivete of a young girl. But she steals your heart with the amazing Brandon…Greg Brandon.
For all the Sense and Sensibility lovers out there, you won’t be disappointed in the least. For all those afraid to read the classic, this is a beautifully written redesign that will satisfy your curiosity.
Living Out Loud is a sweet and timeless story.
Awesomely heart touching story of unconditional, devoted, caring, considerate, consistent, protecting, patient and worshipping young love!
Staci Hart weaves her magic with this whole series. You will get lost in the words and not want to out it down
This book was a wonderful surprise! I loved the Jane Austen-inspired story of Annie and Greg. I usually don’t love romance novels with two competing leading men, but this one was enjoyable. I highly recommend.
This was a light and fluffy, feel-good book. The characters were so adorable. Nothing angst ridden or tragic. Just a really sweet book. It was an easy read and the kind of cute young love that reminds me of a simpler time.
Wow what a story. In my opinion this is by far the best contemporary romance novel written by
Ms. Hart. Annie and her family have moved to New York due to a family tragedy and has moved in with her uncle and his wife. Annie is an eighteen year old full of life and has written a list of first things to do in the city of lights and tall buildings. The story touches on how each of her family members are coping the family tragedy and adjusting to their big move from Texas to New York. Along with Annie she has an older sibling Elle and younger sister Meg and her mother Emily. Although this a romance novel I love that Staci took the time and gave us details about how the children and the mother are coping with the family tragedy and their move. We get the backstory of how their came to be and what brought them at this point. As a previous reviewer said I looove the world of Wasted Words and was so glad that we get to see some of the cast of characters from before. Annie finds herself applying for a job at Wasted Words and comes in touch with Greg. Greg was instantly drawn to this young woman with a vibrant of life and who looks at the world with such innocence and love. When he finds out how young she is he tries to keep his distance but as he gets to know her and help her cross off the many first on her list it becomes hard for him to keep the friendship talk and not wanting to more. Can I say what an upstanding character that Greg was we all could use a Greg.This is not a quick friends to lovers story Greg and Annie faced complications of great proportions, health issues and decisiveness on both their path but all in all it builds up to an end that will have you and me the readers with a smile on your face with how truly awesome this story was. I cannot sing enough praises of how touching and captivating this story was it was truly an uplifting story of sadness second chance of life and going all out for love. I was giving an arc by the author.
I pick this as my first review on Bookbub because it’s probably my favorite book right now. It’s not the first book I read from this author but it’s the one I can pick up again and again and I always get the same feelings.
I’ve loved Sense and Sensibility since I was a little girl and always thought Marianne deserved more detail into her story than it was in the original book. This retelling is exactly what my heart has always craved for. Annie is the epitome of positivity, she’s in that age when you need that attitude in your life while you find out who you are and what you want to do. That’s what captures Greg’s heart and what makes him fall in love with her. The sweet bantering and lovely relationship they develop through the story feels so natural and doesn’t make the age gap look weird at all.
As it is a retelling, you kind of expect certain things about the plot, but it’s so well written that it still surprises you and makes you turn the pages.
I don’t know if I will ever get tired of this book.
For any of who have yet to make the realization- Staci Hart is in a league all of her own. Not only is she a bookstagrammer’s cover dream, but she’s creating stories and exploring the genre in a way that is uniquely her own-in ways that I find so refreshingly different, charming, and insightful that she’s a one-click author for me.
That said, I was nervous about this particular outing. Not only am I an Austen junkie, but Sense and Sensibility is my all time favorite Austen story. Any author, no matter their chops, risks paling in comparison to a literary titan like Jane Austen- but Love Notes (formerly Living Out Loud) dazzles- and is perhaps my favorite Staci book of all time.
Annie Daschle, our young heroine, is reeling from the loss of her father. Newly arriving in NYC, and like many of us do in loss, she contemplates the nature of her life, realizing that she’s not living it. In effort to live out loud, she ends up working at the bookshop Wasted Words (let me go there!) for Greg Brandon. Her much older boss. Annie is not only young but suffers from a heart condition- she’s naive and inexperienced. Greg is drawn to her, and they share some common experiences, and he endeavors to support her in her quest to live by achieving her list- and naturally, we can predict the chemistry will build. But trying to jump start you life isn’t easy, and obstacles outside of their decade-apart age gap (such as Will) prevent this romance from being anything but easy.
I simply adored Greg and Annie, just like I loved Marianne and Brandon in Austen. There is something so sweet and tender about their connection- a charming affection and care that is deeper and soulful than the instalove I often read about. This true connection- the kind of love that isn’t just loud and lusty but quite and small and unmoving. And both character are just so charming and likable- Greg is protective and understanding, patient and stoic to his core. And Annie is just a sweetie- she’s young and naive, but still charming- and hole or not, she has a romantics heart beating in her chest. Per usual, we also have a delightful menagerie of charming, supportive, and lovely secondary characters that enrich this sweet romance- Staci’s books just leave you feeling good and hopeful.
What Staci doesn’t do is replicate the entire story or even the exact characters- fans will know that since Annie is based on Marianne, whose story was really secondary to Eleanor’s in Sense and Sensibility- but her story, her path to love was so much more challenging and interesting to me, so I’m glad she’s the basis Staci chose. But again, this is a contemporary stake, and instead of retelling she sticks to what made Austen books so profound- they were a commentary on the trappings of the society she lived in. Staci plays with those themes in a modern context- through the lens of our heroine Annie, a character who hasn’t yet really begun to life the life she wants for herself, like an Austen character she’s trapped in the constructs of her world, although here it isn’t her gender role but rather her age and condition. Her character journey is one about the art of TRULY living, going after what you want for yourself- and how simple yet challenging it is to chart your course, to truly relish in life’s possibilities. This book is about the power of living- the intentional choices we make to embrace the opportunities we have to live on our own terms.
I continue to be wowed by Staci’s writing- both technically and thematically. She has a prose style that is all her own- the words flow seamlessly, the story unfolding like a beautiful symphony. Staci’s romance writing is really more akin to poetry- the way she plays with imagery, symbolism and imagery, the delightful dialogue, and the artful characterization- there is just something so distinctly beautiful, graceful, even around how she constructs her words. Her style has always made me feel nostalgic for some of the romance masters- her stylistic approach has a vintage sentimentality that I adore. But what I love MOST about her writing style is the depth of meaning- Staci’s books aren’t just a love story, although that alone is enough to want to read them, but Staci’s books always have a point of view- she has something to SAY about life and humanity, about the act of living and loving. I always leave her books pensive and emboldened- like I’m seeing something I thought I understood anew. Ironically enough- is reminds me of a contemporary Austen- an author that has a distinct niche and who uses sweet and charming love stories not only to make us feel good but also to helps us examine and understand the artifices and realities of the world around- subtly, kindly, and through the lens of in depth character journeys. Austen would be proud.
I enjoyed Staci Hart’s “Love Notes,” a charming, heartfelt romance inspired by Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility.” It reads as a complete standalone despite being the fourth book in a series and returning to book #1’s Wasted Words bookstore/bar, with Cam, the female lead from book #1, playing a significant supporting role. I don’t believe it is necessary to read the books in order, but I’m glad I did because Cam’s story provided useful context for her attempts to play matchmaker in this story.
I found the main characters of “Love Notes,” Annie and Greg, to be quite likeable and well-developed. At first, I thought their significant age difference (he’s almost 30 while she’s only 18) would really bother me, but it ended up not seeming like much of a factor between them. I think the biggest reason was that Greg did not act at all like I would expect someone who’s nearly 30 to act. For example, he still lived at home with his father and siblings and used a skateboard as his primary mode of transportation. His reasons for living at home made sense to me, but the skateboard thing seemed kind of weird. Maybe it’s just one of those things people in NYC are used to seeing! By contrast, Annie seemed mature for her age in many ways, possibly because the need to manage her heart condition had forced her to grow up faster than her peers. When it came to dating, however, she was painfully naive and far too trusting. I’m not sure anyone could have predicted just how awfully things would turn out for her with Will, Greg’s competition for Annie’s affections, but Annie missed a lot of signs that someone with more experience probably would have picked up.
In addition to the central romantic relationship between Greg and Annie, I enjoyed watching Annie’s older sister’s romance with her new boss blossom. In fact, I would have liked to see more of it; maybe there’s another book or novella there? Annie’s aunt was a lot of fun, too. It was very sweet how she took them all in and tried so hard to make them feel at home in spite of the tough circumstances of the family’s move to New York.
Overall, “Love Notes” was another lovely book by Staci Hart, and I look forward to reading her next one!
*ARC provided by the author. All opinions expressed are my own.
Loved the modern spin on Sense and Sensibility. Such a sweet story, and I love reading about characters who face health issues.
Greg and Annie were so cute together. LIVING OUT LOUD was just the happy book bubble I needed to wrap myself in.
More like 4.5/5. Really cute take on Sense & Sensibility. Fairly well edited.
Annie and her family move to live with family after a terrible tragedy. In addition to losing her father and her mother being paralyzed, she herself has a heart problem. Annie convinces her family to allow her to get a job at Wasted Words, where she literally runs into Greg. He immediately feels a connection, but pulls back because he is about 10 years older than her. He helps her to explore New York, experiencing lots of firsts as she embarks on living her life out loud. However, shortly after meeting Greg, she is rescued by the handsome Will. Greg and Will have a history and they do not get along. Is it just because they each have feelings for Annie? Or, is there more to the story? Which of her suitors will Annie eventually chose?
This is a really sweet read. One really feels the naivete of Annie. I so wanted to sit her down and explain life to her! Very happy with the outcome. Nice rainy afternoon read.
Living Out Loud is the third book in The Austen Series but it can absolutely be read as a standalone. It’s charming and sweet but will punch you with a bit of emotion that you didn’t see coming.
It’s a retelling of Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility that actually makes you forget that it is a re-telling. I thought the way it was modernized and the flow of the writing really made me forget that it was retelling a story and just a new one that I could fully embrace.
I loved how spunky and full of life Annie is. I really thought her character was developed well and I couldn’t help but fall in love with her. She’s loving and caring to anyone that she crosses path with and she just has this shining aurora to her that makes everyone gravitate towards her.
There’s a lot of classical literature that is quoted in Living out Loud and it spoke to my heart. I loved how Hart loved the classics into the modern day world and made it chic.
If you are looking for a sweet and semi-emotional read with characters that will capture your heart from the start, then this is the book for you.
I loved everything about this book!