Find Wonder in All Things is a beautifully written modernization of Persuasion that will appeal to readers who enjoy a tender story with a small town feeling to it.
I’ve always been afraid to read modernizations of Persuasion because I believe it is incredibly difficult to bring this story to modern times in a realistic manner, however, Karen M Cox excelled at this, and Laurel and James’ story fit perfectly in the 90’s. The secondary characters, along with the plot and the reasons for their separation, were well thought of and the story was crafted carefully so everything is perfectly plausible.
The book has a feeling of southern small town that captivated me from the first pages and, unlike Persuasion, it depicts the characters stories during their youth, which was necessary for the reader to understand them better and feel connected to them.
I have always been team Wentworth, and I’ve always considered him to be superior to Anne, however in Find Wonder in All Things my feelings are reversed. I believe James was too impulsive and Laurel was the one with the good sense, revealing a maturity that was not easily found in someone so young. I have also enjoyed their older versions, but once more Laurel was my favourite. I did like James, who was an attractive man, but I was expecting him to be more resentful and cold. He was actually a nice guy, and I think most readers who are not so fond of Persuasion because they dislike Wentworth, will love this trait in James Marshal.
One of my favourite parts of the book was the modernization of the letter scene, which was incredibly romantic and swoon worthy. Never have I seen music enter a story so well as it did in Find Wonder in All Things, and this particular act made me love James Marshall, who was the epitome of a romantic hero. The scene that followed it was equally perfect, and once more I was reminded of why I prefer Laurel to Anne, she is kind and with a sweet temper, but she always has a backbone when it comes to James, not refraining from telling him what he needs to hear.
The clear connection to both nature and arts were two aspects that made me enjoy this book even more and that made me feel engrossed with it. The descriptions made by Karen M Cox made me feel I was at the cabin in the mountains with the characters, or at the lake looking at the stars, and the music created a warm feeling that was very pleasing.
Find Wonder in All Things is a book that should not be missed by any Janeite as it brings an original and interesting take on Persuasion while keeping it in line with characters, and just as romantic as the original. I highly recommend it.
You can find Find Wonder in All Things at:
The blog tour is just beginning; please do not forget to follow it 🙂
Jan. 4 – Karen M Cox
Jan. 7 – So Little Time…
Jan. 9 – From Pemberley to Milton
Jan. 10 – Babblings of a Bookworm
Jan. 11 – My Love for Jane Austen
Jan. 12 – Austenesque Reviews
Jan. 13 – Delighted Reader
Jan. 17 – Margie’s Must Reads
Jan. 20 – From Pemberley to Milton
Feb. 3 – Diary of an Eccentric
Karen M Cox is an award-winning author of five novels accented with history and romance, a novella, and several short stories.
Karen was born in Everett WA, the daughter of a United States Air Force Officer. She had a nomadic childhood, with stints in North Dakota, Tennessee, and New York State before settling in her family’s home state of Kentucky at age eleven. She lives in a quiet town with her husband and works as a pediatric speech pathologist.
If you would like periodic bits of authorly goodness delivered to your inbox, be sure to get Karen’s News and Muse Letter. Updates, sales, book recommendations, etc. are yours for the asking.
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It’s giveaway time! To celebrate the second edition of Find Wonder in All Things, Karen is giving away a signed copy of the book and some Jane Austen swag: fun notecards from The Quill Ink, What Would Jane Do? book of quotes, and Austen coffee mug (if US winner), or an ebook copy of the book and 25$ Amazon Gift Card (if International Winner 🙂
Each comment left on a Find Wonder in All Things blog tour post will serve as an entry.
Winner will be chosen by 11:59 pm EDT on 2.6.20 and announced on Karen’s website and social media (Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram).
Good Luck everyone!
From Pemberley to Milton 
Oh, Rita, that was an amazing review. Heavy Sigh! I love Wentworth and will have to read this new version of him. You make him sound wonderful. I have both books on my wish list. Thanks for the review. Special thanks to our author, Karen M Cox, for this generous giveaway. Good luck to everyone in the drawing.
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Thanks so much! I love the heroes in my books, all for different reasons – but James may edge them out as a favorite – just by a hair 🙂
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Sounds like a book I’d love.
denise
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Yes, Denise!!! You will love it. Love.
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I hope you enjoy it, Denise!
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I TOTALLY AGREE with your review! It’s not cookie cutter exact to canon but the parallels are compelling. And I think Karen M Cox is a fantastic storyteller. I even appreciated her epilogue and how she wrapped up everything.
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Thanks! I think it would be very difficult to translate Persuasion per canon – for example, it was easier to adapt “Emma” to “I Could Write a Book” – because #reasons – and Emma translates to modern times more easily than Anne. So then you have to think – what would be a modern parallel? That’s what I tried to do anyway 🙂
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I have read previous Karen Cox’s modernizations of Jane Austen’s books, and they have been excellent. I’m sure that this will not disappoint. It will be interesting to see how Persuasion will translate. I’m especially anxious to read the famous love letter – is it on social media?
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This one is definitely worth reading Eva, it is not in social media, it is through a song ;)) James composes and sings the most beautiful song possible!
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I do have an old file of the instrumental – a friend’s son recorded it for me. I’ll have to look and see where that is!
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I enjoyed reading your review and couldn’t agree more. I also read this and absolutely loved it! Thanks for the giveaway.
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Glad you liked it 🙂 Good luck!
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“Persuasion” is a great favorite of mine. I’m going to love this read.
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It toggles back and forth with P&P as my favorite Austen novel. I had my first serious bout of writer’s block with Find Wonder in All Things – because I was so in awe of the original novel, and I wanted to get the adaptation right. I hope you like it 🙂
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Yes, the turning the letter into a song and the setting were fabulous. I loved this one, too, Rita.
Please do not enter me, thanks!
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Thanks for stopping by, Sophia!
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I’d love to try a Persuasion retelling. I haven’t seen those much.
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There are some out there (one recent one was the novella Holiday Mix Tape by Beau North) but you’re right, P&P is much more popular. But Austen is so much more than P&P – we’ll hold out hope that more Persuasion adaptations are forthcoming 🙂
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Hi Rita,
Great review,my dear!
I read this a few years ago and loved it.
I thought Karen did a fantastic job modernising
it and really fell in love with the characters.
I might have to treat myself to a re-read sometime
soon.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Mary.
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Thanks for your kind words, Mary. Good luck on the giveaway 🙂
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I started reading this review thinking that because it wasn’t based on Darcy and Elizabeth it wasn’t really for me. But as I read more I was definitely intrigued and now I will be adding it to my list.
Thank you Rita! Obviously a romantic hero and a heroine who speaks her mind makes for a compelling read.
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Hey all – just wanted to let you know we won’t have a stop on Jan 12 or Jan 20. This Sunday is Sanditon Sunday in the US, and I couldn’t get the movie I wanted for my watch party (boo!)
Thanks so much, Rita, for your thoughtful review! I’m so glad you enjoyed “Find Wonder in All Things” !
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Reblogged this on Karen M Cox.
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Sounds like a wonderful book!
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I hope you enjoy it, Katrina 🙂
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Thanks for the review. Gave us a litle more bout this modern story. Thank you for the give-away
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I’ve always enjoyed other-era Austen stories-to see how Jane Austen translates across time. Thank you for stopping in 🙂
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Your modern Persuasion sounds absolutely delightful and I can’t wait to read it!!
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If you are a Persuasion fan, I think you’ll like it, but you don’t have to have read the original novel for this one to make sense. Thanks!
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One of the reasons I love this tale so much is that it’s based on Persuasion. Like Karen, it vies with P&P for top place in my Austen league table, and so much Austenesque fiction is based on P&P that it’s a lovely change of pace to read something like this. Another reason is that Karen’s writing is simply wonderful! Yet another is that I love that she doesn’t generally write in the Regency or modern day time periods. I’ve just finished reading this new edition (last night, in fact) and will be posting a review in the next couple of days as soon as I feel I’ve done it justice! Rita does it so much better.
The “Wentworth’s letter” scene in this is to die for, as in canon. What a piece of inspiration to write it as a song performed by James to Laurel instead of putting it on paper.
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Aw, thanks Anji! So glad you liked the song. And the story, too 🙂
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What a fun new story Karen! Interested to see Anne in your book. I must say that she is not my favorite Austen character, but I’d love to give your story a chance, maybe I’ll be persuaded 😉
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I’m also part of team Wentworth. Your book sounds really promising Karen & the cover is pretty cute too 🙂
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Sounds fabulous!
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