TITLE: So Into You
SERIES: The Jane Austen Academy Series #2
AUTHOR: Cecilia Gray
PUBLICATION DATE: July 15, 2012
PUBLISHER: Gray Life LLC
PAGES: 216 pages
FORMAT: E-ARC
SOURCE: Publisher via NetGalley
RATING: 3.5 bows
Ellie has always been the calm, go with the flow girl. Daughter to yoga fanatics, she’s sensible and caring. But when fate decides to take her away from the academy just as things are starting to get interesting with her crush, she is determined to fight back. Scholarships and work study, whatever it takes to buy her just one more semester. But is there enough to keep her classes paid for or will she wind up in Guatemala with her family?
We get the same group of characters from Fall For You, with a few new additions and obviously a bit more focus on Ellie. She’s so sweet and caring and I just felt so bad for her in this whole situation. I also felt a bit annoyed at Lizzie. I expected her to fight tooth and nail to find a way to keep Ellie in school, but she just accepts it. I found that a bit uncharacteristic after the fire she showed in Fall For You. I’m still not Emma’s biggest fan. She really fights for Ellie, but she seems to be on the shallower side of things and oh so dramatic. I tend to avoid drama. As for the new additions, I loved Knight. He seems like such a sweetie and I hope he can win Emma over easily enough.
It was nice to see Ellie put up some effort to stay where she wanted. I really rallied behind her efforts and hoped she’d find a way to make it work. She really deserves the chance to excel in this school that she loves so much. I found it a little selfish of her parents to try to take it away from her. In fact, I found her parents to be a little selfish in general. Who forgets to pay their bills and then lets their child take the heat? That’s just irresponsible and a bit infuriating. I came from a household where I was in charge of the majority of the bills for my teen years. I understand that it teaches money management and allows teens to learn and I’m all for that. But if that is what you want, hand over the checkbook. Don’t just attempt to pay for it and then let bill collectors hassle your kid because you are forgetful.
This novel is a bit more pulled together than the previous one. We already know the cast, so we don’t waste any time introducing characters. I love getting to see the group band together. In book one, there is a lot of tension because of the new roommate situation. Here, they aren’t completely over it, but they are on the way to becoming a fearsome foursome. After all, part of the draw of this series is seeing how Austen’s character interact and there is a great joy in that. None of these characters are perfect, or maybe they are. They are perfectly flawed and I love all of them. Reading this makes me want to go and pickup Sense & Sensibility and dig in. I know, I can’t believe I haven’t read it either considering how much I love Pride & Prejudice, but I just haven’t gotten around to it. I fail, I know.
This is a fun, fast read that will make you smile and giggle along with the group’s antics. It will also have you feeling Ellie’s heartbreak. I enjoyed it quite a bit and I can’t wait to read the next one!
****Thank you to Gray Life LLC and Cecilia Gray for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review****
Bows & Bullets Reviews 