Title: Living Out Loud
Author: Staci Hart
Rating: 4.75 stars
When I hear Staci Hart and inspired by Jane Austen in the same sentence, I know it’s a book I must read. This is a sweet, emotional and heartwarming read. This is based on Sense and Sensibility, focusing on Annie Daschle. I am excited that Elinor will get her own story next.
Annie is ready to start living after recently experiencing a lot of loss, but as a way to cope she makes a list of all the things she wants to do. She has recently moved to New York with her older and younger sister along with her mother who has recently lost the use of her legs. They are staying with her mother’s brother as they adjust to the loss of her father.
Annie is able to check off one of the first items on her list, getting a job at Wasted Words. This is where she meets Greg Brandon. Greg is the head bartender at Wasted Words and he and Annie become fast friends. Greg is there for her and wants to help cross some things of her list. Their friendship grows quickly and turns into Greg wanting more. He’s never met anyone like Annie before but it appears that Annie just wants to be friends.
“I’d tried to convince myself I could be her friend and nothing more. I’d considered the earnestness of her feelings, the depths I knew to be true; she cared for me and wanted me, just not in the way I wanted her.”
I adored Annie and Greg and enjoyed how their relationship developed. Annie had a lot of strength and Greg was so deserving of love, they both were. I also loved the crossover with all the other characters in the series. There was so much going on and many feelings were expressed.
I love reading Austen re-tellings, especially when they are so well written and make the story its own. I can’t wait for the next book in the series being about Annie’s sister, Elinor. Plus I can’t wait to see all of Austen’s other works retold in Staci’s storytelling.
A Universal Truth 