"Presumption and Partiality" by Rebekah Jones Blog Tour (Review) and GIVEAWAY!

About the Book

 

Title: Presumption and Partiality

Author: Rebekah Jones

Genre: Historical Christian Fiction

Release Date: November 27, 2017

Among the cotton fields and farmland of Gilbert, Arizona in the early years of the Great Depression, Mr. and Mrs. Bailey live a simple, but happy life with their five daughters on a cotton farm. When the wealthy Richard Buchanan moves to town, bringing his family, a friend, and a desire to learn about cotton, Matilda Bailey is convinced that he is the perfect candidate to marry her eldest daughter, Alice.

Richard is cheerful, friendly, and likable. His friend Sidney Dennison doesn’t make such a good impression. Eloise Bailey decides he’s arrogant and self-conceited, but when Raymond Wolfe comes to town, accusing Sidney of dishonorable and treacherous conduct, Eloise is angered at the injustice of the situation.

When the Buchanan household leaves town, Alice must turn to the Lord and face, perhaps, her most difficult test in trust, while Eloise takes a trip to visit her friend and may well discover a web of deceit that she doesn’t really want to believe exists.

Click here to purchase your copy.

My Review

 

Given my love for Jane Austen and retellings it should come as no surprise that I’ll be reviewing a “Pride and Prejudice” retelling today.  The book in question is called “Presumption and Partiality” by Rebekah Jones.  I can’t wait to share about this book!

Ms. Jones has a great writing style and I appreciate how she incorporates Austen-like wit into her story.  She does a great job with the setting as well, incorporating many historical details to transport the reader into the early years of the Great Depression.  She totally changes the setting and time period from Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” yet still follows the original storyline very closely.  This is more of an exact retelling of the story, which is fun for a diehard Austenite who would become hysterical if the plot was changed.   Others prefer their retellings to have the same characters, but have the plot be completely different from the original story – if this is you, you may want to pass on “Presumption and Partiality.”  The story is told from many points of view.  On one hand, I enjoyed seeing the thoughts of other characters, but sometimes I felt it was a little too many points of view. 

I love how big a part the Christian faith plays in this story.  This story is packed with faith content, ranging from hymns, to prayers, to Scripture.  I like that Alice, one of our main characters, talks about God’s provision, asks the Lord to guard her thoughts regarding a man and that she recalls scripture and prays.  She makes sure that the man she is interested in is a Christian before getting any more invested with him.  There are so many other great examples of faith in this story.

Ms. Jones did a great job with staying true to the original “Pride and Prejudice” story while taking the reader to a different time and place.  I really enjoyed this faith filled retelling.  I would recommend it to anyone who loves Christian fiction, historical fiction or Jane Austen.

 

Content:  This is a clean read.  I give it a PG rating for some minor content.  Some examples of the content are: a mention of gambling and alcohol; a girl runs away with a man she is not married to; someone becomes pregnant out of wedlock.

 

Rating: I give this book 3.5 stars

Genre: Christian fiction; Historical fiction; Retellings

I want to thank Celebrate Lit and Rebekah Jones for the complimentary copy of this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I express in this review are my own. This is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR 16, Part 255.

 

 

About the Author

 

 

Rebekah Jones is first and foremost a follower of the Living God. She started writing as a little girl, seeking to glorify her King with her books and stories. Her goal is to write Bible-Centered, Christian Literature; books rich with interesting characters, intricate story lines, and always with the Word of God at the center. Besides writing, she is an avid reader, songwriter, pianist, singer, artist, and history student. She also loves children. She lives with her family in the Southwestern desert.

 

 

Guest Post from Rebekah Jones

 

Why is he a Navajo?

I’ve had more than one person ask me why I chose to make Sidney Dennison, the “Mr. Darcy” of my novel Presumption and Partiality, a Navajo Indian.

When I commenced planning and research for placing a retelling of Pride and Prejudice in the 1930’s United States, I found myself drawn to the desert of Arizona rather early on. Specifically, the tiny farm town of Gilbert. I knew, however, that few rich people lived in that area; certainly not enough to create social rifts large enough to recreate the social differences of the original novel.

I experimented in my head with a few different ideas, but the idea of Sidney as a Native American came to me one day and just clicked. I knew that I couldn’t fully pull off a Navajo who lived on the reservations. As much as I researched, I couldn’t quite get the feel. Yet, a man whose ancestry included a white man as a grandfather, who lived outside the reservations, though with relatives who clung to some of the old traditions, I thought I could do.

I used to wish I were an Indian, in part because I wanted to have great tracking skills, live in a tee-pee, possess superb bow and arrow abilities, and I wanted to ride a horse. True, most of that did not enter a 1930’s novel, despite my Navajo cowboy, because the eras are different. Though, Sidney did get a horse. Or technically, several.

Further, something about the silent, good-looking Indian appealed to me, much as I tend to shy away from writing about handsome and beautiful people, since they feel so common in fiction. The minute I began imagining the man with his Navajo ancestry, he just felt perfect.

By the end, Sidney turned out to be one of my favorite characters. (I can’t ever pick just one in my novels.) I think I made a good choice and I hope my readers will agree!

Blog Stops

 

Texas Book-aholic, April 24

red headed book lady, April 24

Reading Is My SuperPower, April 25

Seasons of Opportunities, April 25

Karen Sue Hadley, April 25

Just the Write Escape, April 26

Remembrancy, April 26

Two Points of Interest, April 27

Views from the Window Friend, April 27

margaret kazmierczak, April 27

Bibliophile Reviews, April 28

Inklings and notions, April 28

History, Mystery & Faith, April 29

Mary Hake, April 29

proud to be an autism mom, April 30

A Greater Yes, April 30

Fiction Aficionado, April 30

Among the Reads, May 1

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 1

Janices book reviews, May 2

Jeanette’s Thoughts, May 2

Carpe Diem, May 3

A Baker’s Perspective, May 3

Kaylee’s Kind Of Writes, May 4

With a Joyful Noise, May 4

Have A Wonderful Day, May 4

Pause for Tales, May 5

Simple Harvest Reads, May 5 (Guest post from Mindy Houng)

Artistic Nobody, May 6 (Spotlight)

Bigreadersite, May 6

Faery Tales Are Real, May 7

By The Book, May 7

Reader’s Cozy Corner, May 7

 

 

Giveaway

 

 

 

 

 

To celebrate her tour, Rebekah is giving away a grand prize of the complete set of the Vintage Jane Austen Collection!!

 

Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/cc8f