I'd sincerely like to thank the terrible Netflix adaptation for having persuaded me into reading this wonderful book. Having loved P&P, I was pleasantly surprised at how Anne was written. She's quiet and subdued but is also a keen observer and an excellent judge of character. To learn that such a person was persuaded against her will was a sorry situation to read!

I wouldn't say that the book has a detailed plot to begin with. We are merely introduced to the characters and nothing is established beyond that, as our leads are already said to have history. Much of the plot thus revolves around Anne and her friends/family going about daily lives with a dash of drama. It's the continuous but silent push-and-pull between Anne and Wentworth, making you question will-they-wont-they and the constant melancholic musings that go round in Anne's head about her attachment to Wentworth, that make this book a great read!

While Anne had all my attention, I was equally curious about Wentworth. A man who still captured such a woman's heart despite those long years of separation, must be special? I confess I didn't like him as much, until his spontaneous declaration. Such bursts of emotions from a man make him all the more handsome in my eyes. So much so that I can confidently say the pair take a place only second to Lizzie & Darcy!