Amanda (The Austen Series, Book 5) [Paperback]

Debra White Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2006

Amanda, Book #5 in Debra White Smith’s Austen Series, is a delightful contemporary novel set in Australia that captures the wit and humor of Jane Austen’s Emma.

Amanda is a bit bored—until she meets Haley and decides that with a little sprucing up, she would be the perfect wife for the local pastor. Amanda’s plan is falling into place when she discovers that Haley is dating Roger...and Pastor Eldridge is seeing someone else. Not to be thwarted, she steers Haley toward newcomer Frederick West. But when Haley is attracted to Nathaniel, why is Amanda’s heart suddenly anxious?

Readers will love this lively tale of plans gone awry, affection in unexpected places, and the power of faith and love.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Debra White Smith has more than 40 books to her credit and over 1 million books in print. The author of Romancing Your Husband (more than 100,000 copies sold) and the popular Jane Austen series, Debra’s award-winning writing, entertaining humor, and solid biblical knowledge have made her a reader favorite and a sought-after conference speaker. Debra holds an M.A. in English.

Product Details

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736908757
• ISBN-13: 978-0736908757
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,089,415 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Emma Retold, May 28, 2007

By 

Deborah "Books, Movies and Chinese Food" (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Amanda (The Austen Series, Book 5) (Paperback)

Amanda, the fifth book in the Austen series, is a retelling of Jane Austen's Emma. Amanda decides that it is her duty to save her friend Haley from a doomed relationship with Roger and to set her up with someone more suitable. This leads her to introducing Haley to the new pastor in town Pastor Eldridge. Meanwhile Amanda's best friend Nate begins to think more of Amanda than just a friend, but Amanda's too busy with her matchmaking to notice this plus she's also interested in the new guy in town Franklyn. But when the pastor beings to notice Amanda and Haley with Nate, it looks like Amanda's plans need some retouching!

I've always enjoyed Jane Austen's stories and so far have enjoyed Debra White Smith's modern retelling of them especially the Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility remakes. Emma is one of Austen's most well known stories and it ranks as my 3rd favorite. So I was looking forward to reading this book to compare it. I did enjoy seeing the story with all the elements from the original novel incorporated. I liked learning about the Australian culture as well. I did fell though that characters were very stock and I didn't get to understand them completely. Amanda's reasons for Haley ditching Roger are very poor and Haley seems very weak not to stand up to her. Meanwhile Nate never seems to be able to stop being at a loss of words in front of Amanda which got annoying after a while. The main problem I have about books that "retell" another story is that the real book will get mentioned in the retelling. In this book, the characters bring up the story of Emma several times. Why then can they not see that what is going on in their lives is EXACTLY what happens in the book? I mean don't the characters see that everything is completely parallel to the story? This books was also the hardest of the series to picture in a modern setting. I think, though, that the reason may be because I had just watched the Gwyneth Paltrow version of Emma right before reading this book.

This book was an enjoyable read. If you liked the other Austen books, pick this one up.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sweet!, March 14, 2006

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Amanda (The Austen Series, Book 5) (Paperback)

Sweet, laughable entertainment! Amanda Priebe is a young, powerful executive--too busy for love herself, but plenty of time to meddle in the lives of her closest friends.

Her friends, however, have issues of their own. Haley, her secretary and best friend, is totally subject to Amanda's suggestions. Mason Eldridge, respectable on the surface, has an evil agenda of his own. Family friend and sensible ally, Nate Knighton keeps secrets that need to be told.

Hidden jealousies, obvious attractions, and the confusion that results from ineffective communication make this book funny yet very, very sweet.

Amanda is the contemporary telling of Jane Austen's story Emma.

Armchair Interviews says: Sweet romantic entertainment!

5.0 out of 5 stars Amanda by Debra White Smith, February 6, 2009

By 

S. Mary Kopitar (Mendham, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Amanda (The Austen Series, Book 5) (Paperback)

"Amanda" is book 5 out of 6 in the Jane Austen series by Debra White Smith. I have enjoyed all five that I have read, but thus far, "Amanda" is my favorite. That could be because Jane Austen's "Emma" is also my favorite of her novels. "Amanda" is a witty and modernized retelling of the classic, "Emma." The author's use of descriptive words is great and I like her style of expression. The exotic locale of Tasmania caused me to do a little Internet surfing to see pictures of the beautiful lands described in the book. I found the plot very close the original work with the exception that we get to experience Nate's (Knightley's) point of view far more. He does act like a love-sick puppy at times, but that's alright with me! If you enjoyed the movie "Clueless" then chances are you'll also enjoy this funny, romantic tale of "mismatched matchmaking" and true love triumphing in the end!