Review Detail

JO & LAURIE takes place after the publication of the original LITTLE WOMEN, which is about half of the current text. Jo March is the author, and she has pressure from the publisher to put out a follow up in which all of the girls are married off. Jo really does not want to do this, and she is feeling writer's block pretty heavily.

Although the book is billed as a romance, most of the book is Jo relating to her sisters and trying to figure out how to write what we know as the rest of LITTLE WOMEN. She wants to fulfill her commitment to the publisher and stay true to herself.

The book captures the difficulty of putting pen to paper as well as familial love that marks the original book. This is a retake/retelling on LITTLE WOMEN that tries to fit in the historical context, including the sexism of the times. I found it to be pretty slow in terms of pace and many of the characters felt a bit lackluster. However, Amy really has quite the personality, and she was a fun character to read. I did appreciate the context at the end which shows the research the authors have done and how they feel this fits in with Louisa May Alcott's life and feelings about Jo and Laurie. I think sisterhood was strongest type of love in this book (versus romance) and that the main focus was on authoring.

Overall, I think this would appeal to people who enjoy slow-paced historical fiction. Please note that I received an ARC from netgalley. All opinions are my own.