Beth & Amy
By: Virginia Kantra
Published Year: 2021
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 352
I received a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this book.
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Amy March is more like her older sister Jo than she'd like to admit. An up-and-coming designer in New York's competitive fashion industry, ambitious Amy is determined to get out of her sisters' shadow and keep her distance from their North Carolina hometown. But when Jo's wedding forces her home, she must face what she really wants...and confront the One Big Mistake that could upend her life and forever change her relationship with Jo.
Gentle, unassuming Beth grew up as the good girl of the family. A talented singer-songwriter, she's overcome her painful anxiety to tour with country superstar Colt Henderson. But life on the road has taken its toll on her health and their relationship. Maybe a break to attend her sister's wedding will get her out of her funk. But Beth realizes that what she's looking for and what she needs are two very different things....
With the March women reunited, this time with growing careers and families, they must once again learn to lean on one another as they juggle the changes coming their way.
First Impressions
I read the first book Meg & Jo when it first came out and really enjoyed it. I was excited to read the second one and then the pandemic happened and I kind of forgot about it. when I saw it was finally coming out in May I got really excited. I love the style of these covers and I love how the fit together.
What I thought
This was such a fun read and I flew through it.
Since the first book, Beth has been on tour for 3 years and is finally coming home. Amy returned from Paris to sell her purses for her line Baggage in New York City. The reason they are back in Bunyan is for Jo’s wedding to Eric. Will Beth discover who she is and who she wants to be? Will Amy get over Trey?
I love that this book both simultaneously did and did not pick up where it left off. It was fun to fast forward in Jo and Meg’s lives and the pick up with Amy and Beth. Jo has always been my favorite March sister so I was curious to see how I would enjoy a story focused on Beth and Amy. Surprisingly, this book really made me like Amy. I still feel meh about Beth but that’s nothing to do with the story. In fact, I did enjoy Beth’s story a lot but it’s just that overall she’s not my favorite.
In case you didn’t read my review of the first book, this duology is a modern day retelling of Little Women and it is done so well. I love seeing the March sisters brought into the 21st century and dealing with present day problems. If you’ve read the original, you know that Beth dies. Spoiler, she doesn’t die in this version which I very much appreciated. I don’t want to give too much away but I really liked the way they handled a modern day illness for Beth to deal with that didn’t end up killing her off.
The one issue I did have with the book is the time line was a bit confusing. I was never sure how much time passed between the alternating chapters. Sometimes Beth’s chapters would pick up a week after Amy’s ended and sometimes it would pick up back at the beginning of where the previous chapter had started. It wasn’t a major issue, but it did take me out of the story from time to time.
This series is very fun and well done. If you like Little Women you will enjoy this modern retelling. There are a lot of good lessons in this story and the writing is well done. I also liked reconnecting with Jo and Meg. I would definitely recommend this duology and look forward to other books by this author.