Spotlight & Giveaway: Anne of Avenue A by Audrey Bellezza & Emily Harding

Posted October 27th, 2025 by in Blog, Spotlight / 22 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Audrey Bellezza & Emily Harding to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

Hi Audrey  & Emily   and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Anne of Avenue A!

 
Thanks so much for having us back!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Anne of Avenue A is a modern-day retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion that reunites soon-to-be spinster Anne Elliot with her former flame Freddie Wentworth for one fateful autumn in Manhattan’s East Village.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

“I don’t know how to be strangers with you.”

This line comes at a pivotal moment between Anne and Freddie and is a nod to Jane Austen’s line from the original book, “Now they were as strangers; nay, worse than strangers, for they could never become acquainted. It was a perpetual estrangement.” This quote perfectly encapsulates the crux of the romantic tension, and we wanted to incorporate the spirit of it but also update it to the Anne and Freddie we set in modern-day NYC.

 

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

Of the three books in the For the Love of Austen series, this is probably the one that drew upon our personal experience the most! We both spent our twenties in the East Village and we loved adding in anecdotes from our past.

 

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

What we loved about this story is the fact that it’s really two love stories in one. We get to not only get a glimpse of origins of Anne and Freddie’s love story, but how they rediscover it eight years later. Neither of them ever truly stopped loving the other, but how and when they both realize that is a fun journey.

 

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

While Freddie and Anne’s past relationship is referenced in Jane Austen’s Persuasion, the reader never actually get to see any of those moments, so we really wanted to explore those, especially their break-up. This ends up being at the very start of Anne of Avenue A, and writing it was a much more emotional experience than either of us could have predicted!

 

Readers should read this book….

Jane Austen lovers and anyone who adores a second-chance romance

 

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

Emily is currently working on her second solo novel, Thank You for Remembering, which is set to be published in 2026.
 
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 
 

Giveaway: A finished copy of ANNE OF AVENUE A by Audrey Bellezza & Emily Harding

 

To enter Giveaway,share this post and leave a comment to this Q: What about this book caught your attention?

 
 

Giveaway will end 3 days for post date.

 
 

Book Info:

Jane Austen’s Persuasion meets the Big Apple in this swoon-worthy holiday romance from the authors of Elizabeth of East Hampton and Emma of 83rd Street.

Eight years ago, Anne Elliot broke Freddie Wentworth’s heart when she refused to give up her five-year plan for the sake of adventure. But despite big dreams, Anne, now thirty, is still living at home with hardly a plan in sight. Anne tries to be optimistic—she knows better than anyone that regret will get you nowhere—but that goes out the window when, thanks to her father’s bad spending habits, her childhood apartment is rented out to the very man still living in her head rent-free.

Freddie Wentworth never thought he would see Anne Elliot again after she dumped him for accepting a job overseas. He spent years trying to forget her, and he’s been mostly successful. So when a job opportunity takes him back to New York, he’s shocked to find out that Anne is not only his new neighbor, but also the former resident of his new Greenwich Village penthouse.

Nearly a decade after Anne and Freddie’s fateful romance, the only thing they still have in common is a desire to leave their relationship firmly in the past. But between a disastrous off-Broadway show and a drunken Thanksgiving dinner, nosey neighbors, and flirtatious friends, Anne and Freddie suddenly find their lives more intertwined than ever before. When old feelings start rising to the surface, they must decide whether to put their hearts on the line or walk away all over again.

Meet the Author:

Audrey Bellezza is a writer and two-time Emmy-nominated TV producer who has spent her career developing non-fiction television shows for networks and streaming platforms. Audrey lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children. |
 
Emily Harding is one-half of the writing duo behind the For the Love of Austen series, including Emma of 83rd Street and Elizabeth of East Hampton. She is a graduate of Emerson College with degrees in both creative writing and film. After working over fifteen years in television development and production, she found her way back to writing. Emily lives in Dallas with her husband, two children, and an incredibly spoiled Texas heeler.
 
 
 

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22 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: Anne of Avenue A by Audrey Bellezza & Emily Harding”

  6. Janine Rowe

    The cover caught my attention first. But then I read the excerpt and really enjoyed it.

  7. Glenda M

    I’ve heard lots of great things about the previous books, plus who does love a great second chance romance?
    Shared on X

  11. Summer Halls

    I love Persuasion, and the fall/winter setting in New York really appeals to me, too.

  13. cherierj

    I love modern day retellings of Jane Austen’s books and this one sounds so good.

  18. Patricia B.

    It is interesting how time, even 7 or 8 years doesn’t erase all of the feelings in a friendship or relationship. Time gives you a new perspective if you take the time to look. It happened with my now husband and I. It will be fun seeing how Anne and Freddie’s love story progresses.

  20. T Rosado

    I enjoy modern retellings. I read this duo’s entertaining Emma retelling, Emma of 83rd Street, and look forward to more of their stories.