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See, it is a truth universally acknowledged that any beautiful, brilliant, single women who is rich as hell will be in want of a husband. She'd heard it time and time again.
This novel is Melissa de la Cruz's contribution to the Jane Austen craze, but with a slight twist: it's Darcy Fitzwilliam, the woman, who is the rich and successful one here, and who falls in love with one of her high school friends, Luke Bennet, a carpenter.
Official synopsis:
Darcy Fitzwilliam is 29, beautiful, successful, and brilliant. She dates hedge funders and basketball stars and is never without her three cellphones―one for work, one for play, and one to throw at her assistant (just kidding). Darcy’s never fallen in love, never has time for anyone else’s drama, and never goes home for Christmas if she can help it. But when her mother falls ill, she comes home to Pemberley, Ohio, to spend the season with her family.
Her parents throw their annual Christmas bash, where she meets one Luke Bennet, the smart, sardonic slacker son of their neighbor. Luke is 32-years-old and has never left home. He’s a carpenter and makes beautiful furniture, and is content with his simple life. He comes from a family of five brothers, each one less ambitious than the other. When Darcy and Luke fall into bed after too many eggnogs, Darcy thinks it’s just another one night stand. But why can’t she stop thinking of Luke? What is it about him? And can she fall in love, or will her pride and his prejudice against big-city girls stand in their way?
This was a fast and easy read. I'm a fan of books that provide a twist on Austen—Curtis Sittenfeld's Eligible was great—but it was hard for me to get into this one. I definitely laughed at the quote above, about the "truth universally acknowledged" (a spin off of one of Austen's quotes from the original book) but otherwise, I actually found Darcy to be a little unlikeable.
Darcy has an on-and-off-again relationship with Carl, whom her father really wanted her to marry in high school—that was the original plan, to stay in Pemberley, Ohio (Darcy's hometown) and be a housewife or whatnot—but instead, Darcy left for NYC and established a life for herself there. When Darcy finally agrees to marry Carl, it's because Luke is already taken, so she figures that she'll just settle down since she can't have Luke.
I'm aware that de la Cruz was probably being glib for most of this book, and/or taking a stab at the original (the characters in the original are just as ridiculous) but I'll be honest and say I was a little disappointed in it, versus the other books of hers that I've read. Her other recent book, Alex & Eliza, was also a romance, albeit a historical one, and I liked that novel much more.
If you're looking for a quick and easy read, though, this would fit the bill, and fans of Austen will appreciate the gender switch-up, which I did as well—and especially that you can be a successful woman and not *need* a man by your side, until you choose to have one, like Darcy did here.
2.5 stars out of 5.
{Click here to purchase}
GIVEAWAY:
One of my lucky readers will win a copy of Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe!
Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Wednesday, November 8th, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be emailed the next day and must respond with 24 hours, or an alternate winner will be chosen.
U.S. residents only, please.
Good luck!
Darcy has an on-and-off-again relationship with Carl, whom her father really wanted her to marry in high school—that was the original plan, to stay in Pemberley, Ohio (Darcy's hometown) and be a housewife or whatnot—but instead, Darcy left for NYC and established a life for herself there. When Darcy finally agrees to marry Carl, it's because Luke is already taken, so she figures that she'll just settle down since she can't have Luke.
I'm aware that de la Cruz was probably being glib for most of this book, and/or taking a stab at the original (the characters in the original are just as ridiculous) but I'll be honest and say I was a little disappointed in it, versus the other books of hers that I've read. Her other recent book, Alex & Eliza, was also a romance, albeit a historical one, and I liked that novel much more.
If you're looking for a quick and easy read, though, this would fit the bill, and fans of Austen will appreciate the gender switch-up, which I did as well—and especially that you can be a successful woman and not *need* a man by your side, until you choose to have one, like Darcy did here.
2.5 stars out of 5.
{Click here to purchase}
GIVEAWAY:
One of my lucky readers will win a copy of Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe!
Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Wednesday, November 8th, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be emailed the next day and must respond with 24 hours, or an alternate winner will be chosen.
U.S. residents only, please.
Good luck!
Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe book
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