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kerrygetsliterary's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
onthesamepage's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As far as Pride & Prejudice retellings go, this is a pretty good one, where we're left with the bare bones of the original story and everything else is up in the air. We still have Lizzy and Darcy, Jane and Bingley, and Wickham as the boogeyman, but even those elements are not as familiar as you would think.
What I liked:
* The author made some changes to make sure the story is diverse, and not just to the side characters.
* The changes done to make the story work in a modern setting made sense to me, even though that meant a sped up timeline. In the time of Austen, it makes sense for the dislike between Lizzy and Darcy to last as long as it does, and for the amends to take the time they do. In the age of internet and cell phones, their communication has to happen faster. It does take away a bit of the slow burn element, but I didn't mind that part.
* I enjoyed both of the main romances and the characters involved, as well as most of the side characters. The main beats of Pride & Prejudice are definitely there, but these characters also have their own, unique personalities that are pretty different. It made it easy to read this book without being constantly reminded of the original.
What didn't work for me:
* Some of the plot points didn't make much sense except that they were needed to move the story along. For example, Lizzy spilling her guts to Wickham about her past not very long after meeting him. She doesn't know much about him at this point, and even though she doesn't come across as someone who would easily trust someone else, she apparently feels comfortable enough in his presence to bare her soul. The other instance I distinctly remember involves a sexual harassment scene at the burlesque club where Lizzy works, where it is mentioned that in two years of working there, the character has never been harassed. Considering we learn early on that the club is next to the financial district and that many of their customers are coked up Wall Street types, I found that very hard to believe.
* The constant lust Lizzy has for Darcy, even while hating him. I get that hate sex is a thing, but even while she's pissed off at him for hurting Jane, she's still thinking about how hot he is and how much she'd like to bang him.
* Because this is written in first person POV, we only ever get Lizzy's limited perspective. Unfortunately this also means the other characters don't get as much time to shine, and ultimately I didn't feel like I knew them very well. This applies to Darcy too.
What I liked:
* The author made some changes to make sure the story is diverse, and not just to the side characters.
* The changes done to make the story work in a modern setting made sense to me, even though that meant a sped up timeline. In the time of Austen, it makes sense for the dislike between Lizzy and Darcy to last as long as it does, and for the amends to take the time they do. In the age of internet and cell phones, their communication has to happen faster. It does take away a bit of the slow burn element, but I didn't mind that part.
* I enjoyed both of the main romances and the characters involved, as well as most of the side characters. The main beats of Pride & Prejudice are definitely there, but these characters also have their own, unique personalities that are pretty different. It made it easy to read this book without being constantly reminded of the original.
What didn't work for me:
* Some of the plot points didn't make much sense except that they were needed to move the story along. For example, Lizzy spilling her guts to Wickham about her past not very long after meeting him. She doesn't know much about him at this point, and even though she doesn't come across as someone who would easily trust someone else, she apparently feels comfortable enough in his presence to bare her soul. The other instance I distinctly remember involves a sexual harassment scene at the burlesque club where Lizzy works, where it is mentioned that in two years of working there, the character has never been harassed. Considering we learn early on that the club is next to the financial district and that many of their customers are coked up Wall Street types, I found that very hard to believe.
* The constant lust Lizzy has for Darcy, even while hating him. I get that hate sex is a thing, but even while she's pissed off at him for hurting Jane, she's still thinking about how hot he is and how much she'd like to bang him.
* Because this is written in first person POV, we only ever get Lizzy's limited perspective. Unfortunately this also means the other characters don't get as much time to shine, and ultimately I didn't feel like I knew them very well. This applies to Darcy too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment
samharlow85's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
This is a contemporary, burlesque retelling of Pride and Prejudice. The side characters are great, with there being some great changes to the original story that work really well: Jane and Charles are gay, Liz Bennett's family is a made family of friends from the burlesque club, Will Darcy's snobbery comes from misunderstanding burlesque, and more. I recommend for a fun retelling of this classic romance story of misunderstandings and slow-burn chemistry.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual harassment
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