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abbyelizabeth's review
4.0
I am a fan of this author. She takes all the tropes of Austen and, while giving them a nod, puts a realistic spin on things. Definitely enjoyed it!
the_naptime_reader's review against another edition
3.0
This book for the most part stands alone from the first book [b: Jane Austen Ruined My Life|5928721|Jane Austen Ruined My Life|Beth Pattillo|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348728120s/5928721.jpg|6101153] except for the tie-ins with Mrs. Parrott and the Formidables (who play a much smaller role). I thought this heroine was more relatable and convincing, however the story was still simple, mostly fluff, and quickly consumed in less than 24 hours. I'd give it 2.5 stars if I could. This story differs from the first in that Patillo is attempting to fill in the mystery of Austen's first draft of Pride and Prejudice, called First Impressions, and what it contains by writing a possible draft of that story, which is embedded into the modern narrative.
azanta_rezwana's review against another edition
3.0
As always, loving the plot but the main characters needed more work. The book had ghe potential to be much, much better.
As for the "First Impressions", the writing wasn't even close to Austen's writing style. Yes, the author did say it was an "early draft" and that Austen gradually improved as a novellist, but even as a child, Jane Austen would have been a better writer. "First Impressions" reminded me of a amateur Mills&Boons Regency book.
As for the "First Impressions", the writing wasn't even close to Austen's writing style. Yes, the author did say it was an "early draft" and that Austen gradually improved as a novellist, but even as a child, Jane Austen would have been a better writer. "First Impressions" reminded me of a amateur Mills&Boons Regency book.
emslovestoread's review against another edition
4.0
After reading this, I have concluded that I need a Neil in my life.
mishale1's review against another edition
3.0
Purely for a fun read
Claire takes her sister's place at a Jane Austen discussion in Oxford.
She leaves behind her needy sister and seemingly dull boyfriend Neil for the week.
Almost immediately after arriving she meets James. He is handsome but almost unfriendly at first.
She also meets Harriet who claims to have an original Jane Austen story called First Impressions. It was an early draft of Pride and Prejudice where Elizabeth has a different love interest.
Despite always claiming not to get the Darcy appeal, the combination of James and First Impressions are making Claire seriously reconsider her doubts about Darcy.
It's an enjoyable read. I didn't want anything heavy here, I wanted a nice light read and this fits the bill. Some plot points you'll see coming and others you may question. Why would Harriet tell Claire about First Impressions, she didn't even know her?
I honestly didn't care :) it was a fun read and it fit expectations in my opinion.
Claire takes her sister's place at a Jane Austen discussion in Oxford.
She leaves behind her needy sister and seemingly dull boyfriend Neil for the week.
Almost immediately after arriving she meets James. He is handsome but almost unfriendly at first.
She also meets Harriet who claims to have an original Jane Austen story called First Impressions. It was an early draft of Pride and Prejudice where Elizabeth has a different love interest.
Despite always claiming not to get the Darcy appeal, the combination of James and First Impressions are making Claire seriously reconsider her doubts about Darcy.
It's an enjoyable read. I didn't want anything heavy here, I wanted a nice light read and this fits the bill. Some plot points you'll see coming and others you may question. Why would Harriet tell Claire about First Impressions, she didn't even know her?
I honestly didn't care :) it was a fun read and it fit expectations in my opinion.
emmi_louise's review against another edition
4.0
It actually was quite brilliant, which surprised me. It was a very fun read.
laurafalls's review against another edition
4.0
Ah! Such a great book. I love [a:Jane Austen|1265|Jane Austen|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1282032472p2/1265.jpg] and her works, but my favorite is probably [b:Pride and Prejudice|14920|Pride and Prejudice|Jane Austen|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166668786s/14920.jpg|3060926]. It's such a great story, and I feel like I can find something new every time I read it. Apparently, I"m not the only one that feels this way, because there are several Pride and Prejudice remakes, sequels, prequels and re-tellings. [b:Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart|6855558|Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart|Beth Pattillo|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61wljBkdy2L._SL75_.jpg|7069313] is none of these.
Let me explain. Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart tells the story of Claire, who goes to England for a Jane Austen conference. She goes in place of Missy, her sister, who's the true academic of the family. Her entire life Claire has been taking care of Missy, and even though they are both grown, and Missy herself is a mother, Claire still mothers her sister. Unlike some of the other participants of the conference, Claire is a little apprehensive about being there. She becomes more apprehensive when she meets James, a fellow conference attendee.
Is he her Mr. Darcy? Is her life really like Pride and Prejudice ?
She begins to wonder even more when she meets Harriet, a local woman who tells her she has a lost copy of Pride and Prejudice's first manuscript, First Impressions. Throughout the course of the week-long conference, Harriet and Claire spend time together, each day allowing Claire more time to read through the manuscript.
Towards the end of her stay, Claire's boyfriend, Neil, shows up. He's flown across the Atlantic for our heroine. Confusion ensues, and we come to the climax of the novel.
As I stated earlier, I don't feel like Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart is a retelling of the P&P story. It is, however, similar to the (fake) story of First Impressions. It could almost be called Second Impressions, because as we grow older, we (hopefully) grow wiser, just as Claire did during the novel.
Fans of Jane Austen will like this fresh look and take on one of their favorite stories. Even those who don't love Austen have a great primary story to look forward to. I found some fabulous quotes throughout my reading time, but this one stuck out to me the most:
"The word courage, of course, comes from the French word coeur, or heart in English. Austen shows us that it is in knowing one's heart tha tone may find the courage to overcome obstacles." -- Martin, pg. 225.
I believe that it says more eloquently what I'm trying to say – this novel has heart. A lot of it.
Let me explain. Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart tells the story of Claire, who goes to England for a Jane Austen conference. She goes in place of Missy, her sister, who's the true academic of the family. Her entire life Claire has been taking care of Missy, and even though they are both grown, and Missy herself is a mother, Claire still mothers her sister. Unlike some of the other participants of the conference, Claire is a little apprehensive about being there. She becomes more apprehensive when she meets James, a fellow conference attendee.
Is he her Mr. Darcy? Is her life really like Pride and Prejudice ?
She begins to wonder even more when she meets Harriet, a local woman who tells her she has a lost copy of Pride and Prejudice's first manuscript, First Impressions. Throughout the course of the week-long conference, Harriet and Claire spend time together, each day allowing Claire more time to read through the manuscript.
Towards the end of her stay, Claire's boyfriend, Neil, shows up. He's flown across the Atlantic for our heroine. Confusion ensues, and we come to the climax of the novel.
As I stated earlier, I don't feel like Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart is a retelling of the P&P story. It is, however, similar to the (fake) story of First Impressions. It could almost be called Second Impressions, because as we grow older, we (hopefully) grow wiser, just as Claire did during the novel.
Fans of Jane Austen will like this fresh look and take on one of their favorite stories. Even those who don't love Austen have a great primary story to look forward to. I found some fabulous quotes throughout my reading time, but this one stuck out to me the most:
"The word courage, of course, comes from the French word coeur, or heart in English. Austen shows us that it is in knowing one's heart tha tone may find the courage to overcome obstacles." -- Martin, pg. 225.
I believe that it says more eloquently what I'm trying to say – this novel has heart. A lot of it.
kailiasage's review against another edition
2.0
Originally reviewed on my blog Reading the Best of the Best.
Right after the amazingness that is The Lizzie Bennet Diaries ended, the feeling of no more Pride and Prejudice re-telling hit me hard. I was about to begin re-reaidng Pride and Prejudice for about the 1,000,000 time when I came across this book on my shelf. I immediately grabbed it and began reading, immersing myself into the world of Jane Austen once again. Sadly, Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart was not the fun, light book I was expecting. While I knew that this was not a re-telling true to Pride and Prejudice, I knew there were going to be many similarities yet even this information didn't make it better.
Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart is a short book at only 263 pages but I felt like this needed to be much longer, possibly 100 or even 200 more pages to fully explain everything that was going on. For starters, the plot begins promising but quickly changes gears to where various things are happening all at once with no explanation what so ever. One minute, Claire would be walking down the road somewhere and the next, she's fantasizing about some guy she met a few seconds ago. The secret society dealing with Jane Austen's writings was fascinating but the idea was not developed at all. There is another book that is part of this "series" but this book is a standalone in itself so I didn't think it was necessary.
Claire Prescott, what to do with you. I had hoped that Claire would be a witty, snarky 26 (or 27) year old but instead, she honestly sounded much younger. Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart is supposed to be about Claire figuring out who she is but I didn't see that happening. Again, with only 263 pages, the amount of character development that can happen is slim and sadly, Claire's change from the whining woman to a more stronger woman wasn't really clear. She finds herself stuck between two men, one she just met a week before and the other, her long time boyfriend. I found this love triangle utterly annoying because it's not possible. I cared for none of the characters honesty because I didn't know them. Character backgrounds would have been a great help in understanding anything about the characters or the plot but really, I was unimpressed.
The writing was...interesting. If everyone doesn't know by now, Pride and Prejudice was initially titled First Impressions and much of Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart deals with Claire finding the original copy of this book. The writing of First Impressions didn't even come close to sounding like Jane Austen and while no one will ever write like her, I had hoped that the author would have tried a little more. I also wished that Claire sounded like a 26 year old woman who didn't know what she wanted from life rather than a 16 year old pining over some hot guy she just met.
Overall, I wasn't as impressed with Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart as I had hoped to be. It has a promising plot and main character but I felt that the execution was poor. While it was a quick read, I was unsatisfied with almost every aspect of this book.
Right after the amazingness that is The Lizzie Bennet Diaries ended, the feeling of no more Pride and Prejudice re-telling hit me hard. I was about to begin re-reaidng Pride and Prejudice for about the 1,000,000 time when I came across this book on my shelf. I immediately grabbed it and began reading, immersing myself into the world of Jane Austen once again. Sadly, Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart was not the fun, light book I was expecting. While I knew that this was not a re-telling true to Pride and Prejudice, I knew there were going to be many similarities yet even this information didn't make it better.
Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart is a short book at only 263 pages but I felt like this needed to be much longer, possibly 100 or even 200 more pages to fully explain everything that was going on. For starters, the plot begins promising but quickly changes gears to where various things are happening all at once with no explanation what so ever. One minute, Claire would be walking down the road somewhere and the next, she's fantasizing about some guy she met a few seconds ago. The secret society dealing with Jane Austen's writings was fascinating but the idea was not developed at all. There is another book that is part of this "series" but this book is a standalone in itself so I didn't think it was necessary.
Claire Prescott, what to do with you. I had hoped that Claire would be a witty, snarky 26 (or 27) year old but instead, she honestly sounded much younger. Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart is supposed to be about Claire figuring out who she is but I didn't see that happening. Again, with only 263 pages, the amount of character development that can happen is slim and sadly, Claire's change from the whining woman to a more stronger woman wasn't really clear. She finds herself stuck between two men, one she just met a week before and the other, her long time boyfriend. I found this love triangle utterly annoying because it's not possible. I cared for none of the characters honesty because I didn't know them. Character backgrounds would have been a great help in understanding anything about the characters or the plot but really, I was unimpressed.
The writing was...interesting. If everyone doesn't know by now, Pride and Prejudice was initially titled First Impressions and much of Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart deals with Claire finding the original copy of this book. The writing of First Impressions didn't even come close to sounding like Jane Austen and while no one will ever write like her, I had hoped that the author would have tried a little more. I also wished that Claire sounded like a 26 year old woman who didn't know what she wanted from life rather than a 16 year old pining over some hot guy she just met.
Overall, I wasn't as impressed with Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart as I had hoped to be. It has a promising plot and main character but I felt that the execution was poor. While it was a quick read, I was unsatisfied with almost every aspect of this book.
loveisnotatriangle's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't really like this book. The story in the lost manuscript was poorly written and unbelieveable, and the modern story wasn't much better.
catrev's review against another edition
5.0
Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart by Beth Patillo is a fascinating look at an old treasure. Claire Prescott has never been enthralled with Jane Austen and Mr. Darcy the way her sister is, but when the sister is too ill to attend an important seminar about Pride and Prejudice at Oxford University, Claire fills in. She could use some romance in her life, especially after the loss of her job and her boyfriend's minimal acknowledging of her leaving the country. A handsome classmate fits the bill perfectly and soon sweeps her off her feet, but then she is caught up in a confusing whirlwind of Austen's lost papers, conspiracy, and deception. Patillo takes the Pride and Prejudice and turns it on its ear through the various papers presented throughout as studies of the famous novel, as well as her own remarkably well done version of Austen's writing. This story is a completely unexpected surprise in that the narrative never goes where the reader anticipates, making it an enjoyable ride. The author does a superb job of making Austen's work come alive through the eyes of Claire as she closely examines the work in relation to her own life, causing deep introspection. I was thoroughly entertained and hope that Patillo writes more in this vein.