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thefemalekyle's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This was selected for a romance book club read from a friend of a friend (no one in the group).
When I hadn’t started it yet and another friend in the club said they were gonna “have questions about the original pride & prejudice” I should’ve known something was up. For street cred, I have a P&P foot tattoo and also was in the TRENCHES of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries fandom while it was airing as well as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Aside from all the casual racism, homophobia, and transphobia, this was a flop of a modern adaptation that the author only ‘’modernized” bits of the book when it suited them and in increasingly gross ways.
I am just gonna post my live react notes below cause I’m done dedicating brain space to this drivel:
[Begin]
Does this family…hate one another?
Oh the mom is racist AND homophobic…cool!
Jesus this is a tough read. How do you zap all of the charm from the Bennents???!!
WOW sending cheap lingerie. How charming and sexy of him.
“Bang you in a hotel I get to expense” what a fucking romantic
Girl, Lizzie you are 38. Why are you still mooning over this asshole. STAND UP!
These people text like boomers
Irrationally annoyed at this author needing to prove a point how much she knows Cincinnati. Down to the streets.
One thing I will give the story is the medical debt of Mr. Bennett is an ok change for modern times.
“Two runs? Are you anorexic?” WHAT
“A chubby chaser.” Guck. I hate it here.
They keep talking about peoples issues but then never to anything to address it. Georgie has anorexia. Mrs. Bennetts a shopaholic.
All the ‘NPC characters’ aren’t developed past the status of their skin or what genitals or ‘defects’ they have. Mary is ace and only likes bowling!!??! Shawn is Black and “oh my mom’s a racist?!” “Georgie is anorexic but WHELP what can we do?!” UGH
The language was tedious and overly flowery to the point of exhaustion at times. If Curtis was trying to emulate Jane Austen they failed. I don’t think she likes any of these characters.
AND WOW OH WOW DONT GET ME STARTED ON THE SURPRISE TRANS TWIST WITH THE WICKEM (OR SORRY, WICK AND HAM, come’on) WHO IS THE EQUIV THE VILLAIN OF THE ORIGINAL BOOK
Calling being trans a ‘birth defect’ Darcy wtffff
OMG I hate this. I truly do.
[End]
This book was so bad my friends and I continued to trash it at arts fest this weekend. It’s becoming an inside joke it was so bad.
I wish I could scrub this from my brain.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Racism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Homophobia, and Transphobia
tay_af's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
It is a truth universally acknowledged that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should, and this book should not exist. It is maybe the worst book I’ve ever read. It featured an egregious misunderstanding of character dynamics and fundamental (and lovable) traits. Its attempts toward diversity were sloppy and self congratulatory at best, and more often, explicitly racist, homophobic, and transphobic in the execution, no matter how well intentioned it may have been. It’s insanely fatphobic as well: for instance, Charlotte Lucas’s undesirability which, in the original book, is principally linked to her lack of fortune and the fact that she is no great beauty, is replaced by a high paying job that cannot counter the fact she’s plus size. It’s a clear example in the need for sensitivity readers, even from authors who mean well. Beyond that, the writing is in general mediocre to abysmal, with terrible description and exposition. You have to try really hard to make Pride and Prejudice this bad, honestly. I could go on for days about it, but suffice to say, there are no redeeming qualities.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Fatphobia, and Transphobia
Moderate: Pregnancy and Racial slurs
Minor: Antisemitism and Acephobia/Arophobia
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