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A review by aksmith92
Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was cute! I had a great time reading, and it was a cool, modern take on Pride and Prejudice.
The setup: Pemberley Development is a big corporation coming in hot with some fancy new apartments to a DC neighborhood that will likely not be able to afford said apartments. Liza, one of our protagonists, is upset and most certainly gives a jam, as stated regularly in her radio gig. She sees her neighborhood getting wrapped up in a gentrification scheme right away and tries her best to stop it. Through the process of doing her best to protest these new apartments, she meets Dorsey Fitzgerald, the current/interim CEO of Pemberley Development, much to his chagrin. Dorsey, the son of parents who owned Pemberley Development, has to answer to a board that wants this deal done. But he never wanted to be the CEO in the first place and cares a lot more about WCO, his mother's foundation/nonprofit arm. Intentions and thoughts aside, Liza and Dorsey get wrapped up in numerous events focused around these apartments and can't escape each other.
As a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, we can all see where this is going - sparks fly between Liza and Dorsey, yet they have to deal with the immense differences in their upbringings. Liza comes from a pretty eccentric family who is trying to make ends meet in the neighborhood they've lived in for all their lives, almost the exact opposite of Dorsey, who, while adopted from the Philippines, grew up with millions and millions of dollars. We see them battle some intense challenges in different ways and see how differently yet remarkably similar they live.
What I liked: I liked the main protagonists! While I could see where some of this story would be a little cringy for some folks, it wasn't for me. There were great character nuances, layers, and development, and while both main characters could have an open mind and change some of their ways, they were both authentic. I also really enjoyed the family aspect of this story, and getting to know a little bit more than we usually do with NPCs about their backgrounds, grief, joys, and dreams. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Janae, Gigi, and Maurice and their overall involvement in the storylines. A big thing for me was liking the romance - that's what this book is about anyway! I enjoyed the romance between Dorsey and Liza. It took its time, and there was some excellent banter. There were two big spicy scenes in this book (outside of some other sexually explicit thoughts and tension), and I thought they were well done (but definitely a lot - fair warning!). See below for some pacing issues, but generally, I enjoyed them a lot and thought their characters brought out the best in each other, which I love to see in a romance novel.
I also enjoyed some of the cultural integration that Nikki Payne wrote about - such as traditional Filipino dances and even its rap scene. I'm also a sucker for this book because I'm from the DC area and lived and worked in DC for five years. I laughed out loud in some parts about them taking a tour of Alexandria, VA. Lastly, Nikki Payne did an excellent job at writing about bias and preconceptions and having the characters work through their mistakes.
What didn't hit the mark for me: I found some pacing issues that I'm finding hard to articulate. I think this was towards the 75-80% mark when a couple of months went by with some major tension, and then suddenly, it resolved itself in two or so pages. It was peppered throughout the novel, and it was subtle but noticeable. The ending was a bit rushed as well. Additionally, I have personal things here on two accounts: (1) I don't like any romance with "my body is just completely pulled to you even though I'm trying to convince myself I hate you." It's like, oh hey, I literally hate every single one of your values (which is always never the case because it's just that they don't know each other yet), but I'd still bang you because you are so hot, and I can't help my bodily reaction. This bugs me for many reasons, but mostly, it seems to be a scapegoat to build physical tension in the novel without doing some other work to make that happen. This was manageable for me in this novel, unlike in others, but it still felt there. (2) I wouldn't say I like it when the main female character is constantly overthinking that the main male character will end up wanting nothing to do with her, even though every single piece of evidence points otherwise. This fear-based modeling is realistic but a little cringe to read in novels. I totally get Liza's apprehension about the relationship working out because of their vastly different upbringings and her family being a bit on the eccentric side, but saying that he wants nothing to do with you over and over is blatantly false, and I don't like when it's integrated into the narrative too much.
Lastly, I wish there was just a teensy bit more time on the friendship between Liza and Chicho (Lucia) because I think it generally fell a little flat. But, it was to make some room for the family dynamic, which was done well.
I'm a really picky contemporary romance reader, with many coming in at three stars or lower, but I liked this one and would recommend it as a nice, fun, romantic read! I plan to read some more Nikki Payne when more books are released!
The setup: Pemberley Development is a big corporation coming in hot with some fancy new apartments to a DC neighborhood that will likely not be able to afford said apartments. Liza, one of our protagonists, is upset and most certainly gives a jam, as stated regularly in her radio gig. She sees her neighborhood getting wrapped up in a gentrification scheme right away and tries her best to stop it. Through the process of doing her best to protest these new apartments, she meets Dorsey Fitzgerald, the current/interim CEO of Pemberley Development, much to his chagrin. Dorsey, the son of parents who owned Pemberley Development, has to answer to a board that wants this deal done. But he never wanted to be the CEO in the first place and cares a lot more about WCO, his mother's foundation/nonprofit arm. Intentions and thoughts aside, Liza and Dorsey get wrapped up in numerous events focused around these apartments and can't escape each other.
As a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, we can all see where this is going - sparks fly between Liza and Dorsey, yet they have to deal with the immense differences in their upbringings. Liza comes from a pretty eccentric family who is trying to make ends meet in the neighborhood they've lived in for all their lives, almost the exact opposite of Dorsey, who, while adopted from the Philippines, grew up with millions and millions of dollars. We see them battle some intense challenges in different ways and see how differently yet remarkably similar they live.
What I liked: I liked the main protagonists! While I could see where some of this story would be a little cringy for some folks, it wasn't for me. There were great character nuances, layers, and development, and while both main characters could have an open mind and change some of their ways, they were both authentic. I also really enjoyed the family aspect of this story, and getting to know a little bit more than we usually do with NPCs about their backgrounds, grief, joys, and dreams. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Janae, Gigi, and Maurice and their overall involvement in the storylines. A big thing for me was liking the romance - that's what this book is about anyway! I enjoyed the romance between Dorsey and Liza. It took its time, and there was some excellent banter. There were two big spicy scenes in this book (outside of some other sexually explicit thoughts and tension), and I thought they were well done (but definitely a lot - fair warning!). See below for some pacing issues, but generally, I enjoyed them a lot and thought their characters brought out the best in each other, which I love to see in a romance novel.
I also enjoyed some of the cultural integration that Nikki Payne wrote about - such as traditional Filipino dances and even its rap scene. I'm also a sucker for this book because I'm from the DC area and lived and worked in DC for five years. I laughed out loud in some parts about them taking a tour of Alexandria, VA. Lastly, Nikki Payne did an excellent job at writing about bias and preconceptions and having the characters work through their mistakes.
What didn't hit the mark for me: I found some pacing issues that I'm finding hard to articulate. I think this was towards the 75-80% mark when a couple of months went by with some major tension, and then suddenly, it resolved itself in two or so pages. It was peppered throughout the novel, and it was subtle but noticeable. The ending was a bit rushed as well. Additionally, I have personal things here on two accounts: (1) I don't like any romance with "my body is just completely pulled to you even though I'm trying to convince myself I hate you." It's like, oh hey, I literally hate every single one of your values (which is always never the case because it's just that they don't know each other yet), but I'd still bang you because you are so hot, and I can't help my bodily reaction. This bugs me for many reasons, but mostly, it seems to be a scapegoat to build physical tension in the novel without doing some other work to make that happen. This was manageable for me in this novel, unlike in others, but it still felt there. (2) I wouldn't say I like it when the main female character is constantly overthinking that the main male character will end up wanting nothing to do with her, even though every single piece of evidence points otherwise. This fear-based modeling is realistic but a little cringe to read in novels. I totally get Liza's apprehension about the relationship working out because of their vastly different upbringings and her family being a bit on the eccentric side, but saying that he wants nothing to do with you over and over is blatantly false, and I don't like when it's integrated into the narrative too much.
Lastly, I wish there was just a teensy bit more time on the friendship between Liza and Chicho (Lucia) because I think it generally fell a little flat. But, it was to make some room for the family dynamic, which was done well.
I'm a really picky contemporary romance reader, with many coming in at three stars or lower, but I liked this one and would recommend it as a nice, fun, romantic read! I plan to read some more Nikki Payne when more books are released!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Minor: Domestic abuse and Drug abuse
Domestic abuse and drug abuse were off-page and assumed with the main characters best friend's dad. Nothing is very descriptive but it does mention him going to rehab.