4 Stars
A modern-day retelling of Pride and Prejudice, you say????? Well . . . .
Quick confessional: I may have just a weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee bit of a P&P addiction. I meant to take a shelfie, but . . . well, stupid and also I stayed up way past my old lady bedtime last night finishing this so I forgot. Anywho, I have a habit of buying multiple copies of the same book, but usually it’s by accident. With P&P it’s truly a sickness. I have the paperback I’m allowed read, leatherback that I’m not, the cheapie (yet cute) $9.99 Austen collection from B&N, Kindle versions, zombie versions, hell I even have this made out of it . . .
When I heard about Eligible (I’ll give credit where it’s due at the end), I was all over getting a copy. So much so that I might havepractically knocked down gently nudged a woman out of my way who was taking too much time browsing the New & Notable shelf at the library. Luckily it was totally worth the pending assault charges because I simply adored this retelling.
The basic storyline is the same – a tale of the gaggle of unwed Bennett girls and their social-climbing mother’s attempts to wed them off. This go ‘round the sisters are all back at the family’s large Tudor after their father has undergone heart surgery and learn that the latest eligible bachelor even played one on television – as the bachelor on a reality show called “Eligible” . . .
Bachelor Chip didn’t manage to snag himself a wife, but he did go down as the cryingest mah fah in the history of ever. That’s no deterrent for Mrs. Bennett, however, as she quickly sets her sights on getting one of her two oldest girls, Jane or Liz, to the alter with the young doctor post haste. As per the original, things go swimmingly between Jane and her new beau, but not so great for Liz and Chip’s bestie for the restie, Fitzwilliam Darcy . . .
However, since this was written today rather than 200 years ago, Liz and Darcy use their dislike for each other in a much more productive fashion . . .
Hear that? Fangirl squee.
Eligible also tackles (albeit, not a whole lot deeper than surface level) some other modern-day topics such as the biological clock, interracial relationships, gender and sexuality. Much like the original, I still found this to be true of Mrs. Bennett . . .
I’ve read a lot of books in my day and Mrs. Bennett remains one of my most hated characters. What a twat!
Anyway, this was a whole heck of a lot of fun and Darcy was still soooooooooooooooooooooo Darcy . . . .
Only with a twist . . .
“I’m in love with you. It’s probably an illusion caused by the release of oxytocin during sex, but I feel as if I’m in love with you. You’re not beautiful and you aren’t nearly as funny as you think you are. You’re a gossip fiend who tries to pass off your nosiness as anthropological interest in the human condition. And your family, obviously, is a disgrace. Yet in spite of all common sense, I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Many thanks to Kemper, the person I would have nominated as least likely to read (or enjoy) this story, for putting it on my radar . . .
Quick confessional: I may have just a weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee bit of a P&P addiction. I meant to take a shelfie, but . . . well, stupid and also I stayed up way past my old lady bedtime last night finishing this so I forgot. Anywho, I have a habit of buying multiple copies of the same book, but usually it’s by accident. With P&P it’s truly a sickness. I have the paperback I’m allowed read, leatherback that I’m not, the cheapie (yet cute) $9.99 Austen collection from B&N, Kindle versions, zombie versions, hell I even have this made out of it . . .
When I heard about Eligible (I’ll give credit where it’s due at the end), I was all over getting a copy. So much so that I might have
The basic storyline is the same – a tale of the gaggle of unwed Bennett girls and their social-climbing mother’s attempts to wed them off. This go ‘round the sisters are all back at the family’s large Tudor after their father has undergone heart surgery and learn that the latest eligible bachelor even played one on television – as the bachelor on a reality show called “Eligible” . . .
Bachelor Chip didn’t manage to snag himself a wife, but he did go down as the cryingest mah fah in the history of ever. That’s no deterrent for Mrs. Bennett, however, as she quickly sets her sights on getting one of her two oldest girls, Jane or Liz, to the alter with the young doctor post haste. As per the original, things go swimmingly between Jane and her new beau, but not so great for Liz and Chip’s bestie for the restie, Fitzwilliam Darcy . . .
However, since this was written today rather than 200 years ago, Liz and Darcy use their dislike for each other in a much more productive fashion . . .
Hear that? Fangirl squee.
Eligible also tackles (albeit, not a whole lot deeper than surface level) some other modern-day topics such as the biological clock, interracial relationships, gender and sexuality. Much like the original, I still found this to be true of Mrs. Bennett . . .
I’ve read a lot of books in my day and Mrs. Bennett remains one of my most hated characters. What a twat!
Anyway, this was a whole heck of a lot of fun and Darcy was still soooooooooooooooooooooo Darcy . . . .
Only with a twist . . .
“I’m in love with you. It’s probably an illusion caused by the release of oxytocin during sex, but I feel as if I’m in love with you. You’re not beautiful and you aren’t nearly as funny as you think you are. You’re a gossip fiend who tries to pass off your nosiness as anthropological interest in the human condition. And your family, obviously, is a disgrace. Yet in spite of all common sense, I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Many thanks to Kemper, the person I would have nominated as least likely to read (or enjoy) this story, for putting it on my radar . . .
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