“It is a truth universally acknowledged that first impressions are a bitch.
In a sea of college freshmen, Elizabeth Bennet feels more like a den mother than a returning student. She’d rather be playing Exploding Kittens than dodge-the-gropers at a frat party, but no way was she letting her innocent, doe-eyed roommate go alone.
Everything about Meryton College screams old money—something she and Jane definitely are not—but Elizabeth resolves to enjoy herself. That resolve is tested—and so is her temper—when she meets Will Darcy, a pompous blowhole with no sense of fun, and his relentlessly charming wingman, Charlie.
Back at school after prolonged break, Will Darcy is far too old and weary for coeds. Yet even he can see why Charlie spontaneously decides the captivating Jane is “the one.” What throws Will is his own reaction to Jane’s roommate.
Elizabeth’s moonlight skin and shining laugh hit him like a sucker punch. And he doesn’t like it. Elizabeth Bennet is dangerous, not only because she has a gift for making him make an ass of himself, but because she and her razor-sharp wit could too easily throw his life off course, and he can’t afford for that to happen again.
Yet he also can’t seem to stay away.”
Okay, I feel like I shouldn’t have enjoyed this as much as I did, but damn, it was a fun read. I’ve been a little hard on people who try to re-write P&P, especially when they change the characters beyond all recognition (I’m looking at you, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies). Because of that, I was a bit hesitant going into this book. But I can happily say that my fears were unfounded. This is a deliciously naughty, incredibly snarky, skillfully modernized retelling that had me laughing out loud.
What really impressed me was how the conflicts in the original novel were translated for the here-and-now. For example, instead of Jane being scorned by the Bingley sisters for her bad connections, in this story the problem lies in the fact that Jane is Black. It’s a bold choice, but one that resonates strongly, especially in the racially charged climate of today. In another example, Wickham tells everyone that Darcy framed him for possession of cocaine and got him thrown out of school, instead of denying him a lucrative position in the church.
The one thing that wasn’t in this novel that I really missed was the inclusion of the smarmy Mr. Collins. I can see that it would have been difficult to put him in this version of the story, though, and shoehorning him in just for the sake of having him present would have been worse. His wife Charlotte makes a brief “on-screen” appearance, but Collins himself is never seen. He’s one of my favorite comedic character portrayals and in some ways, the story of Darcy and Lizzy isn’t the same without him. The tension that he provides the tale is expressed in different ways, and it works pretty well, but I do miss him.
One warning: there are some pretty explicit sex scenes in the book. They’re well done, and don’t come across as unnecessary to the narrative, but I know that such things aren’t for everyone. If the thought of reading about Darcy and Lizzy getting it on in a janitor’s closet freaks you out, you should probably skip this one. Otherwise, read on and have fun!
This book was a personal purchase.
(Description nicked from Goodreads.com.)