136. Me and Mr. Darcy - Alexandra Potter, Ballantine Books, June 2007, ISBN: 9780345502544, 353p.
Featuring: Emily Albright, Mr. Darcy, and Spike Hargreaves
Synopsis:
Dreams come true in this hilarious, feel-good fairy tale about life, love, and dating literature’s most eligible bachelor!
After a string of disastrous dates, Emily Albright decides she’s had it with modern-day love and would much rather curl up with Pride and Prejudice and spend her time with Mr. Darcy, the dashing, honorable, and passionate hero of Jane Austen’s classic. So when her best friend suggests a wild week of margaritas and men in Mexico with the girls, Emily abruptly flees to England on a guided tour of Jane Austen country instead. Far from inspiring romance, the company aboard the bus consists of a gaggle of little old ladies and one single man, Spike Hargreaves, a foul-tempered journalist writing an article on why the fictional Mr. Darcy has earned the title of Man Most Women Would Love to Date.
The last thing Emily expects to find on her excursion is a broodingly handsome man striding across a field, his damp shirt clinging to his chest. But that’s exactly what happens when she comes face-to-face with none other than Mr. Darcy himself. Suddenly, every woman’s fantasy becomes one woman’s reality. . . .
Comments:
This book has met mixed reviews. Some great, some bad, some average. Personally, I enjoyed it, but it hasn't become a favorite. It has some very strong parallels to Pride & Predjudice (of course). It's written by a British author in an American first person's POV. This didn't bother me much but did bother others, so if that's a pet peeve... Perhaps the biggest complaint by others was the portrayal of Mr. Darcy. I don't want to give anything away, so I can't go into great detail. Suffice it to say, I understood why Mr. Darcy was portrayed the way he was in the story, but die-hard fans might not like the departure from Jane Austen's book. Oh, and some reviewers didn't like the heroine's character, but I don't understand why since the story AND the heroine paralleled P&P.
Jo
