Mundie Moms

Thursday, December 14, 2017

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND MISTLETOE By Melissa de la Cruz / Book Review #PrideandPrejudiceandMistletoe


By: Melissa de la Cruz
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Released on: October 17th, 2017
Purchase from: The PublisherAmazon | B&N
Add it to Goodreads
Rating: 3 stars 
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review

Darcy Fitzwilliam is 29, beautiful, successful, and brilliant. She dates hedge funders and basketball stars and is never without her three cellphones—one for work, one for play, and one to throw at her assistant (just kidding). Darcy’s never fallen in love, never has time for anyone else’s drama, and never goes home for Christmas if she can help it. But when her mother falls ill, she comes home to Pemberley, Ohio, to spend the season with her dad and little brother.

Her parents throw their annual Christmas bash, where she meets one Luke Bennet, the smart, sardonic slacker son of their neighbor. Luke is 32 and has never left home. He’s a carpenter and makes beautiful furniture, and is content with his simple life. He comes from a family of five brothers, each one less ambitious than the other. When Darcy and Luke fall into bed after too many eggnogs, Darcy thinks it’s just another one night stand. But why can’t she stop thinking of Luke? What is it about him? And can she fall in love, or will her pride and his prejudice against big-city girls stand in their way?
 


A cute, fun, fast paced holiday read. Melissa de la Cruz's festive, gender swamped modern day retelling of a beloved classic is perfect for older YA and adult readers. It's even set in Pemberly, though not the one you're thinking. Pemberly, Ohio was the perfect setting for Darcy and Luke's story. 

I loved that De La Cruz's Darcy was a stubborn, strong, independent, successful women who's worked hard to achieve her success. Born into wealth didn't deter her from striking out on her own, though it may have been part of what forced  to achieve her own success and make her own money. Her drive and success hasn't been without a cost though. She's definitely a closed off person. Cruz broke the classic stereotypes with Darcy. Her hard work and success was something I appreciated reading about, even though Darcy was hard to warm up to as a character. 

Luke Bennett definitely provides the classic "Darcy & Bennett" sexual tension, sarcastic, knows how to push each other's buttons, chemistry. From their first scene together, which may have involved too much eggnog, and mistletoe, to the last scene in the book, it was comical and heartwarming watching these two fight through the years of feelings, whether good or bad, towards each other. 

This book was reminiscent of a Hallmark movie in book form. Complete with family troubles, a complicated romance, and a wide range of stereotypes Melissa de la Cruz doesn't shy away from including. I like the way she handled the various stereotypes, and appreciated the fact she included them in this story. They fit perfectly and didn't feel forced in to the story at all. 

I like that this book is it's own story. It's definitely not the classic, and I would caution comparing it to it. If you do, you'll find that the book lacks in both context and depth the classic P&P has, and maybe a few other things. This retelling felt like it was written just the way it was meant to be; a fun, quick, light hearted holiday read. Which I found it to be.


** ** ** ** ** 

On a side note: Since we are primarily a YA book review site, I do want to point out that this book is not a YA book. The characters in this book are in their upper twenties and earlier thirties. Some of the issues discussed in this book are ones people at the age deal with. Having said that, it is a clean cut book that I feel older YA readers may enjoy. 

3 comments:

  1. I think Melissa does those lighthearted companion stories well. She did the same with Alex & Eliza.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She does, though this is not nearly as in-depth or detailed at Alex & Eliza. This is truly a short story. I absolutely loved A&E! I need another one of those kind of books from her.

      Delete
  2. Lovely review Katie :) Thank you for sharing your thoughts about this book. <3 It wouldn't be for me, sadly. But glad you liked parts of it at least :) Hugs. I haven't read the classic; not really for me that either, haha :D

    ReplyDelete

Labels