Her mother’s heart attack forces Darcy Fitzwilliams to go back home to Pemberley, Ohio, after eight years of absence. She became estranged from her family when she declared she didn’t want to marry her childhood sweetheart and settle in the family town, so she moved to New York and proved to the world and her family that she could make it on her own. But now, back at home, she feels she still needs to prove something to her family and to the town. At the family Christmas party she reconnects with her best friend Bingley, but the person who really gets to her is Luke Bennett, her enemy in high school. She still doesn’t like him so why did she kiss him under the mistletoe?
I usually like modern adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, one of my favourite books, but I can’t say I enjoyed this one, which has a gender-swap twist. The characters are shallow, unlikable, and completely different from the originals, everything is over-explained, and the story is ridiculous. Everything happens very quickly, in ten days, including a good number of engagement, break-ups, reconciliations, and flights to and from New York. If you are looking for a great new version of Pride and Prejudice, unfortunately I don’t think you will find it here. (NP)
Melissa De La Cruz's latest novel, Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe, is a retelling of Jane Austen's classic with a Christmas and gender twist. The summary says : "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 family.
Her parents throw their annual Christmas bash, where she meets one Luke Bennet, the smart, sardonic slacker son of their neighbour. Luke is 32 years old 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?" Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe is out in October 2017.