Audiobook Review: Anne of Avenue A (For the Love of Austen, #3) by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Anne of Avenue A
Series: For the Love of Austen, #3
Author: Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding
Narrators: Brittany Pressley and Teddy Hamilton
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication date: October 28, 2025
Print length: 336 pages
Audio length: 8 hours 5 minutes
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Library
Rating:

Jane Austen’s Persuasion meets the Big Apple in this swoon-worthy holiday romance from the authors of the “charming” (Kristy Woodson Harvey, New York Times bestselling author) Elizabeth of East Hampton and Emma of 83rd Street.

Eight years ago, Anne Elliot broke Freddie Wentworth’s heart when she refused to give up her five-year plan for the sake of adventure. But despite big dreams, Anne, now thirty, is still living at home with hardly a plan in sight. Anne tries to be optimistic—she knows better than anyone that regret will get you nowhere—but that goes out when the window when, thanks to her father’s bad spending habits, her childhood apartment in is rented out to the very man still living in her head rent-free.

Freddie Wentworth never thought he would see Anne Elliot again after she dumped him for accepting a job overseas. He spent years trying to forget her, and he’s been mostly successful. So when a job opportunity takes him back to New York, he’s shocked to find out that Anne is not only his new neighbor, but also the former resident of his new Greenwich Village penthouse.

Nearly a decade after Anne and Freddie’s fateful romance, the only thing they still have in common is a desire to leave their relationship firmly in the past. But between a disastrous off-Broadway show and a drunken Thanksgiving dinner, nosey neighbors, and flirtatious friends, Anne and Freddie suddenly find their lives more intertwined than ever before. When old feelings start rising to the surface, they must decide whether to put their hearts on the line or walk away all over again.

Welcome back to the world of For the Love of Austen, a delightful series of contemporary retellings of Jane Austen classics by author duo Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding. In this third installment, the authors tackle Persuasion, transposing it to a modern-day New York setting, and finding a way to make this tale of regret and second chances feel fresh and believable.

Anne Elliot and Freddie Wentworth dated throughout their college years at NYU and thought they’d be together forever, until a late-in-the-game discovery that their future plans didn’t match up led to a devastating break-up. Now, eight years later, Freddie has returned to New York — and inadvertently buys the apartment that Anne has just been forced to move out of thanks to her father’s financial messiness. Neither Anne nor Freddie has ever truly gotten over their breakup, and running into one another in the building is shocking, to say the least.

As they reunite in Anne of Avenue A, both are older and wiser, with professional accomplishments under their belts, yet both are also at a crossroads in terms of what to do next with their careers. As they slowly reconnect and learn to trust again, they have to balance what they want in their own lives against the risk of considering a future together. It’s quite delicious to see them start to warm up and spend time together, especially as they realize that the feelings they’ve never been able to fully let go of are shared by the other person.

I love that the authors present the basics of the Austen storyline without following it point by point. Yes, this modern-day version of Anne was also persuaded to refuse Freddie for practical reasons — but the advice she follows does actually make sense, and Anne’s reasoning is solid (if unromantic). She and Freddie hadn’t discussed their long term plans or the post-graduate programs they’d applied to. Anne may not have known exactly what she wanted to do career-wise, but following Freddie on his adventures was a risk she didn’t feel she could take. And while Freddie would have given up his own plans to stay with Anne, she knew she couldn’t ask that of him, and ended the relationship instead.

The supporting characters are lots of fun — mainly some quirky characters from the building, plus assorted family members. The male leads from the previous two books are back as well, since Freddie is close friends with Will Darcy and George Knightly — this gives us a nice opportunity to see what the couples from the other books are up to now, and it’s great to see Emma, Lizzie, and Anne spending time together and becoming friends.

Many familiar Persuasion beats are included. I was very curious about how the dramatic fall-from-the-Cobb scene might be included in Anne of Avenue A… and it’s decidedly nondramatic here, with a silly New York slice-of-life twist to it that prevents it from bringing down the generally upbeat vibe. I’m consistently entertained throughout this series by spotting the Austen moments and how they’ve been reshaped to fit the modern world.

You might be wondering if Anne of Avenue A could possibly find a way to fit in some of the best Persuasion lines… and the answer is yes!

“You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope.”

If these words make you swoon, well… you may be amused by how the authors incorporate these words into their story, and you certainly won’t be unsatisfied!

As with the previous two audiobooks, the narrators do a terrific job presenting chapters from Anne and Freddie’s perspectives. Brittany Pressley is especially delightful to listen to in these books, and she’s truly up there on my list of favorite audiobook narrators. Teddy Hamilton’s delivery doesn’t always quite work for me, but I suppose I’ve gotten used to him at this point. Overall, the audiobook experience moves quickly and feels lively and engaging.

Three books in, I know by now to expect that there will be at least one or two open door sex scenes. As I’ve said in my other reviews for this series, I really don’t need to see Austen characters having explicit sex! It feels weirdly intrusive… but I’ll also acknowledge that I prefer a closed door approach in general when it comes to romance novels, so my objection here is not only related to this particular series.

My minor quibble with the story is that Anne finds a new career in the blink of an eye, and it seems like a lovely opportunity for her… but I wasn’t convinced that her new business made sense in terms of what we’d come to know about her interests. Also, from a practical standpoint, I didn’t quite buy that she was able to become an equal business partner in her new venture without (seemingly) any financial investment — rather than, say, coming on board as an employee — but who am I to argue with a woman’s professional success in a romance novel?

Overall, I really enjoyed Anne of Avenue A. The stakes are perhaps a little lower than in the other books, but I still found it engaging, warm, and full of Austen-esque spark.

I’ve been seeing the For the Love of Austen books being referred to as a trilogy, and I’m hoping that’s because there are three books SO FAR, and not because they’re stopping at just three! Here’s hoping that retellings of Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, and Mansfield Park are in the works!

Previous books in this series:
Emma of 83rd Street
Elizabeth of East Hampton

Purchase links: Amazon – Audible – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

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5Nov2025

Audiobook Review: Elizabeth of East Hampton (For the Love of Austen, #2) by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Elizabeth of East Hampton
Series: For the Love of Austen, #2
Author: Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding
Narrators: Brittany Pressley and Teddy Hamilton
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication date: August 6, 2024
Print length: 384 pages
Audio length: 9 hours 54 minutes
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Library
Rating:

This fresh and whip-smart modern retelling of Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice transports you to summer in the Hamptons, where classes clash, rumors run wild, and love has a frustrating habit of popping up where you least expect it.

It’s a truth universally acknowledged—well, by Elizabeth Bennet anyway—that there’s nothing worse than summer in the Hamptons. She should know: she’s lived out there her whole life. Every June, her hometown on the edge of Long Island is inundated with rich Manhattanites who party until dawn and then disappear by September. And after twenty-five years, Lizzy wants to leave, too.

But after putting her own dreams on hold to help save her family’s failing bakery, she’s still surfing the same beach every morning and waiting for something, anything, to change. She’s not holding her breath though, not even when her sister starts flirting with the hot new bachelor in town, Charlie Pierce, and he introduces Lizzy to his even hotter friend.

Will Darcy is everything Lizzy Bennet is not. Aloof, arrogant…and rich. Of course, he’s never cared about money. In fact, it’s number one on his long list of things that irk him. Number two? His friend Charlie’s insistence on setting him up with his new girlfriend’s sharp-tongued sister. Lizzy Bennet is all wrong for him, from her money-hungry family to her uncanny ability to speak to him as bluntly as he does everyone else. But then maybe that’s why he can’t stop thinking about her.

Lizzy is sure Will hates everybody. He thinks she willfully misunderstands them. Yet, just as they strike an uneasy truce, mistakes threaten Charlie and Jane’s romance, with Will and Lizzy caught in the undertow. Between a hurricane and a hypocritical aunt, a drunken voicemail and a deceptive party promoter, the two must sift through the gossip and lies to protect the happiness of everyone they love—even if it means sacrificing their own. But when the truth also forces them to see each other in an entirely new light, they must swallow their pride to learn that love is a lot like surfing: sometimes the only way to survive is to let yourself fall.

Back in September — on a vacation that seems like it happened waaaaaay too long ago — I read this author duo’s first Austen spin, Emma of 83rd Street. It was a lot of fun, but at the time, I wasn’t sure about continuing the series, fearing I’d get tired of rich New Yorkers in a big hurry, despite the Austen themes.

Well, I’m back to say that I dove back in after all, and I’m glad I did! Elizabeth of East Hampton is a clever, engaging retelling of Pride and Prejudice, which admirably succeeds in relocating Elizabeth and Darcy to the Hampton shores… and even turns Lizzy into a surfer!

Lizzy is one of five Bennet sisters, and she’s taken responsibility for running her family bakery ever since her father’s stroke earlier in the year, even though that’s meant deferring her dream of enrolling in Columbia’s prestigious journalism program. Family comes first — although the Bennets can be hard to take, especially the intensely needy and oblivious Mrs. Bennet, party girl Lydia, and environmental activist Mary.

When Charlie Pierce walks into Bennet Bakery with his friend Will Darcy, the Bennet family’s lives are turned upside down. Charlie is renting an extremely expensive East Hampton beach house (beach mansion would be more accurate) — and he’s instantly smitten with Lizzy’s sweet older sister Jane. Unlike Charlie and Jane, Lizzy and Darcy do not click… their antagonism is clear right from the start.

Elizabeth of East Hampton follows the major P&P beats, but with charming twists. It’s often disconcerting to see Austen tales transposed into modern settings, where plot points like looking for wealthy husbands can seem jarring, to say the least. Here, though, the authors really succeed at keeping the bones and feel of the original while making the modern-day story make sense.

The focus is not marriage, but love. Lizzy and Darcy’s chemistry is apparent from the start, even if they don’t realize it. The dynamic of ridiculously wealthy people summering in the Hamptons vs the local folks trying to make a living off the tourist who invade their town for a few months every year works really well at conveying themes of class differences and snobbery. The Bennet family’s dynamics are really entertaining — casting Mary as a rebel activist is a hoot.

It’s quite fun to figure out how the various characters fit into the Austen framework. Some key Austen characters are missing here (no Mr. Collins, and Darcy is an only child, so no Georgiana either). The replacement for Lady Catherine de Bourgh is really entertaining, and the Wickham stand-in is just as sleazy as you’d expect. (No spoilers from me, but I loved that the Wickham scandal unfolds really differently than in P&P).

The audiobook narrators are terrific, although I don’t always love Teddy Hamilton’s line delivery. Still, the alternating chapters from Lizzy and Darcy’s perspectives provide great insights into their actions, and the audio experience zips along and keeps things lively.

I’ll share the same complaint I had while listening to Emma of 83rd Street — I prefer my Austen retellings with closed bedroom doors, thank you very much! There’s something really disturbing about having to endure explicit sex scenes with Jane Austen characters, even if these are modern-day versions of them. I do not need to know what Darcy and Lizzy get up to in bed (or on the floor… or in the kitchen…)

That quibble aside, I had a lot of fun with Elizabeth of East Hampton (and enjoyed seeing George and Emma pop in for quick visits too). At this point, I can safely say that I’ll be picking up the next book just as soon as my library gets a copy!

*Next in series: Anne of Avenue A (a Persuasion retelling)*

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1Oct2025

Austen-inspired two-fer: A pair of mini-reviews

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Somewhat accidentally — I really didn’t plan for this to happen! — I ended up reading two light, cute, Austen-inspired romances during my recent vacation. Both were lots of fun. Let’s dive in!

Title: Emma of 83rd Street
Series: For the Love of Austen, #1
Authors: Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding
Narrators: Brittany Pressley and Teddy Hamilton
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication date: May 23, 2023
Print length: 384 pages
Audio length: 10 hours 40 minutes
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Library
Rating:

In this witty and romantic debut novel, Jane Austen’s Emma meets the misadventures of Manhattan’s modern dating scene as two lifelong friends discover that, in the search for love, you sometimes don’t have to look any further than your own backyard.

Beautiful, clever, and rich, Emma Woodhouse has lived twenty-three years in her tight-knit Upper East Side neighborhood with very little to distress or vex her…that is, until her budding matchmaking hobby results in her sister’s marriage—and subsequent move downtown. Now, with her sister gone and all her friends traveling abroad, Emma must start her final year of grad school grappling with an entirely new emotion: boredom. So when she meets Nadine, a wide-eyed Ohio transplant with a heart of gold and drugstore blonde highlights to match, Emma not only sees a potential new friend but a new project. If only her overbearing neighbor George Knightley would get out of her way.

Handsome, smart, and successful, the only thing that frustrates Knightley more than a corked whiskey is his childhood friend, Emma. Whether it’s her shopping sprees between classes or her revolving door of ill-conceived hobbies, he is only too happy to lecture her on all the finer points of adulthood she’s so hell-bent on ignoring. But despite his gripes—and much to his own chagrin—Knightley can’t help but notice that the girl next door is a woman now…one who he suddenly can’t get out of his head.

As Emma’s best laid plans collide with everyone from hipster baristas to meddling family members to flaky playboy millionaires, these two friends slowly realize their need to always be right has been usurped by a new need entirely, and it’s not long before they discover that even the most familiar stories still have some surprises.

Not all contemporary Austen retellings work — the emphasis on marriage can be jarring in a supposedly modern-day setting. And yet, Emma of 83rd Street manages to tell a familiar tale in a way that’s amusing and nicely tailored to today’s world of online dating, high-pressure jobs, and dressing to impress.

The Upper East Side is a natural location for rich, spoiled Emma Woodhouse. Sure, the designer name-dropping gets a bit tedious — but that’s Emma’s world, and feels right for who she is. She’s flighty and meddlesome, thinks she knows what’s best for everyone, and seems to be pursuing a master’s degree in art history mainly for the fun of it… but underneath that shallow exterior, we get to see Emma’s kind heart and her devotion to her friends and family.

I liked that the original cast of characters from Austen are repurposed here in ways that fit the story, given new names and occupations, but remaining true enough to certain essentials to make them recognizable (and fun to spot).

The Knightly relationship has a bit less of an age difference here… and yes, he can be overbearing, but the chemistry with Emma works well, and the progression to romance feels mostly organic. (We see it coming well before either of the characters do.)

A running complaint I have with contemporary Austen retellings is that it can be jarring to see well-loved characters — even modern-day versions of them — hopping into bed together, and that’s true here as well. I could have used a bit less of the details! She may be wearing today’s couture, but she’s still Emma Woodhouse! Closed door would have been better, is all I’m saying.

Overall, Emma of 83rd Street is quite a lot of fun, and the audiobook version’s narrators bring the characters and dialogues to life.

This is apparently the first in a series. I’m on the fence right now about continuing — the wealthy New York setting could get old after a while, I’m afraid. We’ll see; for now, these are on my TBR:

Title: The Austen Affair
Author: Madeline Bell
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Publication date: September 16, 2025
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Library
Rating:

Two feuding co-stars in a Jane Austen film adaptation accidentally travel back in time to the Regency Era in this delightfully clever and riotously funny debut

Tess Bright just scored her dream role starring in an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. It’s not just the role of a lifetime, but it’s also her last chance to prove herself as a serious actress (no easy feat after being fired from her last TV gig) and more importantly, it’s her opportunity to honor her mom, who was the biggest fan of Jane Austen ever. But one thing is standing in Tess’s way—well, one very tall, annoyingly handsome person, actually: Hugh Balfour.

A serious British method actor, Hugh wants nothing to do with Tess (whose Teen Choice Awards somehow don’t quite compare to his BAFTA nominations). Hugh is a type-A, no-nonsense, Royal Academy prodigy, whereas Tess is big-hearted, a little reckless, and admittedly, kind of a mess. But the film needs chemistry—and Tess’s career depends on it.

Sparks fly, but not in the way Tess hoped, when an electrical accident sends the two feuding co-stars back in time to Jane Austen’s era. 200 years in the past with only each other to rely on, Tess and Hugh need to ad-lib their way through the Regency period in order to make it back home, and hopefully not screw up history along the way. But if a certain someone looks particularly dashing in those 19th century breeches…well, Tess won’t be complaining.

A wickedly funny, delightfully charming story, The Austen Affair is a tribute to Jane Austen, second chances, and love across the space-time continuum.

The cover of The Austen Affair is what first caught my eye… and then I read the synopsis, and had to laugh out loud. An Austen retelling with time travel?? Yes, please!

In this entertaining story, Tess Bright is in England for the filming of Northanger Abbey. Playing Catherine Morland is her dream role, and also a tribute to her late mother, whose love of Jane Austen was a constant for Tess throughout her childhood. Mired in grief, Tess has all but tanked her career, and this film may be her very last chance to prove to herself (and all the vicious naysayers) that she’s worth taking seriously.

Filming does not get off to a good start, thanks to tension (and not the good kind!) with her costar, Hugh Balfour. Hugh is an uptight, classically trained Method actor who thinks Tess is flighty and chaotic, and doesn’t believe she knows her Austen from her elbow. When a freak electrical accident flings them back in time 200 years, Hugh and Tess are forced to rely on one another as they attempt to fit in in their new setting, convince Hugh’s ancestors that they’re who they say they are, and figure out how to get back to their real lives.

Tess and Hugh seem ill-suited at first, but as they adapt to their new circumstances, their animosity peels away. Each is revealed to have more depth than the other originally perceived, and their forced proximity turns into friendship, understanding, and a sense of support and respect.

The time travel conundrums are quite fun, as is Tess’s delight at finding herself living out her Regency-era dreams, down to the bonnets and gloves and games of whist. While there’s a lot of silliness on the surface, we see how Tess’s grief is a constant for her, and how living in Austen’s world helps her find joy in remembering her mother.

I didn’t necessarily buy everything in this story, especially Tess’s insistence that the universe and/or her mother intentionally caused the time travel… but overall, the romance, the family complications, and the focus on Jane Austen really work well.

The Austen Affair is a sweet, engaging, funny book with a warm heart. Sure, the time travel mechanics are worthy of a few eye-rolls… but this is romantic fiction, not sci-fi. Suspend your disbelief, and just go along for the ride!

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Emma of 83rd Street: Amaz o n – Audible – Books h op.org – Libro.fm
The Austen Affair: Amazon – Audible – Bookshop.org – Li b ro.fmSave

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7Sep2025

Book Review: The Shocking Experiments of Miss Mary Bennet by Melinda Taub

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Shocking Experiments of Miss Mary Bennet
Author: Melinda Taub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication date: September 30, 2025
Length: 320 pages
Genre: Classics mashup / scifi
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

An utterly fantastical and undeniably queer melding of Pride and Prejudice and Frankenstein that recasts Mary Bennet as an insatiable scientist, one who creates a monster in an attempt to save herself from spinsterdom

Mary Bennet is the middlest middle child of all time. Awkward, plain, and overlooked, she’s long been out of favor not only with her own family but with generations of readers of Pride and Prejudice.

But what was Mary really doing while her sisters were falling in love? Well, what does any bright, hardworking girl do in an age when brains and hard work are only valued if they come with a pretty face? Take to the attic and teach herself to reanimate the dead of course. The world refuses to make a place for peculiar Mary, but no Bennet sister ever gives up on happiness that easily. If it won’t give this fierce, lonely girl a place, she’ll carve one out herself. And if finding acceptance requires a husband, she’ll get one. Even if she has to make him herself, too.

However, Mary’s genius and determination aren’t enough to control what she unwittingly unleashes. Her desperate attempts to rein in the destruction wreaked by her creations leads her to forge a perhaps unlikely friendship with another brilliant young woman unlike any she’s ever known. As that friendship blossoms into something passionate and all-consuming, Mary begins to realize that she may have to choose between the acceptance she’s always fought for and true happiness.

The 2023 novel The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch was a dose of pure fun, a terrifically entertaining Pride and Prejudice retelling that recasts Lydia’s story in utterly surprising ways and turns her into an unexpectedly memorable heroine.

Now, author Melinda Taub is back with another fresh take on P&P, this time making Mary Bennet the star… and inserting a very clever Frankenstein-inspired story, making this the Austen/Shelley mashup I never knew I needed.

Mary Bennet seems destined for spinsterhood all her life. Bookish, not socially adept, not especially witty or attractive, Mary’s the one who shows off without actually having talent and quotes preachy books ad nauseum. Not exactly the life of the party. But what if there was more to Mary than meets the eye?

In this terrific tale, Mary is a bright, inquisitive child who is constantly underestimated and undervalued by her family. Still, she reads everything she can get her hands on, and develops a passion for science that she must keep hidden from her family. When she discovers a secret passageway from her closet to a stairway to an unused attic, Mary realizes that it would make the perfect laboratory for her scientific explorations (Oh, the idea of Longbourn having a mad scientist’s lair tucked up under the roof — that no one knows about — made me just laugh and laugh…)

Mary is especially fascinated by experiments with electricity, and discovers a formula for new dyes that produces colors no manufacturer has access to. Of course, a proper young woman can’t actually conduct business, so she enlists her uncle’s young clerk, Septimus Pike, to act as her business agent. The sale of dyes produces a tiny amount of income for Mary, nowhere near the fortune she’d hoped would offer a sense of security for her future if she never marries (which seems like the most likely fate awaiting her).

But if the business isn’t actually successful, as Pike reports back, why is she suddenly seeing ribbons and fabrics in her unique colors everywhere? And why is Pike suddenly well dressed and courting the daughters of wealthy men?

What follows is a silly romp through science and society, as Mary’s electrical experiments eventually lead to a Frankenstein-esque turn of events. Can she control the monster she’s created? And at what cost?

Further complicating matters is the arrival of Georgiana Darcy, sister-in-law to Mary’s sister Lizzy and a fellow science enthusiast, who’s also hiding a serious secret of her own. (Readers of the Lydia book will know what that secret is, but it doesn’t actually matter if you’ve read that one first — all will be revealed soon enough).

Mary and Georgiana share a passion for science… and more?… as they work together to control Mary’s experiment, gain the materials and knowledge they need, and keep the rest of the Bennet household in the dark about what’s going on.

Mary’s innocence about certain possibilities is depicted with such seriousness that it’s really funny:

At twelve, I had a fascination with female elegance. I often found my gaze lingering on their faces and forms, which I realized must be because of a sort of collegial curiosity.

Collegial curiosity? Sure, Mary.

After attending a party with a demonstration of electricity, where a current was passed through a circle of people holding hands — including Mary and the young girl next to her — she notes:

It seemed as though that strange awakening the shock brought about never entirely went away Whenever I see a girl or lady who reminds me of my electrical companion , I feel a phantom shock pass through me.

For all the silliness, Shocking Experiments has a more serious undertone as it contemplates the lack of options for girls like Mary. Marriage is really the only path, but that means undermining one’s own nature and intellect, and allowing oneself to be molded into the complacent type of person who makes an acceptable wife. Mary’s lack of options, plus her sense of duty toward her parents, whose hold on Longbourn becomes more tenuous with each passing year, drive her toward actions and decisions that are clearly against her own interests, but which might possibly grant her the social acceptance they all so desperately need her to attain.

Never fear, the serious elements related to Mary’s plight never derail the pace or the delights of the storytelling. With its mad-scientist vibe, plus dangerous hijinks, lightning strikes, and plenty of misadventures. The Shocking Experiments of Miss Mary Bennet is a treat from start to finish.

End note: Believe it or not, this book is actually the second Mary Bennet/Frankenstein mashup that I’ve read. For a different approach, check out the excellent Pride and Prometheus by Jonathan Kessel.

Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

27Dec2023

Book Review: Emmett by L. C. Rosen

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Emmett
Author: L. C. Rosen
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date: November 7, 2023
Length: 272 pages
Genre: Young adult fiction
Source: Library
Rating:

A modern-day gay YA Emma, with the spikey social critique of Austen plus the lush over-the-top romance of Bridgerton.

Emmett Woodhouse, handsome, clever and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence and had lived nearly eighteen years in the world with very little to distress or vex him.

Emmett knows he’s blessed. And because of that, he tries to give back: from charity work to letting the often irritating Georgia sit at his table at lunch, he knows it’s important to be nice. And recently, he’s found a new way of giving: matchmaking. He set up his best friend Taylor with her new boyfriend and it’s gone perfectly. So when his occasional friend-with-benefits Harrison starts saying he wants a boyfriend (something Emmett definitely does NOT want to be), he decides to try and find Harrison the perfect man at Highbury Academy, the candy-colored private school they attend just outside Los Angeles.

Emmett’s childhood friend, Miles, thinks finding a boyfriend for a guy you sleep with is a bad idea. But Miles is straight, and Emmett says this is gay life – your friends, your lovers, your boyfriends – they all come from the same very small pool. That’s why Emmett doesn’t date – to keep things clean. He knows the human brain isn’t done developing until twenty-five, so any relationship he enters into before then would inevitably end in a breakup, in loss. And he’s seen what loss can do. His mother died four years ago and his dad hasn’t been the same since.

But the lines Emmett tries to draw are more porous than he thinks, and as he tries to find Harrison the perfect match, he learns that gifted as he may be, maybe he has no idea what he’s doing when it comes to love.

Modern and very gay, with a charmingly conceited lead who is convinced he knows it all, and the occasional reference to the classic movie Clueless, Emmett brings you lush romance all while exploring the complexities of queer culture—where your lovers and friends are sometimes the same person, but the person you fall in love with might be a total surprise.

Emmett by L. C. Rosen is the Emma retelling I never knew I needed!

In this contemporary, young adult, gender-flipped, and (as the synopsis states) “very gay” version of Jane Austen’s classic, our main character is Emmett Woodhouse — an attractive high school senior attending a fancy, expensive private school, living a life of comfort and privilege, but also dedicated to giving back, getting involved, and — above all — being nice.

Ever since losing his mother to cancer four years earlier, Emmett has lived alone with his over-protective father, whose hypochondriac tendencies and endless worry about Emmett’s health have gotten worse and worse over time. After seeing the effects of loss and heartbreak up close, Emmett has decided that romance is not for him. His mother once told him that people’s brains don’t fully develop until age 25, so his policy is to avoid relationships until then. That doesn’t mean he can’t have sex, though — physical pleasure is importance for one’s well-being, making it easier to keep up with the niceness.

Emmett is opinionated and a busybody, but has convinced himself of the rightness of his actions. Sure, he enjoys fooling around with Harrison, but since Harrison wants a boyfriend — and Emmett is clearly not going to be it — the nicest thing he can do is find Harrison someone worthy. Not that Robert guy, who Emmett is sure is beneath Harrison. Maybe the hot cheerleader with thousands of social media followers?

Ah, Emmett is a total delight, start to finish. I won’t delve too deeply into the details — there’s so much joy in just following the story and seeing where it goes. I love a good Austen retelling that’s not afraid to bend the story just enough to make sense in a contemporary setting. Emmett succeeds wonderfully at keeping the bones of the Emma story, but fitting it into a modern teen setting and giving the characters motivations and feelings that feel right.

The author gives Emmett deeper layers than I usually attribute to Austen’s Emma. Here, we see clearly how strongly affected Emmett is by his mother’s death; it’s the behind-the-scenes reason for so much of what he does and how he thinks, and it ties the story together in some really beautiful ways.

Author L. C. Rosen (who also writes adult fiction as Lev AC Rosen) proves yet again what a gifted writer he is. Emmett’s story is terrific, the infusion of Austen themes is subtle enough to be recognizable yet not feel like we’re being hit over the head with it, and even knowing the major beats of an Emma story, Emmett still delivers surprises, twists, and plenty of delight.

Emma is one of my favorite Jane Austen novels — I’ve read the original several times, and have watched at least 3 or 4 adaptations. In fact, my only difficulty with reading Emmett is how ingrained the character of Emma is in my mind, so that I often had to stop and remind myself that I was reading about a teen boy, not Emma herself.

Overall, I loved every bit of Emmett. The characters are terrific, the storytelling is a great piece of entertainment, and the writing hooked me from the very first page. I’d say Emmett is a must-read!

7Oct2023

Book Review: The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch
Author: Melinda Taub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication date: October 3, 2023
Length: 400 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

A sparkling, witchy reimagining of Pride and Prejudice, told from the perspective of the troublesome and—according to her—much-maligned youngest Bennet sister, Lydia.

In this exuberant reimagining of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Lydia Bennet puts pen to paper to relate the real events and aftermath of the classic story from her own perspective. Some facts are well known: Mrs. Bennet suffers from her nerves; Mr. Bennet suffers from Mrs. Bennet, and all five daughters suffer from an estate that is entailed only to male heirs.

But Lydia also suffers from entirely different concerns: her best-loved sister Kitty is really a barn cat, and Wickham is every bit as wicked as the world believes him to be, but what else would you expect from a demon? And if you think Mr. Darcy was uptight about dancing etiquette, wait till you see how he reacts to witchcraft. Most of all, Lydia has yet to learn that when you’re a witch, promises have power . . .

Full of enchantment, intrigue, danger, and boundless magic, The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch, has all the irreverent wit, strength, and romance of Pride and Prejudice—while offering a highly unexpected redemption for the wildest Bennet sister.

Who knew that we needed a witchy retelling of Pride and Prejudice? Just when I thought I’d had my fill of P&P retellings, along comes The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch to prove me wrong.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter must be a witch.

In her Scandalous Confessions, Lydia tells us what was really going on behind the scenes at Meryton, Brighton, and beyond. Lydia is a talented young witch, so inseparable from her beloved cat as a child that she eventually turned Kitty into her familiar — and Lydia’s magic was powerful enough to have the entire Bennet family believe that they had this additional daughter all along.

Lydia is bright and gifted, but with a flair for mischief. Fortunately, her aunt also is a witch, and teaches her spellcraft — a good thing, since Lydia never does seem to have the patience to develop the more expected skills of needlework or musical performance.

The arrival of the regiment in Meryton is a source of great fun and romance for the local girls, but Lydia’s life get significantly more complicated with the introduction of Wickham. Here, Wickham is a demon who inhabits the body of a formerly human man, and is the son of a major magical force who wants to “eat” the power of Lydia and other witches. But Lydia doesn’t give up easily, and she’s willing to fight to protect her beloved Kitty.

Narrated by Lydia as she writes an accounting of her adventures, this book is fast-paced, funny, and very clever. Lydia’s story follows the plot beats of P&P, but as told from Lydia’s perspective, there’s more going on behind the scenes than we might imagine. There’s adventure, danger, and plenty of spells, but also balls, garden clubs, and lots of flirtation with handsome and/or fortune-seeking soldiers.

The author weaves together the familiar storylines (plus a bit of Sanditon too) with a plot involving witchcraft, magical forces, cruel hexes, and clever twists. Lydia herself is such a fun character, and I loved seeing Kitty’s story unfold as well. Lizzy doesn’t appear in many scenes, but she’s always a presence from a distance, especially as Darcy gets caught up in the Wickham crisis and has problems with Georgianna to solve as well.

Remember, always, not to judge people too hastily, for everyone is living out a story of their own, and you only get to read the pages you appear on.

Smart, funny, and well plotted, The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch is a perfect October read. Highly recommended!

29Oct2022

Silly romance two-fer: A pair of mini-reviews

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

While traveling for a few days this past week, I read two romances that were very silly — one silly but entertaining, and one silly and annoying. Which is which? Read on…

Four Aunties and a Wedding by Jesse Q. Sutanto: This is the silly and entertaining one! Four Aunties and a Wedding, the follow-up to Dial A for Aunties, continues the hilariously ridiculous adventures of Meddy, a wedding photographer, and the four aunties who dominate her Chinese-Indonesian family. In this sequel, Meddy is finally about to marry the man of her dreams, but when she overhears her own wedding photographer plotting a murder and realizes that there’s going to be a mafia hit on her big day, she and the aunties spring into action to foil the evil plans. Shenanigans ensue — kidnappings, spontaneous Tai Chi, komodo dragon fascinators, and marijuana-laced cocktails, to name but a few of the outrageous obstacles that interfere with Meddy’s dream destination wedding.

This is a light, fast read, and I enjoyed it overall, but did find myself getting annoyed eventually by just how over-the-top the plot became, how the aunties and Meddy jumped to one false conclusion after another, and how these ridiculous circumstances completely ruined the wedding day. Fortunately, Meddy’s groom is far more understanding and loving and, well, just plain perfect than any ordinary man might be, so the couple gets their happy ending… and so what if zipties, druggings, and assassination attempts get in the way?

Rating:

Definitely Not Mr. Darcy by Karen Doornebos: Obviously, that leaves this book as the silly and annoying one! This Austen-inspired romance centers on a 39-year-old single mother whose business is failing. In desperation, she makes the obvious choice — to go to England and participate in what she thinks will be a documentary about Regency life, but turns out to be (drumroll, please…) a Regency-themed reality dating show. The prize is marriage to a wealthy British hottie (and $100,000), and Chloe is determined to win. To get to the prize, though, she must live in total Regency style, meaning chamber pots, no technology, food-based cosmetics, and constant chaperonage. This book was published in 2012, and feels a lot like an Austenland retread — and also feels pretty dated, in terms of attitudes toward relationships and female competition.

The plot really doesn’t make sense, the Regency affectations are applied inconsistently and weirdly (for example, the woman playing the role of Chloe’s chaperone is very pregnant, and has agreed to give birth Regency-style… WHY?). There are slapsticky misadventures, mistaken identity, and plain old nonsensical decisions. I finished the book, and I suppose it held my attention enough to make me want to see how it turned out, but I can’t say I recommend this one.

Rating:

And there you have it! Fun romance, not-so-fun super annoying romance… and now I’d better switch up my reading for a bit and tackle something with a bit more there there.

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21Oct2022

Audiobook quick takes: An Austen retelling and some less-than-perfect “getaways”

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

With a trip coming up and limited time this week, I decided to listen to a bunch of Audible’s free short stories rather than start a full-length audiobook. It was a mixed bag overall — here’s what I listened to and what I thought:

Imagine if you made one little mistake when you were young and were punished for it for the rest of your life. Well, that’s what happened to Lydia (yes, that Lydia, the youngest Bennet sister from Pride and Prejudice), and she’s here to set the record straight. Hold on to your teacups and get ready for sophisticated (and a little bit naughty) hot takes and witty banter that’ll make you laugh—and think.

We meet Lydia just as she is denounced by her family, exiled miles from home, and married to the rogue George Wickham, who seems to love all women…except his own wife. She must learn to summon great bravery to carve out a place for herself in the society that has brutally rejected her.

Lydia isn’t the traditional Austen heroine, and this isn’t a traditional, polite period drama. Lydia is a badass. A trailblazer. She’s fierce and fiercely funny. And she might inhabit the Regency period, but she’s fighting the same battle many of us are today—having to defend the decisions she’s made and the person she chooses to love, to shut out the “trolls” and gossips, to hold her head high in a world that will judge her for any mistake she makes.

Starring Academy Award nominee Jessie Buckley (Fargo, The Lost Daughter) and Johnny Flynn (Lovesick, Stardust), this hilarious and timely listen is for fans of classics with a twist. Writer and creator playwright Sarah Page says that she wrote Mrs. Wickham to “entertain people with a romantic, optimistic, and seductive comedy,” but that there’s also a “message held at its heart to treat each other with kindness.”If you binged Bridgerton, this one’s for you.

I’m always up for a Pride and Prejudice spin-off, and was intrigued by the idea of following Lydia after her marriage. I’m not sure that this story actually needed Lydia Bennet, though — it’s a cute gimmick, but really, this could be the story of any woman surviving scandal and finding redemption (and somehow, even falling in love with her own husband). I didn’t realize in advance that this would be a full-cast audio play, rather than narrators reading an audiobook. The cast as a whole is entertaining and funny, but some of the production elements are decidedly weird (loud rock music in bar scenes, for examples) or icky (hearing Lydia vomit after a bout of ill-advised drinking). Overall, I was entertained enough to finish, but that’s about it.

Audible Original: 2 hours, 3 minutes
Rating:

Three more from Amazon’s Getaway collection — six short stories described as:

Perfect vacations or last resorts? In this collection of short psychological thrillers, bestselling authors bring trouble to paradise. Today’s itinerary: surfing, sailing, hiking, facing your worst fears . . . Most dream vacations never live up to expectations—but few cause this many nightmares.

Of the six, I picked stories by authors I already was familiar with:

On the New England coast, an irresistible vacation rental draws a woman into the sinister secrets of her past in a cunning short mystery with a gothic twist by a New York Times bestselling author.

Clea McAllister returns to the Newport haven of her childhood, a gilded mansion by the sea once owned by her beloved grandmother. Now she is a paying guest at her own ancestral home, and Clea’s vacation hides a darker intention: to confront the estate lawyer who stole her rightful inheritance. But wicked games are still being played at Belle Mer, and Clea uncovers more than she ever intended.

Quick entertainment — this is a suspense story about a stolen inheritance, a fight to regain control of the family mansion, loyal servants, a missing lawyer… There’s a lot going on here, and it all comes together well by the end. This is a fast listen, and the author uses the short story format to quickly build tension and intrigue before a sudden shock at the end.

Audible Original; 1 hour, 21 minutes
Rating:

An extravagant anniversary trip turns into a desperate scramble for survival in an unsettling short story about desire, manipulation, and revenge by a New York Times bestselling author.

Psychiatrist Olivia Cole is a shell of herself after only two years with her tyrannical husband, the outwardly perfect Sebastian. On their two-year anniversary, she’s subjected to one power move too many when Sebastian whisks her away on a surprise trip—first to the charming capital of Sweden, then to an unexpected final destination. Miles from home and help, the only way for Olivia to wrest back control of her life is to give Sebastian an even bigger, shocking surprise.

Ummm, not sure what to make of this one. It’s suspenseful and creepy, but overall, it’s such a disturbing look at a woman whose lost all semblance of self-determination to her cruel, controlling husband that it’s impossible to actually enjoy listening to the story. Then again, I’m not particularly a fan of thrillers in general, so this may have been just a step too far for me in a genre I’m not always comfortable with. Your mileage may vary, but I found the plot details too awful to actually consider it entertainment.

Audible Original: 1 hours, 11 minutes
Rating:

“Speak your truth.” An icebreaker leads to unintended consequences for two strangers aboard a luxury yacht in this seductively twisty short story by the New York Times bestselling author of The Good Sister.

When Ella boards a sumptuous charter off the coast of Australia, she feels…dread. Her husband, Mac, the social butterfly who makes these wellness retreats so much easier to navigate, is stuck at work, leaving her exposed to the other passengers. Luckily, she forms an instant bond with the charismatic Chloe, a newly single woman salving a broken heart. But as the friendship grows, Ella discovers they share more than the need for an escape, and their devastating connection has the power to forever alter their lives.

Sally Hepworth is so terrific at creating interpersonal dynamics that are something other than what they initially appear to be. In this short story, the main character’s sea voyage takes a dramatically different direction when she meets another passenger whose story has just a few too many familiar elements to it. The psychological drama and tension build throughout, although I was expecting a much darker resolution to it all. I wasn’t entirely comfortable once I realized that infidelity would be a major theme — that’s not something I particularly enjoy or look for in fiction, but given that the Getaway collection seems to be squarely in the thriller/suspense genre, I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised. Overall, this quick listen held my attention and was well performed — not a bad piece of entertainment, for what it is.

Side note: I would absolutely hate to go on this wellness sea voyage! Only eight passengers, too many touchy-feely sharing sessions, intrusive challenges… so not my idea of a fun vacation!

Audible Original: 1 hours, 44 minutes
Rating:

As I’ve said many, many times on this blog, I am not a big fan of short stories. I deliberately chose to listen to shorter works this week, but I’m not particularly surprised that none of them actually wowed me. Still, they passed the time and held my interest! Who knows? Other readers may really enjoy these, especially (with the Getaway stories) for those who love suspenseful fiction.

15May2022

Book Review: The Emma Project by Sonali Dev

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Emma Project
Series: The Rajes
Author: Sonali Dev
Publisher: Avon
Publication date: May 17, 2022
Length: 416 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley
Rating:

Emma gets a fresh Indian-American twist from award-winning author Sonali Dev in her heartwarmingly irresistible Jane Austen inspired rom com series.
No one can call Vansh Raje’s life anything but charmed. Handsome—Vogue has declared him California’s hottest single—and rich enough to spend all his time on missions to make the world a better place. Add to that a doting family and a contagiously sunny disposition and Vansh has made it halfway through his twenties without ever facing anything to throw him off his admittedly spectacular game.
A couple years from turning forty, Knightlina (Naina) Kohli has just gotten out of a ten-year-long fake relationship with Vansh’s brother and wants only one thing from her life…fine, two things. One, to have nothing to do with the unfairly blessed Raje family ever again. Two, to bring economic independence to millions of women in South Asia through her microfinance foundation and prove her father wrong about, well, everything.
Just when Naina’s dream is about to come to fruition, Vansh Raje shows up with his misguided Emma Project… And suddenly she’s fighting him for funding and wondering if a friends-with-benefits arrangement that’s as toe-curlingly hot as it is fun is worth risking her life’s work for.

The Emma Project is the 4th book in author Sonali Dev’s Jane Austen-inspired series about the powerful, wealthy Raje family. The Rajes, descended from Indian royalty, are fabulously rich and highly influential, especially now that their son Yash has been elected California’s newest governor. (See Incense and Sensibility for Yash’s story).

In The Emma Project, the youngest of the Raje clan takes center stage. 26-year-old Vansh is the “prince” of the family, extremely good-looking and pampered by all of his older sisters and cousins. Vansh has spent the last several years flitting around the world, from project to project lending a hand to all sorts of socially responsible causes, but never settling on just one thing.

After working to support Yash’s campaign, Vansh decides to stick around for a bit, and soon catches the attention of a powerful tech billionaire who wants to fund a project for Vansh — by pulling funding from Naina’s important work. Naina’s work is her whole life, especially since her association with the Rajes ended with public scandal after her fake romance with Yash came to light. (It’s complicated; again, see Yash’s story in the previous book).

Naina is furious over the loss of funding, and she accuses Vansh of engaging in an “Emma project” — basically, like Austen’s Emma, taking on a project for the sake of making himself feel good and alleviating some boredom, but lacking a true commitment or perspective on what others may need.

Over time, Vansh and Naina begin to work together, and become aware of a crazy hot chemistry between them too… but with Naina essentially ostracized by Vansh’s family and being burdened by all sorts of relationship issues due to growing up with an abusive father, any sort of romantic future between the two seems highly unlikely.

Except… there’s that chemisty to deal with, and they just can’t avoid it for long.

Perspective shift between Vansh (the Emma character) and Naina (Knightley), so we get to understand each character’s feelings and why they behave the way they do. All the various Rajes make appearances, often to meddle and complicate situations even further, and there’s a sub-plot about Vansh’s cousin Esha that’s a weird distraction from the main story (and makes very little sense), which seems to be a stand-in for the Jane Fairfax/Frank Churchill storyline from Emma.

I’ve enjoyed most of the books in the Rajes series, but this one was was only so-so. The characters’ inner lives, especially Naina’s, come across as overwrought after a while. The endless ruminations on feelings about relationships and love truly started to get on my nerves. I also couldn’t understand why the Raje family treated Naina the way they did — from a plot perspective, it just didn’t make a lot of sense.

Vansh and Naina have a lot of heat between them, which fine, I’m happy two adults are enjoying themselves so much! However, there’s a restaurant scene that absolutely made me roll my eyes over its ridiculousness, and I had a hard time suspending my utter disbelief enough to get through the rest of the book.

From the author’s notes at the end, it sounds like The Emma Project is the final Raje book. Too bad — I guess we won’t be getting Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey retellings! As a whole, I’ve enjoyed this series, even though I ended up not as engaged with this last book.

12Sep2021

Travel reading wrap-up (fall 2021): A batch of mini-reviews — high school drama, Aztec vampires, and classics retold

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

I’ve just returned from a one-week trip (which was all sorts of awesome), and realize that I’ve fallen way behind on my reviews. Here’s a quick wrap-up of what I read while I was away (and the week before, when I was already in pre-trip mode). As always, a mix of genres, topics, and new vs old.

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado: A YA story starring a plus-sized Latina high schooler who dreams of a first kiss, even while feeling like she’ll never measure up. The story emphasizes the importance of true friendship and trust, as well as body positivity. Charlie experiences a first relationship, has her relationship with her best friend tested, gains confidence as a writer, and learns to stand up for herself and not let others’ negativity undermine her belief in herself. While there are some plot points that I found frustrating (such as a mother whose toxicity about Charlie’s weight is never truly resolved, and unnecessary break-ups with both her boyfriend and her best friend), I loved the lead character enough to make this a really enjoyable read overall.

Rating:

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: This is my 3rd book by this author, but it definitely won’t be my last. Certain Dark Things is a gritty, noir-ish story of vampires, gangs, and drug runners in Mexico City. The main character is a teen boy who devotes himself to helping a lone Aztec vampire escape the city and the various other clans of vampires who want to see her and her people wiped out. It’s a fascinating spin on the world of vampires, and while I would have liked to have seen a bit more on the origins and natures of the different vampire species, I still really enjoyed this book. It’s dark, fast-paced, and surprising.

Rating:

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers: I guess I should have read the full synopsis, instead of deciding after just the first sentence that this book sounded like fun. The main character wakes up alone in a Las Vegas hotel room with a vague, hung-over memory of having married an adorable woman the night before. All she has to go on is a note left by the woman with a radio station listed. Grace decides to track down the mystery woman… but for the most part, despite the potential rom-com set-up, this is a story about a woman trying to find her place in the world, figure out who she’s meant to be, and understand her relationships with family and friends. Maybe because I went into it with incorrect (or incomplete) expectations, I was mostly frustrated and annoyed by the depth’s of the main character’s introspection and occasional selfishness.

Rating:

When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle: This YA retelling of Romeo and Juliet offers a fresh perspective — that of Rosaline, the girl Romeo loved before meeting Juliet. Here, the teens are seniors at an upscale California high school. Rose has been looking forward to reuniting with Rob, her best friend and boy next door since they were small children, especially since their near-kiss right before he left for his summer job. But within a few days of school starting, Rob dumps Rose for the new girl in town — the mysterious Juliet, who also happens to be Rose’s cousin. I really liked the way the author turned the classic story into a contemporary YA drama, and found her portrayal of Rose very thoughtful as well as being a creative twist on a tale that’s been told and retold so many times. When You Were Mine follows some, but not all, of the original’s storyline, and the little differences keep this book fresh and engaging. Sure, I have a few quibbles and would have liked to see a few plot points handled differently, but overall, this is quite a good read.

Rating:

The Bennet Women by Eden Appiah-Kubi: Another classic retold! This twist on Pride and Prejudice centers on the “Bennet Women” — the young undergraduate women living in Bennet House at Longbourn College. EJ (the Elizabeth stand-in) is a senior studying engineering and the RA of Bennet House, who holds the values and standards of Bennet House dear to her heart. Her best friends are a trans woman, Jamie, who’s our Jane stand-in, and Tessa, who has a smaller role and seems to be taking the place of Charlotte Lucas. While hitting the major plot beats of P&P, it’s a fresh take full of woman power and feminism, with a nicely diverse cast and some clever approaches to the expected storylines. I really appreciated how EJ’s education and aspirations were given prominence. Here, marriage isn’t a goal or even talked about much — it’s about finding love and respect while also finding themselves, pursuing their dreams, and not giving in to the many ways the world outside of Bennet House might want to limit their opportunities or pull them down.

Rating: