Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is my favourite classic novel and when I saw Melissa de la Cruz had written Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe, I knew I had to read it as I love retellings of Austen’s classic.

Genre: Women’s Fiction, Romance

Blurb:

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 neighbor. 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?

My thoughts:

I have read many excellent retellings of Pride and Prejudice in the past and looked forward to this one with eagerness. On the third page when I read the sentence incorporating the phrase “it is a truth universally acknowledged”, I rubbed my hands with glee. I was, however, disappointed as the novel progressed.

The original gender roles in the novel have been swapped – for example Austen’s Darcy is a female character. The gender swapping could have worked (I have seen it done in other novels) however the characters in de la Cruz’s novel fall a little flat. The actions of Darcy, Luke, and even Bingley are presented superficially. The self reflection of the main character (in this novel it is Darcy) seems forced and pedantic. Austen’s characterisation and comment on social issues is perfectly pitched and the characters in this retelling do fall flat by comparison.

Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe was a disappointing read. I felt the story was too superficial and rushed. If the author had spent more time character building and digging deeper into the issues hinted at, the novel would have been a lot meatier and a more enjoyable read.

I give this novel ⭐️⭐️ 2 stars

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2019

(This novel was the 113th in my book pledge for 2019)