The Basics:
Once Upon a Kiss by Jayne Fresina
Sourcebooks Casablanca
Book One in the Book Club Belles Society series
Romance
Published June 3, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon.ca Kobo.com
Why I picked up this book:
This time it was the tag for the series that got me - the Book Club Belles Society. Me and books about books, right? So predictable!
The Basics:
Definitely, Maybe in Love by Ophelia London
Entangled Publishing LLC
New Adult, Romance
Published October 28th, 2013
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Blurb:
Her theory of attraction is about to get a new angle
Spring Honeycutt wants two things: to ace her sustainable living thesis and to save the environment. Both seem hopelessly unobtainable until her college professor suggests that with a new angle, her paper could be published. Spring swears she’ll do whatever it takes to ensure that happens.
"Whatever it takes," however, means forming a partnership with the very hot, very privileged, very conceited Henry Knightly.
Henry is Spring's only hope at publication, but he's also the über-rich son of a land developer and cash-strapped Spring’s polar opposite—though she can't help being attracted to the way he pushes her buttons, both politically and physically. Spring finds there's more to Henry than his old money and argyle sweaters…but can she drop the loud-and-proud act long enough to let him in? Suddenly, choosing between what she wants and what she needs puts Spring at odds with everything she believes in.
Definitely, Maybe in Love is a modern take on Pride and Prejudice that proves true love is worth risking a little pride.
What worked for me:
As previously established, I'm a sucker for a good Pride and Prejudice update. Maybe it's that the Darcy character has to swallow all that formidable pride to apologize and make good with the Lizzie character. Yes, Lizzie has her own pride and prejudices to overcome, but there's something about a sexy, arrogant man humbling himself for love that gets me. Every. Single. Time.
So, how does London handle Austen's tale? Really well. This version is reasonably faithful to the original text. We've got stand-ins for most of the main characters, with some doing double duty (as in the case of Julia acting as both Jane and Lydia). There's lots of updates for the original plot - I wasn't feeling the lack of anything (though there are elements that have been dropped entirely).
Perhaps most importantly, Henry makes an excellent Darcy. Henry's got the upper-class thing going for him in terms of a wealthy family and loads of opportunities that are foreign to us normal people. He's hot, he's initially really stand-offish and he's gradually revealed as both an all-around nice guy AND a sucker for our heroine, Spring.
Spring's a bit more complicated. She's big on her issues revolving around the environment. It's hard to see past her complete commitment to her cause, which has involved making herself over in the image of what she thinks the ideal environmental warrior should be. Even her two best friends comment on how aggressive she's become on this front, and how off-putting that might be for someone who doesn't know her very well.
Without being too spoilery, I did like the moment when Spring is forced to confront one of her hot button issues face on, and her willingness to acknowledge she may not have had all the facts. I think this is an important step towards softening her stance a little, and making her that much more likeable.
Possibly my favorite part of this book - okay, no, Henry was my favorite part - definitely my *second* favorite part of this book is that Spring struggles with her own identity throughout this novel. She's recently undergone this self-imposed make-over to make herself appear more committed to her causes, but she's still floundering with her thesis, and I think she's struggling to make a bold statement about who she is within the context of a movement that is so characterized by stereotypes. This development of identity/finding oneself is a critical part of the New Adult genre - for me, at least - and I really appreciated the way that London incorporated it.
What didn't work for me:
I think seeing Spring interact with characters who shared her passion for the environment and sustainability might have emphasized her identity issues. I do realize that this would have veered away from the original Pride and Prejudice story but perhaps there might have been a clever way to tease that out a little bit?
For all the intellectual/academic basis for Spring and Henry to come together, I really couldn't believe that he was the *only* student at Stanford who understood Spring's sustainability thesis. It was a bit of unnecessary contrivance to bring together the two characters - the attraction combined with convenience of being neighbours (and willingness to help!) could have been enough to make Henry Spring's best choice instead of only choice?
I also didn't think it was necessary for Spring to be noted as a virgin mid-way through the book. First, it set my expectations regarding how far her relationship with Henry would advance. Second, when there was a later discussion about her using random guys to satisfy her needs, it read a little strange. That said, I felt like her experience or lack thereof was a non-issue for me - it didn't bother me that she *was* a virgin, it just seemed like a strange detail to include at the time it was shared in the book.
Bottom Line:
If you love a good Pride and Prejudice adaptation, you're going to enjoy Definitely, Maybe in Love. London adeptly puts a modern spin on the tale, giving us a sexy hero to root for, a modern heroine trying to find herself and a cast of supporting characters that complicate everything!
I definitely recommend this book.
4.5 stars
For fans of Pride and Prejudice adaptations, of the New Adult genre, of young love and sexy heroes.
The Basics:
Fall for You and When I'm With you by Cecilia Gray
Gray Life, LLC
Books 1 and 3 in the Jane Austen Academy series
YA
Published November 6, 2013
Blurbs:
Dive into the fabulous, fun lives of six Academy girls as their friendships are tested, torn and ultimately triumph.
Fall for You:
It’s obvious that Dante thinks he’s way too good for Lizzie. And Lizzie knows Dante is a snob with a gift for pressing her buttons. But things are changing fast this year at the Academy. And when Lizzie’s quest to stop those changes blows up in her face, taking her oldest friendship with it, she has nowhere else to turn but to Dante, with his killer blue eyes, his crazy-sexy smile, and his secrets… Secrets Lizzie can’t seem to leave alone, no matter how hard she tries…
When I'm With You:
Kat is destined to be a star and her big break has arrived at last! As the assistant to a celebrity classmate on the set of a feature film, she's going to show everyone she has what it takes. That is, until she discovers pursuing her dreams may mean forfeiting her heart. Unless she can find a way to have both…
* * *
The last thing that the girls at the elite Jane Austen Academy need is hot guys to flirt with. But over the summer the school has been sold, and like it or not, the guys are coming. And it’s about to turn the Academy—and the lives of its students—totally upside down…
The Jane Austen Academy series are modern retellings of Jane Austen classics set at a beachside California boarding school.
My Thoughts:
I read these two books back-to-back to get a stronger sense for the series. I love Pride and Prejudice (Fall For You) and have read several adaptations of it, but Northanger Abbey (When I'm With You) was not familiar to me. I was excited to read them because I do love modern adaptations of the classics.
So, I think that When I'm With You (WIWY) benefited from my lack of familiarity with Northanger Abbey. I found it to be a much stronger book. Because I wasn't distracted by the ways in which the story deviated from the source material, I could enjoy it for what it was: a short and sweet tale about a young woman learning to form and trust her own opinions. The romance with a hot, young actor didn't hurt either! I liked Kat's earnestness, her willingness to dive into work regardless of how glamourous it was or was not. I appreciated her observations about the world, and that things didn't always go her way in the moment. Though there are some too-neatly tied up issues in WIWY, overall, it was a cute teen novel that I really enjoyed reading.
Now, Fall for You (FFY) establishes the world of Jane Austen Academy and this might be why it wasn't as enjoyable as WIWY. It has to set the foundation for more than just a Pride and Prejudice adaptation, and that leaves less time and space for the story that we (should) all know and love.
Lizzie is a delight - she's got a full range of strengths and flaws (prejudice! pride!) and I would happily have read more about her romance with Dante. The problem is that so much of the Pride and Prejudice story is dropped. Lizzie doesn't have sisters - instead a friend stands in for Jane, but this friend is also the star of her own book in the series (an adaptation of Persuasion), so she can't follow through to the conclusion of Jane's story.
There were a lot of other elements missing, and the one I missed the most was the mess with Lydia and Wickham. The embarrassment for Lizzie and the emotional turmoil it puts her through were really lacking in this version. I also felt like the relationship with Dante didn't follow the expected ups and downs. It needed to be teased out a little more to get the full dramatic effect. I didn't have that heartmelting moment when Lizzie realizes Darcy is, in fact, a great guy and one she'd like to marry (or date, in the case of Dante).
What FFY did do well, other than the character of Lizzie and establishing the setting, was working with the themes of pride and prejudice. First and lasting impressions are tested as Lizzie realizes that she has to look deeper not only when investigating her newspaper articles but when it comes to people as well. Possibly a little unrealistic that such an eager journalist would accept her impressions of people at face value, but it didn't really feel like a mismatch with her personality while I was reading the book.
Bottom Line:
I liked these books, but I don't think they're strong adaptations of Jane Austen's work. The heroines were well developed and engaging. Henry of When I'm With You was pretty dreamy, and this was the superior book.
Each novel also comes with a discussion section at the end, which seems useful to get the target age group (teens) thinking about different components of the book.
3.5 stars for Fall for You
4 stars for When I'm With You
