16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Modern Pride and Prejudice, January 30, 2005
This review is from: First Impressions (The Austen Series, Book 1) (Paperback)
This book was so hard for me to put down. I enjoyed it so much. It is my favorite Pride and Prejudice modern adaption, better than Vanity and Vexation and Bridge Jones's Diary. I will issue a copule of warnings for those of you, who might not enjoy this book to the extent I did. I could rant and rave about it all day, but I figured this might be more helpful!
1. Not in Jane Austen's style of writing
2. The story is very close to the book, but not exact
3. There are three Bennet sisters (Jane, Elizabeth and Lydia)
4. The names of the characters are different but similar to their originals (i.e. Elizabeth Bennet and Eddi Boswick)
5. A lot of religious undertones
6. The events that happen in the original P&P are slightly altered becuase the time periods are different. (i.e. Mr. Darcy uses email instead of writing letters and Lydia doesn't go to Brighton she goes to Hawaii)
Now if you can get past all that, you will enjoy the book and not be able to put it down. Eddi Boswick (Lizzy) is such a strong character, there is so much to love and admire about her. She is a laywer. The verbal sparing that goes on between her and Dave (Darcy) is so amusing. You will feel the heat, the passion, the hatred, and the attraction.
The Scenario: In a small town called London, TX lives a single lawyer(Eddi) who decides to particapte in a re-enactment of one of her favorite novels, Pride and Prejudice. She doesn't care to much for her co-star, yet she finds him so attractive. She spends half the time trying to figure him out and the other half insulting him, avoiding him, and despising him. Little does she know he is struggling too, he tries not to think about her yet he does. He misses her when she is gone, yet he enjoys prvoking her. Eddi's sister, Lydia gets into some trouble and you will be suprised by who got her in trouble and who will get her out of trouble.
Such exciting twists and turns!
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25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
This P&P is Painful & Pointless, December 11, 2005
This review is from: First Impressions (The Austen Series, Book 1) (Paperback)
I wanted to like this book, Honestly, I did. I have read enough books "loosely based" on Jane Austen's works to be able to judge each book on it's own merits and not expect them to be as good as the originals. In this case, I was hoping for an original story with aspects of P&P cleverly included. I was horribly disappointed. I do not dislike this book because it was a poor modernization of Pride and Prejudice. I dislike this book because the writing is terrible. The story meanders. For example:
The characters are putting together a community theater production of Pride and Prejudice...the casting is accomplished... rehearsals begin...TORNADO!!!... rehearsals continue (though in a different location).
The characterization is simply absurd. There is no depth to them at all. Some of the situations the characters are written into are so contrived they are simply forced and unbelieveable. The author, Ms. Smith, must realize that who her characters are based on is not easily recognizeable, as she includes a "cast list" at the beginning of the book naming each of the characters, and who from P&P they are supposed to be. It seems to me that the reader should be able to tell who each of the characters is supposed to be simply by reading the story. If a cast list is necessary, the author has not done a very good job fleshing out her characters. If you feel you must read this book, I would suggest checking it out from a library or borrowing it from a friend - purchasing it would be a waste of money.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Lasting Impressions, September 2, 2005
This review is from: First Impressions (The Austen Series, Book 1) (Paperback)
I confess to having an addiction to everything related to 'Pride and Prejudice', and have devoured/endured a number of spin-offs inspired by it. 'First Impressions' stands out as one of the worst offerings I have witnessed to date. The unnecessarily predictable plot is slow to unfold and painfully improbable. To my mind, the writing style is clumsy.
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