Customer Reviews

Prada and Prejudice

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On her class trip, clumsy outcast Callie buys a pair of swank Prada shoes in order to fit in. She ends up tripping over her feet and landing in Austen-era England. There, a case of mistaken identity gets her taken in by the Duke of Harksbury, and then the fun begins as she navigates this new world, all the while falling for the hot Duke.

This is one of those books you'll hate to put down, because every chapter is so much fun. You'll find yourself rooting for the awkward Callie as she eventually grows more confident in herself. You'll drool for the sexy duke Alex, and when Callie finally does find her "footing", you'll cheer for her! Based very loosely on Pride and Prejudice, this humorous teen time-travel romance is the perfect escape.

And the "Feast of Awesome" continues! Total Deb pun there! If I had describe Prada and Prejudice in one word it would be: cute! It was such a cute read! I'd even say that middle grade readers would enjoy this one.

I love the whole regency period and often wish I'd magically land in the era myself, so this novel was right up my alley. Callie was a very 21st century character so having her wake up in the 1800's was rather comical! I would have liked to gotten to know her 21st century character a little bit more, but I couldn't definitely see a change in her, from the brief time I'd seen her in her "own world."

The writing flowed nicely and was very charming. P&P was a very quick read for me, due to a combination of it being only 270 pages and from being very entertaining. This is a must read for Jane Austen Junkies!

This is a light, fun young adult twist on Pride and Prejudice. In it, Callie is a 15-year-old sophomore on a class trip to England during summer vacation. Callie is not enjoying her trip as much as she hoped, as the "A-list" girls are ignoring her and she is left pretty much to herself. A known klutz, Callie falls and bumps her head outside of a Prada shoe store, where she has just purchased a pair of 3-inch heels (hoping to impress the A-listers). When Callie regains her senses, she somehow has been transported to 1815 Regency England. After a fortuitous mistake causes her to be mixed up with an American guest in a duke's home, Callie takes residence and struggles to integrate into 1815 English customs. The restrictions and expectations of women during that time period are particularly hard for Callie to swallow and Callie becomes embroiled in an effort to save a young woman she befriends from an unwanted engagement. During this time, Callie also gets to know the young duke, Alex. At first, Callie thinks he is an arrogant, controlling jerk. Over time, she realizes that first impressions cannot always be trusted, and the duke may be much more than he at first appears to be.

Overall, this is an enjoyable and credible modern twist on the classic. It has creative plot parallels to the original book. In addition, Callie's character development is interesting and relatable. Anyone who likes Jane Austen should like this version of the story, although readers expecting something deep or intellectual will be disappointed.

Prada and Prejudice is my favorite Jane Austen book. I loved the sparks that flew when the slightly impoverished Elizabeth Bennet meets the haughty and rich Mr. Darcy. Their growing love and acceptance of each other never fails to move me.

Prada and Prejudice sounded just about perfect to me, an awkward girl is tossed back in time and clashes with an arrogant young Duke. Callie, aged fifteen, is shy. She's a bookworm and doesn't have any friends among the other girls on her once-in-a-lifetime trip to England. But then she overhears the other girls saying they are going to sneak out and go to a nightclub and she decides to join them, it's her last chance to impress them and try to have a good time on her trip.

She heads out to buy something snappy for her night out and BAM, she's in the 18th century!

All of the story, up to this point, was fantastic. I loved Callie's determination in the face of the snotty rich girls.

But there were some bumps in the story.

No explanation is given for her time travel.

It seemed a bit too convenient that she found a place to stay and everyone was super accepting of her odd ways and didn't seem too scandalized by her bizarro modern clothing.

The rules of conduct, being alone with a man you are not married to or closely related to weren't followed. Ditto for the wandering around improperly dressed.

The strange incident at the end of the ball didn't add to the story in any way and even the characters moved on from what would have been considered a miracle for that time period.

Her angry clashes with people about being treated the way 18th century women are treated. Callie was def a feminist.

Callie's angry diatribe about not being referred to as 'my lady,' wore thin.

Where the story truly shone were in the interactions between Callie and Emily (a sweet, docile girl with a flair for fashion and an impending arranged marriage to an old guy).

Also, in the beginning of the book I had an intense feeling of embarrassment for Callie as she tried, so hard, to fit in with the popular girls. I think the author really got how terrible it is to be a stranger to the people around you because you have a certain quirkiness that isn't appreciated.

All in all, this was a quick read with a nice ending.

When fifteen year old heroine Callie Montgomery purchases a pair of red Prada pumps with sky-high heels she thinks her life will change from high school geek to A-list fashionista in one smooth step. She's out to impress her savvy classmates while traveling on a school trip in London. Not only is Callie socially awkward, she is an admitted klutz. It only takes her three steps out of the Prada shop in her new shoes to trip and hit her head. When she wakes up, her surroundings have changed from city street, to country lane. She is taken in at Harksbury, a palatial country manor house where she is mistaken for an American cousin Rebecca Vaughn. Rebecca's first visit to England is highly anticipated by Emily Thorton-Hawke, who warmly greets the cousin she has never met with open arms, and in full Regency era attire. Thinking that British people are very odd, Callie asks to use the telephone, but only gets blank looks. She plays along with impersonating Cousin Rebecca and gradually begins to realize that somehow she has traveled back in time to 1815. Her twenty-first century manners and memory of Regency history hamper her ruse, especially with the arrogant but dishy Lord Alexander Thorton-Hawke, Duke of Harksbury. He thinks she is outspoken and ill-mannered; she thinks if he wasn't such a complete jerk, he'd be a great catch.

A high-concept time travel fantasy, Mandy Hubbard's debut novel Prada and Prejudice reminds us how far we have evolved socially pitting twenty-first century personal freedoms against early nineteenth-century social stricture. Hubbard's first person writing style is direct and engaging. Her heroine Callie/Rebecca is endearingly angst ridden and insecure, struggling to find herself in a teenage world flooded with designer clothes and confusing priorities. She cleverly contrasts her heroine's modern sensibilities against the double standard for women in Regency times. By Callie/Rebecca's motivation to help Emily break her engagement to a man thirty years her senior she does not love, and influencing Alex, the Duke of Harksbury to change his views on out of wedlock children, arranged marriages, and of course being an arrogant aristocrat, she directly addresses issues like primogeniture and feminism without even knowing it. She is just being herself, outspoken and direct. In addition, being Rebecca changes Callie's perspective as she gradually realizes that by traveling thousands of miles to England, or back two hundred years into the past, she can not escape who she is. Wherever you go there you are! Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, her red shoes are not her ticket to happiness. It was there all along, waiting to be discovered, in herself.

Light, bright, and sparkly, Prada and Prejudice has made a grand entrance into the emerging Young Adult fiction genre. It is not a Jane Austen sequel per se, but gently nods with reverence at Pride and Prejudice, presenting a hero and heroine whose relationship and characteristics readers will recognize from Austen's famous literary couple Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. With Austen being the grandmother of chick-lit, we have seen this premise used many times before in modern novels; Bridget Jones' Diary, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict and Twilight, and in the movies You've Got Mail and Lost in Austen to name a few. If Prada and Prejudice represents the next generation in Austen inspired fiction geared for young readers (and those young at heart) we are on very good footing indeed. Well done. I recommend it highly for those in need of a quick escape, and a hearty laugh.

Laurel Ann, Austenprose

What can I say beyond 'oh my god why couldn't this happen to me?' I'll try to however. The title of course eludes to that most famous work, Pride and Prejudice, but unlike a lot of the Austen-esque sequels and re-invents coming out this year it has very little to do with those characters and more to do with the setting, attitudes and way of life.

Callie is a hoot. Once she acclimates to the situation she doesn't sit idly by and let things happen around her like she did in present day. She helps to build Emily's confidence, tramples all over Alex's highhanded treatment of women and attempts to make things perfect. Of course that old saying 'The road to hell is paved in good intentions...' rears its ugly head, but its not easy remembering that in 1815 women were little more then chattel to dress prettily and sell to the highest bidder most of the time (especially in higher echelons of society).

From a historical angle the book works well to explain the nuances of society back then without laboring on about them. Since Callie is impersonating an American to begin with its naturally assumed she knows next to nothing about how to behave in public (or private) anyhow. Some things about society never changes despite the superficial trappings and in many ways I think that, that lesson is the most important to remember.

My favorite part of the book is when Callie and Alex are discussing his lands (about halfway through the book or so). Soon as he mentions fox-hunting Callie is horrified. Even after she explains she knows what is entailed in fox-hunting he still acts like she has no understanding of it. Callie, thankfully, doesn't let him think she's okay with it and verbally smacks him down. Fox hunting indeed (barbaric!).

Its a short read at just over 210 pages, but there aren't any parts that drag or seem dull. Fans of the recent ITV drama 'Lost in Austen' might enjoy this quite a bit actually--in many ways Callie is like Amanda (the main protag of LiA). They both try to set things right from a modern perspective, but ultimately learn its better to work with the system then against it.

If I was a teenager girl, I would love this book and never want to let it go. Since, I'm not a teenager girl, I thought this book was a cute, interesting, and unique. I won't bore you with the plot because so many other people have done a far better job than what I would do. If I had a teenager daughter, I wouldn't have a problem with her reading this book. It was wholesome, didn't encourage young girls to be infactuated with a 100 year old stalker (i.e., Twilight series), and was edgy enough to appeal to all types of girls. I throughly enjoyed it.

Mandy Hubbard's PRADA AND PREJUDICE combines modern teen lit and Regency romance in a fresh way.

On a class trip to England, 15-year-old Callie wants to fit in with the other girls only because her best friend, Katie, has since moved away, leaving Callie friendless.

In an attempt to crash the night club party the popular girls are going to, Callie buys a pair of Prada heels and promptly trips sending her back into 1815 England where she is mistaken for Rebecca, a girl from America who has come to visit the Duke of Harksbury.

What ensues is a tangled mess including an illegitimate child, an arranged marriage, and social etiquette faux paus that will have you alternately laughing and crying and twisting your hands with worry.

Hubbard's debut novel is rich with what matters most--learning how to be yourself and finding others who love you just the way you are--no matter what century you are in!

Prada and Prejudice was a very cute teen romance. I just couldnt get enough of it that I practically read it all in one sitting! I hope to see more of Mandy Hubbard's books in the future (a chick lit would be nice *wink*)

While reading this, which I read in one sitting, I honestly laughed out loud and at certain points had a huuugee smile on my face. I even almost cried once.
This book is a must read, and should be #1 on Amazon, because it's #1 to me. I HIGHLY encourage you to read this. I never read books more than once, but I'm sure that I will flip through the pages of this with that same smile on my face many more times.