Seducing Mr. Darcy

Past and present combine in wonderful P&P sequel

I have read most of the P&P "sequels" out there and this is one of the best of those with a contemporary retelling. It combines a "what-if" look at the original couple that we know and love with a current romance between their modern day counterparts. There is a lot of humor mixed in with some steamy love scenes. The characters are engaging and we are offered some different insights on Darcy's character. I know that Jane Austin would not approve, but I think many of us read these sequels to find out more about our couple's love life. I read this in about a day - it was hard to put down. The cover is a bit off putting, but I highly recommend this.

I knew Darcy was hot!

I enjoyed the mix of Pride and Prejudice with a modern slutty romance. The male lead deserved to be brought down a peg or two (or four) just like Austen's Darcy. It takes guts to compare a male lead with one of the great characters of English Literature and I think for the most part, Ms. Cready pulled it off. I wanted both Elizabeth and Darcy and the 2 modern heroes to make it work, and, of course, being a romance novel, they all lived happily ever after. Plus, the sex was hot.

Seducing Mr. Darcy by Gwyn Cready

I must admit that I started "Seducing Mr. Darcy" by Gwyn Cready three or four times before I finally finished it. Obviously it didn't really hold my attention and even though the story was cute with some very funny parts and some very sexy parts (including a very risque game of Scrabble, and that's not something I see too often) but all together, it just 'missed' that extra oomph for me.

In a nutshell, the book selected for the heroine's book club is "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen. Our heroine isn't exactly keen on 'literature' and like many of us prefers some heat with her reading. While discussing the lack thereof at a sidewalk cafe, they are overheard by an eminent (and way hot) visiting British Austen scholar. Needless to say, he's not very impressed although he does discretely eye our heroine. There is a side story regarding the heroine's sleezy ex which I think just muddled the story and added pages, but hey that's just me.

Next our heroine heads for a relaxing massage at a parlor recommended by one of her friends and part of the 'service' is imagining yourself in a book and somehow, during the massage, you actually become a part of the story in the book you imagine. Now our heroine manages to imagine herself back in time into Austen's P&P and her actions during her 'visit' cause all the books to begin changing in today's world...beginning with the oldest copies. When she realizes what she's done, she becomes desperate to fix things and here's where our sexy British scholar comes in. I won't give away any more of the plot, but if you are an Austen fan you will either laugh through the rest of the book, or just be pissed. Either way, my biggest issue with the hero and heroine is I just didn't buy their relationship. It seemed to be more about having sex than building a relationship, and even with the short timeframe, it just didn't work for me. But others may feel differently...it's just my opinion!

a fun satirizing of the zillion Jane Austen novels and movies of the last decade

Although she loves the romantic novels by Jane Austen, ornithologist Phillippa ¿Flip¿ Allison believes true love is only found in fairy tales or novels and not for someone pragmatic like her. Her recent divorce affirms her belief. Besides who wants such a prim and proper male like Mr. Darcy even if he reads like quite a man.------------ At a masseuse, Flip fantasizes that she and Darcy had a fling prior to his meeting Elizabeth. Thinking it was just a nice dream Flip is stunned when she realizes somehow her fantasy trip to Regency England resulted in her changing Pride and Prejudice. Knowing she must fix what she wrought, she turns to Austen scholar Magnus and several of the author¿s finest characters. ----------------- Mindful of Jasper Fforde¿s zany Thursday Next tales, SEDUCING MR. DARCY is a fun satirizing of the zillion Jane Austen novels and movies of the last decade. The story line is fresh with irreverent chick lit modifications to the classic Pride and Prejudice. Although at times the irony ironically turns inane, fans who enjoy lampooning the modern romance novels love affair with dissecting Jane Austen will enjoy Gwyn Cready¿s flippant SEDUCING MR. DARCY, literally that.------------ Harriet Klausner

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