Saturday, August 17, 2013

My Own Mr. Darcy by Karey White {Review + Giveaway}

Genre: Women's Fiction/Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: July 15th 2013
Pages: 220
Format: Kindle eARC
Source: Provided by author for review


After being dragged to the 2005 movie Pride and Prejudice by her mother, sixteen-year-old Elizabeth’s life changes when Matthew Macfadyen’s Mr. Darcy appears on the screen. Lizzie falls hard and makes a promise to herself that she will settle for nothing less than her own Mr. Darcy. This ill-advised pledge threatens to ruin any chance of finding true love. During the six intervening years, she has refused to give any interested suitors a chance. They weren’t Mr. Darcy enough. Coerced by her roommate, Elizabeth agrees to give the next interested guy ten dates before she dumps him. That guy is Chad, a kind and thoughtful science teacher and swim coach. While she’s dating Chad, her dream comes true in the form of a wealthy bookstore owner named Matt Dawson, who looks and acts like her Mr. Darcy. Of course she has to follow her dream. But as Elizabeth simultaneously dates a regular guy and the dazzling Mr. Dawson, she’s forced to re-evaluate what it was she loved about Mr. Darcy in the first place.


My Take:
I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book because I haven't read Pride and Prejudice before. I knew the main players in the story and have heard enough from pop culture references to navigate through and the author of this one did a great job incorporating enough information so you wouldn't be completely lost.

This book was equal parts wonderful and frustrating for me. Elizabeth Barrett is just like every single gal out there, myself included. She seeks to find her dream guy, and hers just so happens to be the infamous Mr. Darcy. The challenge in that is finding the guy who fits all her criteria and throughout her young dating years she has turned away several guys who didn't fit what she wanted. When she meets Chad in a grocery store and goes to lunch with him she already writes him off and makes sure he won't call her back. It's not until her best friend Janessa challenges her to give Chad a chance that she starts to actually enjoy herself with him.

I adored Chad so much I can't even stand myself. He was everything a woman wants in a guy. He was charming, funny, sweet and a complete gentleman to Elizabeth. I was really happy Elizabeth decided to  be herself and see Chad again and actually gave them a chance to get to know each other. She aggravated me by still keeping him at a distance with thinking her Mr. Darcy was out there when she had this great guy standing right in front of her. Chad was the kind of guy you want your daughter with. He loved his family, he coached high school athletes and genuinely cared about what Elizabeth wanted and needed in a relationship. They had amazing chemistry together and I rooted so hard for Chad the entire time they were together, but then the landscape changes when Elizabeth meets Matt Dawson.

I honestly did not like Matt's character, not even a little bit. Once Elizabeth meets Matt, she ends up breaking things off with Chad in favor of dating Matt. This guy was a real jerk. He was rude, moody and stuck on himself and didn't treat Elizabeth very kindly at all. Almost everything he did for her was self serving in a way. He was always making underhanded comments about her being just a decorator and not an interior designer. He never showed that he believed in her until she got a job working for Chad's parents that ended up launching her long awaited career in the business. While Elizabeth is dating Matt she continues her friendship with Chad and that causes some issues between Matt and Elizabeth. I couldn't understand why Elizabeth put up with Matt's humiliating behavior for so long even at the expense of her dream. Aside from belittling her career choice he made a huge fuss about them being exclusive but when the time came for him to introduce her to his friends he didn't even say she was his girlfriend. Plus on top of all his shining character qualities he has a bitch for a best friend, Meg. UGH! She doesn't even deserve to be mentioned she's so foul. 

As the relationship between Elizabeth and Matt continues she spends more time with Chad and starts to realize her dream might not be all that she originally thought once she finally opened her eyes to Matt's behavior and compared the two men. Chad was everything Mr. Darcy personified that she wanted Matt to be but she can only choose one. I wasn't thrilled with how long it took Elizabeth to get her head out of her ass but was pleased with how things turned out. Matt finally showed his true colors and revealed himself to be the Mega Douche I knew him to be from the start. This story had everything I want in my romance. It was sweet, heartwarming and emotionally angst filled without being heavy. I was constantly wanting to shake the ever loving shit out of Elizabeth but I understood where she was in her thinking. It's hard to let go of your long held dreams. I absolutely enjoyed the sweet romance between Chad and Elizabeth and loved that even though she ended things they still stayed friends and built on that foundation which made it that much sweeter. Besides my problem with Matt, the only other issue I had was I could have used an epilogue. The ending was really well done, I just wanted a little bit more because I'm greedy and I loved these characters. 

This was a wonderful story about following your dreams no matter where they may take you and I loved the message behind the story. No matter what you have always wanted it's never too late to change your mind. White once again won me over with her charming characters, realistic scenarios and less is more approach to love and romance. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good clean story without the graphic bedroom action.


Quotes:
I knew what I wanted was nearly impossible but I stubbornly refused to give up hope. I was a nice girl. I worked hard and loved my family. I liked children and I recycled. I deserved to have my dream come true. Loc. 284


"You're my knight in shining armor, you know that?" I asked Chad. "I know. I've been thinking of trading in my Camry for a white horse." Loc 2386

"You have to decide. This won't work. I can't be your friend when every time I'm near you I want to kiss you. And I can't be the guy who tries to steal you away. If you love him, go be happy. Live your dream. If you don't love him, change your dream." Loc.3427

Giveaway:




About The Author:
Through the years I've been a student, a teacher, a secretary, a clothing designer and seamstress, a wedding cake maker, a crafter, a scrapbooker, a cook, a housekeeper (alright, this skill I'm still working on) a homework helper (until they pass me in math, somewhere around the third grade), and a calm and ladylike fan at my children's sporting events. Nothing makes me happier than being with family and friends eating good food, sharing good conversation and a few laughs. When I'm with smart and funny people, I could stay there for hours.

Links:

8 comments:

  1. Looks like a great book!

    I follow by GFC

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  2. I loved Pride and Prejudice! It's weird what some people will do to keep themselves from being happy. I want to meet this Chad - you describe him well!

    Follow RSS on Feedly

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  3. I loved Pride and Prejudice, and it is completely frustrated. The guys are jackasses 75% of the time, but still it's great. I love that the message is about following your dreams. I'm glad that you enjoyed this so much. Great quotes!

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  4. Super! I signed up for this tour too so I'm relieved that my time wont be wasted reading this. I look forward to meeting Chad and getting frustrated by Elizabeth.

    Braine

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  5. Follow with GFC. Good luck everyone.

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  6. Sounds like an interesting one! I love P&P, but this sounds like a different take. Thanks!

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  7. I love Pride & Prejudice. I would probably like this one. I like the quotes. Nice review!

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  8. Thanks for the nice review! Sorry to have caused you frustration as you read. :) Have a lovely weekend!

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