First, I must confess (with my head hanging low) that I have yet to read a Jane Austen book. I know, the shame! That being said, Audrey and Emily have inspired me to start with Pride and Prejudice. I have heard the collective sigh around the world anytime the name "Mr. Darcy" is uttered, and I fully admit, if the actual character is anything like the one in this book, I get it - I finally get it! Having enjoyed Emma on 83rd Street, I jumped at the opportunity to devour another Jane Austen retelling by this talented duo. As I suspected, it did not disappoint.
Elizabeth Bennet has dreams, goals, and aspirations. Having been accepted into Columbia, the possibilities of becoming a foreign affairs journalist are within her reach, until her father has a stroke. Suddenly, like being tossed and rolled by one of her beloved waves, her world is flipped upside down. Now she is the sole string holding the family together. Only she knows how to run the bakery, the Bennet livelihood, Lydia and Kitty’s future. Yes, she is one of five Bennet daughters and her father has mostly recovered and is working along side her, but Mary is too busy trying to save the world, and Jane loves being a teacher. Given until October to defer her first semester, Elizabeth decides to focus on the summer uptick that they lovingly call the “cidiots.” It is tourist season, the bread and butter of the community, bringing people from the city looking to escape. That includes the two men who stopped into the bakery that morning, one of whom, with just a single comment, managed to rub Lizzy the wrong way.
Will's best friend Charlie was determined to get out of the city for the summer in hopes of helping his sister get through her messy divorce. How Will got dragged into it, he will never know, but Charlie was trouble if he wasn’t around, and for the sake of their business, Will was determined to stay close and keep Charlie on track. That is until a certain fiery redhead decides to provide a “helpful” suggestion to Charlie so they could have an authentic local experience. Will only went out to prove he wouldn’t back down from a challenge; he wasn’t expecting Charlie to fall head over heels for a certain Jane Bennet. Knowing this song and dance as Charlie does this every time he meets a woman, Will awaits the inevitable fallout while trying to stay in control and ignore the growing allure of one Elizabeth Bennet. When an unexpected visitor from his past blows into town, lies are exposed, truths are revealed, and Will and Elizabeth must decide if control is more important than survival.
This book captured my heart in so many ways. Lizzy’s family dynamic and the rainbow of personalities covered by her sisters, with her mother and father being the opposite ends of the Bennet spectrum, are enchanting. My heart swelled at the relationship between Lizzy and Jane and the friendship within the sisterhood those two possessed. Charlie and Will were like night and day, and their dichotomous personalities were the perfect addition to the story. Each character was like the perfect ingredient or seasoning for a stew - without them, no matter how small their part was, something would have felt like it was missing - whether it was Piper, Birdie, or the reappearance of George Knightley (from Emma on 83rd Street).
The back-and-forth, push-and-pull of Will and Lizzy is what kept me glued to this story. They were so different yet so alike. Will had to be in control, guarded, the protector, the resolver - he was the cleaner, the fixer, and kept emotion as far out of his decisions as possible. Lizzy was the same, but emotions were her driving force in all that she did. She didn’t ask for help; she could and would fix any issues on her own because it was her duty to take care of the family, no matter what she wanted in life, her father’s health and family’s livelihood came first. The thing both had to realize is that life can’t be controlled; it is going to happen, how it is supposed to happen - whether you like it or not.
The fire of the story revolves around small and intense moments between Will and Lizzy. A potent look, a close pass, an accidental touch, or even the moment of an intense kiss - those are the scenes that linger in the mind and heighten the awareness of these characters. That doesn’t take away from the moments of heat that were added to the story when two people who must be in control collide and all rules go out the window! That type of blaze needed the kindling of the almost moments to burn as hot as they did.
Each reader will finish this story with their own interpretation of key takeaways. For me, as stated above - it was understanding that life can’t always be controlled. People, places, and things will always exist as dynamic factors that will have their own influence.
For those who want to test the waters to see if Jane Austen is their cup of tea, I highly recommend Elizabeth of East Hampton! Personally, I really need to either read Pride and Prejudice or bite the bullet and watch the PBS five-hour special. If Elizabeth of East Hampton was this good, the original must be phenomenal!