I am NOT happy with this book. I purchased it back in July 2015 and assumed, like many others on Goodreads, that this was a modern retelling of Jane Austen.
Like everyone else who read it with this assumption, this can be blamed on us not reading the blurb—nowhere does it say that it’s a retelling. HOWEVER, to take such an iconic title from such an iconic work of fiction and repurpose it without even mentioning Austen or her works in what you’re writing is either incredibly naïve/ridiculous or incredibly underhanded and manipulative.
I was originally going to go with the first, but this is a “USA Today Bestselling Author” and the original publication of this book, 2014, just happened to be within a year of the 200th publication anniversary of the original Pride and Prejudice on January 28, 2013. I set you up for the dunk, you decide on what Anderson did.
When you add in that it’s just not a well-written book and the characters are annoying AF from the beginning, it just goes downhill from there. The protagonists, Emma and Kevin, were like four-year-old kids arguing over who can do what better and crying when they didn’t get what they wanted, snipped at each other at every opportunity, and in general, were just pains-in-the-asses and not in a cutesy way.
Seriously though, I am all about self-sufficiency and proving yourself but not at the expense of the two children you have to take care of, or at the expense of excessive credit card debt. Getting over yourself and getting out of your way is one of the best things you can do to grow up and mature.
If the writing would’ve been better, I probably could’ve dealt with the book. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. Even the moments where Anderson could’ve leaned into the romance trope and said something sickeningly sweet, she missed the mark. Where she really didn’t do great was introducing new characters. This one almost had me DNF it on the page:
That was one of the things Kevin liked most about Janice. Not only was she professional, organized, and dependable, but she loved taking a pen to her to-do list and checking things off. She never put anything on the back burner that couldn’t be done today. Every day Kevin spent at the office was another day he thanked his lucky stars she’d answered his ad for an office manager two years before. His practice would be a mess without her. (80)
It’s not the worst thing ever written, but it’s also just not good. Anderson took 80 words to say what she could’ve said in 20, with more impact and more staying power. And don’t get me started on Janice being a potential love interest. Again don’t introduce someone and then not follow up with how it ended. WTF authors? Ooof and the lemonade colloquialism dragged through the story was PAINFUL—just no.
Recommendation: HARD PASS. And that has nothing to do with being tricked by the title having nothing to do with Jane Austen—it has everything to do with the mediocre story, lackluster writing, and annoying AF characters that never grow up. I’d rather have read a story written from the 4 and 5-year-old little girls’ perspective than this drivel, I mean the protagonists basically treated each other like toddlers who haven’t been socialized, and any growth they did show was lost in the mediocre story and writing. Needless to say, I will not finish reading the series.
Opening Line: “If Emma had a dollar for every time her life took an unexpected, not-so-great turn, she’d have enough money for a beachfront mansion in Maui.”
Closing Line: “He was the sugar in her lemonade. And because of him, and the man he was, life had never tasted so sweet.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)
Additional Quotes from Prejudice Meets Pride
“Maybe, she’d just taken a giant step sideways and was now on a different road, still heading forward but toward a far better destination.” (133)
“You don’t have to be strong all of the time, and it doesn’t make you less of a person to need help once in a while. Give and take is what life is all about, and sometimes you have to be the one to take so the other person can give. I want to do things for you because I care about you and enjoy helping you, not because I pity you or think you’re incapable. I wish you could see that.” (160)