Jessica Grey has created one of the most imaginative Jane
Austen-inspired stories I have ever come across. Kelsey Edmundson is an English major with a
major crush on Pride and Prejudice’s Mr. Darcy.
Her real-life love-life is nothing like Regency England. Her boyfriends all seem more “Wickhamy” than
Darcy-like. When she meets a
good-looking Australian named Mark at a night club, she can’t seem to say
anything right and ends up insulting him.
When he shows up at her house the next morning, she is still in her pajamas
with a hangover.
After agreeing
to hike with Mark and some friends, she falls asleep rereading her favourite novel
only to wake up as Georgiana Darcy just before Wickham proposes. In something similar to Groundhog Day, Kelsey
keeps messing up as Georgiana and has to relive the day over and over.
Without
adding spoilers, I have to say the Grey doesn’t stop there. This story continually surprised me with its
twists and turns. I loved all of the
pop-culture references and Regency details.
If you enjoy Jane Austen and the fan fiction which has been inspired by
her work, you do not want to miss this book.
I especially liked how Grey related things that happened to Kelsey in
Pride and Prejudice to what is happening in her regular life. Grey has a talent for dialogue and for making
fantasy seem possible. It would make a
lovely movie.