Blog Tour: Book Review of My Own Mr. Darcy by Karey White + Giveaway!

 

Today I am very happy to be a part of the My Own Mr. Darcy Blog Tour, hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer. I really loved this book, which just makes it all the more fun. :) After my review, there's a giveaway! Always exciting. :)

My Own Mr. Darcy

by Karey White

Genre: Romance / Contemporary / Pride and Prejudice Inspired

Ages: 14 and up 

I received an e-copy of this book as part of this tour in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Description:

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 Thoughts:

This book is the cutest thing since kittens. Seriously. It is one of the most adorable love stories I've ever read. It's kind of like a cupcake. A high-end one with daisies made of buttercream frosting on top (roses being too pretentious); sweet and light (but not too fluffy) and utterly delectable.

It is so easy to slip right into Elizabeth's skin; a reluctant teenager falling in love with Mr. Darcy for the first time. We can all sympathize with that, right? She takes it a step further, though, and becomes  infatuated with the Matthew Macfadyen version, from his voice to his manners, and decides that the love of her life must be exactly like him. Right down to the blue eyes and tousled hair. Somewhat unreasonable, but certainly understandable.

Then she meets Chad. He's cute and funny and considerate and - blonde. Down to earth. Not darkly handsome and aloof like Darcy, the man of her dreams. Clearly, he cannot be the love of her life...but she really likes him. Soon after, she meets Matt Dawson, a Matthew Macfadyen lookalike who owns a bookstore (wealthy, check), is a bit of a snob (check) and has a family that is certain to disapprove of her. It must be fate!

Or is it?

I really love Elizabeth as a person. She displays a wonderful sense of honor in her dealings with both Chad and Matt and refuses to let anyone change her. She won't let Matt walk all over her even though she thinks he's the answer to her dreams. I was rooting for Chad since almost the very beginning of the book, but I liked Matt a lot, too. He can be a pompous idiot, but all he needs is the right person to draw him out.

There are several details in this story that seemed almost designed to make me happy. Elizabeth's best friend Janessa and her boyfriend, Ben, dance in and out of the story with lovely echoes of Jane and Bingley in a way that made me smile. Elizabeth decorates a room in teal and orange, my favorite combination of colors. It's set in Oregon, my state, and shows all the quirkiness that makes Portland fun without going overboard. But that's just the icing on this delightful confection of a novel.

I love the theme of self-discovery, of learning that dreams can come true in unanticipated ways. I liked that there was never even a hint of sex; it was just pure, sweet romance. I will definitely be re-reading My Own Mr. Darcy, and if Ms. White ever decides to write a sequel I'll be at the front of the line to get it.

Rating System: Profanity, Sexuality and Violence

1 (mild) through 10 (extreme).

Profanity:

I don't remember any swearing, but I got so caught up in the story that I might have missed a couple of mild words...

Sexuality:

I give it a 1.10 for quite a bit of kissing.

Violence:

No violence.

*******

And now, a giveaway! Throughout the tour you can enter to win a $25 Amazon or PayPal gift card. If you are the lucky winner, I recommend you spend some of it on a copy of My Own Mr. Darcy. Just go here and enter on Rafflecopter. Giveaway ends Oct. 8th.

Author Karey White

Karey White grew up in Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Missouri. She attended Ricks College and Brigham Young University. Her first novel, Gifted, was a Whitney Award Finalist. She loves to travel, read, bake treats, and spend time with family and friends. She and her husband are the parents of four great children. She teaches summer creative writing courses to young people and is currently working on her next book.  

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Amazon * Barnes & Noble

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Good luck with the giveaway and enjoy the rest of the tour!

                Lieder Madchen