ARC REVIEW Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal

Retelling of the classic Pride and Prejudice that takes place in modern day Pakistan. I really enjoyed this is a beautiful blend of Austin's story and a modern Pakistani family that fell from luxury and money to almost nothing. The lives of the Bennet and the Binat family run pretty much parallel with each other. I especially loved that Alys (Lizzy) loved Austin and would talk about her all the time. Alys and Jena (Jane) are English Lit. teachers at the local girls school, The British School of Dilipabad, and both looked down on because they haven't married yet. Mari, Qitty and Lady (Lydia) are pretty similar to their counterparts, Mari strict and overly religious, Qitty struggles with her weight and the constant reminder from everyone about how she would be prettier if she lost weight, and then there is Lady selfish, spoiled, crass, and wild. Mr and Mrs Binat aren't far off from the originals either.

Dealing with the social injustices the Binat's deal with aren't that different from the ones the Bennet's faced and Alys' feminist views and opinions are quite a bit more harsh than Lizzy's and I completely understand why Alys needed to be a bit more jaded than Lizzy. Kamal writes a more indepth family background for the Binat's but it also gives fuel to the fire when Wickaam feeds Alys his lies about Darsee. Mmmm Valentine Darsee, not only did he uphold the Darsy imagery as prideful, sexy, a good friend and brother he proved to be very intelligent and forward thinking. Alys and Darsee are able to talk about literature and a multitude of other topics even when Alys didn't like him she found he was easy to talk to.     

Overall, I really did love how this one played out and what Kamal did to the story to make it her own. It definitely shows that Jane Austen's works can be adapted to fit different cultures because of how relatable the characters and situations are. I enjoyed reading it because the similarities and the differences between the original and this one and I loved learning new things about a culture I knew nothing about before. It was easy to picture the beautiful Binat sisters in my mind and hear their voices in my head, which they all had British accents because apparently that's the default setting for accents in my brain. It was an excellent retelling of a classic story through the eyes of a different culture.   

ARC REVIEW The Girl from Summer Hill by Jude Deveraux

I have a new favorite Jude Deveraux book!

This is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice in the same manner that Kiss Me Kate is a retelling of Taming of the Shrew. If you haven't seen it or heard of it. It's a stage production of the original story but with a case of Life Imitating Art. A small town stage production of Pride and Prejudice, but the actors are put through situations and the events and their attitudes reflect that of the the original story. This is in Deveraux's Montgomery/Taggert universe but can be read apart from the other series and is the start of a new series Summer Hill. I love Jude Deveraux writing style, her writing is always humorous, sweet, romantic, and a bit of heartache. One little thing about the book I enjoyed was that instead of chapters it's Act and Scene, I thought that was neat. There is a lot going on in the book, if you know Pride and Prejudice this is very similar just updated and it's very well done.

Kit Montgomery has written a stage version of Pride and Prejudice. His idea is to get his newly discovered relative to Tate Landers to play Darcy, he just has to trick him into it. Tate's family home is in Summer Hill, his Mother had to sell the place before he was born and for his sister and his adorable niece he bought the place and fixed it up he never planned on staying there. But for his sister he will even if it means getting roped into playing Darcy. Casey Reddick was the head chef at a prestigious D.C. restaurant, but when her boyfriend left her she felt she needed to reevaluate her life, her mother suggested finally meeting her father and all eleven of her half siblings. (funny story that)

When Casey and Tate first meet it is hysterical. Casey, like Elizabeth, has an immediate dislike to the man. Tate is a famous actor and has been typecast as the brooding male role, he is use to woman falling at his feet and is intrigued with Casey who has nothing but disdain for him. Doesn't help matters that Tate's ex-brother-in-law has also been cast in the play as the part of Wickham, who in real like is the embodiment of Wickham and tries to sway Casey from Tate. You also have the side story of Jack and Gizzy aka Jane and Bingley and also that of Kit and Olivia and little Lydia.

Overall, I loved this book it was such a fun and sweet story with naked men and crazy peacocks.