Review: Liam Darcy, I Loathe You (The Jane Journals Book 1) by Heidi Jo Doxey

Tour Schedule

Liam Darcy, I Loathe You (The Jane Journals at Pemberley Prep Book 1) by Heidi Jo Doxey
Published: May 12th 2015 by Cedar Fort Publishing & Media,

Paperback, 192 pages

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

Source: I received a copy in exchange for an honest review

 

Description: Lizzie, Nila, Alice, Cate, Vivian, and Fiona- six girls about to begin a writing assignment that changes everything. From cute crushes to dances and dresses, they're recording it all, and so is their teacher. This modern makeover of Jane Austen's beloved novels follows your favorite stories in a high school setting. Perfect for new fans and devoted Austenites alike!

 

My Review:  I've read books before that are solely in letter format, but I haven't read one that is in journal format and written by several different characters. I was also expecting each installment in the series to be about a different Jane Austen novel, so I was confused at first when I couldn't figure out how characters fit into Pride and Prejudice, which is what I thought Book 1 was about. Once I realized that yes, indeed, all the characters from all of her novels are in one story, I was able to sit back and enjoy it.

 

Anne Elliot (of Persuasion) is an English teacher at Pemberley Prep and assigns her girls to write in a journal for school. We see the views of different events from several perspectives, which is a lot of fun. I love the similarities to the classics, but I also loved the modern spins just as much. There's a private boys' school just down the road and we get glimpses of some of those boys, through the eyes of the girls. There are a lot of characters to keep straight, especially when there are similar names (like Mary and Mary, Fred and Frank, Elizabeth and Lizzie, Elton and Edmund, etc), but after awhile, I had them down. I think. There is a list of who is who at the end.

 

Some of the characters were very silly or mysterious or fickle or mean, but that's the way Jane Austen wrote them and I felt they were true to who they were supposed to be. This is a fun, light-hearted spin-off and I enjoyed it very much.

 

Content: Nothing of note. Clean! 

  

Buy Links:

 

 

 About the Author:

Heidi Jo Doxey has written five books in the Tiny Talks series. She graduated from BYU with a BA in English and a minor in editing. When she’s not writing or reading, she loves riding her bike, going for walks, spending time with family and friends, and being outside. She currently lives in Utah, where she works in publishing, but she still calls the San Francisco Bay Area home. Heidi blogs at girlwithalltheanswers.blogspot.com.