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Misguided Perceptions: Pride and Prejudice Reimagined
Darcie Fitzwilliam is an independent woman of good fortune, thanks to her career. Highly driven and ambitious, she is a heart surgeon operating (literally) in a man's world.
Darcie does not need a husband, but she might choose to take one, if the right man came along. The question is, would she recognise the 'right man' if he turned up on her doorstep?
Misguided Perceptions is a reimagined version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, one where the gender roles have been reversed, offering a fresh and entertaining take on the classic original.
Darcie does not need a husband, but she might choose to take one, if the right man came along. The question is, would she recognise the 'right man' if he turned up on her doorstep?
Misguided Perceptions is a reimagined version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, one where the gender roles have been reversed, offering a fresh and entertaining take on the classic original.
260 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 15, 2021
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3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 22, 2021
I wrote it and I'm very proud of it, so yes, I truly would give it 5 stars.
February 2, 2022
Where to start. I saw the cover. I loved it enough that I read the 'Look Inside' on Amazon. I thought it sounded interesting and decided to give it a go.
Eagerly I kept checking my mailbox for it to arrive. When it finally did I wanted to dive right in but I was in the middle of another book. Yesterday I finally was able to pick it up and today I finished it.
Now to add perspective, I work full-time, write my own books, and am trying to read and provide book recommendations for all of you, whoever all of you might be. Inside all of that, I have a family and a house to run. There isn't much time to dedicate to any one thing so something always has to suffer. In this case, everything but my day job took a back seat. That is how much I enjoyed this book.
Colleen C Moore stated on the back cover that it is "Pride and Prejudice, one where the gender roles have been switched." I have to be honest. I never read Pride and Prejudice and the movie - well, I watched about thirty minutes of it, if that, and turned it off. It bored me to death. Partly because I am not a fan of the actress. Not that she isn't talented, but not my cup of tea. My point is, I had nothing to go on but the words that lived inside the cover.
I picked up this book eager to get sucked into another world and guess what - I was sucked in. It was confusing to me because as much as I had to keep reading right from the very beginning, a part of me wanted to put it down. I will tell you why. First, there were so many characters right from the get-go. Some of the characters even had a nickname, making it a challenge to know who was who for a bit. The other issue I had was on occasion trying to figure out who was saying what. This didn't happen often, but it happened, and I found myself re-reading some of the dialogs again.
Alright, now on to what I loved. This is going to contradict everything I said above. I loved the world that opened up in this book. The number of characters could have been over the top if not written well, but in this book, they all had value and made the world Colleen wrote seem real. Well done! Everyone had a part and a story, and each story played into the main story.
Speaking of the main story. Darcie meets Craig and they are total opposites. Of course, you know how the story goes when this scenario comes up. It has been written a million times. So much so that it can be boring. This was NOT the case with this book. It was NOT boring at all. As I read the characters just kept growing and evolving. I found myself chuckling a few times especially at a line Craig says when he realizes his feelings at a wedding. I won't give it away. I will let you chuckle at it yourself when you get there. I also found a few moments in this book where I got goosebumps. It is important to me when I read that a book gives me goosebumps, makes me cry, or makes me laugh. It doesn't have to make me do all three, but the point is it needs to make me feel. I must connect with the characters, at least the main ones and I MUST feel something. This book didn't make me cry - not a bad thing - but it did give me the goosies, it did make me chuckle, and I did connect with more than the two main characters.
Do I recommend this book?
Yes! I enjoyed everything about this book. The pace of this book was perfect. It didn't race and it didn't drag.
I give this book 4/5
In closing this post, the opinions expressed above are just that - my opinion.
Eagerly I kept checking my mailbox for it to arrive. When it finally did I wanted to dive right in but I was in the middle of another book. Yesterday I finally was able to pick it up and today I finished it.
Now to add perspective, I work full-time, write my own books, and am trying to read and provide book recommendations for all of you, whoever all of you might be. Inside all of that, I have a family and a house to run. There isn't much time to dedicate to any one thing so something always has to suffer. In this case, everything but my day job took a back seat. That is how much I enjoyed this book.
Colleen C Moore stated on the back cover that it is "Pride and Prejudice, one where the gender roles have been switched." I have to be honest. I never read Pride and Prejudice and the movie - well, I watched about thirty minutes of it, if that, and turned it off. It bored me to death. Partly because I am not a fan of the actress. Not that she isn't talented, but not my cup of tea. My point is, I had nothing to go on but the words that lived inside the cover.
I picked up this book eager to get sucked into another world and guess what - I was sucked in. It was confusing to me because as much as I had to keep reading right from the very beginning, a part of me wanted to put it down. I will tell you why. First, there were so many characters right from the get-go. Some of the characters even had a nickname, making it a challenge to know who was who for a bit. The other issue I had was on occasion trying to figure out who was saying what. This didn't happen often, but it happened, and I found myself re-reading some of the dialogs again.
Alright, now on to what I loved. This is going to contradict everything I said above. I loved the world that opened up in this book. The number of characters could have been over the top if not written well, but in this book, they all had value and made the world Colleen wrote seem real. Well done! Everyone had a part and a story, and each story played into the main story.
Speaking of the main story. Darcie meets Craig and they are total opposites. Of course, you know how the story goes when this scenario comes up. It has been written a million times. So much so that it can be boring. This was NOT the case with this book. It was NOT boring at all. As I read the characters just kept growing and evolving. I found myself chuckling a few times especially at a line Craig says when he realizes his feelings at a wedding. I won't give it away. I will let you chuckle at it yourself when you get there. I also found a few moments in this book where I got goosebumps. It is important to me when I read that a book gives me goosebumps, makes me cry, or makes me laugh. It doesn't have to make me do all three, but the point is it needs to make me feel. I must connect with the characters, at least the main ones and I MUST feel something. This book didn't make me cry - not a bad thing - but it did give me the goosies, it did make me chuckle, and I did connect with more than the two main characters.
Do I recommend this book?
Yes! I enjoyed everything about this book. The pace of this book was perfect. It didn't race and it didn't drag.
I give this book 4/5
In closing this post, the opinions expressed above are just that - my opinion.
December 18, 2021
First impressions:
To quote myself: “When I first heard about this book, I felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Pride and Prejudice is a much-loved classic and one of my all time favourite books. I had decided 'not to go there', but curiosity got the better of me in the end. I didn't expect it to be any good, but I hoped I would be wrong about that. I was wrong about that. Apparently, I went in with a prejudiced frame of mind, much like Elizabeth.” This was what I wrote for my review of Eligible (The Austen Project no.4) by Curtis Sittenfeld. So, when I discovered Misguided Perceptions, I decided to give it a chance and to do so with an open mind.
I like the cover. It definitely drew me in and raised my expectations. (Oh boy!)
The upside:
Gosh! Where do I start?
Eligible is set in the United States and, although has a modern day setting, the male and female protagonists, and the romance, play out much like Austen's original. Misguided Perceptions is set in the UK and, although in essence the characters are very much the same as Austen's originals, the gender roles have been switched.
Although I agree that the original story can be set in any country, being British myself, I felt that having this story set in the UK provided the opportunity for the author to explore aspects of the original story with greater authenticity. Let me explain:
As well as being a great love story, P&P is very much a story about classism and gender inequality, presumably as Austen experienced them in her time. Britain's history and it's obsession with social class has resulted in a class structure that is different to that of other countries, and one that is very difficult to emulate (although, strangely, some have tried). For me, MP does a wonderful job of addressing the same British social class issues as the original - but adapting them for the 21st century, suggesting that although times have changed in some ways they haven't.
Darcie comes across very much like a modern female version of the original Mr Darcy. She experiences the same emotional journey when she meets and gets to know Craig Bennet, that is, mortification, followed by indignation, followed by realisation, followed by acceptance. I also recognised Elizabeth and Jane Bennet in the Bennet twins, Craig and Dean, and I found that even more interesting, as they both assume what is traditionally the role of 'the female character' of a romance novel - Craig in particular is pursued and sexually objectified in the same way, while female characters doing the pursing are the ones in control of the situation. He is 'walking in someone else's shoes' and experiencing what it feels like - in this case a woman's shoes. I found that very refreshing, and not something I have ever come across in a romance novel before.
There is an added bonus for readers who have read and are familiar with P&P, as Moore has done a nice job of adapting the plot for modern times - some of the scenes and dialogue seem to have been lifted from the original. Very nicely done, indeed!
The downside:
I gather this is the author's debut novel, and like most first novels it isn't perfect.
It contains a lot of dialogue, which I didn't mind, but is not for everyone. Also, unless you pay attention you may find it difficult to work out who is doing the talking in some scenarios.
I did have to suspend my disbelief because I am not entirely convinced that some aspects of this story are feasible. In particular, I am not convinced that the British class divide in the 21st century is as stark as is suggested in this novel. The pyramid is flatter than it once was. For example: When dining, do people still use different types of cutlery for each course? Maybe the Queen (?). I do see that the stark class divide works better for the story, so perhaps it is exaggeration for impact (?).
The verdict:
If you are a fan of P&P I would recommend you read this book. Even if you aren't familiar with the original, it's novelty alone makes it an interesting read. Misguided Perceptions is a treasure that I hope will not remain hidden.
To quote myself: “When I first heard about this book, I felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Pride and Prejudice is a much-loved classic and one of my all time favourite books. I had decided 'not to go there', but curiosity got the better of me in the end. I didn't expect it to be any good, but I hoped I would be wrong about that. I was wrong about that. Apparently, I went in with a prejudiced frame of mind, much like Elizabeth.” This was what I wrote for my review of Eligible (The Austen Project no.4) by Curtis Sittenfeld. So, when I discovered Misguided Perceptions, I decided to give it a chance and to do so with an open mind.
I like the cover. It definitely drew me in and raised my expectations. (Oh boy!)
The upside:
Gosh! Where do I start?
Eligible is set in the United States and, although has a modern day setting, the male and female protagonists, and the romance, play out much like Austen's original. Misguided Perceptions is set in the UK and, although in essence the characters are very much the same as Austen's originals, the gender roles have been switched.
Although I agree that the original story can be set in any country, being British myself, I felt that having this story set in the UK provided the opportunity for the author to explore aspects of the original story with greater authenticity. Let me explain:
As well as being a great love story, P&P is very much a story about classism and gender inequality, presumably as Austen experienced them in her time. Britain's history and it's obsession with social class has resulted in a class structure that is different to that of other countries, and one that is very difficult to emulate (although, strangely, some have tried). For me, MP does a wonderful job of addressing the same British social class issues as the original - but adapting them for the 21st century, suggesting that although times have changed in some ways they haven't.
Darcie comes across very much like a modern female version of the original Mr Darcy. She experiences the same emotional journey when she meets and gets to know Craig Bennet, that is, mortification, followed by indignation, followed by realisation, followed by acceptance. I also recognised Elizabeth and Jane Bennet in the Bennet twins, Craig and Dean, and I found that even more interesting, as they both assume what is traditionally the role of 'the female character' of a romance novel - Craig in particular is pursued and sexually objectified in the same way, while female characters doing the pursing are the ones in control of the situation. He is 'walking in someone else's shoes' and experiencing what it feels like - in this case a woman's shoes. I found that very refreshing, and not something I have ever come across in a romance novel before.
There is an added bonus for readers who have read and are familiar with P&P, as Moore has done a nice job of adapting the plot for modern times - some of the scenes and dialogue seem to have been lifted from the original. Very nicely done, indeed!
The downside:
I gather this is the author's debut novel, and like most first novels it isn't perfect.
It contains a lot of dialogue, which I didn't mind, but is not for everyone. Also, unless you pay attention you may find it difficult to work out who is doing the talking in some scenarios.
I did have to suspend my disbelief because I am not entirely convinced that some aspects of this story are feasible. In particular, I am not convinced that the British class divide in the 21st century is as stark as is suggested in this novel. The pyramid is flatter than it once was. For example: When dining, do people still use different types of cutlery for each course? Maybe the Queen (?). I do see that the stark class divide works better for the story, so perhaps it is exaggeration for impact (?).
The verdict:
If you are a fan of P&P I would recommend you read this book. Even if you aren't familiar with the original, it's novelty alone makes it an interesting read. Misguided Perceptions is a treasure that I hope will not remain hidden.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews