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Karen Doornebos

Auteur de Definitely Not Mr. Darcy

3 oeuvres 213 utilisateurs 11 critiques

Œuvres de Karen Doornebos

Definitely Not Mr. Darcy (2011) 147 exemplaires
Undressing Mr. Darcy (2013) 60 exemplaires
Rendezvous mit Mr Darcy: Roman (2013) 6 exemplaires

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Chloe, a divorced 39-year-old-mother from Chicago, decides to join an Austen-inspired reality show to win money (needed to boost her failing letterpress business and help with her legal expenses). She's always loved the era, but isn't prepared for the difficulties of living within its rules and doesn't expect to be on a dating reality TV show. The prize (the handsome Mr. Wrightman and a hundred thousand dollars) goes to the woman who wins his heart.

My thoughts: I read this looking for a light romantic "Austen misadventure", as it claimed to be, and I was not disappointed. It was a little slow at the beginning for me (I often debate whether to continue romances and only finish some novels I start), but picked up quickly. Chloe did indeed have a number of misadventures (but not as many as Bridget Jones), some due to real error, some due to tricks played on her, and some just human or rainy nature). I appreciated the challenges of staying within the time period (and yet having cameramen and ATVs around), the nasty feuds between women, the jabs at and challenges of reality TV, and references to Austen without trying to be an Austen imitation.

I think this book succeeds where many Austen imitators fail partly because Doornebos' characters are so clearly 21st- century people; there's no attempt to write like Austen. Doornebos uses the charm of Regency era and English manors, mixes it with people who don't belong there, and throws in the awkwardness of reality TV to create quite an entertaining story. (Hint: There are also some interesting male characters.)
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Signalé
Connie-D | 6 autres critiques | Sep 9, 2016 |
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. 4.5 stars

Jane Austin Fans are going to love this tribute book! Undressing Mr. Darcy is a modern day story about how one woman finds herself face to face with a modern Mr. Darcy, and drenched in the life and times of Jane Austin.

I cannot say enough good about this book! It was a fabulous read! It’s the story of a PR specialist that is so hooked to the social media world that she forgot to experience real life, let alone love. This is when Darcy walks in her life and her world changes.

But as we often find in the best stories, not all is what it seems. And such is the case with Mr. Darcy; sometimes your prince charming is disguised in swashbucklers and pirate boots. Vanessa soon finds herself with two men vying for her attention, not to mention she begins to discover why her Aunt spent some many years trying to convince her to give Jane Austin’s writing a chance. Once Vanessa catches the Jane Austin bug she actually surprises herself and enjoys what she learns and reads. Something which ends up changing and inspiring her to change some things in her life.

Undressing Mr. Darcy is a wonderful read, one that was sent to me non-digital and was definitely an unexpected pleasure to read. When I picked up this book I was expecting a romance centered around Mr. Darcy, this book is far more than and as a delight to read.
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Signalé
Terry_Mitchell | 3 autres critiques | Feb 20, 2015 |
"If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad."

Vanessa Roberts, Chicago PR maven and known Austen non-enthusiast is tasked by her aging aunt Ella to do what any Austen non-enthusiast might find unthinkable -plan for and host Darcy-esque Julian Chancellor's book tour and visit to the Jane Austen Society of North America, of which Aunt Ella is a founding member. When Julian, who is promoting his book My Year as Mr. Darcy in the hopes of garnering funds and support for the refurbishment of his ancestral home in Chawton, arrives it's all business for Vanessa...or is it? Top Julian and Vanessa's escalating chemistry with her aunt's late-in-life illness, a suitor from another time and genre, Vanessa's somewhat delayed discovery of Austen's appeal, and a journey across the pond and back, and you've got the set-up for what could be yet another great flirtation with Jane Austen.

In 2011, Karen Doornebos debuted on the literary scene with her sweet and none-too-raunchy Definitely Not Mr. Darcy which, in case anyone has missed my numerous mentions of it, I loved. I loved the way that Doornebos took on the romance novel without making it completely gratuitous. I loved how fresh the plot felt, even in the light of comparison with Shannon Hale's Austenland, Laurie Brown's What Would Jane Austen Do? and even Channel 4's "Regency House Party." As a sort-of follow-up to Definitely Not... (the two main characters show up in this one) it's hard to resist the urge to compare the two.

As you might guess from this title, Doornebos has stepped up the raunchy end of things with Undressing Mr. Darcy. Once again, there are two very attractive men vying for the affections of our new main character, and both seem to have their ducks in a row. Really, things couldn't be going greater for Vanessa, a woman whose childhood was difficult and whose adulthood has been mostly work, almost no play, and entirely rooted in a fear of commitment. All told, there are some great allusions to Austen's works in this book including, but not limited to, a sincere effort to draft Vanessa as a sort of Catherine/Marianne hybrid.

Julian Chancellor seems to be the answer to a question that Vanessa has been too-long afraid to ask herself. But where Definitely Not... succeeded, Undressing has unfortunately failed. The former maintained the strong narrative and the stronger protagonist. Chloe fell for the guy, but she didn't let the guy change who she was. Vanessa, unfortunately, is not as strong. Not only does she let Julian change her (don't worry, it's not forever) but, in the author giving in to the genre and giving us these raunchy gratuitous sex scenes (which have their place and time, but this wasn't really it), she has sacrificed the characterizations that we could have had.

As a result, many of the characters and plot points are somewhat juvenile and, frankly, shoddy. Sherry, as Vanessa's new friend, has zero development. Lexi's grind to a halt is too black and white, too easy. We're cheated out of so much. Julian's actions are explained away, but not truly explained. For a good portion of the book you think his backstory might be going in a completely different direction, and I'm fairly sure that this was unintentional. The worst of it, though, was the simple, basic, and unfair transformation of Vanessa from a non-enthusiast to an Janeite.

Yes, she's let the man get to her. That's plain and simple. Sure, she picks up the books and starts watching the movies. Great. All is as it should be. But then she starts wearing pink. And then she starts wearing floral skirts. And then she devolves from the savvy PR workaholic we know into an insipid swearing-on-Sanditon boy-crazy idiot. It would be enough for her to believe herself in love with the man. It would be enough for her to be Austen-hungry. It's a completely different thing to be equating a love of Austen with stupidity, which is what has happened here.

I know this is unintentional. I know that Karen Doornebos has a love for Jane Austen that few could match. That's the really frustrating part of this - I wanted it to be so much better. It could be so much better, because Doornebos' first book was so much better. Definitely Not Mr. Darcy is among my favorite books that I love to savor over and over. But I'm afraid its younger brother just isn't going to make the cut. I'm going to chalk this up to sophomore slump and look forward with anticipation to Doornebos' next effort.

www.theliterarygothamite.com
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½
1 voter
Signalé
laurscartelli | 3 autres critiques | Jul 19, 2014 |
Everyone has talked or gave hype about the book, but I guess I just couldn’t get into it. I am over 30% into the book, and I still can’t find myself to keep going. Maybe it wasn’t my time for this book, and I can try it again later.
One reason could be, I didn’t read Jane Austen novel “Pride and Prejudice” novel, so maybe next time I will start there with reading the book, and the “Definitely Not Mr. Darcy” (first book by Karen Doornebos).
However, the writing style is great! I just couldn’t get hooked into the storyline, but I am not saying you can’t.… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
wjbooks | 3 autres critiques | Jan 2, 2014 |

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Statistiques

Œuvres
3
Membres
213
Popularité
#104,444
Évaluation
½ 3.3
Critiques
11
ISBN
7
Langues
1

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