Twelve Dates with Gentlemen Friends
In this reimagining, Jane, Elizabeth, and Mary Baker, along with their dear friend Charlotte Perth, who are named after daughters depicted in Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, work at a suburban middle school. While their lives are fulfilling, these self-proclaimed wallflowers are looking for a little joie de vivre. Elizabeth is challenged with the task of forcing them out of their ordinary, single-gal routines for the summer.
An idea sparks when Elizabeth again sees William Darcy Godfrey behind her in line at the coffee shop, and unbeknownst to her, she sets her group of girls up with four of New York society’s most eligible bachelors for twelve dates. The women intend to use this opportunity to overcome their most hard-to-break habits, seemingly inherited from the characters for whom they were named. The men, feeling the ticking of their own biological clocks, are hoping these ladies are the ones they have been searching for. Will our quartet of women take a chance on love that they believed was only to be found in books, or will they let it pass them by?
One warning, two cautions, and two notes:
WARNING: The characters of Pride and Prejudice found within this tale are not without some of the traits of those in canon yet have modern concerns. Many of these preoccupations, too, are not unlike those that beleaguered our heroines of yore. Their hearts long for the kind of love their namesakes also sought in The Novel, but they know that life is not a fairytale.
CAUTION: While writing the group chat/text messages in this reimagining, I took the liberty of adding punctuation to close their texts despite my daughter’s assurances that no one cares about punctuation anymore (oh, the horror). There is ample proof that this is definitely NOT the case for the current generation of JAFF readers.
CAUTION: As this is a modern reimagining, profanity is not so sparingly used by either the ladies or the gentlemen. Given the circumstances of their lives, however, all of the characters often work around the more profane words.
NOTE from the author: This book has a detailed setup and a plethora of conversations, with the hope that those who enjoy modern JAFF feel like Elizabeth and Darcy are only a text away.
NOTE from the author: This reimagining is not a tale that would happen to just anybody. It is fictional and fantastical in nature, but is, perhaps, slightly more plausible than the tale of the daughter of a minor country squire being twice proposed to by a man at the highest levels of society in the Regency era.
Reviews
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
very entertaining
The heroes and the romances were a bit fairytale-esque and unrealistic, but what a delightful read. The group texts were hilarious, the progression of the relationships was swoon worthy. I very much enjoyed this book.
Susan P
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was a lot of fun. The premise was unique, and the "sisters" were all women I feel I could be friends with. The men, on the other hand, were walking dreams. The angst level is pretty low, and the misunderstandings are resolved relatively quickly. This is a great summertime read, perfect for a relaxing day. I highly recommend it, and hope the author has more for us.
-Robin G.