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Drive and Determination
In this modern day variation of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," Elyssa Barnett is an aspiring interior designer who clashes with William Denton, president of Pemberleo Coffee, at her sister Janet's wedding to Chad. Two years later, Elyssa and Will meet under tragic circumstances that she wholly blames him for and doesn't think she can ever forgive him. As she is unwittingly thrown into his presence, she discovers, much to her dismay, that he may have a heart afterall.
258 pages, Paperback
First published March 26, 2007
9 people are currently reading
284 people want to read
About the author
Kara Louise
20 books233 followersKara Louise has been writing "Pride and Prejudice" novels since 2001. She has published 8 novels, 2 that were published by Sourcebooks Publications. She was born in the San Fernando Valley, just north of Los Angeles, but moved to Kansas in 1991. She lives just outside Wichita with her husband, sharing their 10 acres with an ever changing menagerie of animals. They have one married son who lives in St. Louis..
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 18, 2015
I bought this book on 11/2/08 and have read it twice or more over the years. I found it to be quite the page turner. This is a modern take-off of our beloved P&P but the characters’ parallel to canon is easily recognizable due to not only their behaviors but also the similar names. Elizabeth, Jane, Darcy, Bingley, Lady Catherine, Aunt and Uncle Gardiner, Colonel Fitzwilliam and Georgina are represented along with perpetual bad boy, Wickham. Even friend, Charlotte, makes a cameo appearance.
Early in this story, Elyssa Barnett learns that Will Denton, best man (and Pemberleo Coffee boss) for her sister’s groom, Chad Blakely, has business commitments and can’t attend the wedding rehearsal. This brings up past bitter feelings about employers who are workaholics, as her beloved father died due to work-related stress. She regrets all the time he lost with his family due to demands from his boss. Elyssa immediately pins this moniker on Will. Then he announces at the rehearsal dinner that he is giving Chad a promotion but it means that he and his bride, Janet, must relocate to Guatemala. And to pin-the-tail on the donkey, of course, she overhears Will’s insult at the wedding reception that, “Hmmph. She’s tolerable I suppose. I find nothing noticeably striking about her.”
Several years past and the pair are brought together due to a tragic event which then brings Elyssa to Guatemala. Will shows up and they spend a week together off-and-on. While visiting some ruins Will overhears Elyssa sing, “I Will Wait for You” from "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” and takes the message to heart. (He has realized that he loves her but also knows her opinions about him.) Elyssa’s harsh opinion of Will begins to undergo some changes as she hears from the Pemberleo Coffee Company employees their opinions about Will and as she reads her sister’s journal. She meets Janet’s neighbor, Shelley Walker, Janet’s friend, Maria, and George Westham plus visits various sites that her sister has visited and loved. But the latter’s revelation that Will tried to persuade Chad not to marry Janet is the deciding factor! Elyssa flees to the airport but when Will shows up throws her harsh opinions in his face. (So this is your opinion of me.)
Elyssa’s new profession of Interior Design and her first contract brings her into close proximity with her Aunt and Uncle Garner and with the city of Chicago in which Will’s company is headquartered. Plus she also meets Gina, Will’s sister and learns how mistaken she is about a certain man’s slander of her brother. But is it too late and will he ever talk to her again?
There are so many romantic twists herein: bumper cars, a Ferris wheel, a rented movie theater, a porch swing, a painting over the fireplace, pictures on his office wall, a rain storm and a sandal that floats away. Then there is the time when she becomes sick from eating unwashed fruit and has to be nursed…by whom?
Elyssa keeps turning in circles with her viewpoints about Will. His character is so hard to make out. He uses manipulation to help him not only bring Elyssa into his area of the country but also to create other connections which he knows she will be furious about if she learns of these influences in her life.
This was a very satisfying story for one who can’t get enough of ODC. I recommend this, another great story by one of my favorite authors, Kara Louise.
PS. I had to download "I will wait for you" from iTunes to add it to my "favorites" collection.
Early in this story, Elyssa Barnett learns that Will Denton, best man (and Pemberleo Coffee boss) for her sister’s groom, Chad Blakely, has business commitments and can’t attend the wedding rehearsal. This brings up past bitter feelings about employers who are workaholics, as her beloved father died due to work-related stress. She regrets all the time he lost with his family due to demands from his boss. Elyssa immediately pins this moniker on Will. Then he announces at the rehearsal dinner that he is giving Chad a promotion but it means that he and his bride, Janet, must relocate to Guatemala. And to pin-the-tail on the donkey, of course, she overhears Will’s insult at the wedding reception that, “Hmmph. She’s tolerable I suppose. I find nothing noticeably striking about her.”
Several years past and the pair are brought together due to a tragic event which then brings Elyssa to Guatemala. Will shows up and they spend a week together off-and-on. While visiting some ruins Will overhears Elyssa sing, “I Will Wait for You” from "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” and takes the message to heart. (He has realized that he loves her but also knows her opinions about him.) Elyssa’s harsh opinion of Will begins to undergo some changes as she hears from the Pemberleo Coffee Company employees their opinions about Will and as she reads her sister’s journal. She meets Janet’s neighbor, Shelley Walker, Janet’s friend, Maria, and George Westham plus visits various sites that her sister has visited and loved. But the latter’s revelation that Will tried to persuade Chad not to marry Janet is the deciding factor! Elyssa flees to the airport but when Will shows up throws her harsh opinions in his face. (So this is your opinion of me.)
Elyssa’s new profession of Interior Design and her first contract brings her into close proximity with her Aunt and Uncle Garner and with the city of Chicago in which Will’s company is headquartered. Plus she also meets Gina, Will’s sister and learns how mistaken she is about a certain man’s slander of her brother. But is it too late and will he ever talk to her again?
There are so many romantic twists herein: bumper cars, a Ferris wheel, a rented movie theater, a porch swing, a painting over the fireplace, pictures on his office wall, a rain storm and a sandal that floats away. Then there is the time when she becomes sick from eating unwashed fruit and has to be nursed…by whom?
Elyssa keeps turning in circles with her viewpoints about Will. His character is so hard to make out. He uses manipulation to help him not only bring Elyssa into his area of the country but also to create other connections which he knows she will be furious about if she learns of these influences in her life.
This was a very satisfying story for one who can’t get enough of ODC. I recommend this, another great story by one of my favorite authors, Kara Louise.
PS. I had to download "I will wait for you" from iTunes to add it to my "favorites" collection.
August 28, 2009
First I must say that I loved this book. Of course it is not written in the style of Jane Austen but it was written with the same outline as Pride and Prejudice. I fell in love with all the characters and enjoyed seeing the parallels with Pride and Prejudice and it made you really think that there is such a thing as a modern day Pride and Prejudice.
The Scenario:
Elyssa Barlett has every reason in the world to think ill of Will Denton: at her sister's rehearsal dinner he announces that as President of Pemberleo Coffee he is sending his employee Charles Blakely to Guatemala, he insulted her beheind her back, and he is just about the coldest and most heartless person alive. When Will comes to Guatemala she still dislikes him and thinks him a workaholic and manipulative. She has disliked him for two years now. However, when they spend time together she finds it harder to remember the reasons she disliked him so much. Until that is, she learns of how he told Charles not to propose to her sister from her friend George Westham. She leaves Guatemala right away before hearing his side of the story. Will her heart ever change towards Will? What is the truth about George Westham? Will Elyssa stop being so prejudice towards Will? I am not going to give away any of these answers, I suggest you read it for yourself.
I realize that the story is not an exact parallel, Janet and Charles are married 10 pages into the book, Elyssa's father is dead, and it takes place in America. But it has its own story that captures you and draws you in. I read it in one day, I loved it so much!
The Scenario:
Elyssa Barlett has every reason in the world to think ill of Will Denton: at her sister's rehearsal dinner he announces that as President of Pemberleo Coffee he is sending his employee Charles Blakely to Guatemala, he insulted her beheind her back, and he is just about the coldest and most heartless person alive. When Will comes to Guatemala she still dislikes him and thinks him a workaholic and manipulative. She has disliked him for two years now. However, when they spend time together she finds it harder to remember the reasons she disliked him so much. Until that is, she learns of how he told Charles not to propose to her sister from her friend George Westham. She leaves Guatemala right away before hearing his side of the story. Will her heart ever change towards Will? What is the truth about George Westham? Will Elyssa stop being so prejudice towards Will? I am not going to give away any of these answers, I suggest you read it for yourself.
I realize that the story is not an exact parallel, Janet and Charles are married 10 pages into the book, Elyssa's father is dead, and it takes place in America. But it has its own story that captures you and draws you in. I read it in one day, I loved it so much!
March 24, 2023
Different
It had me crying from almost the beginning. Although in a modern setting, it keeps to the characters' personalities and traits. I loved the portray of Will! A most worthy read!
It had me crying from almost the beginning. Although in a modern setting, it keeps to the characters' personalities and traits. I loved the portray of Will! A most worthy read!
November 2, 2013
This is a modern version of Pride and Prejudice with some differences. The first noticeable one is that the characters names have changed somewhat, e.g. Elyssa Barnett instead of Elizabeth Bennet, William Denton instead of Fitzwilliam Darcy etc. the second change is a big change, with a tragedy happening very early on.
William Denton runs a successful coffee company which sources coffee beans from Guatemala. The company also has offices there, and Elyssa's brother in law, Chad gets promoted to work in Guatemala, taking his wife Janet along too. At their wedding, Elyssa meets William, and she's already heavily prejudiced against him, feeling that he is the type of boss that is insensitive to the needs and feelings of his employees. She's rude to him and then overhears him saying less than complimentary things about her so her dislike is very quickly established. Fast forward two years and the tragedy occurs. Elyssa unfairly puts all the blame squarely onto William's shoulders. She travels to Guatemala, where she meets George Westham, who finds her eager to have her mind poisoned against William. William learns that George is in contact with Elyssa. He knows that George is untrustworthy and Elyssa is feeling emotional and could be easy prey, so William follows her to Guatemala. He realises that he has feelings for Elyssa, and he knows that she has a lot of negative feeling towards him, but he is willing to work to improve her opinion of him, which is just as well, because there are other obstacles ahead of them.
It took me a little while to get into the book, because at the start Elyssa comes across as pretty immature and quite naive. She dislikes him even before she's met him, and on the basis of the behaviour of somebody else's boss, nothing that he has done at all. It's quite hard to see what William sees in her at first because there's not even a veneer of politeness over things, she quite obnoxious towards him! She does improve when she begins to spend more time with him, thankfully, although she is eager to always think the worst of the poor fella even though she is generally very trusting.
I warmed up to the characters after a while, especially once Elyssa stopped feeding her prejudice and started giving him a chance. There are a number of events and dialogue which refer back to Pride and Prejudice and it's fun to spot them, although sometimes the dialogue doesn't read as natural for a modern character and perhaps could have been updated.
It's a very sweet story, with some really romantic bits. If you like your romances with no sex scenes you will be safe with this one, there are no sex scenes at all, not even implied.
William Denton runs a successful coffee company which sources coffee beans from Guatemala. The company also has offices there, and Elyssa's brother in law, Chad gets promoted to work in Guatemala, taking his wife Janet along too. At their wedding, Elyssa meets William, and she's already heavily prejudiced against him, feeling that he is the type of boss that is insensitive to the needs and feelings of his employees. She's rude to him and then overhears him saying less than complimentary things about her so her dislike is very quickly established. Fast forward two years and the tragedy occurs. Elyssa unfairly puts all the blame squarely onto William's shoulders. She travels to Guatemala, where she meets George Westham, who finds her eager to have her mind poisoned against William. William learns that George is in contact with Elyssa. He knows that George is untrustworthy and Elyssa is feeling emotional and could be easy prey, so William follows her to Guatemala. He realises that he has feelings for Elyssa, and he knows that she has a lot of negative feeling towards him, but he is willing to work to improve her opinion of him, which is just as well, because there are other obstacles ahead of them.
It took me a little while to get into the book, because at the start Elyssa comes across as pretty immature and quite naive. She dislikes him even before she's met him, and on the basis of the behaviour of somebody else's boss, nothing that he has done at all. It's quite hard to see what William sees in her at first because there's not even a veneer of politeness over things, she quite obnoxious towards him! She does improve when she begins to spend more time with him, thankfully, although she is eager to always think the worst of the poor fella even though she is generally very trusting.
I warmed up to the characters after a while, especially once Elyssa stopped feeding her prejudice and started giving him a chance. There are a number of events and dialogue which refer back to Pride and Prejudice and it's fun to spot them, although sometimes the dialogue doesn't read as natural for a modern character and perhaps could have been updated.
It's a very sweet story, with some really romantic bits. If you like your romances with no sex scenes you will be safe with this one, there are no sex scenes at all, not even implied.
January 10, 2014
So, reading this book was like watching a chick-flick that had a very loose plot with a few okay actors that did an okay job, but nothing remarkable, let alone remember-able. It was "okay" to watch (read), but it didn't add anything to any part of my life. It was like flipping through the tv channels and nothing good is on so you just pick one and watch because you want to waste time and veg - you don't really care what you're watching - you just want to watch something.
I've really enjoyed Louise's other "Pride and Prejudice" spin-offs, so I was unpleasantly surprised to find how "blah" this one was. The story is set in modern times, and much of it felt really forced -- like she was trying TOO hard to parallel the original story. She also repeated herself over and over (and over), and that really annoys me. The characters didn't seem to have a real identity - they weren't their parallel "Pride and Prejudice" characters, and they weren't their own characters. They were a confusing mix of both, and it came across as really unbelievable to me.
I'll still probably read her other books because I really liked the first two I read, but this one was a dud. Too bad.
I've really enjoyed Louise's other "Pride and Prejudice" spin-offs, so I was unpleasantly surprised to find how "blah" this one was. The story is set in modern times, and much of it felt really forced -- like she was trying TOO hard to parallel the original story. She also repeated herself over and over (and over), and that really annoys me. The characters didn't seem to have a real identity - they weren't their parallel "Pride and Prejudice" characters, and they weren't their own characters. They were a confusing mix of both, and it came across as really unbelievable to me.
I'll still probably read her other books because I really liked the first two I read, but this one was a dud. Too bad.
December 2, 2012
Part of me feel like I am far too "hard" on modern versions of Pride and Prejudice, but another part of me feels like this one was more of attempt at having the classic story "fit" into modern times.
I had a harder time accepting Elyssa overcoming her very hard feelings for William within just one week. It seemed to be that William was always wonderful, and that it was Elyssa's "fault" for being so prejudiced against him. He didn't really seem to have any disdainful feelings towards her sphere or anything. I found that part to be very off-balance.
I liked it, overall, but I can name two if not three Kara Louise novels that I greatly prefer to this one.
I had a harder time accepting Elyssa overcoming her very hard feelings for William within just one week. It seemed to be that William was always wonderful, and that it was Elyssa's "fault" for being so prejudiced against him. He didn't really seem to have any disdainful feelings towards her sphere or anything. I found that part to be very off-balance.
I liked it, overall, but I can name two if not three Kara Louise novels that I greatly prefer to this one.
July 27, 2023
A very different and interesting modern setting of Pride and Prejudice
A solid 4.5*.
This story was well written with minimal errors and has been generally well edited. I did feel that the story dragged a little at the beginning but once it got going I really found myself immersed in the story. There was perhaps a little too much background on Guatemala but not enough to impact significantly.
The characterisation was interesting and thankfully the author did not attempt to squeeze everything from the original into this version. They only minor niggle I had is the change in character names. I prefer it if a modern variation is bold enough to use the original character names although I know this does not very often happen.
All in all a highly recommended modern read.
A solid 4.5*.
This story was well written with minimal errors and has been generally well edited. I did feel that the story dragged a little at the beginning but once it got going I really found myself immersed in the story. There was perhaps a little too much background on Guatemala but not enough to impact significantly.
The characterisation was interesting and thankfully the author did not attempt to squeeze everything from the original into this version. They only minor niggle I had is the change in character names. I prefer it if a modern variation is bold enough to use the original character names although I know this does not very often happen.
All in all a highly recommended modern read.
Read
December 26, 2023DNF because the dialogs didn’t sound natural and Elizabeth was stupid and annoying.
September 22, 2025
fun story, but I was put off by some of the dialog that seemed to force a more obvious connection to P&P. The tone and phrasing just didn't work in those passages.
November 4, 2011
I love modern retellings of Pride and Prejudice. While there are some differences in events between Louise’s novel and Austen’s it does not take away from the novel. I seriously could not put down this book and read it in a day! Louise’s spin on events is creative and captivating. From William’s ingenious way of handling Elyssa’s anger towards him to his oh-so-romantic proposal the reader is taken in and events seem to come full circle. One thing I love is when an author takes events at the beginning of the book and they are referenced or mirrored with events towards the end. Louise is great at this in all of her novels I have read thus far. The emotions I felt while reading Drive and Determination went right along with what the characters’. There were times I teared up, became exasperated, laughed, and swooned. Louise is also remarkable at creating sexual tension and romance between her two main characters all while keeping on their clothes and not at all indecent. This entire book was a delight! You really must read this book, especially if you loved Darcy’s Voyage like so many others have!
March 16, 2008
Drive and Determination is yet another in the ever growing list of modern day takes on . Of those that I have read this was definitely one of my favorites. Elyssa and Will, the "Elizabeth and Darcy" characters in this story, are likable and true to the nature of the originals they were based on. In fact, unlike other variations out there, the supporting characters in this story had their own spin, but were also pretty much how I would expect their modern day personalities to be. They did not disappoint.
This story starts off sad, but comes through in the end. I won't spoil the ending, but if you've read P & P you can probably guess what happens. The further I got in, the harder it was to put down. An enjoyable, easy and light read that I read recommend to my fellow P & P junkies. Also enjoyed Kara Louise's other variation, Pemberley's Promise. These books appear to be independently published and are impossible to find in stores, I had to order them from Amazon.
This story starts off sad, but comes through in the end. I won't spoil the ending, but if you've read P & P you can probably guess what happens. The further I got in, the harder it was to put down. An enjoyable, easy and light read that I read recommend to my fellow P & P junkies. Also enjoyed Kara Louise's other variation, Pemberley's Promise. These books appear to be independently published and are impossible to find in stores, I had to order them from Amazon.
January 7, 2014
So, chances are if you are considering reading this book it is because you like reading modern Jane Austen 'adaptations', as I do..
In 2013, I read 12 of them, and this is my second one in 2014, and I'm glad I found it.
To be fair, though, I love several things- among them: Jane Austen retellings (as stated above), and the country of Guatemala, which figures heavily into this book..oh, and my hubby loves, loves, loves coffee, particularly from Guatemala, so that could play into my rosy feelings for this book as well.
Where I live has experienced several days of -20F, so that could also play into my enjoyment of a P&P retelling in a more tropical locale :-)
However, if you are a fan of these types of books and are looking to chase away some winter blues, I recommend that you give this one a go! The story has been altered to a degree and several beloved characters are only in it briefly, or omitted, but I felt that the story was still enjoyable.
February 1, 2009
kara you had me at tragedy, tropical locals and torrential downpours - who doesn't love a good flash flood to rush passion in with. but then you lost me when you had eliza (i refuse to call her elyssa) win like top design or HGTV's next design star with her class project. huh? couldn't she have worked for it a bit, taken on other jobs with charlotte's sleazy L.A. friends first? weak segueway to get our pair together, in my opinion. i do recommend this over pemberley's promise, but really wish you could give the characters lives a bit more depth.
note to self: guess i will be self-assigning a cover redesign to this one as well > see my review on pemberley's promise
note to self: guess i will be self-assigning a cover redesign to this one as well > see my review on pemberley's promise
May 22, 2011
I really like Kara Louise, and she is definitely one of the better Jane Austen fan fiction writers. I purchased this a few years ago and since it was self-published, it was pricey. The writing was okay, not extraordinary. It helped me realized that while I enjoy JA fan fiction and all its variations, I really do not care for modern retellings. "Drive and Determination" is a present day Darcy/Elizabeth love story set in the backdrop of interior design and coffee. As in "Pemberleo Coffee". It just didn't work for me. Her other books were much more enjoyable.
March 29, 2011
Cute re-make of Pride and Prejudice for the twenty-first century. If you can't get enough of Darcy and Elizabeth I would recommend this book.
July 26, 2011
It took me a bit to get into this book. I do enjoy Kara Louise's books. This is a modern Pride and Prejudice and is a fun story
November 30, 2014
I really liked the story and I loved William Denton, he was such a sweet character. I didn't like some the obvious similarities that were pointed out in the book. It felt a bit silly to me.
March 6, 2016
A contemporary retelling of Pride and Prejudice.
May 31, 2011
A fun modern version of Pride and Prejudice.
January 16, 2018
Modern variation of Pride and prejudice. Sweet,romantic and a good level of angst.
ODC meet at the Bingley wedding and Elizabeth takes an instant dislike to the owner of Pemberleo coffee since he is promoting Bingley to a position in Guatemala. It doesn't help that he insults her at a party... The Bingleys dies in a car accident 2 years later and Elizabeth goes Guatemala to clear out their apartment. Wickham comes to her aid and Darcy sends him of to another place to protect her and stays to help her. But Wickham has something more up his sleeves...
ODC meet at the Bingley wedding and Elizabeth takes an instant dislike to the owner of Pemberleo coffee since he is promoting Bingley to a position in Guatemala. It doesn't help that he insults her at a party... The Bingleys dies in a car accident 2 years later and Elizabeth goes Guatemala to clear out their apartment. Wickham comes to her aid and Darcy sends him of to another place to protect her and stays to help her. But Wickham has something more up his sleeves...
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