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Emma + Elsie Meet Fitzwilliam Darcy
Emma Woodhouse is planning the wedding of the century for her practically-a-sister Annabeth Taylor—but when her relationship with the best man, Jace Knightley, comes into question, she worries that their bickering will ruin everything she’s worked so hard on… and change them both in the process.
Elsie Bennet intends to make a good impression on Rosebelle’s newest family, the Bingleys, but struggles when her family interferes. And then, there’s Fitz Darcy, who comes across cold, aloof, and at times, flat-out rude. He seems to have something against Elsie and the rest of the Bennets for reasons she can’t figure out…
What would happen if Emma Woodhouse and Elsie Bennet were best friends in modern times? Find out!
A modern retelling of Emma and Pride and Prejudice, Emma + Elsie Meet Fitzwilliam Darcy is the first book in the Emma + Elsie series, a New Adult contemporary romance collaboration by Maddy Raven and Monica Leonelle (recommended for adults 16+).
Elsie Bennet intends to make a good impression on Rosebelle’s newest family, the Bingleys, but struggles when her family interferes. And then, there’s Fitz Darcy, who comes across cold, aloof, and at times, flat-out rude. He seems to have something against Elsie and the rest of the Bennets for reasons she can’t figure out…
What would happen if Emma Woodhouse and Elsie Bennet were best friends in modern times? Find out!
A modern retelling of Emma and Pride and Prejudice, Emma + Elsie Meet Fitzwilliam Darcy is the first book in the Emma + Elsie series, a New Adult contemporary romance collaboration by Maddy Raven and Monica Leonelle (recommended for adults 16+).
121 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 7, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 20, 2015
Downloaded for free from Amazon.co.uk
What did I just read?
First I will just say that I haven’t read Pride and Prejudice or Emma prior to reading this, so I don’t know how similar the books are.
This book started out just dull, and boring, and I had to drag my way through it. It seemed to pick up again towards the middle, but then the ending. Oh dear me. Where did that sex scene come from? And, I’m sorry, but yuck. I can’t believe this pair randomly had sex in a garden after only just meeting each other, and the way it was written? Not a fan.
The foreplay – "He reached down to finger her."
The sex - "Feeling his bulge enter her."
Just not good.
What did I just read?
First I will just say that I haven’t read Pride and Prejudice or Emma prior to reading this, so I don’t know how similar the books are.
This book started out just dull, and boring, and I had to drag my way through it. It seemed to pick up again towards the middle, but then the ending. Oh dear me. Where did that sex scene come from? And, I’m sorry, but yuck. I can’t believe this pair randomly had sex in a garden after only just meeting each other, and the way it was written? Not a fan.
The foreplay – "He reached down to finger her."
The sex - "Feeling his bulge enter her."
Just not good.
March 31, 2015
Oh dear. What did I just read?
This novel comes in at about 120 pages and it has so many characters. I couldn't keep track of them all. I just couldn't.
I was confused right from the beginning because the first chapter had a lot of characters. They weren't introduced and unfortunately I never felt like I got to know them at all.
As far as the storyline goes, I can't help but laugh. This book ends with It made me question the whole premise of this book.
Now, I've never read Pride and Prejudice and Emma, but I'm familiar with the storyline in P&P. It wasn't hard to see this was a retelling; I mean, the title alone kind of gives that away. A lot of the names are from those two novels as well. It was a bit too obvious imo.
The writing style was fine, it was a quick and easy read, however, I think that the gossiping was too forced; no-one talks like that in the 21st century!
Overall this story just wasn't for me.
This novel comes in at about 120 pages and it has so many characters. I couldn't keep track of them all. I just couldn't.
I was confused right from the beginning because the first chapter had a lot of characters. They weren't introduced and unfortunately I never felt like I got to know them at all.
As far as the storyline goes, I can't help but laugh. This book ends with It made me question the whole premise of this book.
Now, I've never read Pride and Prejudice and Emma, but I'm familiar with the storyline in P&P. It wasn't hard to see this was a retelling; I mean, the title alone kind of gives that away. A lot of the names are from those two novels as well. It was a bit too obvious imo.
The writing style was fine, it was a quick and easy read, however, I think that the gossiping was too forced; no-one talks like that in the 21st century!
Overall this story just wasn't for me.
March 30, 2015
Rating 2.5
I can't say I am surprised with such low rating, I hadn't had high expectations after all
For a start, I am a fan of Jane Austen and I don't mind modernizing those Medival/Regency era novels. But doing these books needs careful writing and well-development of characters.
What I found in this was like a CW version of these classics. All gossip and giggles and not actual story. Judging by the title, I thought it's going to revolve heavely on Fitzwilliam Darcy. Guess what? nope. There was Jace Knightly and 'Chuck' Bengly and only a few scenes with Elsie and Darcy.
I don't know if this is going to be a series or not but it better be regardless of if I care about it in the future to pick it up.
The only saving grace for this book is Jace/Emma.. Their chapters were really interesting and intense. Another plus point, some characterization of the girls like Emma were spot on. Jane was just plain naive and not in a good or endearing way *lowers head in frustration*
I can't say I am surprised with such low rating, I hadn't had high expectations after all
For a start, I am a fan of Jane Austen and I don't mind modernizing those Medival/Regency era novels. But doing these books needs careful writing and well-development of characters.
What I found in this was like a CW version of these classics. All gossip and giggles and not actual story. Judging by the title, I thought it's going to revolve heavely on Fitzwilliam Darcy. Guess what? nope. There was Jace Knightly and 'Chuck' Bengly and only a few scenes with Elsie and Darcy.
I don't know if this is going to be a series or not but it better be regardless of if I care about it in the future to pick it up.
The only saving grace for this book is Jace/Emma.. Their chapters were really interesting and intense. Another plus point, some characterization of the girls like Emma were spot on. Jane was just plain naive and not in a good or endearing way *lowers head in frustration*
March 20, 2015
The premise of this book sounded like a fun retelling but I found it to be a weird mash-up of Emma and Pride & Prejudice and a confusing fusion of modern and olden day. The conversations between the characters felt contrived. I felt like you need to have an understanding of Austen's books before reading this otherwise you will be completely lost. This book fails as a stand-alone story because so many characters are mentioned but many not fleshed out (thus requiring what you know of Austen's story to fill in the gaps of their role). I didn't like that Mrs Bennett's view of her daughters having to marry into a rich family (instead of being successful in their own careers) still existed in this supposedly modern setting. The last chapters were out of place and I felt like it was ridiculing the shy and innocent Jane in P&P by making her the complete opposite out of the blue. I wouldn't have minded if the book developed this image from the beginning but it didn't. The only thing I liked was Emma and Jace Knightley's story.
1.5 stars
1.5 stars
March 20, 2015
My first one star rating. Ouch. This book deserves it in my opinion. I didn't find anything I liked even a little bit. It was boring and not entertaining. The title says it is about Emma and Elsie, but somehow Elsie's sister Jane became a main character. In the end there is some adult content thrown in, and it really looked as if they thought their book was already pretty bad, so they just put some very vivid adult content in there. I kind of got a Fifty Shades of Grey vibe (haven't read it, based on what my mother told me). It was just pointless and then you got bedroom scenes, which didn't make the book look like a whole.
March 20, 2015
I love Emma and Pride and Prejudice, but this was a painful book for me to read. The authors tried to put almost every character from either of these two novels (and even a few from Austen's other novels) in here and with most of the same situations. It just didn't work for me.
They gave the story a new setting (Louisiana) and tried to modernize it. the few things they changed to make it a more modern tale were not things I enjoyed. I don't think people who have not read Austen's novels would be able to follow it and most fans of her works probably wouldn't enjoy it. This just was not for me.
They gave the story a new setting (Louisiana) and tried to modernize it. the few things they changed to make it a more modern tale were not things I enjoyed. I don't think people who have not read Austen's novels would be able to follow it and most fans of her works probably wouldn't enjoy it. This just was not for me.
March 2, 2015
A really cute "new adult" story set in Louisiana. As a P&P fan I was a bit worried this was going to be a bit sacrilegious, being set in America and all, and it was actually a little bit touch and go for the first part, but once Bingley and Darcy appeared I really enjoyed it! I haven't actually read Emma but I got the drift of their story I think. I'm looking forward to future adventures from the gang before their (assumed) happy endings.
March 29, 2015
I have this book one star because I had to give it something.
It was dull. Period. I didn't care for Elsie or Emma. This could be because I'm not all that familiar with Austen's work other than Pride and Prejudice. I felt like this was a bunch of nothing and could have been wrapped up in half the pages.
There were to many characters for such a short book and they all ran together. The only one that stands out is Caroline and that's because she's a bitch.
It was dull. Period. I didn't care for Elsie or Emma. This could be because I'm not all that familiar with Austen's work other than Pride and Prejudice. I felt like this was a bunch of nothing and could have been wrapped up in half the pages.
There were to many characters for such a short book and they all ran together. The only one that stands out is Caroline and that's because she's a bitch.
June 12, 2015
1.5 stars.
Despite the fact that I really don't see Emma and Lizzie being friends, I thought that a modern mash-up of Austen's works could be fun. This book took the characters from both books and threw them into Louisiana post-Katrina. It was... something. (This review may contain spoilers. Although there really wasn't a point/main plot point to spoil.)
First: characters. I'm not surprised to see so many reviews talk about how many characters there are in this book. I mean, it literally took all of the characters from two books and threw them into one really short one, plus a few others. (There were mentions of Dashwoods and Crawfords which I saw as little winks to Jane Austen readers.) I could definitely see how people may get confused by them, and if I wasn't already familiar with all of them, I might have been, too. I'm not sure I liked any of them either. A lot of the characters seemed like caricatures of their sources. Mrs. Bennet was completely over the top and just painful to read. Emma is supposedly a recent high school graduate which makes her eighteen at most, and yet she has had a hand in making almost every business in their small town better? The owner of the local ice cream shop gave her a key to the place so she could go after hours because she helped him redecorate? Really? She spent three years helping a family friend start an organic-pick-your-own-food farm/restaurant which was already really successful. Because I know so many people that would trust a fourteen/fifteen year old with their livelihood. Elsie (Lizzie) was just blah. She was the most secondary protagonist I have ever read. Jane was a more developed character, and she doesn't even have her name on the cover. Speaking of Jane, I'm not sure what version of Pride and Prejudice the authors were reading, but mine didn't characterize Jane in a way that made me think she would sleep with a guy on the ground in a garden twelve hours after meeting him. And Caroline must have said a million times that her brother flirts with all of her friends. Bingley himself says that he flirts with all of Caroline's pretty friends which are "most of them." And somehow that is swoon-worthy to Jane, somehow it makes her think that they have a really deep connection. "Chuck" Bingley was obnoxious, and if Fitz Darcy wasn't named in the title I would have overlooked him as a background character. The only character that I even remotely enjoyed was Jace Knightley, and I'm not sure if that's because he was better written or was just not as much as a car wreck as the others.
Second: plot. The book took the plot of Emma and the plot of Pride and Prejudice and mashed them together to get... nothing. The entire book consists of Emma and Elsie talking about a wedding and how awesome Emma is, Emma driving to get pie and thinking about how awesome she is, Jane and Elsie and Caroline and Mrs. Bennet talk or something, a wedding where everyone talks about how awesome Emma is, Emma and Elsie eating ice cream, Jane and Bingley sleeping together. And yet, it manages to fill over a hundred pages.
Third: writing. There was too much telling instead of showing and way too much reliance on the fact that readers should already know these characters. There were several times where I had to wonder if the authors actually knew what words meant. For example, when Mrs. Bennet meets Caroline:
"Please do have my girls over, dear. We need to get my Jane in front of those handsome, rich young men."
...
"There's certainly a long summer's worth of events to look forward to," Caroline said in response to her mom's not-so-subtle and somewhat embarrassing hints.
I'm pretty sure the mom didn't hint at all. She just comes right out and says it. Repeatedly. But at least Elsie is only "somewhat" embarrassed by her. Me, on the other hand, well I was just over here dying of secondhand embarrassment for the characters and authors.
There are other little things that just bugged me more than they should have. Like Elsie saying that "her mom had a habit of bawling at weddings, so the box of tissues would not die in vain." I'm all for personification, but the box of tissues did no dying. Nothing happened to it at all.
Fourth: everything else. I dunno, there were things that this book did that just rubbed me the wrong way. I found myself getting way more annoyed at things than I would have from another book. For example, one of the authors plugged her other book series. Twice. Which normally I'm whatever with. If you want a character to read another of your books, go for it. This time, I did not want them to "go for it." I wanted them to focus on making the book at hand better instead of trying to market another one. And I'm pretty sure that there is not a single competent professional in the entire town because from the caterer to the photographer to the DJ, Emma was doing all of their jobs.
You probably won't get the full impact of the book without reading the source material, but if you've read the originals, I just can't see you liking this book very much. Read the originals and save yourself the headache.
Despite the fact that I really don't see Emma and Lizzie being friends, I thought that a modern mash-up of Austen's works could be fun. This book took the characters from both books and threw them into Louisiana post-Katrina. It was... something. (This review may contain spoilers. Although there really wasn't a point/main plot point to spoil.)
First: characters. I'm not surprised to see so many reviews talk about how many characters there are in this book. I mean, it literally took all of the characters from two books and threw them into one really short one, plus a few others. (There were mentions of Dashwoods and Crawfords which I saw as little winks to Jane Austen readers.) I could definitely see how people may get confused by them, and if I wasn't already familiar with all of them, I might have been, too. I'm not sure I liked any of them either. A lot of the characters seemed like caricatures of their sources. Mrs. Bennet was completely over the top and just painful to read. Emma is supposedly a recent high school graduate which makes her eighteen at most, and yet she has had a hand in making almost every business in their small town better? The owner of the local ice cream shop gave her a key to the place so she could go after hours because she helped him redecorate? Really? She spent three years helping a family friend start an organic-pick-your-own-food farm/restaurant which was already really successful. Because I know so many people that would trust a fourteen/fifteen year old with their livelihood. Elsie (Lizzie) was just blah. She was the most secondary protagonist I have ever read. Jane was a more developed character, and she doesn't even have her name on the cover. Speaking of Jane, I'm not sure what version of Pride and Prejudice the authors were reading, but mine didn't characterize Jane in a way that made me think she would sleep with a guy on the ground in a garden twelve hours after meeting him. And Caroline must have said a million times that her brother flirts with all of her friends. Bingley himself says that he flirts with all of Caroline's pretty friends which are "most of them." And somehow that is swoon-worthy to Jane, somehow it makes her think that they have a really deep connection. "Chuck" Bingley was obnoxious, and if Fitz Darcy wasn't named in the title I would have overlooked him as a background character. The only character that I even remotely enjoyed was Jace Knightley, and I'm not sure if that's because he was better written or was just not as much as a car wreck as the others.
Second: plot. The book took the plot of Emma and the plot of Pride and Prejudice and mashed them together to get... nothing. The entire book consists of Emma and Elsie talking about a wedding and how awesome Emma is, Emma driving to get pie and thinking about how awesome she is, Jane and Elsie and Caroline and Mrs. Bennet talk or something, a wedding where everyone talks about how awesome Emma is, Emma and Elsie eating ice cream, Jane and Bingley sleeping together. And yet, it manages to fill over a hundred pages.
Third: writing. There was too much telling instead of showing and way too much reliance on the fact that readers should already know these characters. There were several times where I had to wonder if the authors actually knew what words meant. For example, when Mrs. Bennet meets Caroline:
"Please do have my girls over, dear. We need to get my Jane in front of those handsome, rich young men."
...
"There's certainly a long summer's worth of events to look forward to," Caroline said in response to her mom's not-so-subtle and somewhat embarrassing hints.
I'm pretty sure the mom didn't hint at all. She just comes right out and says it. Repeatedly. But at least Elsie is only "somewhat" embarrassed by her. Me, on the other hand, well I was just over here dying of secondhand embarrassment for the characters and authors.
There are other little things that just bugged me more than they should have. Like Elsie saying that "her mom had a habit of bawling at weddings, so the box of tissues would not die in vain." I'm all for personification, but the box of tissues did no dying. Nothing happened to it at all.
Fourth: everything else. I dunno, there were things that this book did that just rubbed me the wrong way. I found myself getting way more annoyed at things than I would have from another book. For example, one of the authors plugged her other book series. Twice. Which normally I'm whatever with. If you want a character to read another of your books, go for it. This time, I did not want them to "go for it." I wanted them to focus on making the book at hand better instead of trying to market another one. And I'm pretty sure that there is not a single competent professional in the entire town because from the caterer to the photographer to the DJ, Emma was doing all of their jobs.
You probably won't get the full impact of the book without reading the source material, but if you've read the originals, I just can't see you liking this book very much. Read the originals and save yourself the headache.
June 27, 2015
I wanted to like this book, because in theory, Jane Austen modernizations are never bad. Or never a bad idea. Or something like that.
Maybe I'm just tired of Jane Austen these days, but I did not like this book. Rather, I did not care about this book.
It was okay — yes, there are a lot of characters, as there often is in an Austen novel. Add in the fact that Emma + Elsie Meet Fitzwilliam Darcy combines Pride and Prejudice with Emma and you've got a LOT of characters. But anyone familiar with Austen's original stories won't have trouble keeping them straight. The plots of both original novels are condensed to fit in this relatively short book (if I remembered the technical requirements for a novella, I might say it's one here). But while there is a follow up to continue the story, I don't know if I care enough to read it.
Knowing the original stories makes me feel as if I already know the ending and have no reason to keep reading. Were I more attached to these characters, or there was enough of a difference or twist, I might read on, but the only major difference has to do with Jane's characterization and I am not a fan.
What this book does with Jane just feels off. Part of it is the seemingly rushed ending; while the whole book moves at a fast pace to get through enough of both the P&P and Emma storyline, the end bit with Jane takes off ten times faster, which makes what actually happens feel, well, not right. Not right at all. That and the fact that the end already reads like smut to begin with.
It's not horrible, but it's not for me.
Maybe I'm just tired of Jane Austen these days, but I did not like this book. Rather, I did not care about this book.
It was okay — yes, there are a lot of characters, as there often is in an Austen novel. Add in the fact that Emma + Elsie Meet Fitzwilliam Darcy combines Pride and Prejudice with Emma and you've got a LOT of characters. But anyone familiar with Austen's original stories won't have trouble keeping them straight. The plots of both original novels are condensed to fit in this relatively short book (if I remembered the technical requirements for a novella, I might say it's one here). But while there is a follow up to continue the story, I don't know if I care enough to read it.
Knowing the original stories makes me feel as if I already know the ending and have no reason to keep reading. Were I more attached to these characters, or there was enough of a difference or twist, I might read on, but the only major difference has to do with Jane's characterization and I am not a fan.
What this book does with Jane just feels off. Part of it is the seemingly rushed ending; while the whole book moves at a fast pace to get through enough of both the P&P and Emma storyline, the end bit with Jane takes off ten times faster, which makes what actually happens feel, well, not right. Not right at all. That and the fact that the end already reads like smut to begin with.
It's not horrible, but it's not for me.
March 28, 2015
Good reading
I really enjoyed this modern tale that has mixed two of Jane Austen most beloved characters. Emma and Elizabeth would really be good friends. I'm a little surprised at Jane and Bingley , at least they used protection and Elizabeth ..Elizabeth has a head and she's smart why would she let Darcy get to her and upset her so much. Jace on the other hand need to go for what he wants and Emma will soon follow... Starting on book two tonight
I really enjoyed this modern tale that has mixed two of Jane Austen most beloved characters. Emma and Elizabeth would really be good friends. I'm a little surprised at Jane and Bingley , at least they used protection and Elizabeth ..Elizabeth has a head and she's smart why would she let Darcy get to her and upset her so much. Jace on the other hand need to go for what he wants and Emma will soon follow... Starting on book two tonight
March 9, 2015
Ok so I really enjoyed the was the story was going - I was a bit surprised by what happened at the end of this installments and by how short the story was - I will read more though it was fun.
(eBook).
(eBook).
January 19, 2016
This book is like Mrs. Bennet..
An embarrassment.
I've read many adaptations of our beloved Jane Austin's characters.. Some were really great.. Some were barely hanging by a thread.. This one is just a poorly executed fanfiction that could have done with a lot more cooking. A whole lot more.
An embarrassment.
I've read many adaptations of our beloved Jane Austin's characters.. Some were really great.. Some were barely hanging by a thread.. This one is just a poorly executed fanfiction that could have done with a lot more cooking. A whole lot more.
Read
March 25, 2015A very unique modern crossover of some of Jane Austen's work! I liked getting to see all of the characters interact with each other. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
March 22, 2015
rubbish.
June 11, 2015
Meh. It's a different take on p&p but at the same time it ends on a cliffhanger & it felt choppy at times. I would read the others though
September 7, 2015
Free for Kindle. Characters not at all consistent with Austen's. And...Jane Bennet! :-x
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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