Book review: Undressing Mr. Darcy - Karen Doornebos

 

Taking it off in the name of history…

Thirty-five-year-old American social media master Vanessa Roberts lives her thoroughly modern life with aplomb. So when her elderly Jane Austen–centric aunt needs her to take on the public relations for Julian Chancellor, a very private man from England who’s written a book calledMy Year as Mr. Darcy, Vanessa agrees. But she’s not “excessively diverted,” as Jane Austen would say.

Hardbound books, teacups, and quill pens fly in the face of her e-reader, coffee, and smartphone…

…Until she sees Julian take his tight breeches off for his Undressing Mr. Darcy show, an educational “striptease” down to his drawers to promote his book and help save his crumbling estate. The public relations expert suddenly realizes things have gotten…personal. But can this old-fashioned man claim her heart without so much as a GPS? It will take three festivals filled with Austen fans, a trip to England, an old frenemy, and a flirtatious pirate re-enactor to find out…

My opinion.

I'm a big Jane Austen fan - especially Pride and the Prejudice, so I really wanted to love this book. Sadly though, that's not the case. I didn't feel a connection with Vanessa or the other characters, nor did their relationships seem believable. There are so many brilliant Austen details in the book. Characters, quotes, events, descriptions, historical facts,... but it seems as though the actual story-line suffered because of it. I didn't find Vanessa's "attachment" to Mr. D or to Mr. C believable, and I was frustrated about her indecision. There were several moments when it seemed as though she had an "eureka" moment about her (love) life, but then she'd just fall in to old patterns, yet again. How Mr. C put up with her, I have no idea.
That being said, this is a thrill to read if your an Austen fan. You can, of course, read this book without having read/ watched any Jane Austen stories, but you'd miss out. And seriously, there's no excuse, everyone needs a little Austen. The first half of the book was so much fun: everything Jane! From cheesy fandom articles to (as I said) quotes and historical details... It was a joy to read. I wished I could dress up in Regency style and attend a ball myself! Since that's not going to happen, I'm treating myself to a Jane Austen marathon. Starting with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. I'm really sad I didn't like the second part of the book.

 

Thank you, Karen, for the giveaway opportunity

and sending me a signed copy of Undressing Mr. Darcy,

along with those fabulous door-hangers.

(... which now has a permanent place on my closet door)