After being dragged to the 2005 movie Pride and Prejudice by her mother, sixteen-year-old Elizabeth’s life changes when Matthew Macfadyen’s Mr. Darcy appears on the screen. Lizzie falls hard and makes a promise to herself that she will settle for nothing less than her own Mr. Darcy. This ill-advised pledge threatens to ruin any chance of finding true love. During the six intervening years, she has refused to give any interested suitors a chance. They weren’t Mr. Darcy enough.
Coerced by her roommate, Elizabeth agrees to give the next interested guy ten dates before she dumps him. That guy is Chad, a kind and thoughtful science teacher and swim coach. While she’s dating Chad, her dream comes true in the form of a wealthy bookstore owner named Matt Dawson, who looks and acts like her Mr. Darcy. Of course she has to follow her dream. But as Elizabeth simultaneously dates a regular guy and the dazzling Mr. Dawson, she’s forced to re-evaluate what it was she loved about Mr. Darcy in the first place.
Karey White grew up in Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Missouri. She attended Ricks College and Brigham Young University. Her first novel, Gifted, was a Whitney Award Finalist.
She loves to travel, read, bake treats, and spend time with family and friends. She and her husband are the parents of four great children. She teaches summer creative writing courses to young people and is currently working on her next book.
squirm. “What?”
“I wish you’d look at yourself. You’re ruining your life with this stupid
obsession.”
rinsed my plate and put it in the dishwasher. I could feel Janessa’s eyes on me
the entire time, but I refused to look at her. “And just because I’m not
interested in this guy doesn’t mean my life is ruined.”
heels.
chance.”
them a chance because your mind’s already made up before you even go out.”
Janessa was practically reciting word for word what she’d said after my last
date. And the one before that.
different. Shake things up a little.” She smiled and did a little shimmy. I
refused to smile no matter how silly she looked.
school. You’re just afraid if you get to know a guy, you might like him. And
wouldn’t that be awful? Was Chad funny?”
my purse. Like a tiger leaping on her prey, Janessa pounced at the bowl on the
entry table and grabbed my car keys. “This isn’t funny, Janessa. I’m going to
be late for work.”
you toss him aside and I’ll give you your keys.”
can make a real decision. Instead of one based on a stupid movie.”
and I’ve got to go.”
we’ll talk about this later.” A little tussle ensued as I tried to rescue my
keys from her clutches. I almost had them when she darted to the bathroom and
shut the door hard and fast, locking it behind her. “This is real mature.”
you and I’m trying to save you from yourself.”
shrieky.
ten times.”
can move on. But you have to be nice to him and give him a reason to want to
ask you out again.”
him the old heave-ho.”
whining.
love.”
work five minutes late. I wasn’t sure which was worse—a ticket from a police
officer or a tongue-lashing from Delia.
my outstretched hand.
turned and headed down the hall. “Someday you’ll thank me,” she sang.
I was looking out at the line of waiting customers when he walked in. I gasped,
shut my thumb in my cash drawer, and then tried not to cry while Mr. Sandoval
from a hearing aid store asked me if I was okay.
transaction, I looked at him again. He was taller than anyone in the room. Of
course. His hair was dark and a little disheveled. It was hard to see from
where I was, but his eyes looked like they were blue. And best of all, he
didn’t smile. He looked gorgeously unpleasant and impatient. He looked around
the room and his eyes met mine. Still he didn’t smile. My heart was racing. He
looked perfect.
his teller. I went a little too fast with one customer and accidentally shorted
her a twenty dollar bill. I tried to concentrate as I corrected the
transaction. I slowed way down on the next customer, but just when I thought I
was finished and would be able to help him next, my customer asked me to break
a ten into change. He walked up to Courtney’s window while I counted out
nickels and dimes. Furious, I stomped my foot. Not too loudly but enough to
release a little of my frustration.
him to see if I could learn anything, but he hardly spoke. He gave a terse nod
when Courtney thanked him for coming in and turned on his heel and left. He had
excellent posture and a nice, confident stride.
before anyone else could step forward, I picked up the phone and dialed
Courtney’s extension. She glanced at her phone’s display and looked over at me
curiously.
“Who was
that?” I whispered when she picked up the receiver.
there are.”
I watched as Courtney picked up her last transaction slip.
Lizzie?”
him and Delia’s watching us. I’ve gotta go.”
Matthew Macfadyen. Dawson. It was pretty close to Darcy. The only way it could
be better is if his name was Fitzwilliam but I’d never met a Fitzwilliam in my
life.
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I made my WoW image on photobucket.
Kacii
I haven't used photobucket in a while, I need to do that again. Thanks for stopping by my WoW as well!
This reminds me a little of Austenland by Shannon Hale which I loved. I'm always interested in reading books based on Jane Austen so I will have to look for this when it is published.
That was what drew me towards being part of the book blast is that I do enjoy these types of Austen stories. Thanks for stopping by!
Oh Mr Darcy-making things difficult for real-life people for 200 years!
So true. 🙂