Review: The Trials of the Honorable F. Darcy

Summary: A sexy, bold adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice that re-paints favorite characters in twenty-first century colors.

Judge Fitzwilliam Darcy, a legal expert on both sides of the Atlantic, is ready to hang up his black robe and return to the life of a country gentleman—until he meets Elizabeth Bennet, a fresh-faced attorney with a hectic schedule and no time for the sexy but haughty judge.

Tempers and sparks fly in Judge Darcy's courtroom— and outside, in a series of chance encounters that give each of them pause—as the two match wits and try to fight their overwhelming attraction. When they meet up in England at an international law conference, they embark on a hot, heavy affair. Back in the States, though, ethical considerations intrude, and each is subjected to a torturous period of soul-searching before they can find their way back to each other... -- Sourcebooks

Lately, I've been reading a lot of current day takes on Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE -- it probably has something to do with wanting to complete the Everything Austen Challenge! So when the opportunity came to receive THE TRIALS OF THE HONORABLE F. DARCY by Sara Angelini, I jumped at the chance. I thought the basic premise of this book sounded too cute -- a modern day re-telling of the P&P story. Even the characters in the story all had the same names. I have recently read quite a few modern day stories based on P&P; however, the re-telling angle made it especially appealing to me.

Probably the next thing that really attracted me to this novel was the cover -- I absolutely love it! I am dying to have the pink suit that the cover model is wearing, but that probably doesn't come as a surprise for you considering that even my blog is pink. I not only love how the woman on the cover looks with her chic suit and adorable suitcase, but I also like that her background shows an old English estate. It's just the perfect cover for this book!

When I started reading THE TRIALS OF THE HONORABLE F. DARCY, I was expecting a cute, light read -- very chick-litish -- with lots of romance. And, it was. for the most part. What I wasn't expecting was a book that was full of very hot love scenes. I don't read a lot of romance-type books, so maybe this is the norm; however, I was a little shocked by all of the details and descriptions (I guess I might be a prude.) I am not saying any of this as a criticism of the book because I am one of the least likely people to be able to judge a book's sex scenes. All I'm saying is that it was a pretty erotic book, and I'm just putting that out there for potential readers.

I have to admit that I did end up kind of skimming a lot of the love scenes because that's just not my thing. Once I got past all of the"graphic descriptions" and "dirty talk," I did enjoy the characters and the story. I appreciated how the author gave the characters in this new version many of the same traits as their P&P counterparts. And, I liked how she tied the original scenes in Austen's version to current day events in San Francisco.

I also really enjoyed the characters of Darcy and Elizabeth, and the romantic in me definitely wanted them to end up together! Although since it is a re-telling of a story, the reader already pretty much knows the ending. I especially liked Darcy and the modern-day version of his character will appeal to many female readers (just the the "original" one.) I also enjoyed that some of the scenes took place in a courtroom -- Elizabeth was an attorney and Darcy was a judge; and the author's experience as a lawyer came through in the cases and dialogue between the characters.

I recommend THE TRIALS OF THE HONORABLE F. DARCY to fans of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE albeit with a few warnings. I enjoyed the modern-day take on the story, but purists might find themselves blushing as they read this book.

Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book.