Book Review and Giveaway: Mr. Darcy Goes Overboard by Belinda Roberts

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a yacht must be in want of a female crew...

The balmy seaside resort town of Salcombe boasts the best in bikinis, sandcastle contests, and a fiercely competitive squad of buff local lifeguards as Regatta Week approaches. And if that weren't enough excitement, Mrs Bennet hears that the splendid villa Netherpollock has been rented by a young man of great fortune. She is determined he'll go out with one of her daughters, until Mr Darcy glides in on his stunning yacht Pemberley and she decides he would be the better catch...

Jane Austen has never been so hilariously recreated as in this modern seaside retelling of Pride and Prejudice, complete with a Mr Darcy you won't soon forget!

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Going on vacation this weekend?  Or maybe in this economy, perhaps you’re choosing a “staycation”?  Regardless of how you choose to spend some free time this summer, if you’re looking for a fun book to read while on a road trip, sitting by the pool or lounging on deck, you may want to consider Mr. Darcy Goes Overboard by Belinda Roberts.  For Pride and Prejudice fans who aren’t opposed to having a little fun with the original plot and characters, this short novel provides a fun diversion and delightful story.

Set in the seaside town of Salcombe, Overboard features all the main players in the Pride and Prejudice tale, but with some modern twists and embellishments.  In the case of the titular Mr. Darcy, he is indeed the master of Pemberley, only this time it’s presented as a yacht rather than an estate.  Lady Catherine now has the surname de Brrr and dons garish clothing, but she still retains her wealth, ridiculous self-importance and delusion over her nephew’s future with her daughter.  Bingley is delightful and romantic as ever, but is a bit more of a surfer dude in his manner.  Lydia is unbelievable as always, swinging from extremes never before seen in the Austenesque novels that I have read.  And Lizzie still enjoys the outdoors, however she now goes for jaunts in and on the water instead of walks across the countryside.

While Mr. Darcy Goes Oveboard was a fun read, it’s important to keep in mind that one cannot take a purist’s stance in regard to the characters or writing here.  The dialog sometimes sounds like it’s directly from Regency England one moment, and then in another characters sound like they’re from the Valley in 1983 southern California.  There are all sorts of holes and ridiculous choices in the plot, and it seemed that every other minute a character was falling down or into the water.  But I found that I wasn’t really concerned with this.  It’s just a fun read with characters that I love and with a general plot that has held up for generations.  To quote Roberts, “But who cared when such happiness abounded?  Who cared when two young people were caught in such a splendid, delightful, seaweedy entanglement of love?”*  And while that statement doesn’t hold up for every philosophy in life, it works for me in Mr. Darcy Goes Overboard.  It’s a charming, frothy tale with colorful characters we know and love, retaining the twists we expect but bringing humorous moments that we do not necessarily anticipate.  Climb aboard and enjoy this short little cruise; it will brighten your day and make you smile.  It is one can I definitely recommend—with alacrity!

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Mr. Darcy Goes Overboard Giveaway

Want to take the plunge?  I'd love to share my ARC with one of you!  It's a slim little volume that I think I can afford to ship out, at least to a winner on this continent anyway.  If you'd like to try to win my advance copy, here's what to do:

• Leave a comment below; this counts as your entry.
• Entries accepted until 11:59pm on Wednesday, July 20th
• The winner must supply a US or Canadian mailing address for prize shipment.
• Make sure at least one posted comment includes your email address. If you'd rather not have your email posted here, you may contact me directly to give me that information after you've entered here.
• I will compile the entries and the winner will be chosen by Random.org, so even one entry can make you a winner.
• Should you win, I will contact you on Thursday the 21st.  Please take measures to ensure that my email will make it past your spam filters, lest you miss my message. (CalicoCritic@gmail.com) You'll have 72 hours to respond before I pick another winner.
• More information on the giveaway policies can be found on the Contact / Policies page.

Bonus Entries

Please make note of all your bonus entries in your comment(s).  You may post separate comments or a single large comment.  Here are your bonus entry options:

• Follow The Calico Critic by clicking on the Google "Follow" button on my sidebar (old or new followers both get the bonus entry, just please let me know that you're following).

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• Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter.com; be sure to use an URL linking back to this blog posting in your tweet. You may do this as frequently as every 8 hours between now and July 20th at 11:59pm EST.  For each tweet, please come back and post the direct URL link to that specific tweet, not just your @Username.   Here's a sample tweet you can use:

@LHartness Calico Critic Giveaway "Mr. Darcy Goes Overboard" by Belinda Roberts http://bit.ly/DarcyOverboardGiveaway @Sourcebooks #PrideandPrejudice

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*Quotation taken from page 190 in the Uncorrected Advance Copy.  Text in the final edition may vary.