Monday, March 24, 2014

Definitely Maybe in Love by Ophelia London ~ Review

Source: Purchased eBook

Spring Honeycutt wants two things: to ace her sustainable living thesis and to save the environment. Both seem hopelessly unobtainable until her college professor suggests that with a new angle, her paper could be published. Spring swears she’ll do whatever it takes to ensure that happens.

“Whatever it takes,” however, means forming a partnership with the very hot, very privileged, very conceited Henry Knightly.

Henry is Spring's only hope at publication, but he's also the über-rich son of a land developer and cash-strapped Spring’s polar opposite. Too bad she can't help being attracted to the way he pushes her buttons, both politically and physically. As they work on her thesis, Spring finds there's more to Henry than his old money and argyle sweaters…but can she drop the loud-and-proud act long enough to let him in? Suddenly, choosing between what she wants and what she needs puts Spring at odds with everything she believes in.

Definitely, Maybe in Love is a modern take on Pride and Prejudice that proves true love is worth risking a little pride.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18114819-definitely-maybe-in-love

Currently only 99¢
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FIL6S7Uhttp://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/definitely-maybe-in-love-ophelia-london/1117003657?ean=9781622661831

My Thoughts:




3 stars - I really wanted to like this one

First Impression...


I totally love Pride and Prejudice.  I love re-tellings of that book.  I've read this author before and loved that book.  I love the cover.  The blurb sounds so fun. I was ready to love it.

The Characters...


Spring. I don't like her.  I mean I really don't like her.  She's decided to make her self over into someone who is concerned about the environment and animal rights so that she can be taken seriously but in doing so she has become closed minded and judgmental.  Besides I don't think it had the "taken seriously" effect she was hoping for.  The one thing she did that hit my hot button the most was that she refused to listen to music by male artists.  I really can't deal with women like that.  It's one thing to be a strong and self-sufficient women but quite another to man-bash.   By 20% I wanted to stop because I couldn't take her anymore.  But then I looked at all the reviews.  So many people love this book.  I had to keep reading.  By 40% she was little more tolerable and a reading friend suggested I look for her good qualities.  That got me to 60% and by then she had chilled enough that I could finish the book.

Now Henry was a different story.  In the original Pride and Prejudice, it was Mr. Darcy I really didn't like and Elizabeth I liked from the beginning.  For this one it was the opposite.  At first, we don't get much about Henry and that could have been part of my issues with the book.  Once we do start to learn about him, it's clear that Spring has him all wrong.  Little tidbits make it clear he is misrepresented and not the evil guy Spring things he is.  He was a reason I kept reading.  I wanted to know more about him and, frankly, to see what he would do next.  He put up with Springs unfair representation of him waiting patiently for her to figure that out.  I respected that.

The Story...

I get the point of this story.  Same as Pride and Prejudice.  I loved P&P but I really struggled with this one.  I finally decided that it was the modern issues that were the problem for me.  I encounter people who judge and look down their condescending noses because others don't think they way they do.  It really is an issue for me.  People are a product of their choices and their experiences but we are all people.  I don't deal well with people who choose something and then judge others for not making the same choice.  It never bothered me in Pride and Prejudice because I was far removed from the issues of that day.  Here, not so much.

I think if I could have overcame my anger at Spring for her pride and prejudice I might have enjoyed this one more.  I do think it's a brilliant way to modernize the story even if it hit some of my personal buttons.

Could I Put It Down...

Yes. I had to talk myself into picking it back up.  I had to promise myself something I really wanted to read as soon as I finished this one.
 

In The End...


A lot of people love this book and I think if Pride and Prejudice is a favorite than this is a must read.  But for me, I just struggled too much with Spring's closed mindedness to enjoy the story.  In the end, I decided on 3 stars because I ended up liking the second half of the book. 


About the author:

Ophelia London was born and raised among the redwood trees in beautiful northern California. Once she was fully educated, she decided to settle in Florida, but her car broke down in Texas and she's lived in Dallas ever since. A cupcake and treadmill aficionado (obviously those things are connected), she spends her time watching arthouse movies and impossibly trashy TV, while living vicariously through the characters in the books she writes. Ophelia is the author of DEFINITELY, MAYBE IN LOVE, ABBY ROAD, the Perfect Kisses series including: FALLING FOR HER SOLDIER, PLAYING AT LOVE, and SPEAKING OF LOVE. Visit her at www.ophelialondon.com. But don't call when The Vampire Diaries is on. 



6 comments:

  1. I have heard very mixed things about this book so I really don't know if I want to pick it up or not. I love Pride & Prejudice but I really don't know if I would like it re-told. Thanks for the honest review.

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  2. Spring was the most frustrating character ever! Her refusal to listen to male artists was just one of the many complaints I had about her. I'm glad you ended up liking this one though. I just couldn't since as someone who also majored in Environmental Science, I had a hard time with Spring's environmentalist act.

    Angie @ Pinkindle

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  3. This is a great review! I adore P&P too, and totally get what you're saying as far as the modern issues making it more difficult for you.

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  4. Wow, that was a great and thorough review. I contemplated picking this one up and now I'm not sure. Spring sounds like the type that will have me grinding my teeth throughout the book and I so do not like that about reading. P&P is a great story but told in a modern fashion might not work for me either. It just sounds too....unbelievable in this time and age, but then look at this world, people are still doing stupid stuff.

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  5. Not liking a main character is a big turn off for me. Spring sounds a little frustrating and not relatable. I think I'll stay away from this one.
    Bethzaida @ Bookittyblog

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  6. Great Review Val! I'm a big fan of Pride & Prejudice, but wasn't a big fan of this book either. Spring also frustrated me in this story with the way she acted! I loved Henry also! He was my favorite aspect of the story!

    Lindy@ A Bookish Escape

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