Pride, Prejudice and Cheese Grits (Jane Austen Takes the South)

Remarkable 5-Star RomancePride, Prejudice, and Cheese Grits(Austen Takes the South)Mary Jane HathawayKindle Edition -267 pagesDon't get me wrong! This is a wonderful, fun filled, witty, romance! I even can't wait to read the next book in the series. However, in the interest of honest disclosure, I feel it necessary to first mention the title:To begin with I think this title is a great example why editors don't let writers choose their own titles. Let's look at some of the expectations that this title could create in the reader's mind - as it did in mine.1. Is Jane Austen a character in this book?(A) as a real person living in her own time, as Jane Austen is a character in Stephanie Barron's mysteries? No.(B) as a contemporary character like Sherlock Holmes is in the tv show, "Elementary"? No.2. Is this book a funny parody of Pride and Prejudice? No.3. Does this book mirror the events in Pride and Prejudice the way James Joyce's "Ulysses" mirrors the event's in Homer's "Odyssey"? No. (However, in both books the hero does something unkind that greatly upsets the heroine.)4. Do you have to have read Pride and Prejudice and/or like Jane Austen to enjoy this book? No.5. Do cheese grits play any part on the story? No. (But I do understand the new edition has recipes for cheese grits at the end. My edition did not have these and I didn't miss them.)6. Does the story at least take place in the south where grits are a staple? YES!7. Does the story have anything to do with Pride and Prejudice? Yes: at the start of each chapter there is a quote from Pride and Prejudice which sets the mood for that chapter. I enjoyed these quotes but then I like all books to have interesting quotes at the start of each chapter.What would be a good title? I would pick: "Pride, Prejudice and an Academic Affair of the Heart". This is not going to happen. As I understand it, there is a whole series of silly titles waiting in the wings. The next book is called: 'Emma, Mr. Knightley, and Chili-Slaw Dogs' due in May 2013. That's not far off but it still seems like a long time when I'm in the mood to read it right now!I prefer my title because the story is all about college professors and is very true to life as it is lived in academia. As a former college teacher myself, I found the events in the story to be highly realistic. The college in the story even seemed to mirror, Tulsa University, where I once taught. Even the building in the story has the same name as where I taught! This story is very close to me. The hero and heroine are even history teachers and I have a teaching minor in history! Now back to the story.What makes this a 5-star romance?1) The very fine writing. The book is well written and well edited. The author also writes for one of the largest publishers in the world.2) The psychological insights and the wit. You can experience the wit at the start of every chapter, of course, a lot of that wit is Jane Austen's - who I love anyway.3) The genuine conflicts keeping the hero and heroine apart. This book is original. The conflicts are real. I've seen them in action in academia.4) Very strong secondary characters. This is not a short book. The author makes very good use of the opportunities the length provides for fleshing out secondary characters.5) The fast pace of the story action. As in Austen's "Pride and Prejudice", the chapters are very short. There is a lot of action just like in P&P.6) The high level of `page by page' reading enjoyment - (The Austen quotes play a big part in this).7) a realistic portrayal of the `pettiness' of the insulated `ivory tower' academic life. I had the feeling on every page that the author was reporting on academic life that she actually experienced.8) A rich appreciation of history. (I have a teaching minor in History so I may be more likely to enjoy this feature.)Both the hero and heroine are history teachers in the same department. He is very famous and is just visiting. She is not famous and is up for tenure. The famous hero has trashed the heroine's one little book in a high profile review. She is very angry with him. (Sound like the start of "Pride and Prejudice"?) Darcy would make a very good arrogant college professor.REAL READER CONFLICT!I experienced a rather new feeling while reading this book. I found myself reading as fast as I could to find out what was going to happen next but at the same time I did not want to story to end. So I rationed the book to only a few chapters a day. I don't think I've ever done this before with a book. But then, I have never read a romance like this one! The second book is coming out in a few months and that seems like ages to me. I'll be the first to buy the new book!If You Love Jane Austen, You'll Love This Book. If You Don't Like Jane Austen, You'll Still Love This Book!

I hesitated to write a negative review because I feel like the author is probably a really lovely person and I didn't want to hurt her feelings. I know that sounds absurd, but the tension between the main characters in the book is the result of a negative review written by one of them about the other's book. The reader almost feels warned from the beginning that writing is very personal and negative reviews are very hurtful. So, I read the book with all the compassion I could muster as a fellow lover of Jane Austen and the South. Being a Southerner myself, I got the strong sense that the writer was NOT a Southerner (she's not). The first thing I was taught in fiction writing 401 was "write what you know." This would be my advice to Ms. Hathaway. "Jane Austen Takes the South" -- what a great idea! Unfortunately, the "Southern" aspects of the book are cliche. As a Southerner living outside of the South, I run into this all the time, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating or distracting in a book.Not only does the author not know her setting, one feels she does not know her characters. Or, if she does, the reader cannot know them from what is on the page. Shelby and Ransom, the main character from Pride, Prejudice and Cheese Grits, appear again in the second book and one does not feel reunited with old friends as one does when characters reappear in other series (I think of Dobby from Harry Potter for example), but merely reunited with names whose profession and hair color one recognizes. The characters were so vague that I found myself not really caring what happened to them-- but the reader knows going in what will happen to them so the plot was already done for the author; perhaps she relied on Ms. Austen to give her characters fullness too, but one did not feel that Shelby was particularly Lizzy-ish or that Ransom was particularly Darcy-ish. Shelby and Ransom were not particularly anything-ish.That aside, the writing is not good. I am sorry to say so, but there it is. I think Ms. Hathaway needs a better editor at the very least! I approached this as a first novel (though it was not the author's first novel, just the first under this pen name) and even gave her another chance with the second book Emma, Mr. Knightley, and Chili-Slaw Dogs. (The second book is even worse!) I tried to take some of the responsibility on myself, that maybe I wasn't reading close enough or following along as I should. But reading excerpts aloud to my husband proved that the writing is choppy and the there are distracting details where no details are necessary (when someone pulls up in a car, why spend thirty words describing the car if the car is not even remotely important and will never be seen again?). The transitions from the man's point of view to the woman's point of view are done haphazardly, often even mid-paragraph and the reader is again jarred and distracted, having to go back and reread paragraphs to understand something which is again not that important. (One specific example that come to mind is an exchange in the second book between two girls who talking to each other and walking through a doorway and suddenly we are hearing the man's thoughts on how one of the girls smells- in the middle of the paragraph!) Of course, I was not expecting great literature with this book, just a fun read, but the writing is so frustratingly bad that I began dreading it and reading just to get through the book. (I know you're wondering why I even bothered to finish- my husband asks me that all the time! I just keep holding out hope that it will get better!)As a retelling of Pride and Prejudice, the book is also very lacking. Many of the characters and scenarios are virtually crammed into the original story where it does not work. One wonders why this is so when the author made other decisions to show that she was not slave to the original story (such as combining Mr. Wickham and Mr. Collins- and this character plays a very minor role compared to those of the original two characters). Where Austen had an amazing ability to build tension and resolve it in a satisfying and seamless way, like a bad romantic comedy, Pride, Prejudice and Cheese Grits leaves one scratching her head wondering why characters changed their minds when they did and how the misunderstandings from before have suddenly melted away.I am not a professional writer myself and would never attempt to try to place myself alongside one of the most beloved authors in English literature so the author has my admiration and respect for her gutsiness. However, this book does not work. I wanted to like it so much. I tried to like it. But I could not recommend it to anyone.

Wouldn't bother with this - slow moving, not much tension. The "baddy" isn't sufficiently delineated to believe in - unlike P&P itself, what he's doing wouldn't be universally condemned. The H&H aren't particularly engaging, and it's hard to care much about the inevitable stage-managed ending. Some interesting university politics hint at a more intriguing book that got smothered.

Eine schöne Geschichte, ein bisschen Geschichte zu den Südstaaten, eine sympathische Heldin und ein romantischer "Darcy", mit schwerem Schicksal, der dringend gerettet werden muss! Das Buch ist religiös angehaucht und nicht unanständig...man kann es gut in der Öffentlichkeit lesen und hat keine roten Ohren dabei :-)

Cute and creative story set in the South :) quite enjoyed, great for a light summer read

If you love Pride and Prejudice you will love this modern update

Very happy with the service.