Giveaway! "Compulsively Mr. Darsy" by Nina Benneton

A thoroughly modern, magnificent re-rendering of a classic that would send Miss Austen into fits of laughter!  This book sets Caroline Bingley as a sort of Kardashianish bitch from NYC tabloid hell, and puts another spin entirely on the ever finicky Mr. Collins, for instance.

Rife with social comedy and commentary in our age with all the famous Austen characters, but not all in predictable venues. There are some surprises there. Great fun!

There's sooo much to this book!

Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy are so well conceived you'll be beside yourself...perfectly set with chronic behaviors in modern times.  Loving that OCD on Darcy!  LOL

I promise you, this is THE book to read right now!

You'll be wanting to read passages of it aloud to your friends.

From all I know about her, Jane Austen would absolutely approve. 

Book groups should be making bee lines for this one...

the discussions and good laughter will make for a fabulous meeting!

 

Summary : 

Nina Benneton has taken the best elements of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice and spun a tale with a delightful modern twist, which will more than satisfy the most fickle of Austen fans. COMPULSIVELY MR. DARCY is exquisitely romantic. This is a tenderly written novel which would make even Jane Austen swoon. The Lizzie Bennet and Mr. Darcy who stole your heart in Jane Austen's novel are written to perfection in COMPULSIVELY MR. DARCY.

I loved that way Ms. Benneton worked in the characters from the original book and from other Jane Austen books as well. Some of the characters follow a similar path as the original version, but others go a different direction and it all works. Elizabeth and Darcy have a strong relationship that overcomes their own mistrust and outside influences. The bad people get punished and when you read the last page you think to yourself.... That was really an enjoyable read! I hope that we will see more from Ms. Benneton.

The story delivers characters with quality personalities, a conflict that has substance without being dark and a happy ever after that ends with a giggle. It's well rounded, entertaining and thoroughly lovable. I'd recommend this book as a must read, even for those like me, who've never read a Jane Austin book. Thank you, Ms. Benneton, for a story that had such wonderful heart, I read it in one sitting. It's that good.

It has love,a modern day romance,an old theme with a new idea,misconceptions,understanding,sweet sensuality,misunderstandings and of course strong characters. A must read for anyone who enjoys Pride and Prejudice but in present day.

Compulsively Mr. Darcy is the debut novel of Nina Benneton and it was a really fun read! This take on our beloved Pride & Prejudice finds Darcy and Elizabeth tackling the modern world and more than a few misunderstandings along the way. This funny and entertaining modern adventure is a great adaptation of an old and favorite classic!

There are many similarities to the original Pride and Prejudice story, the same characters are there; there are plenty of differences, even a cameo mention or two of characters from another book (FBI agents Colonel Brandon and Marianne Dashwood – sure hoping that means that will be a future story, maybe, perhaps?). This was a nice and enjoyable story for those who love Pride and Prejudice, and want to read a retelling, but are looking for something a bit different from a lot of others.

...sweet, silly and whole lot of fun. I loved the author's interpretation of these beloved characters and the ones she chooses to be the villains are fabulous. A delightful debut and a must read for any JA fan.

By just looking at the cover, the reader can tell this is going to be a fun book. From her humorous one-liners and wit, to her portrayal of her characters, Nina Benneton offers a great diversion... For readers who enjoy modern Pride and Prejudice variations, lighthearted reads, or want a vacation, this book should be on the top of their to-be-read list.

I love, love, love Jane Austen adaptations. Especially ones that take me out of my Austen comfort zone. This one was definitely very far from my comfort zone. And I absolutely loved every minute of it... Lizzy and Darcy were so squishy sweet and I found myself chuckling at their adorableness at times. 

An Interview with Nina Benneton :

Hi, Nina, I can't tell you how very much I've been looking forward to our interview.  You've become a favorite in my Jane Austen inspired author groups.  I just adored "Compulsively Mr. Darcy."  I'm a huge fan of yours!!

Thank you for agreeing to come to A Bookish Libraria for an interview.

1) Psychologists tell us that when we're ten year old girls we have a solid idea of what we want to be when we grow up, and that's usually what our avocation is. What did you want to be when you were ten? Has it manifested itself in your life?

When I was ten, I wanted to be a priest. No, not a priestess. A priest.

Why? He's a boy. I wanted to be a boy. He had power over the nuns. I wanted to have power over the nuns.

That celibate thing? Bonus. I wouldn't have to do the yucky with anyone. Ever.

How could a sweet, reverent ten-year-old angelic gal not want to be a priest, I ask you?

Has it manifested itself in my life? Many of the reviews of 'Compulsively Mr. Darcy' come with warnings of 'certain scenes intended for mature audiences,' so, ahem…I'm guessing not.

Of course, you know, I could be a respectable priest somewhere who has a tabloid addiction, who has the hots for Mr. Darcy, and who dabbles in writing romance.

Or, you could be the naughty priest who gets away with just about anything, including murder!!  LOL

2) What's the biggest challenge you've had to face in your life that caused you to "come of age" or face your own "pride and prejudices?"

You mean besides not becoming a priest?    Yes,  LOL, besides that! 

Besides that, the next challenge that comes to mind was falling in love with a man who, aghast, belonged to the other political party. I was like Darcy in 'Pride and Prejudice.' I was attracted to this hot guy who had a dry sense of humor that curled my toes, but I was ashamed of having falling in love with this…this political plebeian. I struggled over the thought of introducing him to my friends or bringing him home to my family. He wouldn't fit in. It was election year when we met, you understand.

But no other guys I'd met up until then had held my interest or made me laugh or made me so glad I never became a priest, so, what could I do but grow and humbly admit that I suffered from an arrogant sense political pride? That from my upbringing, I was allowed, encouraged, and almost taught to be selfish and overbearing, to care for no other political concerns beyond my own, to think meanly of the rest of the other political parties, to think meanly of their sense and worth worth compared with my own.

*Italics: adapted from P & P, Volume III, Chapter 16.

I'm happy to report that he and I , after many years of marriage, now vote for the same political party. Just like dogs and owners, you know, you start to look alike and vote alike and all that…Best of all, he still makes me glad I'm not priest.  

Geez, Nina.  Phew'! I'm certainly glad that priest thing worked out for you!  But, of course we know it did from your writing, too!  LOL   Okay, here comes a tough one....

3) What's the sneakiest thing you ever did that still brings your heart delight when you think of it?

Years ago, when my career-Army brother was home on leave from being stationed overseas, I called my parents' home and left a message on the answering machine for him—in the voice of a bar girl who's looking for her big, American lover-boy…'cause he's promised to marry her and bring her to America,' you understand.

My father gave him the 'talk,' daily. My mother dragged him to her prayer group, daily. To this day, my brother can't convince the pater and mater unit that I was the one behind that phone call. Moi? Sounding like a bar girl? No way. I was the pious one who wanted to be a priest, remember?

Yes, Nina, I'm starting to see how this "priestly" pattern is manifesting itself in your life!  ;}

4) What's on your nightstand?  

(And, may I say, Nina, you got away with something here...you didn't really tell us all of what was on your nightstand, I bet.  We just got distracted by all these cool books!!)    Here's her answer:

'I Praise My Destroyer,' a book of poems by Diane Ackerman— because it's National Poetry Month.

I've heard so much about Diane Ackerman, but mostly in non-fiction circles. 

I'll have to find this book of poems...or, you could send me an example, Nina!!  :]    I'm a Keats fan, myself.   And an Emily Dickinson one. 

'An Actor Prepares' by Constantin Stanislavski, translated by Elizabeth Reynolds Hapwoods—because being a writer is like being a method actor, and sometimes irreverent me can't feel the characters' pain.  

 You know, this has come up several times recently with authors I've read about.  Joyce Carol Oates has especially spoken to this in a similar way.  She considers her characters and her construction of  her novels in the same vein as writing plays.  She talks quite a bit about it.  Interesting that you're drawn to this as a means of sensing a character's pain. 

 

My book, 'Compulsively Mr. Darcy'— because when I read a good review, I want to know what the dickens the reviewer saw in the book that I didn't when I wrote it.    

My english lit. professor, Sister Chiccase, may she always be revered and remembered, said that authors really have no idea about their subconscious intent when they write their books.  It's up to us, the readers, to discern that--to cull out what might be meant by what they wrote on a deeper level.  So, it's only right you have your book there to see for yourself!  :]

'Mr. Darcy's Bite' by Mary Lydon Simonsen—because a Darcy howling at the moon is just too delicious to resist.  

Seriously!  I reviewed this one of Mary's  and  it was great.  Such the nightstand kind of book...

'The Criminal Law Handbook'— because you never know when you're supposed to be read your Miranda rights.   

Actually, somebody reads YOU your Miranda rights when the time comes, Father Benneton....  or  try to stay on this side of the law if you haven't finished your monastic requirements!

'The Prize,' an old Scottish historical by Julie Garwood— because sometimes you need visions of a medieval Scottish man, with a big sword in a kilt, to put you back to sleep when you're awaken by nightmares of being read your Miranda rights by the likes of the Toughest Sheriff in America.    

I know what you mean.  An occasional Scottish man helps me sleep, too, sometimes!  :]

Loved, loved that interview and conversation, getting to know Nina.  She's so cool !  And, her book is, too.  I hope you'll get a chance to pick up a copy very soon. 

You can find it here:   Amazon

Or here:    Barnes & Noble

Or here:   Sourcebooks

More About Ms Benneton : 

As a child, Nina Benneton promised the Catholic nuns who taught her that she would grow up and find the cure for cancer, effect world peace, and win a Nobel Prize for something, anything. Her very own Mr. Darcy and the requisite number of beautiful children interrupted her plans. Tired of alphabetizing her spices and searching for stray Barbie shoes she turned to writing.

Her debut novel, Compulsively Mr. Darcy, earned a Best Book review and the Reader's Poll Book of the Month February 2012 from Long and Short Review, 'Hands down…a must read for lovers and fans of classic romance.' Fresh Fiction Review called it a 'tenderly written novel.' Savvy Verse and Wit described it as ' 'More than a love story, Compulsively Mr. Darcy is about loving someone faults and all, accepting and not changing who they are, and growing together in love. Publishers Weekly wrote, 'Die-hard fans of everything Austen will enjoy this update of her classic tale.'

Find her on her website/blog: Nina Benneton

Find her on Facebook:  Facebook

Find her on Twitter: @NinaBenneton

Find her on her groupblog: www.AustenAuthors.com

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Giveaway Ends:  MOTHER'S DAY!!  MAY 13th

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Btw:  5 star book

Deborah/TheBookishDame