It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
We’ve all heard those words, right? When my high school English class read Pride & Prejudice, I’m willing to bet that nearly every girl in the room swooned over Mr. Darcy. It only got worse when we watched the movie – BBC version, of course – that left me and all my friends (and a likely greater chunk of our class) absolutely smitten with Colin Firth. Unfortunately, my infatuation with Jane Austen’s characters faded away at the end of high school. In general, I’m not a re-reader. I don’t go back and revisit former literary loves.
But Emma Pierce is that person. She is absolutely in love with everything about Jane Austen. The books. The quotes. The men. And despite reading these books countless times, she has trouble finding her own hero. Though she’s currently dating a very wealthy single man, she finds that Blake Hampton is more interested in getting into her bed than getting into her heart. After a weekend that she thinks will end in a proposal ends in heartache, Emma is driven home by Lucas, Blake’s brother.
Lucas is a fantastic character. He is everything that Emma’s looking for, and he’s not afraid of commitment. The problem is his blind devotion to his brother. Because Emma dated Blake, and because Blake is still not over her, Lucas steps aside and actually pushes Emma and Blake back together. Fate has other plans, though, when Lucas ends up being the new consultant at Emma’s job.
There’s a lot of back-and-forth between the two, with plenty of misunderstandings and avoidable arguments. This is really my only complaint about this book – a bit less unnecessary angst, and it could have easily been five stars. I loved Lucas, I loved Emma, and I loved how real their lives seemed. Julie Wright is definitely an author to watch.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!
Final rating: ★★★★☆
The Bibliophagist 