Review: Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts by Mitzi Szereto

Filed in 2 Stars , Mitzi Szereto , Review , The Quirky Lover Posted on June 29, 2011 @ 6:00 am 3 comments

Format Read: ARC provided by the publisher
Number of pages:  224 pages
Release Date: 1 July 2011
Formats available: Paperback
Publisher: Cleis Press
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository, Author’s website, Cleis Press
Book Blurb:

Imagine that Jane Austen had written the opening line of her satirical novel Pride and Prejudice this way: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a good romp and a good wife — although not necessarily from the same person or from the opposite sex.” In Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts Mr. Darcy has never been more devilish and the seemingly chaste Elizabeth never more turned on.

The entire cast of characters from Austen’s classic is here in this rewrite that goes all the way. This time Mr. Bingley and his sister both have designs on Mr. Darcy’s manhood; Elizabeth’s bff Charlotte marries their family’s strange relation and stumbles upon a secret world of feminine relations more to her liking; and, in this telling, men are not necessarily the the only dominating sex. And of course there’s some good old fashioned bodice ripping that shows no pride or prejudice and reveals hot hidden lusts in every page-turning chapter.

My Thoughts:

Upon receiving this book, I felt it was full of promise; a naughtier version of the original but told within the confines of the time period. Once I started reading though, a whole different picture came to mind.

Ms. Szereto sticks closely to the original in the overall tale but when the time came for the sexier bits, I found it more comical than hot. I tried, I really did, but I did not manage to get beyond chapter three! I know sometimes you go into a book with preconceived notions about where the story is heading, and for me, this is where I struggled with Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts. It veered in a direction I was not prepared for. Had the novel been labelled appropriately, I may have been able to read it through, in the correct frame of mind. As it was, I just found it to be silly.
Don’t get me wrong, as The Quirky Lover, I’m pretty open minded but I just couldn’t continue reading this book. With images of Lydia Bennet rubbing up against, well, everything, like a dog in heat, and Mr Bennet woefully obtaining an eye injury from self-pleasuring, I think my love of the original book brought about my own stiff prejudices (pun fully intended here :-p).
I’ll give the author her due, Ms. Szereto clearly pointed out the short comings of the breeches men wore at the time by highlighting their inability to hide anything…untoward (I’m starting to feel a little prissy, writing this review as though it were the eigthteenth century). I would recommend this book to anyone with a truly warped sense of humour, so long as you go into it knowing full well what’s to come. For me personally, it fell short of expectations.

I give Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts 2 Bookies out of 5 (One for what I read, one to compensate for my mindset).

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.
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About Jackie


Jackie is a quirky mom, living in Ontario, Canada. She's a bookkeeper by day and a book lover by night. She also blogs at The Novel Nation and writes occasionally for Heroes and Heartbreakers.

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3 Comments

Join the Discussion
  • John The Bookworm June 30, 2011 at 11:42 am

    Thank you for doing this review. I was offered a copy for review, and I just had to say no. It was a little out of my comfort zone. I get that some like the P&P revamps, but I just think it's far too comical of an idea to be something I could get through. Fine line between making it a sexually charged version of P&P and making it comic-rotica.

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  • Wings June 30, 2011 at 5:54 pm

    hmmm I have a very warped sense of humor…i pride myself on it…

    and i never read the original pride and prejudice…

    maybe i might give this a go 🙂

    great review hun!

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  • Jackie July 1, 2011 at 3:55 pm

    @John – I think because it wasn't overtly labelled as comedic, I was more surprised by it.

    @Amanda – I will send it along to you if you want to give it a try 😉

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