Once Upon a Kiss

April 7, 2014
This amusing and self-aware retread of Pride and Prejudice, set in 1815, centers on feisty, engaging Miss Justina Penny. More likely to leap into mud puddles than protect her skirts, Justina dashes through the narrative, determined to be an independent woman and eschew traditional marriage. But when Darius Wainwright, a stodgy London businessman with no use for female company, arrives in her little village of Hawcombe Prior, Justina realizes that some of her brazen actions in the past might turn into something like seduction. Even as the hero and heroine steal kisses from each other, they work at cross purposes, denying their burgeoning romance until Darius’s female relatives arrive to bring him back to London and marry him to a suitable woman. This witty romp disappoints only by suddenly accepting the constraints of culture when its unconventional leads finally consummate their affair.

May 15, 2014
Fresina (Miss Molly Robbins Designs Seduction, 2014) tries her hand at a Pride and Prejudice remake in this fun historical tale. Justina Penny is a member of her quiet English village's Book Club Belles. She has just read a brand-new, scandalous romance entitled Pride and Prejudice, and she can't believe her sister and friends do not see the appeal of Wickham. Of course, Justina is a mischievous minx, who tried to resolve the question of nuptials on a family vacation by jumping nearly naked into the bed of the man of her choice. But the wrong man was in the bed! She planned to never ever see Darius Wainwright again, and he cannot believe it when he finds the same wild girl stealing apples from the estate he inherited. Darius takes a kiss as payment. He and she are then drawn together despite gossiping villagers and interfering family. Feisty dialogue and strong-willed characters make for funny romantic antics and a winning love story as Fresina freshens up a classic plot.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)