Review: A HIGHER EDUCATION: A MODERN RETELLING OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Rosalie Stanton

It is a truth universally acknowledged that first impressions are a bitch.

In a sea of college freshmen, Elizabeth Bennet feels more like a den mother than a returning student. She’d rather be playing Exploding Kittens than dodge-the-gropers at a frat party, but no way was she letting her innocent, doe-eyed roommate go alone.

Everything about Meryton College screams old money—something she and Jane definitely are not—but Elizabeth resolves to enjoy herself. That resolve is tested—and so is her temper—when she meets Will Darcy, a pompous blowhole with no sense of fun, and his relentlessly charming wingman, Charlie.

Back at school after prolonged break, Will Darcy is far too old and weary for coeds. Yet even he can see why Charlie spontaneously decides the captivating Jane is “the one.” What throws Will is his own reaction to Jane’s roommate.

Elizabeth’s moonlight skin and shining laugh hit him like a sucker punch. And he doesn’t like it. Elizabeth Bennet is dangerous, not only because she has a gift for making him make an ass of himself, but because she and her razor-sharp wit could too easily throw his life off course, and he can’t afford for that to happen again.

Yet he also can’t seem to stay away.




My review: Elizabeth meets Will at a college frat party. "It was, he conceded, a pleasant smirk and a pleasant set of lips. But then he'd known that across the room. What he hadn't known? She was a pain in the a#s."

 
Right away the story grabs your attention with its simple premise and frank dialogue. He thinks she's crude and she thinks he's a rich snob. The two have a love/hate thing, prompting a series of verbal sparring filled with fun, snappy quips.

 

Overall, this was well-written and I enjoyed how this whole thing started, but it kept a consistent lag. The beginning focused mostly on the two dancing around their attraction, even though they kept bad-mouthing each other. Then things progress with that same biting wit between them, but the pace remained the same.  I felt a sense of redundancy, that this lengthy story kept repeating the same plot/dialogue over and over, making it longer than it should have been. Basically, it didn't feel like it was moving forward. 

 

My rating: 2.5 stars