Happily Ever After Book Club discussion

So with "My Own Mr. Darcy" on our lists, I started thinking about all of the books I've read that are sequels/rewrites/echoes of Pride & Prejudice. P&P is probably my favorite all-time story so I admit I'm a sucker for anything P&P related. (When you can discuss all of the P&P movie/miniseries versions and which ones had the best Elizabeth/Darcy/Mr. Collins etc., you know you're a pretty bad case.)

My question is, what are the best of these P&P books that you've read? Are there any that you hated?

I don't know if I've ever read any that I'm truly crazy about or would throw out as a must-read, but I really liked:

Austenland
Mr Darcy's Daughters
Pride's Prejudice

Most of the others I've read have been okay, but not great (Pride & Precipitation was pretty good; so was Pride, Prejudice & Cheese Grits). A few have been actually bad (the one with the urban charity whose name I've erased from memory).

I really liked Jenni James' modern telling called Pride and Popularity. But I am also a sucker for a fun YA sweet(clean) romance. I haven't read all the ones on your list, I will have to look a few of those up! I LOVED Austenland and enjoyed Pride's Prejudice.

Good chat option, Tadiana!

I forgot Pride and Popularity - I did read that one, too, and thought it was very cute (my favorite of Jenni James' books). Midnight in Austenland was also a fun read, though not quite up to the level of the first Austenland. Occasionally Anna Elliott's P&P sequels are free on the Kindle (she did Georgiana Darcy's Diary: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Continued and a couple others for P&P characters) and those that I've read have been clean and pretty good reads.

Great topic! I read Pride and Prejudice for the first time after watching the movie You've Got Mail. I think I'd actually seen it a few times and finally decided to give it a try. I wish I hadn't waited so long to read Austen's books! I loved it. I have to say, I have mixed feelings about all the retellings and continuations. I always wonder what Ms. Austen would think. I doubt many authors would like to have their works rewritten, especially when they end up changing the characters completely. I am still surprised by how many naughty versions there are, it's disappointing. There have been a few that I've read and liked though. Some of them have already been mentioned so I'll try and not repeat.

My Own Mr. Darcy I liked this one, it sticks pretty closely to the original, but there are still enough differences to keep things interesting.

An Arranged Marriage This was fun. It reworks the original P&P and what would have happened if Elizabeth was forced to marry Darcy. I've heard the author has done a few different reimagining of the original. I'm curious to check them out. I admit, it was hard not to compare it to the first and kind of think it would have been fun if it was just its own original story.

Prom and Prejudice A cute YA version.

Prada & Prejudice I was a little underwhelmed in this one. I think it had a lot of potential to be cute, but ended up being disappointed.

Below are a few that I haven't read yet, but heard were good:

Pirates and Prejudice Takes Darcy and Elizabeth and throws them in a pirate type adventure. Actually sounds kind of fun.

One Thread Pulled: The Dance with Mr. Darcy

The Journey

Turning Pages I started this one, but had a hard time getting into it. The main character rubbed me the wrong way. I plan on going back to it someday...

Fall For You : A Modern Retelling of Pride & Prejudice
Spies and Prejudice
Mr. Darcy Goes Overboard: A Tale of Tide & Prejudice
An Assembly Such as This
And This Our Life: Chronicles of the Darcy Family: Book 1

I totally loved Pride's Prejudice,and now have
Pirates and Prejudice, and One Thread Pulled: The Dance with Mr. Darcy on my TBR list. Several of these others sound tempting as wel.