Week 44 Review: Pride, Prejudice, and Peril

From Goodreads:

Jane Austen meets reality TV and murder in the first installment of this quirky new cozy mystery series.

Phaedra Brighton is perfectly content with her life of lecturing college students, gossiping with her best friends, and dreaming of Mr. Darcy. As a young, respected (if somewhat peculiar) English professor, her expertise lies in all things Jane Austen--but she knows that the closest she'll ever get to being a real-life Elizabeth Bennet is in her dreams.

When Who Wants to Marry Mr. Darcy, a new reality TV show, starts filming at her best friend Charlene's estate, Phaedra is intrigued. And when the producer asks her to lend her Austenian knowledge as a consultant on the show, she's over the moon. But on the first day of filming, when Charlene's new husband is found electrocuted and Charlene herself is accused of the crime, Phaedra comes crashing back to reality.

With murder on the syllabus and her best friend in dire straits, there's no Mr. Darcy around to help Phaedra--she'll have to get to the bottom of this mystery herself.

My Review:
This was a fantastic read! I love that this draws a lot of elements from Pride and Prejudice, but Phaedra isn't the Elizabeth character. Or maybe not the only once, since Phaedra's love interests aren't the main Darcy character. So that had some pretty interesting dynamics! 

This is all set around this show of Pride and Prejudice meets the Bachelor, which quickly goes wrong when the owner of the home that is hosting this show, is killed. Phaedra is a part of the investigation twofold, because she was the consultant of the show for her historical expertise, and because her best friend is the wife of the murder victim.

There was a lot going on in this book, between the mystery, which was intriguing because he had a lot of enemies, and everything going on in Phaedra's life. Between the show, her job, and the festival she's trying to continue, she has a lot of her plate. And then there's the two new guys in her life, Professor Mark, and Detective Morelli. They were both really interesting to read about, and it'll be interesting to see if she'll fall for one of them! 

I do think that a few things were just a little bit too easy. This is a murder mystery story, but Phaedra isn't really one that has the most useful investigative skills, though she gives a good go at it, with her Tea Society group! I don't know why this bugs me when it normally doesn't, but I did find it a little too convenient. But I did enjoy how things came together! 

I had a great time reading this book, and I can't wait for the sequel! 

Author: Katie Oliver
Series: Austen Expert Mystery #1
Read: November 4th, 2021
Source: NetGalley
Reason Why: It sounded really great, and it's a 2021 Retelling Reading Challenge Book, Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2021 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Berkley Books
Expected Publication: December 7th 2021

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars