Mandy Hubbard

What can I say beyond 'oh my god why couldn't this happen to me?' I'll try to however. The title of course eludes to that most famous work, Pride and Prejudice, but unlike a lot of the Austen-esque sequels and re-invents coming out this year it has very little to do with those characters and more to do with the setting, attitudes and way of life.

Callie is a hoot. Once she acclimates to the situation she doesn't sit idly by and let things happen around her like she did in present day. She helps to build Emily's confidence, tramples all over Alex's highhanded treatment of women and attempts to make things perfect. Of course that old saying 'The road to hell is paved in good intentions...' rears its ugly head, but its not easy remembering that in 1815 women were little more then chattel to dress prettily and sell to the highest bidder most of the time (especially in higher echelons of society).

From a historical angle the book works well to explain the nuances of society back then without laboring on about them. Since Callie is impersonating an American to begin with its naturally assumed she knows next to nothing about how to behave in public (or private) anyhow. Some things about society never changes despite the superficial trappings and in many ways I think that, that lesson is the most important to remember.

My favorite part of the book is when Callie and Alex are discussing his lands (about halfway through the book or so). Soon as he mentions fox-hunting Callie is horrified. Even after she explains she knows what is entailed in fox-hunting he still acts like she has no understanding of it. Callie, thankfully, doesn't let him think she's okay with it and verbally smacks him down. Fox hunting indeed (barbaric!).

Its a short read at just over 210 pages, but there aren't any parts that drag or seem dull. Fans of the recent ITV drama 'Lost in Austen' might enjoy this quite a bit actually--in many ways Callie is like Amanda (the main protag of LiA). They both try to set things right from a modern perspective, but ultimately learn its better to work with the system then against it.

… (més)

So I gave this story 4 stars. And this is why. It lost a star with me because of the prologue. I could have almost forgiven it, however having to read it over again in near the end of the book, threw me off. I hate when authors that do that shit. Prologue is supposed to be the backstory, or the lead up to the story. Not a big chunk of what the middle of the book is. I mean maybe for some deranged reason other authors do this, but it has never made sense to me. I personally wouldn't do it either. It frustrates us. Get that through your head to all the authors that think that this is the right practice. It's not.

Moving on to the good stuff. I figured it out right away. As soon as Logan decided to tell everybody he didn't want them to sit down with his brother, I knew there was some sort of multiple personality going on. Do I believe in the soul thing? No. I don't. I do believe in multiple personalities. And I do believe in trauma. And put those together and they kind of suck.

And I also knew why the bad guy went after Bick. I mean hello, remember in the cafeteria when he said he couldn't ask anyone to dance because the person he wanted to ask was already going with someone else? Right before that he was talking about the dance. So obviously he wanted to go with somebody at that table. And it doesn't take a freaking genius to figure out who it was.

And seriously she must have been blind as a freaking bat. I could tell the guy liked her even before it was mentioned at the end of the book. I mean come on are you blind?

I am happy with the ending. I'm happy that you know who didn't die. I don't know if I believe that it's all like happy ending for him. As in being in his own body. And I really wish there was more about Harper and Bick.

All in all it was a cute story. I mean I don't know. I liked it but at the same time that prologue really threw me off.

I would maybe check out more of the author's books. However if I open the book and there's a prologue talking about something that's going to happen anyway, I'm just going to skip that all together. And every time in any of their books I see that prologue being something that's going to happen, that I'm going to be forced to read again, then I'm going to drop a star.… (més)

Mandy Hubbard's PRADA AND PREJUDICE combines modern teen lit and Regency romance in a fresh way.

On a class trip to England, 15-year-old Callie wants to fit in with the other girls only because her best friend, Katie, has since moved away, leaving Callie friendless.

In an attempt to crash the night club party the popular girls are going to, Callie buys a pair of Prada heels and promptly trips sending her back into 1815 England where she is mistaken for Rebecca, a girl from America who has come to visit the Duke of Harksbury.

What ensues is a tangled mess including an illegitimate child, an arranged marriage, and social etiquette faux paus that will have you alternately laughing and crying and twisting your hands with worry.

Hubbard's debut novel is rich with what matters most--learning how to be yourself and finding others who love you just the way you are--no matter what century you are in!… (més)