Review: Fitzwilliam Darcy Rock Star by Heather Lynn Rigaud
Reviewed by Shannon Hopkins
I am a huge fan of Pride and Prejudice. It was one of my favorite “you must read this” books assigned in my English classes, and I like to think that I have a bit of Elizabeth Bennett’s wit and verve. While watching different interpretations of the book on screen is endlessly entertaining, however, I’m generally reluctant to pick up a re-imagined version of the actual story. (Zombies? No thank you.)
Fortunately, Heather Lynn Rigaud’s Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star stays true to Austen’s original characters and follows the general plot nearly to perfection. Set in the modern music industry, our favorites from Pride and Prejudice come together in a professional relationship that quickly develops into a mass of romantic tension familiar to any reader – only this time, laced with sexual tones that illustrate the difference in attitudes between 1813 and 2011. (More below…) Darcy, Charles Bingley and Richard Fitzwilliam are Slurry, an immensely popular band (Rigaud likens to Puddle of Mudd) in need of an opening act for their upcoming tour. Enter the ladies of Long Borne Suffering: Elizabeth and Jane Bennett, and Elizabeth’s best friend Charlotte Lucas. Sparks fly from their first meeting, and as the tour heats up so do the offstage encounters…
The biggest issue with a reload of a well-known novel, of course, is that the reader most likely knows how the story will end. Riguad recognizes that and, rather than forcing the ending, uses the narrative arc to explore new depths in her characters’ personalities and reworking minor plot threads to give the story new life. Anne de Bourgh, for example, is given a serious attitude and far more exposure in her recast as the A&R Executive at de Bourgh Records (a personal triumph for me – I had one six-word line as Lady Anne in the stage production); also, readers who were dissatisfied with Charlotte’s choices in the original story can take a closer look at how she moves on from those choices.
As mentioned above, with the 21st-century rewrite Rigaud has added a decidedly sexual twist to the story – acknowledging the evolution of romantic relationships – that unfortunately takes away from the narrative rather than adding to it. Pages at a time are devoted to explicit descriptions of the various characters’ sexual encounters, which are written in a way edging dangerously close to soft-core porn. I’m no puritan, but even I had to skip some of the more salacious scenes.
All in all, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star is poised to introduce the timeless themes of Pride and Prejudice to an all-new audience that can perhaps relate more closely to the modern setting. As long as the reader is okay with the sex scenes (or okay with skipping pages), this is a more than ideal read for a warm night.
Rating: 4/5
Shannon lives in Cleveland, Ohio with her fianc é and a room full of books that she peruses when she isn’t trolling Apartment Therapy for new decorating ideas. In her free time she enjoys maintaining her blog, The Writer’s Closet, planning her wedding, and baking tasty gluten-free treats.
Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Sourcebooks Landmark. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.
Category: Contemporary, Literature & Fiction, Romance
[...] review posted September 9 at Luxury Reading. Also, check out the interview with author Heather Lynn Rigaud (questions are mine also!), and the [...]
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i’ve never been a fan of these kind of books that spin off another author’s’ work. I’m sure they’re meant to be fun and tongue in cheek but I’d rather read an original story that’s not tailgating on someone else’s fame. Pride and Prejudice is a favorite of mine too. Thanks for the review
Out of all the themes they could come up with for Pride and Prejudice, a reuniting rock star band is not one that I could have imagined. It amazes me how many spins there have been on Pride and Prejudice. While I have not read one of them, I am curious to know if any other book has been reinvented so many times.
I really tend to shy away from the novels that try to reimagine the classics in either a modern or paranormal way. Having similarities is fine, but actually taking the same exact characters and reworking them turns me off. They were perfect the first time, why change it
. Thank you for the review!
interestingly, we’ve just had an entire month of Austenesque activities and reviews at Meredith’s Austenesque Reviews. one of the questions posed was what our preferences were regarding steamy, explicit or soft when it came to the physical – the responses weren’t in favour of the graphic. so while it may seem to be more current, that’s not the direction readers are heading.
P&P original is well ensconced with readers of today and remains a fave ‘as is’!
JA is trending =)
i really appreciate your straightforward review as in reading it, this wouldn’t be an accurate portrayal of P&P in any way- at least to this reader…