Betsy Aldredge

One of the most unique premises for a Pride and Prejudice retelling.

Samantha (a.k.a. Elizabeth Bennett) and her family take part in a reality show competition versus three students from a prep school, including Devon (a.k.a. Mr. Darcy), each attempting to prove that Sasquatches exist. Sam’s family need the prize money to pay their bills, while the students are under pressure from their school to make their institution look good.

This book is mostly on the fluffier side (which suited the story) but I liked that the authors sprinkled in a little more depth here and there, Devon talks about what it’s like to be one of the few students with brown skin at his school while Sam shares a similar experience with being Jewish, and it was good to see the mom called out for shaming her daughter. Plus, while the role in the story is very small, one of my favorite characters in the book ended up being an employee of the reality show who is on the autism spectrum and is willing to lose her job to stand up for what’s right.

If you’re considering this book as a Pride and Prejudice fan, for me, the sparks didn’t fly as naturally for Samantha and Devon as they do for Elizabeth and Mr.Darcy, though to be fair that’s far too high of a bar for any characters to match. But this is a satisfying retelling in the sense that it hasn’t left out any of the major characters or plot points, you get the fun of identifying favorite P&P moments and experiencing a different take on them.

While I liked Sam well enough, her sister Sophie’s romance had a sweeter vibe and the youngest sister seemed to be experiencing more story-wise with her mom, with her choice of crush, with her desire to be reality show famous, it felt like Lyssa had more emotional stuff to go through than Sam did, more growing to do than Sam who pretty much already had a solid handle on life.

With Sam not having much of an arc beyond her family caretaker role and falling for Devon, her sisters’ stories held my interest more and since they were merely secondary characters whereas the book is entirely from Sam’s point of view, that’s probably why I never felt quite as engaged with this one as I’d hoped to be.… (mer)

2.5 Stars

Did you ever stop to think that maybe Bigfoot doesn't believe in you either?

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There was this lightheartedness and overdramatic cheesyness that worked worked perfectly together to create a humorous quick read. The reality tv drama mixed with all things Bigfoot were so ridiculous, but it worked for the story. I also really liked the quotes at the beginning of the chapters. They added to the atmosphere and kept reading the story fun. Unfortunately, I didn't like any of the characters and found the relationships to be underdeveloped. With this being such a short book, quite a few scenes felt rushed and dialogue forced - making the characters more unlikable. This wasn't a bad story by any means, I just wanted more from it.… (mer)