Review ‘Evan and Darcy’ by Melanie Coles

Wheat farmer Evan Bennet is happy being single until his brother falls for the
new girl in town, wealthy hotel owner Claire Bingley. Suddenly finding a girl
seems more appealing…unless you’re talking about Claire’s best friend,
pretentious lawyer Darcy Fitzwilliam. Her cold manners have Evan seeing red, and
when a cute girl with links to Darcy’s past catches his eye, he’s even more
determined to dislike her.

When a startling revelation turns Evan’s world upside down and he unexpectedly
crosses Darcy’s path again, he’s forced to reassess his opinion of her. But
just as he starts to open his heart, a crisis engulfs his family, threatening
to destroy any hope of a future with Darcy.

With a cloud hanging over his family, Evan knows his chance of winning Darcy’s
heart is gone… until some surprising news and a generous gift leave him
wondering if her heart might be his after all.

Publication Date:	July 15th, 2016
Series:	–
Genre:	Contemporary Romance
Pages:	350
Formats:	eBook
Available at:	Amazon, iBook, Kobo, Booktopia

  

Like most woman, I just love Jane Austen. I have all her
books. And I’ve read ‘Pride and Prejudice’ at least three times. I’ve seen
almost every single movie out there about ‘Pride and Prejudice’. So when I saw
this title ‘Evan and Darcy’, and read that is was an outback retelling of the
Jane Austen novel, I just knew I needed to read this book.

The beginning of this book was a little disappointing to
me. The Bennet family consists of five brothers this time, and although this is
a nice change from all the other retellings.. I just couldn’t really connect
with the Bennet brothers. For example.. I just couldn’t really see the shy
oldest Bennet sibling as a man. And it took me a long time to get used to it.

Also the story just went way too fast for me in the
beginning. Since I couldn’t really connect with the characters at first, I
hoped for a little more time to get used to them. But the story goes really
fast and the writing just didn’t really grab me.

Thankfully, half way through the book I began to like the
characters more and more. Evan was a nice guy with a passion, and I admired the
way he wanted to take care of his family. Darcy also definitely began to grow
on me. She was a hardworking woman, who cared a lot about her family and
friends.

I also began to ‘feel’ the connection between Evan and
Darcy more and more. In the beginning of the book I just felt like they really
really hated each other. Something I didn’t feel as much in ‘Pride and
Prejudice’. And I just didn’t like their characters at all. I’m glad that
changed throughout the book and that the characters felt more right to me.

What I definitely enjoyed the most was the way this book
took place in Australia. I loved reading about the country and the beautiful
landscapes. It really fitted the story too. And I could easily imagine the
characters there.

Overall this book was a fun read. I didn’t think it was
the best, but it definitely made for an enjoyable evening.

While other children spent their lunchtimes climbing tyre
walls or playing kiss-chasey, Melanie spent hers in the library with either her
nose in a book, a pen in her hand or her head in the clouds. Throughout her
school years she wrote countless stories, only to lose her writing mojo
sometime after high school. Thankfully she rediscovered it in the dead of night
some twenty years later and now juggles writing with family life and her work
as an Executive Assistant. A hopeless romantic, Melanie is addicted to
chocolate and happily-ever-afters, and may also have an obsession with Jane
Austen novels. She resides in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges in
Melbourne, Australia with her musician husband, two sports-crazed sons and a
ginger cat named Jack.

For more information about Melanie Coles please visit her
website. Or visit her on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.