Stephanie Sullivan: Review - Most Ardently Yours

TITLE: Most Ardently Yours (audiobook)

RATING: ★★★★

Summary (from Goodreads): Zoe Knight, a struggling romance writer, has sworn off men for good. At least…the ones in real life. Once a believer in a happily ever after, she now curbs her loneliness with the help of the best book boyfriends in literature – and there is no better man than Jane Austen's Mr. Darcy. So when she stumbles into a classic London bookshop and argues with the annoyingly attractive store owner, Nick, who refuses to sell romance novels, she decides to liberate him of a dusty copy of Pride & Prejudice abandoned on a top shelf.

But this is no ordinary book.

After reading from the pages, Zoe finds herself in a remarkable situation: she has accidentally summoned the Mr. Darcy to the real world. Now, she's face-to-face with the man she's loved forever, and he's everything she dreamed he would be. Handsome? Check. Brooding? Check. Talks like he swallowed a thesaurus? Check and check. But even in all his regency perfection, can he ever be as good as in the novel? And if he's here, in her London apartment trying to figure out how to work a shower , what will happen to the literary world he came from? With Nick—the last man she could ever be prevailed upon to work with—urging her to send the fictional Darcy back to his own story, Zoe will have to decide what she really wants from a happy ending, before it's too late.

REVIEW: This was my first time reading Freya Sampson’s work, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you’re a fan of Pride & Prejudice, then this story is undeniably the one for you because most of the plot center’s around it. Unfortunately, I’ve never been able to get through the first chapter of it. (Believe me, I’ve tried - many times). Thanks to the movie, which I’ve seen countless times, I was able to keep up with all of the Pride & Prejudice references in this story, but if you know nothing about it, then you might have a little trouble keeping up with the plot of Most Ardently Yours. Let me also note that this book has a lot of fantasy and magic elements, just in case you’re not into things like that. The main characters are all lovable, and most of the secondary characters are too. The narrator, Florence Howard, is spectacular. This was my first time listening to her, and I will definitely be on the lookout for more of her work. There are several dynamics at play in this story besides just romance. On a deeper level, it’s about self-discovery and believing in yourself. I highly recommend it.

(DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this title from NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own).