Review: Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star by Heather Lynn Regaud

Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star
Author: Heather Lynn Rigaud
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Genre: Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 9781402257810
Release date: September 1, 2011
Author's website: Austen Nights

Darcy’s as hot as he is talented…

Fast music, powerful beats, and wild reputations—on and off stage—have made virtuoso guitarist Fitzwilliam Darcy’s band into rock’s newest bad boys. But they’ve lost their latest opening act, and their red-hot summer tour is on the fast track to disaster. Now Darcy and bandmates Charles Bingley and Richard Fitzwilliam are about to meet their match…

But she’s about to rock his world…

Enter Elizabeth Bennet, fiercely independent star of girl-band Long Borne Suffering. Elizabeth, her sister Jane, and friend Charlotte Lucas have talent to spare and jump at the opening band slot. Elizabeth is sure she’s seen the worst the music industry has to offer. But as the days and nights heat up, it becomes clear that everyone is in for a summer to remember.

In this retelling of the book Pride & Prejudice, the setting takes place in modern times and the characters that we love so much are all involved in the rock world.  Fitzwilliam Darcy, Charles Bingley, and Richard Fitzwilliam are rock stars in a band called Slurry.  They are in need of a new opening band and find exactly what they are looking for with Long Borne Suffering, a group that consists of Elizabeth Bennet, her sister Jane, and their good friend Charlotte Lucas.  These ladies know a good thing when they see it and jump at the opportunity to tour with Slurry.  Right away Charles Bingley and Jane Bennet have a connection and before you know it these two kids can't keep their hands off one another!  It takes a while for Darcy to admit it, but he also has a thing for Lizzy and soon he can't stop thinking about her.  Once Lizzy gets to know Darcy a little better she realizes that all of the things that she has read or heard about him is not true.  There is a lot more to him that what she realizes and soon she begins to see another side of Darcy that no one else has gotten the opportunity to see.

What I liked about this book is that I was able to follow the storyline easily.  Even though it's a modern spin on a classical story, the characters were so similar to their original counterparts in some way.  Darcy is still the same brooding character that had to deal with wealth as well as being a celebrity.  Elizabeth is creative and cares for her sister and friends.  Bingley and Jane knew from the beginning that they wanted to be together and made the perfect fit.  The two characters that I was anxious to read about was Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine.  Mr. Collins is just as sleazy in this book than the original and I loved that nothing about him was changed. LOL!  Lady Catherine was the same as well, snooty and bitchy.  She still has that level of power since she is the owner of the record company and every knows that she is the HBIC!  (Head Bitch In Charge)  It was nice to see Caroline Bingley in a different light and in a much supportive role than she originally was. 

I did have a few problems with the book and the first was that the storyline seemed to drag a couple of times through the book.  The length of the book was just a tad too long for me and I think the storyline would have flowed better if it was shorter in length.  Despite this I found the book to be an interesting read and it made me realize how much I love these classic characters.  After I was done reading it I just had to watch my DVD of the movie (2005 version) and fall in love with them all over again.  Heather Lynn Rigaud put an interesting spin on things and I for one loved thinking about Darcy shirtless wearing a pair of leather pants!  Rock on!

I'm giving Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star a rating of:

Make sure you stop by the blog on September 23rd to read my author Q&A with Heather Lynn Rigaud. I think the cover of the book goes perfect with my blog by the way. ;)