Format: Paperback
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Page Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Berkley (December 3, 2019)
Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mr. Darcy‘s Rating: “You have bewitched me, body and soul.”
A Chasing Mr. Darcy Review
Little Women is one of my favorite classic books, and I was excited and nervous to read this modern retelling of the story. I wanted the characters to be done right, and I wanted the plot to be done right…and Virginia Kantra more than does this story right. She crushes it with this book!
Here’s a plot synopsis from Amazon: The March sisters—reliable Meg, independent Jo, stylish Amy, and shy Beth—have grown up to pursue their separate dreams. When Jo followed her ambitions to New York City, she never thought her career in journalism would come crashing down, leaving her struggling to stay afloat in a gig economy as a prep cook and secret food blogger. Meg appears to have the life she always planned—the handsome husband, the adorable toddlers, the house in a charming subdivision. But sometimes getting everything you’ve ever wanted isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. When their mother’s illness forces the sisters home to North Carolina for the holidays, they’ll rediscover what really matters. One thing’s for sure—they’ll need the strength of family and the power of sisterhood to remake their lives and reimagine their dreams.
First things first, I’ve never been a Jo fan. I love Meg and Amy forever, but I find Jo shellfish, self-centered, rude, aggressive…the list of negative qualities I find in Jo goes on and on. Virginia Kantra did the impossible with this book, though, by making me root for Jo. I loved Jo’s modern character, her ambition, her goals…all so relatable in this retelling. I also really liked her love match in this story. I found him sexy and intriguing in a way I never found Baer in the original book. My biggest concern, though, was how a modern day Laurie would be written. Laurie was my first book boyfriend, my first crush from the pages, if you will, and I very much wanted my first to live up to my memory in this book. Of course, he goes by Trey in this story, but I really love this modern day Laurie. He’s lost and believes himself hopelessly in love with Jo; the difference in this story, though, is his relationship with Jo has actually run its course. They’ve dated and slept together, and learned why they don’t work together. I think this was an important growth aspect to the story because it gave validation to his feelings for Jo that were so unrequited in the original book, but also gave him a place to move forward from.
As for Meg, I only love her character more after reading this book. The story for Meg in this book covers the time after her marriage to John, and it shows how hard their relationship was at times. Both of them lose themselves at different points in the story, and Meg can barely function under this incredible pressure to be perfect at everything. She wants to be the perfect wife, the perfect mother, the perfect daughter, the perfect sister, the perfect friend…it’s exhausting, but she doesn’t know any other way to function. Part of her journey in this book is learning how to be more herself and less of a model of perfection, learning how to let things go to make room for something that might be better. John wants to be the husband she wants and needs, but he sometimes doesn’t know how to get past Meg’s exterior. And, Meg doesn’t always know how to let him in, either. It takes some major life events for Meg and John to get back on track, but when they do, it’s the picture of marital bliss. It’s not perfect, but it is perfectly them.
This book is a winner, hands down deserves all the stars. If you haven’t picked this story up yet, you should!
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