A Date with Darcy (Bookish Boyfriends #1) by Tiffany Schmidt
ARC received from Netgalley for a fair review.
Publish Date: 4/24/2018
When Merilee transfers from an all girls school to Reginald R. Hero High she thinks it just might be the place she might meet her personal hero. That is, if they can live up to all the bookish boyfriends she’s forever dreaming about. Having herself surrounded by actual Romeo’s it seems that Merilee might just be living out one of her favorite love stories of all time.
The Story
Okay, so I was really thrown by this book. Initially when I started this book I thought I would spend it rolling my eyes from cheesy cringe worthy moments. But I didn’t! I must say, it did take me a quite a few chapters to find myself invested, but once I was, I was there for the long haul, which to be honest, I did think the book was a little long for a YA contemporary.
So, at first I was a little confused, because I thought to myself, “where’s Mr. Darcy?” because, to be honest, I picked this because I am a sucker for anything P&P inspired. When the book started off spouting Romeo & Juliet bits I was a bit lost. I am so glad I stuck it out, because somehow Schmidt was able to bring it around to relate to P&P. Let’s just say I was swoony and cringing in the good way by the end, sighing, laying my kindle against my chest and smiling really cheesily towards my husband. If you want your HEA, it’s definitely can be found here.
I loved that this book referenced real books as well as I am assuming some fictional. A lot of the references were sneaked in so well, I just loved the extra seasoning it added to the book. I thought it really brought together the obsessive nature Merilee had towards books. The best part was how Merilee started to realize what a life would be like if the things that happened in the books happened in real life and ultimately how it made her feel.
Okay, so things I didn’t like? Obviously the slow to start and the length. I don’t think I really need to delve more into that. The thing that really irked me was mostly how perfect everyone in Merilee’s life was. I think too much time was spent on how swoony these boys were, especially when her best friend was incredibly sensitive to be objectified for her looks. I didn’t think it quite matched.
LGBTQ bonus, some of Merilee’s new friends at Hero high were lesbian. The best part is, it’s not pointed out as a struggle with their family or anything. It’s accepted as a norm.
Anyway, if you like cutesy YA contemporaries, especially ones that involve book nerds and psuedo retellings of classics, then by all means, pick this up.
Oh and Tiffany Schmidt, please tell me that the next book is a Date with Theodore Laurence!
The Characters
Let’s just talk about Merilee. She had a great arc as she learned from her selfish whims about dream boys to reality. Let me be incredibly frank about why I loved her from the beginning and please don’t judge. I was exactly the same way when I was 15. I am not joking that I would rush into a “friendship” with a boy just to see if it would play out into a great swoon worthy romance. I’d like to admit that I was definitely boy crazy and incredibly flighty. I was Lydia Bennet. It’s such a surprise that I got married at 18 and am still happily married 12 years later. Yay us.
The Soundtrack
Taylor Swift – Love Story
