OK....I stayed up late last night and finished the book.  Are you impressed?  That's okay, I didn't read it for you. I read it for me and it was delightful!

This book is about a young woman whose dream is to marry a man "Just like Mr. Darcy" from the movie "Pride and Prejudice." And not just any character, but the combination of the fictional character and the real Matthew MacFadyen. (I personally quite prefer Colin Firth, but it wasn't a story about me, was it?) The story , although fun and fast, causes a person to think about what happens when reality strikes and it doesn't match up to your dream.  The main character, Elizabeth Barrett (named after Elizabeth Bennett), falls for one man and then the perfect "Mr. Darcy" walks into her life and she must now face the dilemma of breaking up with the man she fell for in order to pursue the man she has always dreamed of being with. There are ups and down and the author, Karie White, does a wonderful job of making the characters both believable and interesting. I will not spoil the ending for you, however.

I wanted to discuss a certain topic that has to do with this book, but more importantly it as to do with life. It is the idea of having a dream. Not just any dream when you sleep, but having a desire. A desire so strong that you live FOR that dream, forgetting reality. I know, not everyone is as crazy as I am but I am also sure that there are more people out there like me who do this, either consciously or subconsciously.

The reason, I think, that I enjoyed the book as much as it did is because it had a very close similarity to my own life on a few levels. First, I had a very real dream of going to Italy a few years ago, and when I did, I needed to decide if the dream in my head matched up to the reality of my actually being there.  I was very nervous about that for a few months. Well, I was nervous about it for a lot longer because it kept me from actually wanting to go for a while. Anyway...I went and the reality was SO much better that my dream. In fact, I read an article recently about Italy and it took me there once more in my mind and it was is if I was there! You can read it if you have time:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/travel/28Venice.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

The other way it rang true was because I, like many other single woman in the world, have an 'idea' of what the perfect man would be.  I had formed it when I was a young woman, before I had met my ex-husband, and I specifically looked for a man with those features and characteristics. I had based it on someone that I loved and it just seemed like nobody could measure up. Even the man I married didn't 'measure up.' And as I went through twenty-three years of marriage, I changed the qualities I wanted and desired. Sometimes I think doing that made me dissatisfied with the one in my life, but I was deliberately trying to take away any negative qualities. (I mean who doesn't want a 'Mr. Perfect'?)  After the divorce I tried chasing that 'dream' of a man again, never finding him. Then I met Gerald.  He had a few of the things I was looking for in a partner, but not many. (Sorry, Babe) He was smart, caring, loving, and funny as all get out! There are so many qualities that he had that never made my list, but possibly should have, and he had some qualities I found kind of annoying, but I cared for him deeply. However, he wasn't that Mr. Perfect I had built up in my head.  Then THE Mr. Perfect came into my life - the one I had compared every man to - and I thought I had everything.  Well, I couldn't have Gerald and this other man, now, could I? So I hurt Gerald very badly in order to give Mr. Perfect a shot.  And guess what? He completely dashed all my dreams.  I had built him up so much in my mind that even HE couldn't live up to it, not even a little. And he turned out to be scum! I mean Mr. Wickham kind of scum (read "Pride and Prejudice"). And now I had nothing except a dashed dream and a broken heart. But there was something I had not couted on. That Gerald had the ONE quality I needed most - unconditional acceptance. He actually allowed me back into his life and we are now planning a future together.

See? Sometimes dreams come true (Italy), and sometimes they don't (Mr. Perfect). Does that mean we shouldn't have dreams?  I don't think so. But I do think that we should always remember that reality is so much better than any dream.

Read the book if you have the chance - you will not regret it. http://www.amazon.com/Own-Mr-Darcy-Karey-White-ebook/dp/B00DY6QP3I/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1401793088&sr=1-1&keywords=my+own+mr+darcy

And stay tuned...because my next topic will be the difference between Kindle/Nook/hard copy books. Care to weigh in your opinions now?

Looking at my next book in the TBR pile,

Petra