• CW: resolved fatmisia and homophobia—It’s resolved at the very end of the book just so you know and can take care.
  • One of my favorite parts of reading a Pride and a Prejudice retelling is seeing how a new author fits in all the parts of P&P while simultaneously making it their own.
  • Ooooh so definitely the nephew of  Begum Beena dey Bagh, the owner of the British School Group is going to be Mr. Darcy or Mr. Bingley? Right??!
  • The Binat family is an amazing portrayal of the Bennet family just saying.
  • But seriously is there anything better than a wedding in a romance book?? So many opportunities!

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  • Kamal does an excellent job of doing a play on Austen phrases while making it sound natural and not archaic.
  • There’s a lot of comments about weight in this book…
  • Always nice to toss in “sense and sensibility” in there if you can.
  • And a lot of “the less they shine the better” which is kind of sad.
  • I’m hesitant to criticize this book on problematic aspects because I am not familiar with the culture. But just know there’s a lot of off-hand comments—particularly about weight and body type.
  • YES, we’re finally getting to Bingley, that means Darcy is next.
  • Ah, Bungles is so adorable. Kamal nailed his personality and his puppy aesthetic.
  • Wow if anything, Kamal really knows how to capture the hearts and feeling of a character and deliver them in an entirely unique package. I’m so impressed and I swoon at Darsee even though I’m like, “Oh yeah I’m not supposed to like him yet.
  • “[Darsee] loves you. He wants to marry you. He yearns for you to have his arrogant babies” (90). One thing the 2005 movie lacks is Charlotte. She’s such a great character and is shown so little. Not so with this book. I love Sherry so much. She’s hilarious and good-natured.
  • Mrs. Binat is completely bonkers. She has no sense of propriety HONESTLY. How could she tell the driver to just leave them there?
  • Poor Darsee, he already loves Alys so much and she is nowhere close to being on amicable terms with him.
  • Okay but Alys and Darsee are so good together. Look at them talking up a storm and they challenge each other perfectly.

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  • But catch that come back to “I’ll just write a book” “Since we all have a brain, I plan to perform brain surgery as soon as I have a spare moment.” ALYS IS A QUEEN.
  • This will be boring but Wickaam is so charming and Kaleen (Collins) is so repulsive.
  • Okay but Daraee giving Alys the book and asking for her thoughts is SO ROMANTIC. Wow I swoon so hard.
  • The sexism of the parents in this book is kind of unbearable… it encourages so many backwards things (197)
  • But Annie’s comment, “I won’t end up as Anne de Bourgh” in a literal Pride and Prejudice retelling is literally the biggest “ayyyyye” I’ve ever seen.
  • Poor Darsee he can’t catch a break lol
  • SHERRY REALLY SAID IT IM DYING “He’s aching to discuss the novel he gave you. Aching! …Such an ache… such a deep ache.”
  • That proposal was something else for sure 243
  • Yes, the bond between husband and wife should be stronger than children. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  263
  • “It was a truth universally acknowledged, Alys suddenly thought with a smile, that people enter our lives in order to recommend reads”
  • Alys such a dork lol
  • Also, this interaction at Darsee’s house had so much potential. I think the author needed to put in what Alys was feeling a little more. The dialogue is there, but the rest is missing, so it feels a bit stilted.
  • So the ending is kind of wrapped up quickly, so the pacing could be a bit better. The whole thing with Wickaam and Jenna and Bungles and Alys and Darsee is in the last like 60 pages? Which for how slow the book is extremely fast. But I love how alls well ends well. The appearance of all the characters in Social Life was a nice addition.

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  • 6.5/10—I really loved this book for the social commentary. It’s probably the heaviest social commentary Pride and Prejudice retelling I’ve ever read. I imagine this was the kind of splash Pride and Prejudice made when it debuted in the 1800s. There are a few things I felt were lacking, but there were also so many things that were done so well and I really enjoyed.
    • Naturally as (most) Pride and Pride and Prejudice retellings, it was a “clean romance” without any explicit sexual content.
    • Sherry (Charlotte)-I flipping LOVED Sherry in this book. She was sharp and knew what she wanted. I think she also delivered some much-needed temperance and judgment to ALL the Binat sisters, including Alys. She was by far my favorite character in this book. She’s kind of the moderate in between Alys and Mrs. Binat.
    • Khaleen (Collins)—Khaleen was definitely still very sexist. But I also think Kamal was able to show the good parts of his heart in the best possible way, which I really appreciate.
    • The romance with Alys and Darsee was just meh. They started up very promising and I think they had some really stellar, organic scenes. But a lot of the iconic moments we’re supposed to have just fell short (e.g. the “Pemberley Scene” where they’re supposed to talk and kind of realize that neither hates each other now). The scene where she finds out Lydia goes missing really makes it seem like Darsee doesn’t care and wants nothing to do with her–when in reality it’s because he’s concerned for Lady’s welfare. It would make a lot more sense if it would have been written that Darsee’s concerned about what effect this might have on Annie because of Lady and Wickaam’s engagement, and out of propriety and knowledge she needed to leave for Dilipad as soon as possible, left Alys. That being said, balancing romance and plot/social commentary is definitely not easy. And if Kamal had to choose one to emphasize, I do appreciate it was social commentary, since most P&P retellings don’t focus on it.
    • I have some messy thoughts about Lady and Wickaam. I totally get creative license and the ability for Kamal to write Lady how she wants. But at the same time, the way it was written, and because Lady was so cruel (beyond anyting Lydia had ever said or done), makes it seem like Lady got what she deserved. Like if you go gallivanting off with boys, you deserve a lazy, selfish husband. So I’m not super excited about the way everything with Wickhaam worked out. But it’s kind of a minor thing.