MOST ARDENTLY YOURS

A woman accidentally brings Jane Austen’s Mr. Darcy to life in modern-day London.

Zoe Knight once dreamed of writing romance novels, but after being discouraged by her jerk of an ex-boyfriend, she gave up writing for good. But she still loves reading romance, and she much prefers her perfect book boyfriends to real-life London men. When she finds herself in a bookstore one rainy day, she’s horrified to find they don’t carry romance—and the owner, Nick Baskerville, actually says he hates romance novels and the unrealistic expectations they create. Zoe finds a copy of her favorite book, Pride and Prejudice, on the shelf and decides to bring it home with her. But once she’s out of the shop, she quickly realizes this isn’t a regular edition. Reading it somehow summons Fitzwilliam Darcy himself into the real world. He’s wearing Regency clothing, talks like a Jane Austen character, and has no idea where he is. Zoe has no choice but to bring Darcy back to her apartment and help him acclimate to modern life. When Nick finds out that Darcy is in the real world, he tells Zoe she needs to send him back into the book. But Darcy is the literary man of her dreams, and for the first time, Zoe sees how nice it is to come home to a man who’s kind and considerate. She soon finds out, though, that keeping Darcy in modern London might have serious consequences. Sampson has created a delightful fish-out-of-water story—seeing Darcy flounder as he tries to understand showers, buses, and reality TV provides many comedic moments. A twist in the latter part of the book drags things out a bit longer than necessary, but this is still a sweet and funny look at wish fulfillment and learning to appreciate the real life in front of you.

A charmingly absurd romance made for anyone who ever wished their book boyfriends could come to life.