Title: The Bachelors Author: E.S. Carter
Series: Standalone
Release date: October 23, 2017
(Sub)genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 214
Buy: Amazon US ~ Amazon UK
Rating:
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
It is a well-known fact that a single man without a penny to his name must be in want of a rich wife.
Darcy, Bingham and Wick Austen are about to lose the family business.
Without a miracle or a substantial cash investment, Austen's - the bookstore chain that was established by their great-great grandfather - will go into receivership.
A chance encounter at a charity ball with the attractive, single and filthy-rich Bennet sisters has Wick Austen convincing his brothers that the way to save their livelihoods rests at the Bennet's red-soled-shoe clad feet.
But these three women are far more than your average, simpering, society-loving heiresses.
Darcy isn't so sure about his youngest brother's plan, especially when the smart, feisty and ridiculously sexy Eliza Bennet shoots down his advances in a ball of flames, and accuses him of being a proud and egotistical jerk.
Meanwhile, Bingham meets the sweet and approachable Jane, and insta-love ensues, and Wick gets used up and spat out by the youngest and most flighty sister, Lydia.
Will the Austen bachelors secure a wife and save the family name or will they become the Bennet sister's latest conquests?
My most read and watched book / tv series is without any doubt Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. My paperback is almost falling apart and the DVD’s from the BBC series are slightly damaged. When E.S. Carter announced she was going to write a modern version of my beloved book I was very curious. The Bachelors turns out to be a very entertaining book; full of great characters, crazy antics and love.
“She pulled back and looked at him through heavy eyelids. “Now you owe me a drink.” “And then?” “Then you can show me how you worship a queen.”
The Austen brothers – Darcy, Bingham and Wick – are hardworking guys, but their family business is only months away from bankruptcy. It’s not because they don’t try hard enough, but people buy less books nowadays and their mother just can’t stop spending money. The opportunist one of the brothers, Wick, comes up with the plan to seduce the Bennett sisters. One of them, all of them, he doesn’t care, as long as the family bookstores are rescued. Eliza, Jane and Lydia don’t make it easy for the men, but they do find themselves attracted to the brothers.
“I want you. I want us to work together and build something stronger than love.” “Stronger than love? And what, pray tell, do you think I want more than that?” “Power.”
The Bachelors isn’t like any other book by E.S. Carter. While you see her writing style throughout the story, the third-person POV makes it a bit different. You don’t see the actual thoughts of the characters, but given the number of people it couldn’t have been written in different way without getting too much. Because of the number of POV’s a lot is left to the reader’s own imagination, and I love it for a change.
I love The Bachelors. As a huge fan of Pride & Prejudice I adore all the references and similarities to the original book. My favorite couple should be Darcy and Eliza, but the crazy antics of Wick and Lydia make me laugh out loud. They’re inappropriate, scheming and in your face, but I just love these trouble-kids. Darcy and Eliza, and Bing and Jane are great couples too in their own way, but they’re far more normal then the youngest pair.
“He knew her. His heart knew her. His body craved her, and his mind called for her. He didn’t have it bad. He had it good.”
I adore The Bachelors, I give the story of the Austen brothers and the Bennett sisters 5 stars.
Excerpt
“I’ll take a Dirty Martini,” the man to her back said, the smile in his voice evident with every word.
Lydia remained silent and focused on her task, spotting a corkscrew in a small tray of implements just below the counter.
“Isn’t it rude to ignore a paying guest?” he continued, his tone still humorous.
Lydia rolled her eyes even though he couldn’t see her and punched the tip of the corkscrew into the cork. As she twisted, he continued to talk to her back.
“Careful,” he warned. “You’re going to force it into the bottle, and the trick is to get it out, or you’ll spoil the wine.”
Her hand paused mid-twist, and she turned to face the man once more. She stared at him for a beat, until his face began to look uncomfortable under her gaze and she watched him fight the need to squirm under her scrutiny.
“What are you looking at?” he queried, attempting to mask his discomfort under bravado, but Lydia knew men. She knew how to entrap them, seduce them or even scare them away.
Passing her gaze from his waist to the top of his head and back to his eyes, she stated flatly, “Your father’s incorrect use of a condom.”
The man’s gaze widened briefly before sharpening, and Lydia awaited his response, enjoying this game more than she’d thought she would.
“Are you trying to insult me?”
“I would love to—” she continued, twisting hard against the corkscrew and watched him gloat when the cork slid deeper into the neck of the bottle before plopping into the liquid below. Unperturbed she finished, “—But I fear I would not do as well as nature already has.”
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