Darcy Fitzwiliam is on top of New York City. As a partner in the second most successful hedge fund in the city and the third wealthiest woman under 29, she has it all. But one visit back home to Pemberley, Ohio, and all her self-confidence is threatened to wash away in just one conversation with her disappointed father. 

Although she hadn't been home in eight years, her mother's heart attack brought her back to her hometown just in time for her family's annual Christmas soiree. Darcy's mother is feeling better, but not quite well enough to attend, and she insists that Darcy buy herself dress and go to the party. 

Just a few minutes into the party, and Darcy is faced with not only several of the reasons she wanted to leave Ohio in the first place, but also some of the things that it pained her to walk away from. Seeing the man who was her first kiss brings back sweet memories until meeting his wife, pregnant with their fourth child, reminds her that one of the main reasons she left was her father's insistence that she get married and have babies. But then she sees her best friend from high school and college, Bingley Charles, and realizes that her loneliness in New York is a problem she needs to face. 

Also at the party are neighbors Jim Bennet and his infuriating brother Luke. And what's worse is that she met up with Luke under the mistletoe. And then, when their passionate bickering turned to a lingering kiss, Darcy looks up to see her on-again, off-again boyfriend and the man her father wants her to marry, Carl Donovan, judging her on that kiss. 

Do some of these names ring a bell in your memory? It's because Melissa de la Cruz has taken the classic Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice and turned it on its head. With a contemporary setting and an exchange of genders, we see the well-known story from a completely different perspective, literally. Told from the point of view of Darcy instead of Luke (Lizzie) Bennet, Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe gives us the other half of the story than Ms. Austen did. And it's fantastic. 

Author de la Cruz gives us sparkling writing that honors the original story and offers genuine surprises and fun all along the way. If you need a novel to help you get into the Christmas spirit, then Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe is the perfect read!

Galleys for Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe were provided by St. Martin's Press through NetGalley.com, with many thanks.