3.5 stars

This is a hard one for me to review. On the one hand, I absolutely LOVED the premise. A sasquatch-hunting reality show? A snarky protagonist who isn’t afraid to speak her mind but is secretly a giant softie? An Indian-British love interest? Sign me up! On the other hand, I thought the plot was a tad bit too slow for me, and I just wanted a little bit more.

I think, in the end, I definitely leaned in the like side of the spectrum. The characters are very cute, and the relationship between Devan and Sam is definitely one of my favorites. I definitely could see the Pride & Prejudice similarities throughout the story, but I would have liked for their relationship to veer off on its own path at some point. Honestly, that was the thing I most wanted from this book - more relationship, less Sasquatch hunting.

But, all-in-all, it's a fun read and I think a lot of readers will enjoy it.

I'm unable to provide a review at this time. Unfortunately, I DNFed this book in the first 17%. It just didn't grab my attention. I apologize for any inconvenience.

I’m a sucker for the burgeoning ‘nerd contemporary’ trend in young adult fiction lately. Books about nerdy kids or nerdy ventures with contemporary settings were sorely missing when I was growing up. So I love it when a fun new book comes around.

Sasquatch, Love, and Other Imaginary Things is a book about young love, reality television, and Bigfoot. Yeah, I know. How ridiculous does that sound? Also: how awesome does that sound? Tack on the fact that it’s also a retelling of Pride and Prejudice and the book pitch is so weird that you have to read it.

And the crazy thing is that it works!

I’m always game for fun and imaginative storytelling and you can’t deny that the concept of this book is unique. With so many classic retellings out there these days you might doubt that the book could really set itself apart. And if it were just about a pair of teenagers duking it out in a battle of wits in some generic reality show then I might agree. But the Bigfoot angle is interesting and the way the various Pride and Prejudice character-types are worked in feels so natural you might not recognize the connections at first.

The book follows Sam Berger, the daughter of Bigfoot hunters from rural Ohio who have pulled their three daughters into this flight of fancy. With money tight they jump on the chance to be involved in a crazy reality television competition series called Myth Gnomers that promises a decent payout – if they capture definitive evidence of Bigfoot’s existence. No big deal, right? Except that their competition are a group of preppy kids from some hoity-toity boarding school called Netherfield Academy. (Yes, Jane Austen fans, the school is actually called Netherfield Academy.)

Sam plays the part of Lizzy Bennet and the Bergers generally reflect the Bennets for the most part in this modern retelling. Their parents certainly different in many regards from the Bennet parents but the sisters very much take up their respective roles. Sam is smart, independent and has big dreams to someday be a doctor. She’s very much like Lizzy in a lot of ways while her older sister, Sophie, takes on a lot of Jane Bennet’s characteristics and their younger sister, Lyssa, is essentially Lydia.

Then there is Devan Das – our resident Darcy. The Netherfield group is rounded out by his friend Kyle Park and Kyle’s step-sister Caroline Bing who represent the Bingleys. (Interestingly, Caroline is the only character whose name is the same in both books with the exception of literally three letters.) Other characters are very obviously represented as well. The show’s pretty boy host is clearly Wickham and his relationships onset more than confirm that. Meanwhile we see a much harsher, more exaggerated Lady Catherine de Bourgh in the Netherfield Academy dean.

Many of the same plot points in Pride and Prejudice appear throughout the book. I don’t want to spoil much but events like Jane falling ill and having to stay with the Bingleys find their way into Sasquatch, Love, and Other Imaginary Things. And, of course, despite her better senses, we see Sam falling for a Devan. Over the course of the book his path crosses more and more frequently with Sam’s and their relationship comes off as very natural with a lot of the scenes transcending the limitations of Lizzy and Darcy’s interactions in Pride and Prejudice – since in this day and age teenagers spend time together unsupervised and it’s completely normal.

Granted, very few of their interactions are necessarily private. This is, after all, a reality show and that is very obvious at all times. In fact, one of my favorite random side characters is probably Hal, the camera man who is assigned to document the Bergers’ adventures. But there are great secondary characters throughout the book. Beth is such a badass.

In the end, do they discover the truth about Bigfoot?

You’ll have to read and find out. But if you a fan of young adult romance, classic retellings, or just books with weirdly quirky pitches then you’ll definitely want to check out Sasquatch, Love, and Other Imaginary Things!

DISCLOSURE: A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. The review was published as part of a book tour promoted by Rockstar Book Tours.