If you cannot resist a Jane Austen retelling, you MUST pick up Corrie Garrett's novel honoring Pride and Prejudice and sisterhood. Timely, just as Pride and Prejudice was, this book takes on real American issues against the backdrop of a beloved novel.

While I love a good Jane Austen retelling, this one felt off for me. The story follows the Benitez sisters, who are navigating life as semi-documented immigrants in Southern California, and while the premise is intriguing, it quickly fell into problematic territory. The author, who lacks Latino heritage, seems to miss the mark by relying on stereotypes and failing to fully grasp the significance of the characters' backgrounds.

Darcy, the romantic lead, was particularly tough to root for. His views on immigration felt outdated and unsympathetic, making it hard to see why Elisa would be interested in him at all. The attempts to tackle political issues just turned the characters into entitled figures that detracted from the romance. Overall, I found it disappointing and not something I could genuinely enjoy.

One of my goals these last couple months is reading the books I've been neglecting on my kindle. Unfortunately this is just not what I am interested in at the moment so I dnfed it.

DNF at 25%. It's been over three years since I received this ARC. I gave it a go and have decided it is not for me. It interested me then and no longer does now.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This was released around rhe same time as other "similar" title (1) Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors, 2) Unmarriageable, and 3) Ayesha at Last) - this is the title people don;t know about. I'm trying to repait that. Any time I'm part of a discussion/lecture/event where those three are mentioned I bring this title into the discussion. I think it warrnants attention and is worth reading.

A modern Latina/American retelling of the classic Jane Austen novel, this will be enjoyable for those who liked the original as well as new readers.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I'm a bit late to this reviewing party, but I finished this book awhile ago and have been having problems deciding exactly what I want to say about it. I didn't especially like this book. I love Pride and Prejudice, but I had a few problems with some decisions the author made for this retelling.

1. Darcy was vile. We're supposed to like him right? He's considering supporting and funding Trump. His opinions on the Dreamers and immigration in general are problematic and I don't get why Elisa would want to be with him, much less anyone else who supports human rights. He needs to check his white privilege and gain some compassion.

2. Any discussion of Trump in this novel was completely safe. You have to pick a side here. He's sexist and a racist. If you don't want to offend Trump supporters, just leave it out. Pick a different politician.

3. It's completely unbelievable. This ranges from the way people talk about politics to the fact that Elisa likes Darcy.

Sorry, I just didn't like it. At all.

I would like to thank netgalley and the author for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book to be racist.

The author is white with no Latino heritage, she is arrogant enough to state that she doesn't see why she can't write from a Latino pov because she has friends who are latino. She needs to learn to take a step back and realise that this isn't her story to tell. She also admits that she doesn't care if people have citizenship or not, that it's more important to go to heavon, all this tells me is that she doesn't see why citizenship is so important.

A lot of the Latino characters fall into stereotypes; cleaners, rapists, prostitutes. There is tone policing in the Trump valley scene, people of colour are allowed to be angry but not too angry about Trump's policies.

Darcy's opinions on immigration and Trump are appalling. He was considering funding Trump and did go to a rally in support of him. He thought that Trump just needed to be kept in check. He believes that undocumented immigrants are criminals and are taking some jobs from white citizens. White people in America are also immigrants, they stole the land from the Native Americans. He does begin to examine his privilege and racism, but I don't really believe the turn around or why Elisa would want to be with him.


Letitia is blamed for what happened to her and disregarded because she's a teenager. There also isn't a lot on Elisa's heritage, she could have been immigrant from anywhere. None of the main characters seem to make an effort to learn Spanish or about the families heritage.

Not gonna lie, I love Pride and Prej, and I'll read pretty much any Jane Austen retelling. In the latest one, Pride & Prejudice and Passports, the Benitez family are semi-documented immigrants. Noa, the oldest daughter, was brought to the US as a baby, so she works under-the-table and waits for legalization. Elisa and the other girls were born in the US, so Elisa has a shot at college and upperclass work, but of course that can't be investigated too closely without revealing her family's status. When Noa helps out her parents by cleaning their rental cabins, she meets the handsome republican politician, Bingley, and they fall almost immediately in love. It's just the sort of meet-cute and effortless romance that perfectly modernized Jane and Bingley. Naturally, Caroline Bingley is not impressed by her brother dating the housekeeper, which also modernizes the original very well.

This worked on one level, because you could actually see class differences between the Benitez family and the Darcy/ Bingley contingent. But it was hard to sympathize with the republicans or really care very much about the entitled, wealthy class. As republicans veer more and more from being people who'd quite like lower taxes, to being people who want lower taxes for themselves, at literally any cost to other humans, and are willing to ally themselves with the lowest of the low in hope of saving a couple bucks... It's harder and harder to have a sympathetic republican character, let alone a republican politician who inherited his position from his dad.  Sure, it's pretty realistic to have a young man who's a republican because his dad told him that democrats are lazy takers or bleeding hearts or whatever, but it still made Darcy completely unappealing. It takes a LOT to make Mr. Darcy unattractive, but hey, this book managed it. 

Clever retelling of the Benitez sisters' stories, but attempts at political messaging just made Darcy and Bingly into unsympathetic, entitled bros and killed the romance.

I was given the right to read this book for free through Netgalley, but review and opinions are both mine.


think that this book was definitely not in the realm that I usually read, but it was absolutely worth it and I’m glad that I got the chance to read this book. I was interested because this book hits close to home with the topic at hand. It’s about the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and the fears, anxiousness and helpfulness the recipients feel. The paranoias that pass through our minds that sometimes we are sometimes to afraid to speak out loud. It’s something very heartbreaking and it’s so personal.

I definitely enjoyed reading this, it was an incredible story that I literally could not put down. I really enjoyed the spin that the writer took while writing this. And I think she did splendid.

The romance was just right, and I actually found myself liking it. Even though it is an essential part of the book it’s not overpowering the entire plot and I think that’s my favorite part. I never really enjoyed pride and prejudice so I guess just because this was written doesn’t mean that it’s going to automatically be my favorite.


It is definitely worth the read I totally recommend it.

I almost always enjoy P&P retellings and this one was unique and well-done. It was quite different from other retellings I've read both in setting and how the original story was changed to include a modern story of immigration law. I will say that this is not my favourite retelling of all time and it took me longer than expected to get through it, but it was still an interesting take on the original.

I won't be reviewing this book because I don't review self-published books.

Star rating based on average review

Pride and Prejudice is a book I simply adore so when I found this modern retelling I was so excited and barely after starting to read it I was remembering how much love I have for these characters (I even started another The Lizzie Bennet Diaries marathon just after) but sadly, for Pride and Prejudice and Passports, I couldn't find the same love.

Most of the time I really love retellings, seeing the twists they bring to the original story in a new setting, and while I enjoyed reading this story, I feel like I already knew the story, which I did, it's the tricky thing with retellings, but I didn't find anything new to the old story. And I know it was an important part of the plot, but there was really too many politics involved for me, I didn't expect that much. Also everything seemed to happen so fast?? Quick read inside and out.

Despite this, I still enjoyed my reading, diving into the Elizabeth (or Elisa in this book) and Darcy feelings once again, and at my greatest joy, a lot more of Gigi than the original version (seriously, she was the best part of the book and I'm so glad she had a bigger part this girl deserves her own story, her own book).

I wanted so badly to love this book as I do love all things related to Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice. I've read so many remakes of the brilliant book and was excited to see a modern retelling. Unfortunately, this book was filled with stereotypes of Latinx folks and I felt like the author did not have a true understanding and grasp of what it means to be Latinx, a DACA dreamer, and working class poor. The characters were all surface and lacked depth... as did the setting. The story line jumped around too much and was unrelateable.
I do not believe this book did justice to the original Pride and Prejudice and, unfortunately, will not be recommending it to others.

I’ve read some modern re-tellings of classics that have just fallen flat. Sometimes classics are named classics because they are indeed just that: stories that transcend time. They shape our culture and understanding of the past. They also help us shape our future and in particular the way authors and readers write and engage with novels. I felt a bit skeptical about Corrie Garrett’s novel because I wasn’t sure how it could work. Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, published in 1813, has also never been a favorite of mine. In fact, I am not a huge Austen fan in general. I do, however, love Elizabeth Gaskell and George Eliot.

There are aspects of Garrett’s novel that are truly innovative and I do believe these innovations make the story of Austen’s novel accessible to a younger contemporary audience. It is set in 2016 in Southern California. It is a time in history that I believe many people will be talking about for decades to come, the U.S. election that saw Donald Trump come to power as U.S. president. In this time there are three Mexican sisters (some of the family is undocumented) who end up crossing paths with political royalty so to speak.

The love story of Darcy and Elisa mimics that of Austen’s original novel. At times, I felt the characterization was a little bit forced, but then also reading over Austen’s original novel I actually felt the same way about her writing. Darcy is one of the most annoying love interests I have read in a novel. I am infuriated every time by his actions whether it is in Garrett’s retelling or Austen’s original. Who knows though, maybe that was Austen’s point all along? But what I find even more infuriating is that many readers love Darcy’s character to the point where they say he is their literary fantasy boyfriend!

Tied up in this tempestuous love affair are the discussions of immigration, conservative politics, and Trump. From the beginning of the novel Darcy and Elisa identity as politically conservative. Yet their conservatism does not exactly meet eye to eye. Elisa’s parents and one of her sisters are undocumented immigrants in U.S. The family overstayed their visa and are now under the DACA program. A program that helps undocumented people, in particular children, to have a legal and safe path to permanent residency and/or citizenship in the United States. Elisa is concerned that if Trump is elected the DACA program will be revoked and her family will be at risk of deportation. Elisa struggles with standing up for her family and other Latinx people in the U.S. and falling into the trap of the model immigrant: someone who doesn’t step out of line or say the wrong thing.

Talking about immigration is hard. People are often unwilling to see different sides to stories or show compassion for the people hurt by immigration policies. Immigration has always been a concern for me because I am immigrant myself living in Switzerland and my partner has a South American passport meaning we have a mixed cultural/passport marriage. The misconceptions around the world from the general population have about how ‘easy’ it is to emigrate are sometimes laughable. And governments often do not correct these misconceptions because it makes it easier for them to create even more damaging and hardline policies surrounding immigration. Immigration is extremely tough and honestly, people need to show more compassion. Until you have given up your culture, language, lifestyle, climate, food, family, and friends you might want to just sit down and listen.

Garrett’s novel tries to show how undocumented immigrants feel about being undocumented along with the fears they have about their safety and security in the U.S. On the other side, she also shows people who are less understanding and who buy into the negative stereotypes about immigrants. In this regard, her discussions are balanced, but at times I felt a bit too safe.

Moreover, the discussions about Trump were also too safe. Trump’s mistreatment of women and sexual harassment history were completely overlooked in the novel. I know it is difficult to bring up sexual assault and misogyny as it probably means the novel has to be extended and the storyline has to be adapted to it, yet I felt this omission made it look like the characters of the novel were living under a rock. I don’t live in the U.S. and I was still aware of those allegations.

To be honest, I feel this book would be great to study for high school students and I think it could be a great starting point for people to have discussions about immigration. However, in order to do it correctly, I think the novel should be supplemented with other immigrant stories and a history of the United State’s immigration policies and attitudes towards immigrants.

I can see this novel sparking great book club discussions, but it also has the potential to be volatile based on the content. However, if you are brave readers then this can be a great thought provoking novel. What classic retellings do you love? As always, share the reading love.

Note: this novel was accessed through Netgalley for review purposes.

This was a fun quick read! Elisa has returned home to help her family for the summer when she meets two vacationers. One of them is so infuriating that just being around him drives Elisa mad. She ends up being drawn to him and it is fate from there. A re-telling of Pride and Prejudice this is a fun quick summer read for anyone!

A great modern retelling of Pride & Prejudice! It was actually fun to read (I devoured it in 2 days) and I was happily surprised by how some of the classic P&P plot points were interpreted and retold. As a proud latina, it made me happy to see a latina leading lady!

Set in 2016, before/after Trump gets elected, its highly steeped into American politics (with illegal immigrants and DACA at the centre of it). It got a bit tedious at some point as it would sometimes go into a bit too much details. And sometimes the way the characters expressed their political opinions were balanced but felt false at times, as to me that's not really how people speak.

Generally a fun read! (except for those who don't want to relive/read about the 2016 politics)

I'm a complete sucker for Pride & Prejudice retellings. I love the original characters so much that it's usually easy for me to look past a lackluster plot. But I'm not going to lie.. I had to force myself to keep reading this book. (Even with a great Darcy!)
The characters were all there along with the charm the original has.. But I think this book tried to do too much in a short amount of time that it wasn't completely believable. I appreciated the politics in this retelling but it just wasn't for me.

Gotta read all the Pride and Prejudice retellings. What I liked - paralleled the story very well. Lots of creative ways she chose to tell many parts of the story. I also liked that we got some of it from Darcy’s perspective. What I didn’t like - it was heavily based around politics and was very realistic with what happened during the Trump elections. I just don’t want to hear about him and the political drama when I’m reading a book.