Everything you could ever want in a novel.

I’m a fast reader, but I read this book slowly. I read every single line carefully, and I feel like the characters lived with me, on the train, at the gym, in my room, as much as I did with them, at Alconleigh. Knight’s writing is concise and witty and devastating, and she has the magic of conjuring a whole, believable individual (a whole host of them, really!) in just a handful of words. This has to be one of my favourite books that I have ever read in my entire life (something I do not say lightly), and I’m going to have to buy a print copy even though the ending has left me absolutely heartbroken and a little tearful, and I’m not sure how I’ll get through it again…

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin/Fig Tree for this privilege.

I’m not extremely familiar with the source material for this one but I absolutely loved this, a really fun romp of a read with characters and their private language that I immediately warmed to. My one complaint would be that the ending, whilst I think very in keeping with the original, feels extremely underwritten compared to what came before and it’s a shame after such a vivid portrait of these characters and their lives. Highly recommended and thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A modern retelling of Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love, this was really enjoyable and good fun. Quirky & funny, this is a good story to dip in to, though not necessarily the most memorable.

This modern-day re-telling of Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love, deftly captures the spirit of the original and will undoubtedly evoke a similar sense of comfort and occasional disquiet in readers, A book to be read by the fire on a winter's afternoon and passed on to friends.

Marooned in a sprawling farmhouse in Norfolk, teenage Linda Radlett feels herself destined for greater things. She longs for love, but how will she ever find it? She can't even get a signal on her mobile phone. Linda's strict, former rock star father terrifies any potential suitors away, while her bohemian mother, wafting around in silver jewellery, answers Linda's urgent questions about love with upsettingly vivid allusions to animal husbandry.

Eventually Linda does find her way out from the bosom of her deeply eccentric extended family, and she escapes to London. She knows she doesn't want to marry 'a man who looks like a pudding', as her good and dull sister Louisa has done, and marries the flashy, handsome son of a UKIP peer instead.

But this is only the beginning of Linda's pursuit of love, a journey that will be wilder, more surprising and more complicated than she could ever have imagined.

Whilst I definitely enjoyed the first half, "Darling" became very repetitive; the characters were well-crafted, though the story itself could not hold my attention.

Thank you to India Knight, NetGalley and the publishers for the e-arc of this marvelous book!

This characters in this book are absolutely fascinating! Tied to this one magical family of the Radlett's and their surrounding neighbours, colleagues and friends it tells the story of the daughter: Linda's romances. Often ill fated it spins a tale of love, loss and the way romance changes us.

Hilarious, heartbreaking and heartfelt these characters feel so important to me I care about them deeply and that ending really did break my heart.

An intriguing premise and as well-written and engaging as you'd expect from a writer of Knight's calibre. Bound to be a sure-fire – and deserved – hit with her many fans. 3.5 stars

This is well written and I enjoyed the first half - there are some really funny observations and the characters are well drawn and properly eccentric. However, for me the story didn't work after this. I found Linda annoying and I didn't believe that she could exist on the modern world.

India Knight takes on the mighty task of re-imagining Nancy Mitford's classic comedy of manners, The Pursuit of Love.

There is a lot of pressure, taking on a novel that is beloved of so many people, me included, and I approached this with some trepidation, but I have to say that this is an absolute triumph.

Linda Radlett is a hopeless romantic. Brought up in the Norfolk countryside by her parents, Matthew, an ageing and deeply eccentric rockstar and Sadie, a generous earth mother who home schools the children, she is agog to get at the modern world. Once she meets Lord Merlin, an avant garde fashion designer who owns the stately home next door, she begins to model for him and is sucked into the world she thinks she wants, only to find it is not quite what she imagined.

This has all the best elements of the original, cleverly and beautifully. brought up to date by Knight. It is an absolute and utter joy.

Darling, by India Knight, is a retelling of Nancy Mitford's Pursuit of Love. I wanted to like this book more than I did, because I felt it had the potential to captivate, but it just wasn't for me. While the characters were wonderfully crafted with strong voices, it felt choppy and I never could comfortably settle into reading it. I'd read a chapter, then wander off to do something, come back and read another, then wander off again.

I think it was wonderfully written and full of entertaining characters, so I did enjoy that part of it. The story itself did not hold my attention at all, and I almost DNFed it, but since it was short, I was able to finish it in a day. To be fair, most reviewers were thrilled with it and sang its praises, so give it a try and see what you think.

Thanks to NetGalley, India Knight, and Penguin for providing the ARC for my review.

Well written, I enjoyed this for the first half but then thought it became rather the same again and again. Nothing much happened and even Linda, the woman the story centred on, had no character arc; she seemed pretty much as empty-headed and trivial at the end as at the beginning. Linda’s cousin, Fran, is the narrator, and she has almost no presence of note, which is a shame. There are some interesting characters; in particular Linda’s father, the crude ageing ex-rock star and his gentle wife, Sadie. But none have any clear character arc, and although I do not need an obvious ‘plot’ in order to enjoy a novel, there does need to be ‘something’ happen! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance digital galley.

I absolutely LOVED this book! Am still thinking about the characters days later - it's mainly Linda's story but Davey, Matthew and Merlin were so well drawn. And the dialogue is sparky and just crackles. I know it's a reimagining of The Pursuit of Love (which I've read but can't remember!) but India Knight really takes it and creates a whole new world. Funny, quirky and heartbreaking x

I like to begin a book for review without knowing much about it. Within a few pages I was thinking - 'Surely this is The Pursuit of Love?' and indeed this is a 21st century retelling of that novel. It is charming, and the character of Linda comes over as attractive and compelling - not an easy thing to accomplish. I enjoyed it very much but the storyline is very close to the original Mitford and I did find myself wondering what the point was of retelling such a popular and well-written novel.

But it is a pleasant way to spend an afternoon as it's easy reading and charming.

Darling by India Knight is a modern take on The Pursuit of Love. I enjoyed the sibling and cousin dynamics although I would've liked more of Fran.

I was curious to see how this "updated" version would work and very much enjoyed it. I thought the POV worked very well and while the cast of characters are familiar, they still seem fresh. It is full of fun and madness and is wonderfully quirky. A quick read, ideal for holidays.

Darling is a homage to Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love. It's many years since I read Mitford's novel so I cannot comment on whether Darling is a suitable homage or not. What I can say is that it is a very enjoyable. light hearted novel which details the story of Fran (the narrator) and her cousins, all of whom are brought up in rural Norfolk. At the heart of their family is Matthew (Uncle to Fran) who is an ageing rock star. He is a very funny and likeable character and I especially liked the lists of all the things he abhorred. The main character is Linda, Fran's cousin who has two unsuccessful marriages before finding the love of her life.

Recommended. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I love India Knight’s column in the Sunday Times so was really looking forward to this book. Unfortunately it didn’t live up to my expectations. It was a modern day version of the Mitford girls and I didn’t find the characters likeable. It is well written if you like the story, with some excellent descriptions of life in rural Norfolk.

This is a very lightweight story with stereotypical characters. I have read a couple of India Knight’s books and although light they were enjoyable. This book was not engaging at all

I have read and loved India Knights books before so was really looking forward to this! I loved the idea of the re-telling of The Pursuit of Love and the resultant slightly mad, warm, funny and sad story. I read it in one sitting and didn't want it to end.