From Publishers WeeklyCaldwell's debut reimagines Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as a heart-pounding western romance. The Civil War is over, but the scars remain. The Bennets leave the family farm in Ohio and move to the plains of Texas. Beth loves the open land, but clings to her Union loyalties. When she meets Confederate officer Will Darcy, the reclusive owner of neighboring Pemberley Ranch, she declares him arrogant. George Whitehead, a decorated Union officer, reinforces her opinions with his lies and insinuations. Over time, Beth re-evaluates her opinions and learns some hard truths about the Civil War. Unlike many of the Austen homages crowding the shelves, Pemberley Ranch is both fresh and a great history primer. Tenderness sometimes devolves into saccharine triteness, but the arguments and standoffs build up to an action-filled showdown that rescues this adaptation from mediocrity. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. From BooklistAfter losing their eldest son in the Civil War, the Bennet family moves from Merryton, Ohio, to Rosings, Texas, to start over. Their daughter Beth is appalled at the thought of moving to a Southern state, swearing never to forget that she is a Northerner. Her sister Jane falls in love with the town’s new doctor, Charles Bingley, friend of the largest landowner, Will Darcy. The two met during the war fighting for the South. When Charles’ Georgia plantation is burned during Sherman’s march to the sea, he decides to follow his friend home. Beth can forgive Charles his Southern roots after he marries Jane, but she is hard-pressed to like his best friend. Can Beth overcome her prejudice toward Will? Can Will explain his true character to Beth? In Caldwell’s reincarnation of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Caldwell successfully transplants the themes of the original to post–Civil War Texas, where the consequences and the villains are far more dangerous. Both fans of westerns and Pride and Prejudice will enjoy this latest entry in the Austen craze. --Patty Engelmann

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