Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings where bloggers share which upcoming releases they’re most looking forward to. Join us every Wednesday and watch your TBR list multiply.

I have such a soft spot for contemporary retellings of Jane Austen. Unfortunately, there aren’t many out there written by authors of color. Or maybe there are and publishing just seems disinterested in signing these authors? There are innumerable Jane Austen retellings by white authors and I just want authors of color and readers of color to see themselves in these books too. This is why whenever I come across a Jane Austen retelling by an author of color, I immediately add it to my TBR. I am immensely excited for Nikki Payne’s upcoming debut, Pride and Protest. I’m very interested to see how this one navigates gentrification when the lead characters seem to be on totally opposite sides of the conflict. Cover is linked to Goodreads.

Title: Pride and Protest
Author: Nikki Payne
Series: N/A
Pages: 416
Publisher: Berkley Books
Publication Date: November 15, 2022

“A woman goes head-to-head with the CEO of a corporation threatening to destroy her neighborhood in this fresh and modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice by debut author Nikki Payne.
Liza B.–the only DJ who gives a jam–wants to take her neighborhood back from the soulless property developer dropping unaffordable condos on every street corner in DC. But her planned protest at a corporate event takes a turn after she mistakes the smoldering-hot CEO for the waitstaff. When they go toe-to-toe, the sparks fly–but her impossible-to-ignore family thwarts her every move. Liza wants Dorsey Fitzgerald out of her hood, but she’ll settle for getting him out of her head.
At first, Dorsey writes off Liza Bennett as more interested in performing outrage than acting on it. As the adopted Filipino son of a wealthy white family, he’s always felt a bit out of place and knows a fraud when he sees one. But when Liza’s protest results in a viral meme, their lives are turned upside down, and Dorsey comes to realize this irresistible revolutionary is the most real woman he’s ever met.”

Are you participating in Can’t-Wait Wednesday or Waiting on Wednesday? Is this book on your TBR? Be sure to leave a link to your post in the comments and I’ll visit!