Review: Mr. Darcy's Noble Connections

Book: Mr. Darcy's Noble Connections
Author: Abigail Reynolds

Ms. Reynolds has done it again!! This time around she brings us to a new location with a new cast of characters.

Our story starts after the unsuccessful proposal at Hunsford, which has brought Elizabeth to visit her friend, Lady Eleanor, at Bentham Park. Darcy just happens to be visiting his hood friend, Mr. Paxton, at a neighboring estate at the same time Elizabeth is at Bentham Park.While our couple is unaware of each other's presence, Lady and Eleanor and Mr. Paxton have been keeping their relationship secret and have enlisted their friends to help.  Over the course of their respective visits, Darcy and Elizabeth spend a lot of time together and Elizabeth starts to question her feelings for Darcy.

But we all know it can't be easy for these two to come to understanding, so we have several people trying to come between them. First is Lord Charles, who at first just wants to take advantage of Elizabeth and then surprisingly comes to respect to her and possibly marry her. Secondly, there is Eleanor who wanted to keep her love a secret, fearing how her family would handle the news, becomes engaged to Darcy after some facts were misunderstood. And lastly, our couple still misunderstand each other and have to work through a lot of their problem all the while working through obstacles keeping them apart.

There are several memorable scenes; one scene between Darcy and Elizabeth in moors will take your breathe away. Needless to say, you will never look at hairpins the same way!! We are also introduced to Eleanor's grandmother, Dowager Marchioness, who is force of nature. I can totally see Elizabeth being like her when is older; both ladies are amazing women. Eleanor's brother, Lord Charles is not someone we like in the beginning but as the story unfold he has some endearing qualities that makes you feel sorry that in the end he couldn't win Elizabeth's heart. Although there is a fight scene between Lord Charles and Darcy that made me laugh and compare it to the fight scene between Mark Darcy and Daniel Cleaver in Bridget Jones's Diary.

Luckily for us, it all works out in the end and Darcy and Elizabeth finally come together! I highly recommend this book to all Darcy and Elizabeth fans, you won't want to put it down until you have finished.

Tootles!

Happy Independence Day

Another hot summer day in Texas as we celebrate America's Independence!  Our family gets together for some good BBQ and drinks, not that we need a real reason to do so. This year we are gathering at my Grandma's house and my aunt is cooking. This year we miss my grandmother, she always looked forward to our family gatherings. It's hard to believe its been almost four months since she left us, she's left a large hole in our lives! 

But I digress, I wish everyone a Happy Independence Day! I hope it's a great day for everyone!! 

 

Challenge Review: Promises

Book: Promises
Author: Wendi Sotis

I was unprepared to read to this book!! I never would have imaged that I would feel so many emotions while reading it, but I was pleasantly surprised.

It starts off with Elizabeth sitting on the floor in a bookstore where is happens to meet Darcy! He is adjusting to life without his mother and she is just trying to live her life without constantly disappointing her mother. We soon come to learn that Elizabeth's and Darcy's father are long last friends who are pleased to connect again. Over the next several years, Elizabeth and Darcy meet and become great friends; she gets to stay are Darcy House and Pemberley. While Darcy is away on his tour of Italy, Elizabeth and Mr. Bennet have come to stay at Pemeberley but by a surprise turn of events Darcy comes home early just in time to meet Elizabeth again; Elizabeth has grown into a lovely sixteen year old (she's grown up and out of those awkward years).

Their meeting was priceless! Darcy had been out riding and Elizabeth was coming down from a tree when he come around a hedge and the horse, while trying to miss Elizabeth, swerved and caused Darcy to fall. He was injured and Elizabeth had to help him but in doing so she injured herself. The whole scene was intriguing to see them both come the realization that they loved it each other. While they both recover they spend a lot of time together and by the end of Elizabeth's stay and come to an understanding and promise to meet again in eight months on Elizabeth's seventeenth birthday; then they will become official engaged!

This where things go wrong! Old Mr. Darcy is killed in an accident, someone is keeping letters from the Bennets and Darcy from getting to each other, Darcy is injured during a fire and the next thing you know three years have passed. Oh how my heart ached at all the time kept my favorite couple apart!

Luckily for us Bingley leases a house in Hertfordshire and Darcy comes along!! The lovers finally have a chance to meet again and this time talk things through. Right the wrongs. It takes a little while to finally get the happy end we all longed for, but in the end it was well worth it!

My favorite part of the book had to be when Mr. Bennet had to have a "the birds and the bees" talk with Darcy! That was priceless!! This version of Jane was very different from the original but I loved it. And oh Mrs. Bennet was amazing!! She changed her demeanor after hearing some comments and was able to reign in Lydia and Kitty; well done Mrs. Bennet. I didn't like Lady Catherine to being with but this version made me dislike her even more and I was surprised to see the Earl of Matlock being as devious as this. Good thing Colonel Fitzwilliam was there to give some relief to the drama; he can always be counted on for a good laugh.

Overall, I really liked this retelling of Darcy and Elizabeth. Thanks to Ms. Sotis for taking me on a roller coaster ride of emotions.

Tootles!

P&P Bicentenary Challenge

Since this is the 200th (yes folks 200!) anniversary of Pride and Prejudice's publication, our friends over at Austenprose.com are having a little challenge! Well, since I'm already in the mists of my own personal challenge, why not add this to my year end goal. So now I have to read or watch a P&P variation and post a review after doing so. Simple, right? Well, not really because you see there is literally several hundreds of books and several film adaptations and to pick just a few is difficult! But I guess I will solider on and set my goal of "Aficionado" by selecting 12 books/films.....

• Pride and Prejudice (2005 movie version)

• Pride, Prejudice and Cheese Grits by Mary Jane Hathaway

• First (Wrong) Impressions by Krista Ball

• Promises by Wendi Sotis

• Charlotte: Elizabeth Bennet's Story by Linda Phelps

• Miss Bennet & Mr Bingley by Fenella Miller

• From This Day Forward by Joanna Starnes

• And Who Can Be In Doubt of What Followed by Alexa Adams

• Mr Darcy Came To Dinner by Jack Caldwell

• A Most Civil Proposal by C.P. Odom

• Searching For Pemberely by Mary Lydon Simonsen

• Pride and Prejudice (1995 Miniseries)

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Okay so that's 13, but what good is a challenge if you don't challenge yourself?!?! And beside it a P&P challenge so it goes without saying that you should at least read the original that started it all! 

If it wasn't for Jane Austen introducing Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy to us 200 years ago, then my life would be so dull. Indeed! 

Tootles! 

Review: Lady Harriette: Fitzwilliam's Heart and Soul

Book: Lady Harriette: Fitzwilliam's Heart and Soul
Author: P.O. Dixon

Ms. Austen said it best, "The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” She could have easily said this about Ms. Dixon's latest book, Lady Harriette: Fitzwilliam's Heart and Soul. After reading To Have His Cake (and Eat It Too); What He Would No Do, I was left wondering how life would be for Fitzwilliam and Harriette after their "unusual" courtship; now I know! This book made me admire Fitzwilliam more than previously as he brings his home from the brink of disaster which has been mismanaged, maintaining his loyalty to his family (even with Lord Matlock and Lady Catherine trying to undermine him) and building a life with his new bride.

Although the book's central characters are Fitzwilliam and Harriette, Darcy and Elizabeth are their closest friends and that friendship is essential to the new couple.  I'm pleased that they are there for their friends even as they are working through their own problems when someone from Darcy's part is now working as one of the servants in the Fitzwilliam household.

Another amazingly will written story by Ms. Dixon that's sure to become a classic in its own right! I know Jane would have approved!

Review: Love Will Grow

Book: Love Will Grow
Author: P.O. Dixon

Finished this book within a day and it was well worth it! Amazingly written and enjoyed it most ardently. 

This time around Anne de Bourgh befriends Elizabeth Bennet while she is staying at Hunsford. Anne needs Elizabeth's help to persuade Darcy to marry her, just as her mother always wanted. While Elizabeth does not have the best impression of Darcy she agrees to Anne's plan. While getting to know Darcy, for Anne's benefit, she comes to realize that she has developed feelings for him. Poor Elizabeth is stuck between a rock and a hard place, what should she do? On one hand she feels obligated to keep away from Darcy for Anne's sake but then on the other she loves him and wants to be with him. Luckily for us, Anne comes to realize the truth and helps Elizabeth realize her true dream... a life with Darcy.

Thanks to P.O. Dixon for another riveting story starring Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet!!

My P&P Obsession

So at the start of the year (2013) I decided that I would read, well I should say read books about Pride and Prejudice! Since 2005 I have been in love with the movie and book because that is when I first saw the movie version starring Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen and my obsession started with Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.


I watched the movie and then read the book and from then on I was hooked. I've watched that movie more times then I care to count, read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice a few times and watched the other versions of the movie and still I couldn't seem to get enough! So I started reading versions here and there but then I heard that this year was the 200th anniversary of P&P and my decision was made.

So I started off the year with a couple of books and then my research started. I did my search first on Amazon and then Goodreads; I made a list and it seemed to go on and on and on, and when I finished I realized it was close to 400 books!! I knew that was a lofty number to accomplish in one year so I settled for 100 knowing that I would have to read at least 8 books or so a month to make my goal, but as I am single and without kids or obligations other then work I was confident that I could do it.

Well it's half way through the year and I am so glad that I can report that I've completed 72 books so far!! I can't tell you how proud I feel about this especially since there were a couple of months that I didn't read at all due to a death of a most beloved person in my life. I was in a mild depression and just needed to take some time to deal with everything. But I glad to say that I'm finally getting back to my old self and starting to read again.

So at this point in my P&P project I figured that I would start writing reviews about all the books that I have had the pleasure of reading. Yes, another lofty project on top of my current one. But you want to know the amazing thing, I can already give a brief description of each book just by looking at the cover! Therefore before I forget, I decided that now was the best time to get started. So I look forward to fond memories I get to revisit!! Thanks in part to some of my new favorite authors.

Tootles!!