Dreams and Expectations by Wendi Sotis

Wendi Sotis - Dreams and Expectations

Well this version of Pride and Prejudice has everything plus a whole lot more!

As Lady Ann lies dying she gets young Darcy to promise to marry well.

On his mothers death her sister, Lady Catherine De Bourgh makes sure Darcy understands that marrying well is marrying her own daughter, Anne.

So, when he meets and falls head over heels in love with Elizabeth he is unable to tell her how much he loves her as his mothers death wish has too strong a hold on him.

Once again Wendi Sotis relishes making Lady Catherine into the vilest of villans, she is so evil in this story and her evil  henchman is non other than Mr George Wickham.

There is treason and ruination, there are smugglers and Lady Catherine is the mastermind of them all.

There are so many interesting twists and sub plots in this story you are left grieving with Darcy and Lizzy as they both pine for each other.

You follow Jane as a really rotten Caroline Bingley makes sure she is also in the same boat.

Poor Charlotte is tied to an even more repulsive Mr Collins than Jane Austen dared write.

Don't let the simple covers of these books put you off, you don't need an expensive glitzy cover to make an interesting entertaining read.

This story goes right through to a modern day Lizzy and Darcy which I feel would have been better saved for another book.

Thank you Wendi for another entertaining read, I hope there is more on the way.

The Darcy Cousins by Monica Fairview

The Darcy Cousins by Monica Fairview

Scandal, Mischef and Mayhem Arrive At Pemberley...

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Continues ...

Having enjoyed ‘The Other Mr Darcy’  I was very much looking forward to reading The Darcy Cousins and I was not disappointed.

It cracked along at a great pace with plenty of emotion and action.

Robert Darcy who has married Caroline Bingley is joined by his younger brother and sister fresh out of Boston on the first boat after the war.

The whole family are at Rosing for the first Easter get together since Lady Catherine’s break with Darcy and Elizabeth.

The story focuses on the three girl cousins, Anne De Bourgh, Georgina Darcy  and Clarissa Darcy.

The Two Darcy girls become firm friends and try to bring Anne out of her shell with disastrous consequences.

Georgina and Clarissa have to face their first London season and their coming out, a mine field of heart break and double dealing.

It is quite good to see Georgina written as a teenager quite capable of tantrums and erratic behavior.

Having myself  15, 19 and 21 year old children I feel I can myself  relate to teenagers quite well and these girls ring true.

The petty rivalries made for a nice comic touch and the first stumbling steps to finding love with many false starts and misunderstandings were very much a homage to Pride and Prejudice with plenty of both getting in the way.

Altogether this book is definitely up there with my favorites and great to get back to something with a smart gripping pace.

Visit Monica Fairview’s Website Here:  

Loving Mr Darcy by Sharon Latham

Loving Mr Darcy by Sharon Latham

Journeys Beyond Pemberley

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Continues...

This is book two and carries straight on from where ‘Mr & Mrs Fitzwiliam Darcy’ left off.

This is another large book at 425 pages and it’s full of romance, cuddling, kissing and Mr & Mrs Darcy taking every opportunity to make love.

They leave Pemberly to visit Herefordshire, where they recall many of the events of their courtship.

Lizzy persuades Jane that sharing a bedroom with her husband is a must, which makes for even greater harmony for the residents of Netherfield.

Elizabeth arrives in London to smoothly slide into society, charming all before her, except, of course Lady Catherine, who blows into town the minute Darcy is away on business and is her usual vile self, causing Elizabeth a fair amount of heart ache.

There are some good social details on the ton of the day, but the gooey bits still totally swamp the story with passages like; ‘together they rose, passion growing to incomprehensible levels. Finally falling over a cliff of mindless, spiritual jubilance, they merged and were transported to a place of replete fulfillment’,

As in the last book the main excitement in the story does not happen until the penultimate chapter, almost an after thought.

Despite so much ‘soppy-ness’, I am growing to like the characters and she has introduced some interesting new players particularly Uncle George and his friend a Spanish Doctor, who have returned from India together.

Georgina and Anne de Bourgh are both developing nicely as the story unfolds with more romance destined for their future.

Sharon Latham seems to be a very sentimental and romantic lady, she must be lovely to know. I am now starting book three of the series; The Darcy Saga: My Dearest Mr Darcy (An Amazing Journey Into Love Everlasting).

http://www.sharonlathan.net/

Mr Darcys Decisions by Juliette Shapiro

Mr Darcys Decisions by Juliette Shapiro

A Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Well this poor book got a drenching as soon as I started it, my kitten Bingley (I thought he had a lovable warm personality hence the name) has a thing about water and no sooner do I put my water down on my bed side table than he has knocked it over and is paddling in it, he also paddles in the shower and the fish bowls.

So having had my water glass emptied all over my book I had to read it in a very crinkly and soggy state.

This is an interesting book, the author stays true to the style and pretty faithful to characters but manages to come up with some new angles that really work very well with the original story.

The Wickham story is quite clever, she also has the contempt of Lady Catherine and Caroline Bingley bringing them together in their spite and condescension.

Juliette Shapiro manages to fit so much into one year, covering every single sister and all the other characters from Pride and Prejudice.

She is another lady that likes happy endings.

If you have read any of my past reviews you will know that I hate my bad guys and girls turned into saints, I like my baddies to be bad. But, Juliette has managed it in such away that I actually felt alright about a bit of redemption, I must be getting soft.

This book was in small print but was gripping and most enjoyable so well worth putting on the reading glasses.

I sincerely hope her four Grandchildren don’t keep her too busy to write more books as I would like to know where she would take all the Sisters in their new relationships and the independence of Anne De Bourgh.