Mr. Darcy's Proposal by Susan Mason-Milks

I always enjoy spending time with Darcy and Elizabeth.  I especially like reading variations. This Pride and Prejudice variation begins in Hunsford, right before Darcy proposes to Elizabeth.  Before he gets to the parsonage to propose, she receives a letter from Jane explaining that her father is seriously ill.  He is not expected to live much longer and Jane pleads for her to come home quickly.  In her distress, Elizabeth tells Darcy, who then offers her the use of his carriage. She questions why he would want to help since he doesn’t like her.  She goes on to tell him she knows how he interfered with Jane and Bingley. This surprises him, he doesn’t propose and decides to try to change her opinion of him.  

Darcy follows her to Hertfordshire bringing Bingley with him. He proposes to her there, stating that he can help her and her family in the event of her fathers death. After thinking about his offer she decided to take him up on it.  It is understandably, an unhappy time for Elizabeth.

After Mr. Bennet’s death, Darcy and Elizabeth go to Pemberley, where many misunderstandings begin. I must say, I was getting a little frustrated with how long it was taking for them to begin understanding one another. When they finally resolve their differences it is very good!

Overall, I really enjoyed reading Mr. Darcy's Proposal. I would give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Buy a copy of Mr. Darcy's Proposal here.

Let me know what you think!  I'd love to hear from you!

An Arranged Marriage By Jan Hahn

An Arranged Marriage

By Jan Hahn

I LOVED this story!  Written in the first person from Elizabeth’s point of view.  Mr. Bennet passes away just days after Elizabeth refused Darcy’s proposal at Hunsford. She is so consumed with grief she forgets about Darcy’s letter and there for her opinion of him doesn’t change much.  Six months later Darcy shows up at Longbourn and offers to marry Elizabeth again.  This time it is an arranged marriage. If she accepts, it would help out her family tremendously. Not a good way for a marriage to begin!  They go through many misunderstandings.    Colonel Fitzwilliam and Georgiana are very much in the story and Lady Catherine makes an appearance. We all know how it will turn out and getting there was very good!  This is definitely one I will reread in the future! 

Let me know what you think.  Thanks!

Double Dipping By Marilyn Brant

Double Dipping

By Marilyn Brant

Marilyn Brant has written another sweet story!  You might want to grab a bowl of ice cream while reading this one!

Cailtin Walsh is a second grade teacher who just found out her favorite school festival, the Harvest Hoopla, is being canceled.  The man responsible for this decision is the new financial director, Garrett Ellis.  Garrett has been hired to find out who has been pocketing money from the schools funds.  After an investigation of each other, they team up to find the thief.  They are attracted to each other right away but there are trust and commitment issues that keep getting in the way. There are some pretty hot scenes in this story. It was fantastic! It had me laughing and on occasion crying, I love it when a story does that to me. I didn’t want to put it down!

Please leave me a comment and tell me what you think!

Absolute Liability by J. W. Becton

Wow!  Fantastic book!  It starts out immediately when Julia Jackson, a fraud investigator, is thought to be abducted.  Julia, a former Mercer Police Officer, who now works for the Georgia Department of Insurance has to work fast through her cases to figure out who might want her out of the way.  The DOI brings in another agent to help her with her investigations.  Enter Speciall Agent Mark Vincent - Love him!

The suspects all have very unique and interesting personalities! My favorite is Leona, a woman body builder!  Then there is Roger McKade, suspected of setting fire to his furniture warehouse.  Throw in a couple of independent insurance agents.  With all the suspects, I was busy trying to guess who the guilty party was through out the story.

During the whole of it, Julia is dealing with some family issues concerning her sister.

There definitely seems to be some sparks between Julia and Vincent.

Absolute Liability is the first of a six-book series.  I can't wait to read the rest.  One thing I have to know...Please tell me that Vincent is going to be in the rest of the series!

    
Buy a copy of Absolute Liability here.


I'd love to hear what you think. Please, leave a comment!

What's going on?

When did this happen? I now carry around a notebook to jot down my thoughts! Crazy! My adventure into writing is doing weird and strange things to me. Before I couldn't think of a anything to write. If I did and it was too long and I would not want to take the trouble to write down all those words. Now I love words! Again, I say crazy! 


Hopefully, I'll have a new book review for you soon. I'm leaving to spend a week at the beach and I have a list of books to read. I can't wait! No school! YAY! I actually have more loaded on my kindle than I could possibly read in one week. 


Here is a list of a few I'd like to get through:


Absolute Liability ~ by Jennifer Becton (currently reading)
Double Dipping ~ by Marilyn Brant 
An Arranged Marriage ~ by Jan Hahn 
Sense and Sensibility ~ by Jane Austen (reading with book club) 
When Everything Falls Apart ~ Edited by C. E. Ellicott 


Well, that sure is wishful thinking! I will have to do some family things, so I won't be reading all the time. Two of my older kids won't be joining us, they have school and work obligations. So they will stay home and take care of the dogs and chickens. But the rest will be with us. 


What are you reading? Please leave a comment! Thanks!

On Any Given Sundae By Marilyn Brant

     I read this book in June and this is a revised review of the one I posted on goodreads.  

     I really like this book! Elizabeth was a shy, brainy-yack in high school & Rob was the popular jock. Almost ten years later they are thrown together when their uncles leave them for the summer to run "Tutti Frutti" ice cream shop. Rob is a successful restaurant owner in Chicago and has to return to his small hometown to help run the ice cream store.  Poor Elizabeth! Can you imagine having to work with someone you had a crush on in high school! I loved that Elizabeth would stutter when she was nervous. You could understand why she was quiet & shy. Her friends were such characters and I loved how they pitched in to help run the shop! Great read!

     I have Ms Brant’s new book “Double Dipping” on my TBR list and I am sure I won’t be disappointed!  

I

Darcy on the Hudson By Mary Lydon Simonsen

Darcy on the Hudson

By Mary Lydon Simonsen

Mary Simonsen definitely did her homework on Darcy on the Hudson.  There is an incredible amount of history woven through out the story.  The story begins in the summer of 1811.  Mr. Darcy, his sister Georgianna and Mr. Bingley are on there way to visit America.  While there they meet the Bennet family.  Of course sparks fly between Elizabeth and Darcy but there American/British differences keep them apart.  It is a turbulent time between the two countries.  

A pleasant surprise in this story is Mrs. Bennet.  I loved her! She is much more firm with Lydia and Kitty.  She believes her girls should be capable to take care of themselves, they were taught to cook and do chores. She was wise, had common sense and her husband was proud of her.

Something else I found interesting, there are similar quotes as in the original Pride and Prejudice, but are said by different people.

Darcy on the Hudson is an excellent story!  I enjoyed it very much. 

Scrapbooking and Writing...

Today I am supposed to begin my marathon with the MotherLOAD, a scrapbooking class on Big Picture Classes.  The last nine weeks have been basic training, getting ready for twenty-six days of a layout a day.

During this class I also took another class called Write Now with Amy Sorensen, also an onlline class with Big Picture Class.  That was an intense class.  I didn’t finish but I learned a lot!  We had a writing prompt everyday and three writing assignments a week for four weeks.  Yesterday was the last day of that, but I can go back and excess the class handouts, audio messages and videos.  It was well worth it!

So as I had both of these classes going on, I also started our homeschool year on August 8.  Needless to say it was a busy and crazytime.

Both of these classes have taught me to let go.  Let go of my perfectionism, to stop worrying about what other people think (I can’t really shut that one off very well!).  Another thing that keeps me from writing is the fear of offending someone.  That they might take what I say the wrong way.  That is one reson I started this blog. It’s my blog and I can write what I want! (that sounded unkind).  What I mean is that I hope I can write without fear on here.

Furthermore I have that blank page staring at me.  The writing prompts helped with that.  Just write.  Just write and eventually something of substance comes out or as Amy puts it “an original thought”.

I’ve always wanted to be a writer.  I don’t know if I’ll every be a writer of stories. I don’t know if I am that creative or if I have that good of an imagination. I never thought I’d be that much of a reader but I am now. Who knows what the future will bring.

So, I think I’ll clear off my scrapbook table (finish the last two layouts I made) and get ready for my marathon!  Wish me luck! Or better yet say a prayer for me!

My work table!