Thursday, August 30, 2012

Secret Jane


Hey there! 

I wanted to let you know what my friends over at Indie Jane are doing. For the month of September, to spread the Jane Austen Love, they are running a project called Secret Jane. I think it's a really cool idea. The objective is to leave a copy of a Jane Austen book or an Austenesque book at random locations for someone else to enjoy.

For more details and a printable insert, head over to Indie Jane








"The world needs Jane, and we're going to give her to them."




On a side note, yesterday was my One Year Blogoversary!



Comments are always welcome!

Monday, August 27, 2012

The Future Mrs. Darcy: Given Good Principles Vol. 2 By Maria Grace


What if the younger Bennet girls’ wild ways were pointed out and corrected before they are introduced to Mr. Darcy?

When Mr. Carver leaves the neighborhood to keep his sisters from being harmed by the acquaintance of Lydia and Kitty Bennet, and some of the others in the neighborhood start cutting them, Elizabeth, Jane and Mary go to work to restore their good name. With a little positive attention, Kitty is quick to understand what’s going on and curb her behavior. However, Lydia is another story.

With Mr. Bennet off to Kent on some mysterious business with his cousin, Mr. Collins, the heir to Longbourn, and Mrs. Bennet confined to her rooms, this leaves the Bennet girls to manage the household accounts and to take care of the tenants.  Their hardest job by far, is to keep Lydia from tarnishing their reputations even more.

When Mr. Pierce overhears a conversation between two young officers discussing their plans to elope with two of the local girls, he informs Elizabeth. Worried that Lydia might be one of the girls involved, Elizabeth does everything possible to keep Lydia safe.

I enjoyed this story very much! It is wonderful when Elizabeth realizes how she has never really taken an interest in her younger sisters. When she takes the time to talk to Kitty, she finds out how truly talented Kitty is with a thread and needle, and how Lydia makes life difficult for Kitty.

As in Darcy’s Decision, where Mr. Darcy is shaped and molded into a better person before he meets Elizabeth, the same is true in this book. Elizabeth and her family learn valuable lessons and begin to make changes before meeting Mr. Darcy. I really like this idea, and I can’t wait for Elizabeth and Darcy to finally get together! I wonder, what challenges they will have to overcome, if their pride and prejudices are already gone?

I’m really looking forward to Given Good Principles Volume 3!

I give this 4 out of 5 stars.

I was provided a copy of the book for review by the author.

Buy a copy here. (Disclaimer: Link to Amazon. Should you purchase a copy of the book through link provided, I will receive a small commission. Thanks!)
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About the Author:

Though Maria Grace has been writing fiction since she was ten years old, those early efforts happily reside in a file drawer and are unlikely to see the light of day again, for which many are grateful.

She has one husband, two graduate degrees and two black belts, three sons, four undergraduate majors, five nieces, six cats, seven Regency-era fiction projects and notes for eight more writing projects in progress. To round out the list, she cooks for nine in order to accommodate the growing boys and usually makes ten meals at a time so she only cooks twice a month.

She can be contacted at: author.MariaGrace@gmail.com.
You can find her profile on Facebook: facebook.com/AuthorMariaGrace
or visit her website at AuthorMariaGrace.com


Any thoughts? I would love to hear from you! 


Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Winner of the Mercy's Embrace Books!



Rafflecopter has picked a winner!




to:


Nancy Kelley



Thanks to all who entered!
If you didn't win, there is still a chance to win a set at 
The Book Rat's Austen in August!

Or you can buy a copy of Book 1Book 2Book 3.


Thank you Laura Hile for having this awesome giveaway with me!


Nancy you should be getting an email shortly.


Monday, August 13, 2012

Reviews and GIVEAWAY! Mercy’s Embrace: Elizabeth Elliot's Story By Laura Hile

Hey Everyone! I have all Three of the Mercy's Embrace books reviewed below! The Giveaway is over. 

SO ROUGH A COURSE

So Rough a Course is right! In this continuation of Persuasion, Elizabeth Elliot is about to turn 30, well past spinster age, she realizes she needs to marry and marry soon. She sets off to do that, but her first daring scheme to find a husband fails miserably. While she’s gone, her father, Sir Walter, gives up the lease to the house and moves into The Citadel for his health, leaving Elizabeth to live at her sister Anne’s house. With Sir Walter's financial situation becoming worse, Elizabeth must learn to economize, and that is rough in itself! 
Now, Elizabeth has three men pursuing her; one she is trying to avoid, one that repulses her and one who is a lowly clerk. Her situation is looking bleak indeed. What will she do?
I love Mr. Gill, the lowly clerk, and I love who Elizabeth is when she is with him. She is able to be herself. She opens up to him, telling him things, I’m sure, she would never tell anyone else. She is not worried about impressing him. I also love that he always seems to be around just in time to rescue Elizabeth from some mishap. The big question is, what will happen when she finds out his real identity?
This is a fun read! Already in this first book my opinion of Elizabeth is changing. I can’t wait to see what happens in Book two, Mercy’s Embrace: So Lively a Chase!  Beware, once you begin, you’ll want to read all three! 

I give this 5 out of 5 stars.




SO LIVELY A CHASE

My heart really goes out to Elizabeth Elliot in So Lively A Chase. The pressure is on high, as she is realizing what dire straights her father is in. Should she marry Mr. Rushworth even though she finds him repulsive? He would give her the financial support she would need. Then there is Mr. Elliot, he is trying hard to present his suit, but Elizabeth is avoiding him at all cost. She is getting closer to Mr. Gill, unfortunately he cannot help her father’s financial situation ...or can he? All the while she is sinking into hopelessness.

We see Anne and Fredrick Wentworth more in this book, but I feel their characters are a bit harsh. Fredrick is unwilling to help Sir Walter in any way, not that I blame him.  Mary Muskgrove is also here, and as usual she is complaining about her health, complaining about never getting to do anything...well, just complaining all the time.  She seems to be driving away her husband with her discontent, poor Charles.

I’m loving this story! It is definitely a page turner, as I kept wondering what kind of trouble Elizabeth was going to get into next. She has to be quick to evade being caught into a marriage she doesn’t want. It seems like every time she has a plan something would go wrong, and thankfully Mr. Gill would happen by and rescue her! Can I say again, that I love Patrick Gill! 

Fantastic story! I'm hooked! Beware, this story ends with a rather large cliffhanger!! I would highly recommend buying all three books! 

I give this 5 out of 5 stars.


THE LADY MUST DECIDE

The Mercy’s Embrace books are fabulous! I enjoyed Elizabeth Elliot’s story immensely!  She’s a very proud woman, but she is seeing her father’s follies, as well as her own for that matter with their foolish spending habits. She must decide if she is willing to give up her happiness to help her father, salvage her reputation, and her regain her place in society.

When Elizabeth Elliot finally learns Mr. Gills true identity, she still doesn’t believe it! It was very amusing seeing her go through all her thought processes, and when the truth finally dawns on her, she is embarrassed and angry!  Every chance they get to speak to one another someone always interrupts them, leaving questions unanswered and misunderstandings continue to grow. Will she ever forgive and trust him? Or will she give in to Mr. Elliot and marry for position and security?

Lady Russell devises a plan to keep Sir Walter out of debtor’s prison. They quickly leave Bath and have quite a rough time traveling to London, trying to keep ahead of his creditors. With all of Lady Russell’s well-laid plans, is she about to make a huge mistake? 

Mary is truly wearing down her husband and he is not happy with her at all, but he is enjoying Miss Owen’s company. They have a very sweet friendship. If he wasn’t married, I could see this bloom into a beautiful relationship.

I can’t tell you how much I loved this series! It’s a fun quick read, and at times, had me on the edge of my seat wondering if Elizabeth would get caught by the wrong man.  Laura Hile’s sense of humor is wonderful and is seen through out the books! 


I give this 5 out of 5 stars.

I was provided a copy of all three books for review by the author.

Buy a copy:





OR enter to win a set below!!!


About the Author: Laura Hile

It all began with the Internet...and Jane Austen.  Talk about an unlikely combination!

Jane Austen's Persuasion provided the inspiration as Laura wrote and posted serialized stories.  To keep readers coming back for more, she developed her signature style, combining intertwined plots, cliffhangers, and laugh-out-loud humor. 

The comedy she comes by naturally in her job as a teacher---there's never a dull moment with teens!

She is currently working on a fourth Mercy's Embrace novel and has plans for a fifth.  Laura lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and three sons.



Also, She is posting a fun piratical romance at Beyond Austen. http://www.beyondausten.com/


~ ~ ~ GIVEAWAY ~ ~ ~


Laura Hile has graciously donated a paperback SET of Mercy's Embrace books!  That's right, one lucky person will get all three books! All you have to do to enter is fill out the Rafflecopter form below! There is a question to answer in the Rafflecopter, Leave a Blog Post Comment box, be sure to answer it! This giveaway is open to residents in the US only. The last day to enter is August 20th, 2012.  Thank you and good luck!




a Rafflecopter giveaway



Make sure to enter the Rafflecopter for your chance to win! :-D

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Winner of Rainy Days!



Rafflecopter has picked a winner!





to:


Katrin W



Thanks to all who entered!
If you didn't win, you can buy a copy here.
And thanks again to Lory Lilian for giving away a copy of Rainy Days!


Katrin you should be getting an email shortly.


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