The Perfect Gentleman Blog Tour! ~ Guest Post, Excerpt, & Giveaway!

Hello, my friends! It's my stop on The Perfect Gentleman Blog Tour! I'm very excited about this book! It's the kind of tale I look for in a Pride and Prejudice retelling! I hope you enjoy this excerpt Julie Cooper has selected for us, and be sure to check out the awesome giveaway! Details are at the bottom of the page! 

Greetings all, and thank you for letting me talk a little bit about this story! Every Pride and Prejudice variation needs a “Hunsford” moment, and The Perfect Gentleman is no exception.

One drawback to most Hunsfords, however, is the sense of helplessness we feel as readers, watching our favourite couple make decisions that could potentially destroy any chance of a future together. I will admit that I don’t always mind watching Darcy make a muck of things—but Lizzy’s participation in any ugliness can get to me. I suppose I always want Lizzy to be a much better human than myself—more patient, more charitable, and most of all…wiser than Fitzwilliam Darcy.

I believe this Lizzy achieves this lofty goal. In The Perfect Gentleman, Lizzy is a girl with dreams. Born of a mother who is “sunk beneath reproach” so to speak, and abandoned by her father, she might have turned to her mother’s scandalous means of supporting herself. But she can always see through the false glamour of her mother existence, even while recognising that Mrs Bennet did the best she could with the means she had. Lizzy doesn’t judge—she simply believes in herself, and that she can do better and become more than society expects.

By the time we come to the following excerpt, we are rooting for Lizzy to triumph over the circumstances of her birth and realize her goals. We’re also pretty sure that nothing will stop her, despite her upcoming confrontation with the arrogant Mr Darcy:

Excerpt from The Perfect Gentleman: 

SHE FOUND HIM pacing impatiently near the carriage. For just a moment, Lizzy was simply captivated by his appearance. From shoulders needing no buckram padding to the long legs leather-tipped in polished Hessians, he was a picture of wealth, masculinity, and authority. His wardrobe alone priced him beyond her reach; she ought to have known better. To have kissed him was a blunder of monumental proportions, for she could not imagine anyone else ever making a better job of it. 

And yet, in an odd way, she was proud of herself. She had captured the interest, however briefly, of a formidable, aristocratic man. In this, she could understand what had driven Fanny Bennet to sacrifice herself for Sir Eden; there was a thrill in it, an imitation sort of power, for a female so often at the mercy of others.

And yet, unlike Fanny, Lizzy had not succumbed. Her hopes and dreams remained intact. She would not sacrifice or give them away, not in return for fleeting—if wonderful—sensation. And though the odds of seeing Mr Darcy again were sadly slim, she could not be sorry she had known him just a little. A deep-seated fear that she was her mother’s daughter was forever banished. 

She was Elizabeth Bennet, a sculptor, and Fitzwilliam Darcy thought her beautiful. 

How many could say that? 

***

Of course, our Mr Darcy isn’t exactly stupid, and we can have perfect confidence in this “perfect” gentleman that, despite the upcoming setback, he won’t let her get away. 


It was great fun writing this couple, who from an “outside looking in” view were exact opposites, but along the way of their Regency Road Trip, discover that they aren’t so far apart, after all.

The Perfect Gentleman
by Julie Cooper

Book Blurb 

’Tis no secret that Lizzy Bennet has dreams. The uniquely talented daughter of a woman with a dubious reputation, Lizzy knows she must make her own way in a world that shuns her. Fitzwilliam Darcy carries the stains of his family’s disgrace upon his soul and only by holding himself to the strictest standards has he reclaimed his place in society. 

Now Georgiana Darcy has gone missing. If his fifteen-year-old sister cannot be found quickly, the scandal could destroy Darcy’s years of perfect behaviour. Lizzy Bennet know just what to do to find Georgiana. She is willing to join the pursuit to get what she wants but will Darcy be willing to trust her with his secrets? And what will they do when the search for Georgiana reveals what neither expected to find? 

The Perfect Gentleman is a romantic adventure so big it needs two volumes in one book. Follow the adventure in A Not-So-Merry Chase and discover the surprises and temptations that await at Pemberley in Love Wisely But Well.

Buy: Amazon US (paid link) • Amazon UK • Amazon CA
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FTC Disclaimer: Link to Amazon US. I am an Amazon Associate. Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link provided, I will receive a small commission. Thanks! 

About the Author

Julie Cooper, a California native, lives with her Mr Darcy (without the arrogance or the Pemberley) of nearly forty years, two dogs (one intelligent, one goofball), and Kevin the Cat (smarter than all of them.)  They have four children and three grandchildren, all of whom are brilliant and adorable, with the pictures to prove it. She works as an executive at a gift basket company and her tombstone will read, "Have your Christmas gifts delivered at least four days before the 25th."  Her hobbies are reading, giving other people good advice, and wondering why no one follows it.

You can connect with Julie Cooper on Facebook.

Blog Tour Schedule

Oct 28 - My Jane Austen Book Club

Oct 29 - Savvy Verse & Wit

Oct 30 - Diary of an Eccentric

Oct 31 - From Pemberley to Milton

Nov 1 - Babblings of a Bookworm

Nov 5 - So Little Time...

Nov 6 - My Vices & Weaknesses

* * * GIVEAWAY * * *

It's giveaway time! Quills & Quartos Publishing is giving away a $50 Amazon gift card! To be eligible, just comment on any of the blog tour stops. You need not visit all the stops (one point per stop and comment), however, it does increase your chances of winning by earning more entries. The contest ends on November 13, 2019.

• To enter, leave a comment below!
• For more entries, comment on any of the blog tour stops.
• Open Internationally
• The last day to enter the giveaway is November 13, 2019.

Many thanks to Quills & Quartos Publishing and Christina Boyd @ The Quill Ink for having me on this book tour! 

Congratulations to Julie Cooper on the release of The Perfect Gentleman, and thank you for visiting us here today!

So, friends, what do you think? Do you like stories where Elizabeth and Darcy are thrown together in some way and have to work with each other?