Mr. Darcy's Promise by Jeanna Ellsworth ~ My Review

Mr. Darcy’s Promise by Jeanna Ellsworth 

Publication Date: July 17th, 2013 
Publisher: Hey Lady Publications 
Paperback: 358 pages 
Received: Paperback from author 
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars 




How can an honorable promise become so vexing?

 
In this Pride and Prejudice variation, Wickham tries to compromise Elizabeth knowing Darcy will be willing to pay dearly to save Elizabeth. Thankfully, Darcy spoils his plans, but instead, Darcy is caught in a compromising position with Elizabeth, and they are forced to marry. Knowing Elizabeth is not happy with the situation, Darcy makes a promise that is hard for him to keep, and one that becomes hard for Elizabeth to live with!

When Wickham’s plan fails, he finds another way to seek out his revenge. 

I really liked that Georgiana surprises Darcy by showing up at Netherfield unexpectedly. Her curiosity about Elizabeth causes her to do something very out of character and bold for her!  I’m so glad she was there to help Darcy come to terms with his feelings for Elizabeth.

A forced marriage is not a good way to start a marriage. Lizzy has no idea that Darcy is in love with her. At first, Darcy’s afraid to tell Elizabeth how he feels. He thinks he needs to give her time to get to know him. And, of course, Elizabeth is not in love with Darcy ...yet. Understandings abound, but slowly they resolve them as they begin to understand each other.

I loved the recurring dream Elizabeth has of the swing under the cedar tree. It was so sweet, and I think it gave her hope for the future. But the metaphor with the chickens I wasn’t too fond of. I do realize that during the 1800’s people weren’t open with their feelings, and it was a way for Lizzy to express herself - all be it in riddles.

With no one to talk to, Elizabeth turns to her maid, Serafina, who wisely guides her through some difficult moments. I loved Serafina! She is loyal to Elizabeth and becomes a good friend to her. 
  
I really enjoyed reading Mr. Darcy’s Promise! If you love Pride and Prejudice variations as much as I do, I think you’ll enjoy this one too! For those who care to know, this is a clean romance.

Disclaimer: I received a paperback of this book for my honest review.

Buy: Mr. Darcy's Promise 


Any thoughts? I'd love to hear from you! 

W... W... W... Wednesdays ~ August 7 2013

W... W... W... Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should be Reading.  To play along, just answer the following questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

What am I currently reading?  Right now I'm in-between books. I just got back from vacation, and have spent the last two days catching up on things around here. 

What did I recently finish reading?  I finished two books while I was gone. Dancing With Paris by Juliette Sobanet. A time-travel, mystery romance that I really enjoyed! 

I also read Mr. Darcy's Promise by Jeanna Ellsworth. I enjoyed it also. I'm hosting a give away here for Mr. Darcy's Promise! I'll have a review up soon.

What do I think I'll be reading next? Up next is, Atone: A Fairytale by Jessica Grey. I can't wait! I love the way Jessica writes! Atone is a modern Beauty and the Beast retelling. LOVE. 

I had a great time on vacation, and spent more time visiting than I did reading, which is a good thing! :)

What are you reading?

Jeanna Ellsworth ~ Guest Post + GIVEAWAY

Hey everyone! Today it is my pleasure to have Jeanna Ellsworth on my blog! She has just recently published her first book, Mr. Darcy's Promise, and is giving-away a copy to one lucky person! So, be sure to read all the way down to the end!  

Without further ado, may I present Ms Jeanna Ellsworth!

A Single Woman in Possession of a Small Fortune MUST be in Want of a Husband

“NEXT TO BEING MARRIED, A GIRL LIKES TO BE CROSSED IN LOVE NOW AND THEN. IT IS SOMETHING TO THINK OF, AND IT GIVES HER A SORT OF DISTINCTION AMONG HER COMPANIONS.” – Mr. Bennet

I am literally laughing as I prepare for this blog post, as the title came to me in the middle of the night. I find myself somewhat inspired to discuss such things as love, marriage, and finance and the combination of the three. I have been divorced now for nearly three years and it has been the best three years of my life. During that time I have bought my own house, put it up for rent, moved cross country from Oregon to Salt Lake City, found the best job I’ve ever had as a Neurological ICU nurse, fallen in love over 50 times (more on that later), written three JAFF books, bought another house on a 1 acre lot and started a flock of 20 chickens, overhauled me and my daughter’s rabbitry which will hold about 30 rabbits, started a small self-publishing company including maintaining a website and blog (www.HeyLadyPublications.com), self-published my first book, Mr. Darcy’s Promise, and started an exercise routine and have lost 30 lbs. I’m breathless just letting my fingers type it.

I am a single divorced mother dependent on her single source of income as being a nurse. When census is low, I get put on call, when census is high, I pick up shifts. Like many people, I have a car payment, two house payments, random expenses that come up, and a bit of credit card debt.

But somewhere in the back of people’s mind, there is a universal truth acknowledged that a single woman in possession of a small fortune MUST be in want of a husband. Why this is, I do not know. I seem to be doing just fine without a man. But does that mean that I am avoiding love? As Mr. Bennet says, “Girls like to be crossed in love now and then.” He says it gives some “sort of distinction among her companions.” Distinction? I find that humorous. Nevertheless, I thought I would investigate this universally acknowledged truth. So I decided that I would try it; I would let myself fall in love. I would let it happen whenever, and as often, as possible. I would stay up late with the man and lose sleep over him. I decided that I would imagine him in every facet of my life. I decided that I could daydream about him kissing me when I was not with him. I would read his love declarations over and over again. I decided that I needed a man. But just not any man. I need a Mr. Darcy. So with this new found decision to date a Mr. Darcy, I, for the first time in many years, started evaluating the kind of man that I could get crossed in love with.

I made a mental list of the musts. Must be a gentleman. Must be trustworthy. Must be deeply passionate. Must look past my faults. Must respect me and I must respect him. But as I started the list, I also unknowingly realized I was also making a list of deficits that would be acceptable. It would be ok if he was quiet, brutally honest – for I appreciate honesty, fumbled socially, and was madly and obsessively in love with me but didn’t quite know how to show it. My gentleman love match could be imperfect. In fact, I wanted him to be imperfect. But as I made this list of “musts” and “must not’s” I was enlightened with what I saw glaring at me on the page. I had already found my man I could be crossed in love with. I had found that imperfect man who was passionate and could look past my faults. In fact, I realized, since January 2012 and April 2012 I had fallen in love with him over 50 times! I had done everything I said I would do. I stayed up late with him, lost sleep over him, I imagined him in every facet of my life, and I had imagined him kissing me over and over again. I had a love match with Mr. Darcy in every JAFF book I found and was consumed by.

Now, one might ask how in the world, with the things I was doing, could I read 50 books in 4 months? I’d say I rather fancied myself crossed in love. Out of that saturated state of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth tales, I couldn’t stop thinking about the two of them. I had plots coming in every moment of my life both asleep and awake. So I started writing. And I wrote and wrote and wrote. That is where Mr. Darcy’s Promise came out of. I found that I purposely wrote him to be all of those things I made on my list. Most of all, he was not perfect. My Mr. Darcy in Mr. Darcy’s Promise is –– although kind, trustworthy, considerate, generous, and deeply passionate –– was also a little bumbleheaded, anxious to the point of nausea, and so unsure of himself that he was afraid to express his love for Elizabeth until he could contain that love no longer.

So most of my friends, family, neighbors, and church goers, all have at some point asked if I am dating someone. A few have expressed their deep desire for me to find a man. A few have made it their quest to set me up with eligible bachelors. But in all honesty? I have a man. A man who I get to hear say all the right things at all the right times. A man who will do everything I could possibly want him to do. A man who at the touch of a keyboard, could be exactly what I am looking for. I have fallen in love with my Mr. Darcy, from Mr. Darcy’s Promise. What a love story it is too!

For more on Mr. Darcy’s Promise, just released in July, you can read about it on my website, http://www.heyladypublications.com/mr-darcys-promise.html. I am pleased to allow any and all of you to use and abuse the man of my dreams and fall in love with him too. Yummy breeches and all. I do promise a sexy Mr. Darcy in a wet shirt. I do promise a mud fight. I do promise tender words and tender touches, but most of all, I promise that you too will fall in love with my Mr. Darcy in Mr. Darcy’s Promise. I will be giving away either a paperback or an ebook of my book, so enter the Rafflecopter below and leave a comment for a chance to win! This giveaway is open Internationally. Last day to enter is August 12, 2013. Good luck! 

And when it comes to the truth universally acknowledged that a single woman in possession of a small fortune MUST be in want of a husband, well, I will settle for the imperfect man on my laptop and kindle but that doesn’t mean that if you show up at my door in breeches and sexy knee high boots that I wouldn’t let you in.

Jeanna Ellsworth

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Any thoughts? We'd love to hear from you! 

**Remember, you must fill out the Rafflecopter form above to enter the giveaway. The winner will have 72 hours to respond to my email. If I don't receive a response a new winner will be picked. Thanks!** 

Dare You To by Katie McGarry ~ My Review

Dare You To by Katie McGarry 

Publication Date: May 28th, 2013 
Publisher: Harlequin Teen 
Hardcover: 462 pages 
Received: purchased my own copy 
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars 

 “A year ago, I had my life completely mapped out. It turns out, no one knows the future.”

 


Dare You To is the second book in the Pushing the Limits series. It is a fast-paced, edgy teen romance. It follows Beth, from Pushing the Limits, but introduces a new hero, Ryan Stone. 

On a dare, Ryan tries to get Beth’s phone number one night while he and his friends are in a neighboring town. Beth is a tough girl, with a tattoo and body piercings - there is no way she’s going to give this obviously popular jock her number. Little do they know that very soon their paths will cross again, and their lives will be changed forever. 

Beth is a very loyal person, at times to a point I don’t understand. The way she is loyal to her mom is amazing. Even though her mother is a horrible person who doesn’t deserve Beth’s love. But I admire Beth for it.

I like that Isaiah, from Pushing the Limits, is in this story. He is always there for Beth. Noah and Echo also make a couple of appearances. 

Ryan seems like the perfect guy. He's the star pitcher of his high school baseball team - hoping to go pro, he has a scout looking at him. He also has a couple of college’s looking at him.  He has the perfect family. Perfect, perfect, perfect... but things aren’t as perfect as they seem.

Although, Dare You To is a continuation of sorts to Pushing the Limits, I feel you can read it as a stand alone.

I loved reading Dare You To, and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series, Crash into You - Isaiah’s story.

Warning: Strong language.

Disclaimer: I purchased my copy of the book.

Buy a copy at Amazon.

Any thoughts? I'd love to hear from you!

August TBR Read-a-thon!

The summer is quickly coming to an end, at least for me. School will begin mid August for us, so what a better time to catch up on all those books you wanted to get finished this summer and didn't! Nancy Kelley is hosting an August TBR Readathon! Come join us! You can find the rules and sign up here.

I have a few books for review that I'll be reading, plus I'm going to try to squeeze in a few that have been on my TBR list for a long time. 


Here's a few from my TBR list (subject to change on a whim):

Edenbrooke by Juliannne Donaldson
Easy by Tammara Webber
Once Upon a Darkness by Aria Kane
Faking It by Cora Carmack
Echoes of Pemberley by Cynthia Ingram Hensley


Books I need to read for review (some I may get to before August):

Mr. Darcy's Promise by Jeanna Ellsworth
Atone by Jessica Grey
Lying to Meet You by Anna Garner


I hope you can join us! 

W... W... W... Wednesdays ~ July 24, 2013

W... W... W... Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. To play along, just answer the following questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

What am I currently reading? I am reading Dancing With Paris by Juliette Sobanet. So far I'm really enjoying it! It's like a time travel, mystery romance.

What did I recently finish reading? I finished reading From This Day Forward - The Darcys of Pemberley by Joana Starnes. I had a hard time getting into this story. My review will be up in a couple of weeks.

What do I think I'll be reading next? I have a couple of books I would like to get to this week. Mr. Darcy's Promise by Jeanna Ellsworth and Atone: A Fairytale by Jessica Grey. I am really looking forward to both! Mr. Darcy's Promise is a P&P variation - I  always love those! Atone is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast! I mean, who doesn't love that! Plus, I love Jessica's writing style! 

What are you reading?