Charlotte By Karen Aminadra

Lovely, lovely story! I found this story to be quite charming! I felt for the most part it stayed true to Jane Austen.

I know this book is about Charlotte, but could it be that I actually came to like, yes, like Mr. Collins! I did not think that was possible, but I did! (I cannot say love and Mr. Collins in the same sentence!)

Poor Charlotte finds herself regretting marrying Mr. Collins. She is bitter; she just wants to stay home and be left alone. The intimacies of marriage and the high-and-mighty Lady Catherine are more than she can bear. She finds herself in trouble for going shopping at a milliner not approved by Lady Catherine. Her punishment is being ostracized from Lady C’s company! (Terrible, I know!) That allows her more freedom and she enjoys life more. She becomes dear friends with Miss Thomas. She even becomes closer to Colonel Fitzwilliam, which leads to other complications!

During this time, Mr. Collins starts seeing the value in Charlotte. He also begins to see how ridiculous of a man he is, fawning and simpering to Lady Catherine, he now realizes how overbearing she is. His love for Charlotte grows, but is it too late?

I liked the side story with Miss Thomas and Mr. Simmons! They both have suffered a great deal from Lady Catherine's dictatorial nature.

I was so happy to see Elizabeth and Darcy come to help Charlotte during a moment of crisis! And loved it when Lady Catherine bursts in on them demanding to know why they are there! 

I enjoyed this story very much! I was surprised to see how much my opinions changed about some of my favorite characters and my not so favorite characters. I can’t wait to read Karen’s next story!

I give this 4 out of 5 stars.

I was provided a copy by the author for review.

Buy a copy of Charlotte here.

This completes my Supporting Characters category for the JA Spinoffs 2012 Reading Challenge.

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About the Author:

Karen Aminadra (pronounced Amin-ah-dra) is an author and an English language teacher who lives in Northamptonshire, England with her husband.
She was born in London and grew up in Hertfordshire 'the land of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice'.
She has travelled and worked all over the world including South America, Russia and Europe.
She writes Jane Austen Continuation Novels, and other Fiction Novels with a good helping of historical romance, crime and mystery.
She loves to read, loves English history, Georgian architecture and is a dolls house miniaturist. She and her husband are currently working on a 1:12th scale Georgian Townhouse together.

You can find Karen at www.karenaminadra.com

Follow Karen on Twitter > @kaminadra

Comments are always welcome!

Darcy’s Decision By Maria Grace

What if Darcy ponders his self worth before he meets Elizabeth? What if he discovers a secret about his father? Ooh, yeah! In this story Maria Grace takes us down a different path in her first book of her Given Good Principles trilogy.

I really enjoyed Darcy's relationship with his curator Mr. Bradley. I found it delightful when Darcy would go to Mr. Bradley for council. Bradley would answer his questions in a way that would keep Darcy examining himself; helping him grow into a wonderful man.

When the living at Kympton became vacant, Wickham shows up to claim it. Maintaining it was the wish of Old Mr. Darcy, that he should have it. When Darcy denies him, Wickham seeks his revenge! 

Georgiana is a bit more rebellious in this variation! She wants to be treated as an adult so badly she is willing to defy Darcy. At 15, she is no longer a child but not yet an adult. It is a tough age.

Elizabeth does not make an appearance in this prequel, everything happens before Darcy goes to Hertfordshire, but the foundation is laid for what looks like a fantastic trilogy! I can't wait for the next book!    

I give this 4 out of 5 stars.

I won my copy from Indie Jane.

Buy a copy of Darcy's Decision here.

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

The Disappearance of Georgiana Darcy By Regina Jeffers

     Awesomeness! I love that The Disappearance of Georgiana Darcy is a sequel to Christmas at Pemberley, a fact I did not know before I started reading it, not to mention what a great story it is! 

     Upset over hearing some bad news, Georgiana charges off on her horse towards the Scottish moors. Thrown from her horse, she wakes up in a strange room with no recollection of how she got there. When Darcy and Elizabeth find out she is missing, they go to Scotland to try to locate her. Colonel Fitzwilliam, now a Major General, also races up to find her.

     Not only do we have the mystery of Georgiana's disappearance, but there is so much more going on. The family is gathering at Pemberley for Kitty's wedding, the Wickhams show up creating a bit of family drama. Wickham is still blaming Darcy for all his misfortunes, and indeed his misfortunes are great and keep growing.

     I found it very interesting to see Lydia realizing that her sisters have made much better marriages than she did. Mrs. Bennet has her eyes opened to that fact also!

     Jeffers did an excellent job leading me through this mystery and having all these side plots going on at the same time, without overwhelming me. I have to admit that I was surprised and didn't figure out the mystery until it was revealed to me. Well done!

     If you love the Darcys and a mystery, this is definitely the story for you! Even though it is a sequel, I think it could be read alone. There is much reflecting back to both Pride and Prejudice and Christmas at Pemberley. 

     By the way, I love the cover!  

I give this 5 out of 5 stars.

I was provided a copy for review.

Buy a copy of The Disappearance of Georgiana Darcy HERE.

About the Author: 

Regina Jeffers, an English teacher for thirty-nine years, considers herself a Jane Austen enthusiast. She is the author of 13 novels, including Darcy’s Passions, Darcy’s Temptation, The Phantom of Pemberley, Christmas at Pemberley, The Scandal of Lady Eleanor, A Touch of Velvet, and A Touch of Cashémere. A Time Warner Star Teacher and Martha Holden Jennings Scholar, as well as a Smithsonian presenter, Jeffers often serves as a media literacy consultant. She resides outside of Charlotte, NC, where she spends time teaching her new grandson the joys of being a child. 

Website – www.rjeffers.com
Blog – http://reginajeffers.wordpress.com
Twitter - @reginajeffers
Publisher – Ulysses Press http://ulyssespress.com/

     

This book also complete the mystery category in the Jane Austen Spinoffs 2012 Reading Challenge. 

Comments are always welcome!

The Merchant's Daughter By Melanie Dickerson

     Set in 1352 England, The Merchant’s Daughter is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It is a beautiful story about courage, honor, justice and love.

     Since the death of her father and the loss of their wealth, Annabel’s mother and brothers have not contributed to the community monetarily or by working in the fields. They feel they are above such things! Now the manorial court has ordered them to pay up or one of them would have to work as a servant for Lord le Wyse for the next 3 years. With no money, her older brother, Edward, plans to marry Annabel off to the vile Bailiff Tom. In return, the bailiff will pay their fines.

     Lord le Wyse is a bitter young man with a terrible temper, which is magnified by his appearance. He was disfigured during a wolf attack, that scarred his face and eye, leaving him with the need of an eye patch. His heart has been scarred also, after the woman he loved ripped it apart. Now he feels all women are deceitful, especially beautiful ones.

     With the choice before her of marrying Bailiff Tom or working as a servant to Lord Le Wyse, Annabel chooses to be a servant. Does Annabel make the right choice? Will life as a servant be just as terrifying as being a wife to the horrid bailiff?

     Annabel is a sweet girl without coming across as sappy. I loved how she relies on her faith to get her through her fears and troubles. And troubles she has when the bailiff stirs up the villagers blaming all their recent misfortunes on the new Lord, saying Lord le Wyse is cursed!

     I really enjoyed the story! I loved the cover. If you look closely at the mirror, you can see the face of Lord le Wyse! This is a great read! 

I give this 4 out of 5 stars.

Buy a copy of The Merchant's Daughter here.

What's your favorite fairytale retelling?

The Journey By Jan Hahn

     I loved this story! Again Jan Hahn delivers another fantastic P&P what-if story. I have been waiting for this to come out in the kindle version and when it did I grabbed it and I couldn’t put it down!

     Written from Elizabeth's point of view, The Journey takes Elizabeth and Darcy down a different path, starting after Elizabeth turns down Mr. Collins's proposal. To escape her mother's wrath, Mr. Bennet arranges a trip for Elizabeth to visit the Gardiners. 

     While traveling to London the carriage, carrying Bingley’s sisters, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, is stopped by highwayman, Nate Morgan and his gang. After robbing them they decide to take Elizabeth with them for their own pleasures. Darcy offers himself in her place saying they could hold him for ransom. When they still plan to abduct Elizabeth, Darcy tells them that she is his wife and if she is touched they will get nothing. Darcy may have saved her from being abused by her captors but now will he ruin her reputation by being locked up with her in the same room for days?

     What an adventure! Elizabeth and Darcy have to use their wits and courage to survive the ordeal. Elizabeth finds herself falling in love with Darcy. She learns to trust him, she sees what kind of man he truly is, but she still manages to misunderstand him! 

     I felt Elizabeth had a little too much compassion for her captors, especially Morgan. She was more like Jane in that aspect, only seeing the good in people.  

     I love how this was written with Elizabeth telling the story. I also like that the last chapter jumps to a much later time in their lives, like the epilogue usually does, only adding to the story a little more. Then the epilogue itself is short but sweet. I love how Hahn ends this story.

     The Journey is definitely worth reading! 

     I give this 5 out of 5 stars.

     Buy The Journey here.

     Comments are always welcome!

     

Guardian By Robin Helm

I'm over at  Indie Jane today! I've written a review for an amazing book, Guardian by Robin Helm. So head over and read my review! Thanks!










This review was originally published on Indie Jane.

Oh. My. Word. This was not what I had expected! This is an amazing story, which had me thinking and at one point breaking out my Bible to do my own research. Even though this is a fictional story I was fascinated to see how the spiritual world might be at work around us. According to the Bible there is a spiritual battle being fought for us each day. It’s interesting to see the spiritual warfare that goes on in a persons life unseen by human eyes.

What if Elizabeth Bennett was meant for a special purpose? What if she was assigned a special Guardian, an Angel very high up in the realm of Angels?

The beginning of the story is a little heavy laying the ground work for the story. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very interesting. It’s just not a light read. As we watch Elizabeth grow up and become a teenager it’s amazing to watch the battles being fought for her. I really enjoyed the story more when Elizabeth was a teenager and young adult.

Where is Darcy in all this you might ask? He is Xander, Elizabeth’s Guardian, who, when he takes on his human form is called Darcy.

El, as her parents call her, is very intelligent and very gifted musically as well as vocally. Since her existence is very important in ruining the plans Satan has set in play to turn the world further away from God, he wants her dead.

Helm is well versed in all of God’s names and uses them through out the story, changing His name to suit the situation. I like that Scripture is infused all through the book. Helm uses them in chapter breaks as well as weaving them into the story.

This is the first book of a trilogy and it definitely ends with a cliffhanger. The good news is the second book is already out, SoulFire and I’m definitely looking forward to reading it! Helm is currently working on the Legacy, the final book in the trilogy.

*****

Robin Helm has published the first two volumes of a trilogy (The Guardian Trilogy), Guardian and SoulFire, and is presently writing Legacy, the third and final volume, posting as a work in progress on four different forums. She has also published three Regency short stories. She and her husband have two daughters, the elder a Navy nurse stationed in Guam, and the younger a university senior. They live in South Carolina with their Yorkie-Poo, Tobey. You can connect with Robin on the Crown Hill Writers Guild site. You can purchase Guardian in both ebook and paperback on Amazon.