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.

Forever and a Day By Delilah Marvelle

     When Georgia and Roderick meet, two different worlds collide! Can two people from two totally opposite classes fall in love and stay together without society tearing them apart?

     Georgia Milton lives on Orange Street, a rough neighborhood in New York City, 1831. She is a tough girl, who can hold her own. Roderick is a very wealth Duke from London, who is in New York looking for a map his late mother gave him.

     When Georgia’s reticule is stolen while she is walking down the street, Roderick tries to chase down the thief. During the pursuit Roderick gets hit by an oumibus. He suffers memory loss due to the accident. Feeling responsible for him, Georgia takes him home when the hospital releases him, hoping his can remember something from his past so he can go home. They are drawn to one another and quickly fall in love.  

     When Roderick’s memory starts coming back and he realizes who he is, he also realizes Georgia would never be accepted by the ton. He feels he should let her go than let the ton destroy her. But will it be that easy?

     There is a lot I liked about this story, I found it really interesting seeing the huge contrasts between classes, pretty much the lowest to the highest. I loved Georgia’s feisty attitude and her willingness to learn to fit into his society, with or without his help. I also loved Roderick’s generous heart while living with Georgia; he was willing to help her out with her laundry business. And when he starts remembering some the unsavory parts of his past, his tries to be a better person.

     I really liked this story but I would have liked to see more at the end. I felt like it everything was wrapped up a little too quickly. 

     I rate this 4 out of 5 stars.

     I would give this a mature rating for some sexual content.

     Buy Forever and a Day here.

     I won a copy of this book from Austen Authors!

     Comments are always welcome!

    

The Spinster’s Vow By Enid Wilson

     This is one of the books I won in February from Coffee Times Romance. I wasn’t sure how I would like it but the book description sounded good so I gave it a try. After a rough start, I enjoyed the story very much.

     The beginning was not my cup of tea. I thought it was unrealistic, but I pushed through it and I’m glad I did! I’m sure if you are in anyway a purist you might not enjoy the story, but I’m not, so I just let it take me away without worrying about the logistics.  

     It’s been six years since Mr. Bennet suddenly disappeared. After leasing out Longbourn, the Bennet women are now living in Broadstairs of Kent. The girls have been invited to a masquerade ball for single men and women only. The ball put on by the militia is being held to encourage the young people to get to know each other, marry and have children, to replace the men that were lost during the war. At the ball they are served wine that has been infused with herbs that make people lose their inhibitions, in hopes to make them marry quicker.

     Elizabeth and Darcy meet at the ball, and after he insults her he is drawn to her and won’t leave her side. They end up in a compromising position and get married. With her father’s disappearance Elizabeth is afraid to give her heart away. She has also broken her vow never to marry but she realizes marrying Darcy will help her family since her father will be declared legally dead in another year and they will lose Longbourn. Darcy offers to help in the search, with his resources and connections, will they find out what happen to Mr. Bennet? Will they also find love along the way?

     There are a few twists and turns along the way and a few dead ends in their search. There are also a few people objecting to their marriage, causing trouble. Wilson puts a different spin on Wickham and makes him a long lost relative of Mr. Bennet and the heir to Longbourn.

     Overall, I enjoy the story and I’m glad I read it! 

     I give this a 4 out of 5 stars.

     I would rate this mature for some sexual scene.

     Buy The Spinster's Vow here.

     
     Comments are always welcome!