Abigail Reynolds

                            
I  have been indulging myself by buying up e-books by Abigail Reynolds.  She has a vast collection of Pride and Prejudice variations, each one slightly different, each one having you worry and hope that THE couple will end up together, somehow, someway.  They are all like a box of chocolates…you really can’t just have one!
                                      
A Pemberley Medley.  A cute collection of short stories featuring my favourite romantic couple.    Each one an engrossing variation on the other.  This is the first that I have read by this author, and I found it charming. 
                                       
To Conquer Mr. Darcy.   This variation was shocking.  There was more than enough sexual tension in it to actually bore me.  I don’t wish to be rude or critical, I don’t wish to hurt anyone for any reason, but I disagree with the amount of sexual content, and of the actual alteration of the protagonists’characters to enable such content.  I have become very familiar over the years with each character in Pride and Prejudice, and this did not sit well with me. 
                                     
Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World.   I found this variation to be very interesting.  While still having some sexual tension, this time it felt like the right amount at the right time, and accentuated a perfect moment in the story.  This is the kind of story that engages me because here are the very same two characters encountering and overcoming problems so that they can ultimately be together.  Georgianna Darcy, however, was very out of character, and it was incongruent with previous versions (though I guess it could be valid considering her circumstances).
                                    
Mr Darcy’s Undoing.  Again this is a variation that was interesting, but then became quite uncomfortable for me because yet again we have people behaving out of character, and there is sex in abundance.    I admit that this time I caught myself just skimming the sex scenes (and I was NOT tempted to go back again to see what I had missed). 

Sex can be a very useful storytelling device, especially when you have two such passionate  individuals as Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy.  Jane Austen was not afraid to mention this in a favourable light in her book, but never went into details (which has always been the charm in her stories).  I also understand other peoples needs to indulge in a little sex for these two, as they might have felt a little ripped off  after the two of them taking such a long, hard time to finally get together.  While Reynolds does her sex scenes very well, I have to admit that it is too much, and even knowing how passionate our couple is, it just isn’t possible for them both to have such weakness of character to behave in such an inappropriate way.   
I will still read them all (I have six more of Reynolds’ books to read on my Kindle app), because I just cannot resist a Pride and Prejudice story.  
                                   
What Would Mr Darcy Do?  Was a relief.  All the angst, fear, suspense, and then gratifying satisfaction (sans sex!).    After reading so many of these stories I am going to take a lovely long break and look forward to future indulgences in the new year (which I promise not to write about!).

The Houseguest

For us die-hard Pride and Prejudice fans who just want that little bit more from the story, this book is a delicious little treat.  I have been, and suspect always will be a sucker for new ideas, variations and twists on the universal theme.  I adore this story because one of the minor characters Georgiana Darcy has more of a leading role in this variation, which in itself provides much food for thought about her initial role in the original story, and it's catalitic role.  I wonder if anyone has ever thought about writing a variation that does not include her?  It would certainly be an entirely different story (or in my opinion, no story at all).  I am especially fond of the relationship that Adams developed between Elizabeth Bennet and Georgiana Darcy, it was cute and sweet and had me wishing for a little sister of my own.  Naturally the relationship between Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth is fascinating in this variation too, complete with all of it's inevitabilities (the misunderstandings, the confusion, and that simmering sexual tension).  This version includes all of what I consider to be the vital ingredients for a Pride and Prejudice vagary, and I do recommend it to fans of this kind of story.
I first encountered this book at  Fan.Fiction.Net    I went back and re-read it twice before it was mostly removed from the site inviting us to buy it at Amazon.ca.  It was my first Kindle purchase, and I was extremely excited to buy it.  You can look at the authors othre fan fiction here Elizabeth Adams  it is worth a peek, and you can buy her e-book here The Houseguest.

A Little Bit Janeish...

I have to admit that as far as these novels go, I have been disappointed  with Grange’s diaries because I don’t see much more than what is really already there in Jane Austen’s books. The biggest allure of reading such novels is getting something more, something ’tasty’ from the other side, some tidbits that make us love our romantic heroes even more than we already do, something...that we don't know already.  That doesn’t happen in these books (I have read two other diaries).  What did happen out of the ordinary in this book is a prelude, which is a nice change from what I have already read by Amanda Grange.  This prelude really was written very well, and for that alone I would recommend this book to fans of Jane Austen's Persuasion. 

Indulging the Romantic

 Huge fan of Jane Austen?  Can’t get enough of Pride and Prejudice?  Well look no further (well maybe that isn’t the right thing to say as I will always be on the lookout for more fan fiction about Pride and Prejudice!).  This trilogy goes a long way to fulfilling the need for more.  The Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy is very thorough.  Three books about one book, all about  Darcy’s delicious side of the tale, it is very satisfying, doling out not just Darcy’s oh-so-wrong outlook and his struggles to become the man that would be eligible for marriage with Elizabeth Bennet, but sharing other lovely tidbits of Regency Era history, and some nods to the other books that Austen wrote (but I’m not going to tell you much about that…it’s just too much fun to find them on your own).  This is a must-have for a Janeites collection, and be sure to have plenty of Earl Grey tea, harp music, and  of course, an empty weekend in which to indulge yourself completely with this lovely collection of novels.

With this first installment we get to see just how snotty, selfish, ignorant and arrogant our romantic hero is.  But never fear, we do get to see the goodness in him too when we see how loving he is with his sister. I also simply adored Aidan's extras (people not featured in Pride and Prejudice).

I loved how much character development was done here, and the Gothic goodies were so very deliciously macabre.

The wonderful conclusion.  We all know how the story ends... but with this the struggle was so engaging, Darcy's angstful efforts to become our romantic hero (with all its warts etc.,) was epic.  I will be re-reading this in the not too distant furture.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

Sometimes I can't help but feel that certain things out there in the whole wide world were written  just for me.    This is one such book.  Lovely and long (intimidating at first), it didn't take long to be drawn in to this story, with its intriguing twists and freshly original story that is just so interesting that you don't want to stop until you know what will happen next (and since it is such a long book you are in this state of anxious suspense- mild as it is - throughout most of the book).

   I say it was written just for me as it is a Regency era tale (and I am particularly fond of this time period because of its literature, music and art).  Throughout the book I read phrases that were happily familiar...  having read Jane Austen's books many times I love the language and feel comfortable in it. This is a good thing as it lends  an authenticity to the story that Clarke is telling (and feeds my love of all things literary from that era).  Even Lord Byron makes a cameo appearance in this tale.   And magic!   An alternate history where magic is commonplace.   I just love the illustrations, they provide a depth to the sinister undertones of this story.
   There are so many novels out there about this period they kind of run together after a while (more of the same), but this one was so fresh and invigorating I read it with pure joy.  Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell stands alone.

Don't try to figure out what will happen in the story, or try to forecast how the book will end... let it slowly creep up on you.  It's really worth it, I promise, to just trust the author to just take you where she wants you to go. I wont tell any more as I really want you to go out and buy this book for yourselves and discover the many special features and pleasures inside.