Yours Affectionately, Jane Austen by Sally Smith O’Rourke

Posted on by Wendi Sotis

I was very happy to find out what happened to Eliza Knight and Fitzwilliam Darcy in Yours Affectionately, Jane Austen, the delightful sequel to The Man Who Loved Jane Austen. Again, Sally Smith O’Rourke makes the whole idea of time travel believable. In the beginning, I was a little worried that Sally would have Jane pass through the portal and into the future and then relieved when instead it was her brother’s stable hand, Simmons. Simmons’ reactions to many changes in the future were fun to read. Yes, poor Eliza spends quite a bit of time worrying about whether Darcy could actually be in love with her, but who wouldn’t be jealous of his relationship with Jane? Almost as fun to read as the first, I definitely recommend Yours Affectionately, Jane Austen.

Blurb: Was Mr. Darcy real? Is time travel really possible? For pragmatic Manhattan artist Eliza Knight the answer to both questions is absolutely, Yes! And Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley Farms, Virginia is the reason why!

His tale of love and romance in Regency England leaves Eliza in no doubt that Fitz Darcy is the embodiment of Jane Austen’s legendary hero. And she’s falling in love with him. But can the man who loved the inimitable Jane Austen ever love average, ordinary Eliza Knight?

Eliza’s doubts grow, perhaps out of proportion, when things start to happen in the quiet hamlet of Chawton, England; events that could change everything. Will the beloved author become the wedge that divides Fitz and Eliza or the tie that binds them?

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I won this book as part of a promotion for AustenAdmirers.com – a smartphone application designed to bring together authors, bloggers and fans of Austen in one

easy-to-use RSS application.

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This review is part of my commitment towards

The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge

hosted by AustenProse.com.

The Man Who Loved Jane Austen by Sally Smith O’Rourke

Posted on by Wendi Sotis

Wow! I knew this was going to be good, but what I found in the pages of The Man Who Loved Jane Austen was not what I expected – in an Oh-So-Delicious way! Did I ever tell you I adore time travel stories? How could I not love a novel that includes a sweet, contemporary Austenesque-type romance, a Regency romance including Jane Austen herself, AND time travel, all wrapped up into one? Sally has a beautiful way of describing scenes; I saw what the characters were seeing.

If it weren’t for a lack of commas, which every once in a while made me stop reading and start editing the text in my head so I was able to understand what was meant by the sentence, I’d say this was perfect! In the end,  I was able to accept them. Putting that aside, I LOVED this book.

Once I got started, I had trouble putting it down and read it within a 24-hour period.

Off I go to begin reading “Yours Affectionately, Jane Austen” the sequel! Can’t wait!

Official Blurb:

When New York artist Eliza Knight buys an old vanity table one lazy Sunday afternoon, she has no idea of its history. Tucked away behind the mirror are two letters. One is sealed; the other, dated May 1810, is addressed to “Dearest Jane” from “F. Darcy”–as in Fitzwilliam Darcy, the fictional hero of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Could one of literature’s most compelling characters been a real person? More intriguing still, scientific testing proves that the second, sealed letter was written by Jane herself.

Caught between the routine of her present life and these incredible discoveries from the past, Eliza decides to look deeper and is drawn to a majestic, 200-year-old estate in Virginia’s breathtaking Shenandoah Valley. There she meets the man who may hold the answer to this extraordinary puzzle. Now, as the real story of Fitzwilliam Darcy unfolds, Eliza finds her life has become a modern-day romance, one that perhaps only Jane herself could have written. . .

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This review is part of my commitment towards

The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge

hosted by AustenProse.com.

One Thread Pulled: The Dance with Mr. Darcy

Posted on by Wendi Sotis

One Thread Pulled:

The Dance with Mr. Darcy

by Diana J. Oaks

Although I’ve read it twice before, I decided to revisit this excellent story—full of sweet romance, intrigue, and even a mystery—for The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge. I highly recommend this book!

What if, from the story of Pride and Prejudice, weaved by Jane Austen, one thread was pulled? Diana J. Oaks imagines just that when she pulls the thread that has Elizabeth Bennet overhearing Mr. Darcy’s insult at the assembly ball. As a result, One Thread Pulled goes off in  directions increasingly dissimilar to the original as the story unfolds.

Since there was no knowledge of the insult, Mrs. Bennet declares that they should forgive Mr. Darcy’s pride, and Elizabeth agrees. Jane suffers a fall on her way to Netherfield rather than an illness, resulting in some rather amusing scenes which explain the changes in her character from the original.Without Elizabeth’s injured pride, her behavior toward Mr. Darcy is friendlier, causing both their feelings to develop sooner. Colonel Fitzwilliam and Georgiana Darcy appear earlier, as well, and the characters we love to hate are even more hate-worthy in this adaptation—a very satisfying deviation.

I was sorry to see this book end, and I am looking forward to the second of the series to be published! Diana’s first draft of the sequel is being posted to BeyondAusten.com, titled Constant as the Sun.

Loving Miss Darcy (Brides of Pemberley)

Posted on by Wendi Sotis

Loving Miss Darcy (Brides of Pemberley)

by Nancy Kelley

You know it’s a really good story when you hit the end and you still want to read more. If one listened closely when I finished this book, they would have heard a very audible, “Awww! There’s no more?!” and noticed that I kept flipping to see if there was any mention of a sequel.

In Loving Miss Darcy, Elizabeth and Darcy are very happily married. Richard Fitzwilliam is now out of the army at half-pay and has been taking care of his father’s estates in lieu of his brother, who does not really care for the land. His brother decides to take an interest after all—mainly, it seems, in order to spite Richard. Wanting nothing to do with his brother, Richard leaves Matlock and heads over to Pemberley.

Upon arrival, he finds that, after putting off Georgiana’s season in order for Elizabeth to be presented, it is now time for Georgiana’s coming out. The gentlemen are rather reluctant about it—as is Georgiana. As Mary Bennet has no interest in having a Season, and Kitty is all for it, the Darcys ask Kitty to accompany them to London to be presented at court as well, hoping some of her enthusiasm will wear off on Georgiana.

As the Season begins, Richard can’t understand the extreme discomfort that comes over him whenever he thinks of Georgiana having suitors, and heaven forbid anyone should mention that the purpose for a Season is so that she shall marry!

Although at times I wanted to shake some sense into poor Richard, experiencing his confusion was all part of the fun—an Austen-inspired story would be nothing without misunderstandings!  I think this is one of my favorite Colonel Fitzwilliam characterizations, and I really loved Georgiana, too. I enjoyed all the new characters that Nancy Kelley came up with, as well.

A big “thumbs up” from me for Loving Miss Darcy!

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I read this novel as part of the

The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge 2013

at Austenprose.com

Text of Pride and Prejudice – 200th Anniversary personal challenge

Posted on by Wendi Sotis

I woke up this morning and remembered a dream I had – for the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice, I was typing the entire text.  Since many of my ideas for my stories also come from dreams, I decided that”s just what I’m going to do!

Check out the new page on my website.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Since I’m afraid it might disappear if I type it here, I’ll be typing in Word and pasting it from time to time.  I certainly hope it all fits!

~~~~~

I was going to simply read Pride and Prejudice as part of

The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge 2013

at Austenprose.com

but this is one step better!

Attempting Elizabeth by Jessica Grey

Posted on by Wendi Sotis

Have you ever become so involved with a story that you didn’t even want to stop reading long enough to eat or sleep?  Yep, that’s what happened while I was reading Jessica Grey’s new release:

Attempting Elizabeth

Janeites everywhere will love this story! It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed this hard or this often while reading a book. The characters were alive, and I couldn’t help but connect with Kelsey on so many levels.

I had written up a description for Attempting Elizabeth, and even chose a couple of quotes that I absolutely loved, but I decided not to use them when I realized they gave away too much of the plot. The official description tells the perfect amount:

“Kelsey Edmundson is a geek and proud of it. She makes no secret of her love for TV, movies, and, most especially, books. After a bad breakup, she retreats into her favorite novel, Pride and Prejudice, wishing she had some of the wit and spirit of Elizabeth Bennett.

One night at a party Kelsey meets handsome Australian bartender Mark Barnes. From then on, she always seems to run into him when she least expects it. No matter how Kelsey tries, she always seems to say the wrong thing.

After a particularly gaffe-filled evening around Mark, Kelsey is in desperate need of inspiration from Jane Austen. She falls asleep reading Darcy’s letter to Lizzy and awakens to find herself in an unfamiliar place that looks and sounds suspiciously like her favorite book. Has she somehow been transported into Pride and Prejudice, or is it just a dream?

As Kelsey tries to discover what’s happening to her, she must also discover her own heart. Is Mark Barnes destined to be her Mr. Darcy? In the end, she must decide whether attempting to become Elizabeth is worth the risk or if being Kelsey Edmundson is enough.”

I was left with one question at the end, but I was able to answer it myself by opening my copy of Pride and Prejudice. I’m relieved to declare that all is still as it should be!

I’m sure I’ll be reading this again soon!

~

I’m counting this book toward the Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge (austenprose.com)

Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match

Posted on by Wendi Sotis

Since I’m suffering from writer’s block, I might as well take advantage of the time “off” and get started on the challenges I’ve signed up for this year.

First up in the Pride and Prejudice Bicententary Challenge is

Marilyn Brant’s new release, Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match

The premise of Dr. Will Darcy and single mom Beth Bennet meeting through “Lady Catherine’s Love Match Website” sounded interesting, so I grabbed it. Once I started reading it, only sheer exhaustion forced me to put it down, to be taken up the following day as soon as I was able, and reading straight through to the end.

Both Will and Beth have their motives for signing up for online dating, and “looking for love” is not among them. Beth, a sociology student, fakes her profile as research for her final paper. Will is more honest with his answers, but it is in response to a bet he can’t refuse – what he’ll win will help make a lot of people’s lives so much better.

After corresponding through email for a while, they meet. Attraction grows into something much more, but to take their relationship to a more serious level, they’ll have to confess their deceptions. Will either be able to trust the other once the truth is out? Can Will get past his prejudices and accept who Beth really is?

Although this story didn’t hit all the marks one expects from a Pride & Prejudice modernization, I thoroughly enjoyed every word of this sweet, romantic tale.

The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge 2013

Posted on by Wendi Sotis
hosted by Laurel Ann Nattress of Austenprose.com

2013 is the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and I’m joining the celebration at Austenprose.com.

Between January 1, through December 31, 2013, participants can read, listen to, or watch movie adaptations of Jane Austen’s novel, or choose from the multitude of variations, sequels, and re-tellings.

Really, this should be a breeze for fans of Pride and Prejudice, but since I’ve never participated in a reading challenge before this year, I’m going to start off slowly, choosing a participation level of Neophyte: 1 – 4 selections.

If you’d like to participate, head on over to Austenprose.com to sign up before  July 1, 2013.

Decisions, Decisions!

There are so many, I’m having a little trouble figuring out just which novels, movies, or audio books to use for the challenge!

  1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – not only am I reading it, but I’m typing the whole thing out on my website! Update: I’ve had a shoulder injury and can’t type for very long, so this is on hold. (I haven’t checked for typos yet, but I will eventually.) I have to save my typing time for my new story 😉
  2. Pride, Prejudice, and the Perfect Match by Marilyn Brant – Review 1/19/13
  3. Attempting Elizabeth by Jessica Grey – Review 1/26/13
  4. Loving Miss Darcy by Nancy Kelley – Review 2/2/13
  5. One Thread Pulled by Diana J. Oaks – Review 2/17/13
  6. The Man Who Loved Jane Austen – Review 4/26/13
  7. Yours Affectionately, Jane Austen – Review 4/30/13
  8. I’ll be watching as many movie versions as I can lay my hands on.

I’ll update my list to include more as I read them.