Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Mr. Darcy's Noble Connections - Review

 by Abigail Reynolds
 


   Mr. Darcy’s Noble Connections

Kindle Edition -242 pgs. 
Published: June 2013
Series: Pemberley Variations  

There’s only one fact that notorious rake Lord Charles Carlisle and his cousin, Fitzwilliam Darcy, can agree upon: a house party given by the Marquess of Bentham is bound to be intolerably dull. That’s why Lord Charles is delighted to accept a bet that he can seduce his sister’s pretty friend during their stay at Bentham Park. After all, it’s easy money for an experienced seducer, and it will relieve his boredom. Why should he care if his staid cousin Darcy disapproves? But when Darcy discovers that Lord Charles’ new target is none other than Elizabeth Bennet, the woman who just refused Darcy’s offer of marriage, he cannot stand by and watch as the woman he still loves is callously ruined. What he doesn’t know is that Lord Charles has a dark secret, and that his attentions to Elizabeth may not be what they seem.

But Darcy has a secret agenda of his own at the house party, one that could change everything change everything at Bentham Park. Add in a midnight rescue, clandestine meetings, a long-lost son, conspiracies, blackmail, and an attempted elopement, and suddenly this house party is anything but dull.

Like all of the Pemberley Variations that I've read by Reynolds, this variation on Pride and Prejudice was a fun, quick read that satisfies my need for a Jane Austen fix. Back in early December all of Abigail Reynolds' books were on sale for $1.99 on Kindle. Since I know I love her stories, I decided to stock up.

Reynolds always manages to capture the misunderstandings that Darcy and Elizabeth have of each other. The will they, won't they moments are always fun to read and keep me flipping the pages whenever I read these. The characters in this particular book are diverse to say the least. I was disappointed that none of the other Bennetts were not in this book at all! So often in other variations of Austen's works I find that when authors adapt her characters they often feel a bit flat. I think Reynolds really captures the characters while still making them her own. There is a lot going on in this book and there are lots of twists and turns.

Personally this is not my favorite of the Variations. Like I mentioned, I missed the rest of the Bennett family especially Jane. Also the characters in this book take away from the romance of Darcy and Elizabeth. A lot of time the story is about other romances or other characters' family relations. Because this book was only 242 pgs. that took a lot of time away from Darcy and Elizabeth. They don't get a lot of time alone together which disappointed me because that is normally the part of her books that I like.

Even so, this is a fun read and well worth the time I spent reading it and the money I spent to get the book. I will definitely be checking out even more of Reynolds' writing!

Rating: 3/5



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