Review - Fitzwilliam Darcy, An Honourable Man by Brenda J. Webb

RATING
Story - 9.5/10
Characters - 7.5/10
Overall - 9/10

Wow this was quite the gothic tale. Definitely not like most of the Austenesque novels I have read but it was riveting right from the beginning.

The Story:
The story begins with Darcy returning back to the country after he has been away for two years abroad licking his wounds from Elizabeth's harsh rejection. He is of course still in love with her but he has resolved to break free from her hold. Before leaving he had told Bingley the truth and consequently Jane and Mr. Bingley are married. While he was away for those two years though things were not all happiness for the Bingley's. They have a big secret that nobody can know and Elizabeth's life depends on their success. Mr. Darcy is the only one that can help them but will he?

Characters:
Things are definitely different in this novel. One of the things that struck me the most was that Georgiana is not the shy young miss in this book. Instead she is a married woman living near Pemberley as Mrs. Ingrahm. Mr. Darcy is very much Mr. Darcy though there were some elements that struck me as odd. One major oddity was his leaving his responsibilities for 2 years. I don't think Jane Austen's Mr. Darcy would have done that no matter what the circumstances but it did feel like less of an issue considering Georgiana is older and settled in this variation. Elizabeth is nothing like Austen's Elizabeth but this can be mostly attributed to her circumstances throughout the novel. I also found Mrs. Bennet's actions to be shockingly bad though mostly believable. In a lot of ways this novel is only loosely connected to Austen's characters as a large majority of the characters are original creations or fairly different from their Austen counterparts. The characters are all interesting though and well fleshed out and I enjoyed the Austen universe that the author created.

Overall:
This book had a very original (and gothic) storyline that gripped my attention from the very beginning. There is murder, intrigue, and deception throughout the book. This is quite the page turner! Despite its loose Austen connections it is a really good read and I highly recommend it! If you are an Austen purist though you probably will not enjoy this novel as a lot of the characters either behave in questionable ways or they have been greatly changed (like Georgianna).

Review - The Imperative Series by Linda Wells

RATING
Story - 8.5/10
Characters - 8.5/10
Overall - 8/10

First I must say that this was one whopper of a series. The first book is 791 pages and the second book is 695 pages. Definitely not a quick read. Since I am one of those people that gets lost in the universe and hates when an enjoyable book ends I am not necessarily adverse to a very long book. This series could have lost about 100-200 pages though and would have been a much better read (more on that later).

The Story:
I do not want to give too much away here so I am going to just give a brief general overview. The story begins with Caroline Bingley's jaw dropped to the floor as Darcy purposely compromises Elizabeth in the Netherfield library in front of its inhabitants. It was quite enjoyable to see Caroline's reaction to that, especially so early in the novel. From there the story moves forward at rapid pace with secrets, deceptions, angst, drama and quite a number of intimate scenes. I really enjoyed the new characters that the author created as well as the little known characters that she fleshed out. The story is original and very dramatic (someone wants Darcy dead and its NOT Wickham; Georgiana DID run away with Wickham and is now facing the consequences).

What I didn't like (especially in the second book) was that I felt the intimate scenes were overdone. At least 1/3 of them could have been left out without having any impact on the pacing or cohesiveness of the novels. This would have also served to make the length of the book more palatable to some. Honestly I found myself skipping pages to get past some of the intimate scenes because there were just too many and it was making the book a tad boring. That being said the actual story was really good and overall I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Characters:
I truly enjoyed the author's characters. Elizabeth had a biting wit and was madly in love with Darcy without losing her spirit and independence. Darcy was romantic, overprotective and took on all of the challenges and dramas as I would have expected him to. Their relationship was full of romance, trust, love, and understanding. The new characters were also interesting and added a lot to the story. I did not necessarily like what she did to Mr. Bennet's and Jane's characters though I could see the logic as well as the necessity for her storyline.On the other hand I loved how she chose to flesh out Lady Catherine, Mr Hurst, Louisa and Wickham. The long length of the novel allowed the author to create three dimensional characters that were a joy to read about.

Overall:
The book was original, full of drama and an interesting what-if story. If it wasn't for the excessive intimate scenes (particularly in the second book) that made the book drag a bit I would have given this series an 8.5.

New Find! - Fitzwilliam Darcy An Honourable Man by Brenda Webb

I am constantly scouring Amazon for new Austen inspired novels to read and I came across this little gem today.

http://www.amazon.com/Fitzwilliam-Darcy-Honourable-Man-ebook/dp/B004W0IU5G

It was published back in 2011 but I somehow missed this one. It looks like it has some good reviews and there is an excerpt on the Amazon page that already has my attention. After I finish the Imperative series I think I will read this one next!