Loving Miss Darcy

Loving Miss Darcy by Nancy Kelley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

(Three and a half stars, actually.)

Two years after Elizabeth married Mr. Darcy, it's time for Darcy's younger sister to make her debut in society. But Georgiana still hasn't emotionally recovered from her colossal mistake in nearly eloping with Mr. Wickham and doesn't trust her own judgment when it comes to men. In an effort to boost her confidence and protect her from unsavory types, her guardians--Darcy and Col. Richard Fitzwilliam--ask the colonel's friends to dance with her at her first balls. Despite their best efforts and intentions, somehow rumors still leak out, and Richard is forced to more fully examine his own feelings toward Georgie as he races to uncover the plot to damage her reputation.

This is a light, fun read for Jane Austen fans. Nancy Kelley again remains consistent with Austen's original characters and tone. The one exception is that she develops Kitty Bennet into a much more mature and intelligent girl than in the original Pride and Prejudice, but I can live with that, since Kitty's been away from Lydia for two years, and all of us would like to think we improve with age. Plus I'm hoping Nancy's next book will focus on Kitty and Sebastian.

A couple of things brought my rating down a bit. First, there is a scene at Pemberley fairly early on in the book at the start of the Christmas gathering when Simon starts talking, and I hadn't even realized he was invited, much less had arrived. I flipped back several pages to see if I'd missed something, but there was no mention of him until he spoke. When Elizabeth's parents started speaking soon afterward, it was only slightly less jarring, and for the same reason.

Second, I thought the ending was a bit too...easy? I can't think of the precise word I mean. It just felt slightly rushed, maybe, or the villain was caught and too-gently dispensed with...I don't know. And when they were confronting him, one of his physical reactions was exactly the opposite of what would have made sense to me: he sat back instead of lunging up in protest/denial. I won't say any more than that because I want to avoid spoilers.

And third, there were a couple of painful (to me) grammar errors that jumped out at me, particularly toward the end of the book. There were occasional missing words or letters throughout, but they didn't bother me as much as the later incorrect sentence structures. (Nancy, please let me know if you'd ever like me to proofread your manuscripts for you. I'd be delighted to do so!)

Overall, though, I very much enjoyed reading book two in the series.

For readers' advisors: setting, story, and character doorways. No sex or swearing.

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99-cent Sale on His Good Opinion

To celebrate the release of her second novel, Nancy Kelley has put her first on sale for $0.99, but the sale is almost over.  And right now to publicize the sale, she's offering a giveaway of the paperback version:  http://nancykelleywrites.com/99-cent-sale-ends-soon-giveaway/

If you'd rather just buy the ebook version of His Good Opinion while it's still $0.99, head on over to iBooks, Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, or Bn.com, but hurry!  This offer ends Thursday night, Feb. 28, 2013.

Loving Miss Darcy book giveaway contest

My friend and fabulous author, Nancy Kelley, is giving away a copy of her new book, Loving Miss Darcy!  Enter to win here.  Hurry--the giveaway ends in 5 days, 22 hours...which equals approximately January 21, 2013, give or take a few hours.  This new book features Georgiana Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam of Pride & Prejudice fame.

Enter to win a Kindle Fire from Indie Jane

My friend, author Nancy Kelley, is celebrating the anniversary of the Indie Jane blog, of which she is a member.  Want a chance to win a Kindle Fire?  Click here and visit the blog to enter!

Free ebook copies of His Good Opinion!

Do you love Pride and Prejudice? Ever wonder what Darcy was thinking? Now is your chance to find out!

My friend and author, Nancy Kelley, is offering free ebook copies of her new novel His Good Opinion: a Mr. Darcy novel today only on Amazon! And for sharing this information, you will be entered to win a free paperback copy--woohoo! :) For more information, click here: http://nancykelleywrites.com/his-good-opinion-free-giveaway/

His Good Opinion: A Mr. Darcy Novel

His Good Opinion: A Mr. Darcy Novel by Nancy Kelley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Way to go, Nancy!! So many Austen spin-offs feel as though the author only glanced through the parent book once or twice, but this one really feels like Darcy is telling his side of the (same) story. The dialogue from scenes where Elizabeth is present is taken directly from Pride and Prejudice, and everything that happens when Elizabeth is offstage still feels like Austen herself might have written it (aside from the modern spellings).

Nancy answers so many of my questions, like, "So how DID the conversations between Darcy and Col. Fitzwilliam go?" Or, "How on earth did Darcy locate Wickham in London?" Or, "What finally convinced Wickham to actually marry Lydia?" Or, "What was Darcy thinking?" (That one applies to many of his scenes in the original, either voiced with curiosity or while shaking head in bafflement.) And I hope someday she considers writing a sequel featuring Col. Fitzwilliam and Georgiana, who are much more three-dimensional characters in this book.

I bought a copy for my mother, and I will be buying one for myself and another for my cousin. To start with. I may hand them out to all my friends next Christmas, too. :)

For readers' advisors: character and story doorways primary, setting secondary



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