An Austen Blog

I have always loved Jane Austen and have enjoyed many retellings of the Austen books. This year however, I read a ridiculous amount of these books and what better thing to do than start a blog?! (It was a tough year and I will get back to reading useful things, but for now I hoping to make my pleasure reading useful for others.)

As a background to my tastes, my fav Austen is by far Pride and Prejudice with Emma as second. I prefer the Colin Firth version of Darcy as well as the Gwyneth Paltrow version of Emma and freely admit that I actually laughed out loud when Matthew Macfadyen said, "You have bewitched me, body and soul." Romantic? Yes. The Darcy of Jane Austen? Not so much. (That version has grown on me, but feel free to hate me and leave now.) I prefer an Austen retelling to a sequel or a modern retelling and I prefer the characters more Austen-esque in dialogue and romance.

Whenever I encounter a new title, I have trouble determining whether it is for me or not, sometimes even after reading the reviews, so here are some categories I have made for myself.

Type: P&P Parallel/Retelling (true to the original plot line from a different perspective), Variation (a key plot point is changed altering the story),  Modern Retelling (the basic plot retold in a modern context) 
Perspective: Elizabeth, Darcy, Both, 3rd Person 
Romance Level: Austen-esque, Mild Romance, Modern Romance

 By the way, I am not generally drawn to the more sexy stories or vampires or zombies, so if I find those titles, I plan to skip them. Please comment if you find my reviews helpful, interesting, or even if you disagree, just do so respectfully and we can still be friends. 

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Only Mr Darcy Will Do

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Title and Author: Only Mr Darcy Will Do  by Kara Louise Type:  P&P Alternate Path  Perspective: Elizabeth Romance Level: Kissing Recommended: yes, 4 stars  Access: Free for Overdrive through my Library Summary: This alternate path picks up the year following the Rosings proposal. Mr Bennett has died and Elizabeth takes a job as a governess with the Willstone family. The family is kind to her and she is relatively happy. However, the family is acquainted with the Darcy family so she is thrown back together with Mr. Darcy. An invitation to Pemberley for the family brings Elizabeth in daily connection with Mr. Darcy. He is determined to treat her well despite the lowering of her status. This is an alternate path, but stays very true to the original characters. Overall I really liked this one.  Pros: * It was nice to see Elizabeth's slow change and insecurity about Darcy.  * I liked Georgiana in this one as well as the addition of Mr. Hamilton, Darcy's cousin.  * Jane gets her
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The Challenge of Entail

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Title and Author: The Challenge of Entail by Jann Rowland Type: P&P Variation Perspective: Elizabeth and Darcy Romance Level: P&P Recommended: yes, 3 stars Summary: In this P&P variation, Mr Phillips had discovered how to end the Entail on Longbourne and so that Mr Bennett can bequeath it to Jane. With increased security, each of the members of the family each are a better version of himself, Mr Bennett putting more care into the home and family, Mrs. Bennett with no need for nerves or scheming for husbands for her daughters, Kitty and Lydia have a governess and are not "out" and so on.  Things I Liked: * I enjoyed seeing Mr. Bennett more engaged with his family. This is one place where the original story bothers me. * I liked how Mr. Collins was put in his place. * Darcy also is his best self, giving Georgiana more freedom, but also more power and assertion. * We see more of Colonel Fitzwilliam in this retelling and he gets his o
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The Other Bennet Sister

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Title and Author: The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow Type: Pride and Prejudice Parallel Story Perspective: Mary Romance Level: Austen-esque Recommended: yes, it was a fresh story where Mary gets her happy ending Summary: Mary is the Bennet sister no one particularly likes or notices. She isn't accomplished despite her piano practice and her learning isn't valued because it comes across as moralistic. In this Austen retelling, Mary gets her own story. We can see how her mother's nagging and anxiety as well as Mr. Bennet's neglect change Mary's character. The first few chapters happen in parallel with P&P (Mr Collins, Jane and Bingley, Elizabeth and Darcy), but most of the book is the story of Mary finding her own way in the world with the help of Mrs. Hill, Mrs. Gardiner and others. Pros I really liked Mary's relationships with Mrs. Hill, Mrs. Gardiner and Mr. Collins. It was interesting to contemplate how Mary became the way she was and what it was l
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