by Pamela Aidan
Book 3 of the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentlemen series.
Darcy’s annual visit to his Aunt Lady Catherine De Bourgh is due. He is still struggling to distract himself from the unacceptable attractions of the lovely Elizabeth Bennet and so embarks on the visit to his Aunt accompanied by his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam.
Believing the visit will help him beat his affliction, he is both mortified and exultant to find Elizabeth Bennet staying at the home of his aunt’s clergyman. When he succumbs to his affections and unsuccessfully proposes to Elizabeth he is again faced with the challenge of forgetting her. Returning to his home and his sister, Darcy battles the dark clouds that have enveloped him. With help from his family, friends and the bollocking administered by Elizabeth he emerges as the gentleman he should have always been. A chance encounter with Elizabeth gives Darcy opportunity to show her how he has strived to change and renew his addresses but something else descends to prevent their union.. he old enemy George Wickham.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this series by Pamela Aidan. She has been faithful to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and offered up an entertaining look into the life of Mr Darcy both with and away from Elizabeth Bennet. His heart and mind revealed, his struggles laid out. I recommend it to any fan of Austen.
by Keith Robinson
www.unearthlytales.com
The second book in the Island of Fog series. Island of Fog was probably my favourite read for 2009. I love that it was such a great book and it was Keith Robinson’s debut novel. So in my world that makes it special.
Labyrinth of Fire continues the story of 12yo Hal and his friends as they settle into their new home and their new ‘world’. They aren’t given long to adjust when they are sent on their first ‘errand’ on behalf of the people who created them. All the kids are still stretching their ‘alter-ego’ muscles, getting to know themselves as the magical creatures they can shapeshift into. Hal especially is feeling ill-prepared and is worried that he may have been brought into the new world too early. Despite looking, feeling, smelling and breathing fire like a dragon, he still can’t fly.
A village in a volcanic area is being attacked by harpies and dragons. The kids are sent to negotiate with their ‘kind’ to stop the attacks. They have to discover much more about themselves in order to succeed and secure the protection of the humans.
Keith Robinson has a wonderful easy writing style that never slows you up. I was shocked how quickly I read the first book and am equally so with this one. Labyrinth of Fire is well written, exciting and absorbing. I am thoroughly confused as to who the kids can trust and am very anxious to read the third installment. It is great entertainment for both children and adults.
Thank you Keith Robinson.
by Pamela Aidan
Book 2 in the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman series.
Darcy is following his own advice. He has successfully separated his friend Bingley from the allurements of Miss Bennet and now he must do so for himself. It is time he found himself a wife. A wife equal to his station in life will cure him of his infatuation with Miss Elizabeth Bennet.
When an invitation arrives from an old school friend to attend a party at a country estate, Darcy, out of character, accepts. He cannot accept just any woman of good breeding for a wife though. She must be of his level in society but she must also possess the qualities he has recently discovered to be essential to his happiness. Will anyone compare to the witty, clever Hertfordshire beauty with the sparkling eyes? He may be looking for wife but others, more desperate, are also looking for a husband. Little does he know what he and his trusted valet Fletcher must do to survive that week. His quest for love will put Darcy is danger for his life.
I was very surprised by this book. At first I was a little confused as it steers away from the story we know in Pride and Prejudice. However, it soon makes sense. What did Darcy do in those months of separation from Elizabeth? What could have happened to create the desperation that flavoured his offer to her.
I enjoyed this surprising 2nd book in the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman series.
by Suzanne Collins
www.suzannecollinsbooks.com
The 2nd book in the Hunger Games Triology.
Katniss survived the Hunger Games but in a way that did not satisfy the Capital. Now the Capital wants revenge. Instead of the blessed life that should be owed to a winner of the games, Katniss is dealt another blow.
Instead of guaranteeing her and her family’s future, winning the games has only guaranteed them misery. Katniss has another fight on her hands, but is there anyway to win? One young girl against a corrupt society. A society happy to sacrafice anyone of lesser birth for their own pleasure. Not sure who her real friends are Katniss has to fight to survive for the sake of her family.
Another great story by Suzanne Collins and now you are only left to ask… are you team Peeta or team Gale. Don’t keep us waiting too long for the third book Suzanne Collins.
by Jane Austen
Written in 1790’s and published 1811 Sense and Sensibility was the first of Jane’s novels to published.
This insightful study of human nature focusses on Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. The Dashwood women, Mary (mother), Elinor, Marianne and Margaret are wrenched from their privilaged life after the death of their husband and father. The estate is passed to his son by his first marriage and John Dashwood does nothing to aid his father’s 2nd family. The Dashwood women are left with very little to live on. Their sudden demotion in society complicates the sisters’ chances of marrying well.
Mrs Dashwood’s cousin, Sir John Middleton, comes to the rescue with the offer of a cottage on his estate Barton Park for a cheap rent. Settling at Barton Cottage finds the family included in a good-hearted but eccentric social circle. The sisters have to suffer match-making and teasing from Sir John and his mother-in-law, Mrs Jennings. The interferrence of the well-meaning Mrs Jenning is made more unbearable when both girls lose their hearts to men beyond their reach. They learn painful lessons about love and the loss of it.
Sense and Sensibility highlights the precarious position of women of that era. They weren’t able to earn their fortune and if they lost it, as the Dashwoods did, then their attractiveness is significantly reduced. Jane gives us a clear view of her opinion of the situation of women, being dependent on men, undervalued and censured for being independent. She creates wonderful characters who masterfully make what they can of their oppressed lives.
Reading Jane Austen is such a pleasure. Her characters are rich and sure and I never feel happy to finish a book. She has such an indepth understanding of human behaviour and the human heart. Jane made a point of only writing what she had knowledge of, so let us hope that she did experience some of the love she so generously gifts to her heronines.
Essential reading for all young women. It is humbling to know that even at that time someone was working to highlight the challenges of women.
by Suzanne Collins
www.suzannecollinsbooks.com
Panem is a country ruled by an unsympathetic Capital, motivated only by excess and entertainment. The surrounding Districts provide the Capital with that excess and once a year they provide the pinnacle of entertainment – The Hunger Games. In a cruel display of power the Capital conducts the reaping. From each of the twelve districts, two participants are chosen, a boy and a girl between ages 12-18. These participants are taken to the Capital where they participate in a televised life and death game of an epic scale. With the reaping weighted toward the poorest residents it also acts to divide the districts into classes.
16yo Katniss Everdeen is the main provider for her little family. She hunts illegally to bring food and other essentials to her mother and young sister Prim. She is an efficient hunter and a survivor. This year her name is entered 20 times in the reaping, 5 times due to her age and 15 times due to trading for grain and oil. Her little sister Prim is entered once, for her first reaping.
Against unbelieveable odds 12yo Prim’s name emerges from the reaping, a guaranteed death sentence. Katniss has only one choice, she exercises her right to enter herself in her sister’s place. Her entry is likely to kill her but if she can win then their family will never go hungry again. When Peeta Mallark emerges as the boy entry, Katniss can’t believe her bad luck. Peeta possesses a power over her although they’ve never spoken, she owes him a debt. So Katniss and Peeta Mallark leave for the Capital as District 12 contestants. A contest where 24 enter the arena but only 1 comes out.
The Hunger Games combines a nail-biting fight for life and a heart-wrenching love triangle. Suzanne Collins has written a griping, fast paced book that I couldn’t put down. I loved The Hunger Games. The characters are strong and allow you to love and hate them just as you should. You will find yourself wanting to insight a rebellion on their behalf. As this is the first in a triology, I’m thrilled to be guaranteed two more to read.
by Pamela Aidan
Book 1 of the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman Series.
An Assembly Such As This is a wonderful look into the mind and heart of Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy, the much loved leading man in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The series re-tells Pride and Prejudice but from Mr Darcy’s point of view.
This first book takes us through Mr Darcy’s arrival in Hertfordshire and his relationship with Charles Bingley. When Mr Bingley falls for the eldest Miss Bennet, Darcy is concerned about his friend making an undesirable match. The Bennets are below Bingley’s station in society. His study of Miss Bennet makes him doubt her affection for his friend and after inappropriate comments and behaviour of other members of her family, he suspects their occupation is fortune hunting.
During his stay with Bingley he is also thrown into the society of Miss Bennet’s younger sister Elizabeth. Confounded by his fascination with the raven haired Hertford beauty with the quick wit and sparkling eyes, he endeavours to heed his own advice and avoid the undesirable connection.
Mr Darcy has been written beautifully by Pamela Aidan. I recognised instantly, the man, whose depths we only glimpsed in Pride and Prejudice. The other characters represented are equally recognisable. Like slipping on comfy slippers, you feel like you’ve slipped straight into Austen’s Pride and Prejudice – all be it from another’s point of view.
Pamela Aidan has done a lovely job and I think you will enjoy a closer look at Jane Austen’s wonderful man, Mr Darcy.
by Rachel Billington
www.rachelbillinton.com
What happened to Emma and her Mr Knightley after Jane Austen put down her pen? Rachel Billington has written a lovely sequel to the much adored Austen classic Emma.
After only one year, Emma and Mr Knightley’s marriage isn’t as carefree as they each would have liked. Tragic news reaches Hartfield that the lovely Jane Churchill (nee Fairfax) has died after giving birth to a boy and her distraught husband Frank is missing. Frank’s father, Mr Westen, cannot leave his wife who is about to give birth herself and askes Mr Knightley to travel to London to try to find the broken Frank Churchil and bring him home to Highbury.
Mr Knightley lodges with his brother John and his wife Isabelle, Emma’s sister, whilst in London. He isn’t able to find Frank but writes to Emma saying that business holds him town for a little longer. Emma and Mr Knightley had not been apart since their wedding and Emma finds the separation difficult. She is made more uncomfortable by the feeling that her husband isn’t telling her everything. She senses that something is wrong but he will not confide in his wife.
Over the past year Emma has felt more and more unsteady about the way her husband treats her like a child. She wishes he would trust her and consult with her on more serious matters than the dinner menu.
Jane Austen once discribed Emma as the heroine that you would despise and then come to love. Rachel Billington has kept with Jane’s vision of Emma. She is full of her own self-importance and position in the community and blinded from seeing the value of the people around her. Emma’s foibles are frustrating but as promised by Jane, she has capacity for goodness and is shamed into correcting herself.
Rachel Billington has been faithful to our Jane and I enjoyed Emma and Knightley very much.
by Joan Aiken
www.joanaiken.com
A blizzard delivers to Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s door, a gentile couple, Mr Delaval and his sister Miss Delaval. Uncharacteristically, she offers them lodging while Miss Delaval recovers from a sprained ankle and their carriage is repaired. The pair are soon firmly entrenched at Rosings much to the discomfort of other members of the house. The addition to Rosings Park sparks a series of changes and dramas that will alter the household forever.
Colonel Fitzwilliam has arrived, escorting Lady Catherine’s brother Lord Luke, who has pressing family business to discuss. Lord Luke’s eccentric manner brings entertainment to Anne, Lady Catherine’s long suffering daughter but sorely tests the latter’s patience. When Lady Catherine is compelled to visit her sister-in-law, Anne finds opportunity to escape her oppressive life and find her own feet.
The Parsonage is also experiencing change. Charlotte Collins is confined with their 3rd child and her sister Maria Lucus has arrived to aid her. Mr Collins is called away after the death of Mr Bennet of Longbourn, to finalise affairs regarding his inheriting the estate. Maria has had much to ponder since her last visit and wonders if she will have the strength to face the man she shouldn’t love.
This was a fun book to read with the familiar characters from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It was fun to get to know better some characters that we were not able to study closely in P & P.
I especially liked getting to know Maria Lucus and Anne de Bourgh better.
by Denise Robbins
www.deniserobbins.com
Samantha Spenser has been shot. Her dad summoned her home urgently but isn’t there to greet her, she is shot while snowboarding; temporarily loses some of her memory; is kidnapped; escapes and doesn’t know who to trust. She is a capable woman but as she can’t even remember her name, she may have to accept help from the amber-eyed angel-man who patched up her wounds.
Maximilian Stone has enough to worry about. He is trying to find his missing FBI agent brother, Kevin, when he is delivered with a shot up snow bunny. The snow bunny claims to have lost her memory but is it just a coincidence that this gorgeous, green-eyed woman arrives, shot, at his door, when his brother went missing investigating a case in the area?
Sam and Max manage to join forces to find her father and his brother, despite being distracted - a lot – by their mutual sexual attraction.
Killer Bunny Hill is a fun and easy read. I hope and pray that if ever I am in need of rescuing, that the rescuers aren’t so easily distracted from the job by their ‘need’ for each other! However, their numerous distracted moments make great entertainment for a reader of novels!
It is deliciously sexy, so have fun with Killer Bunny Hill.
Posted on 31 October '09 by Michelle, under Reviews, Romance, Thriller. No Comments.
My name is Michelle and I've been an avid reader since I was a kid. With my head stuck in a 'Famous Five' book, I was never hindered by bed time thanks to my trusty torch. I live in beautiful Australia with my beautiful family.
