Heart-wrenchingly delightful!

I'm in the midst of a Pride and Prejudice variation spree, and there are certain things I'm always looking for: the characters seem true to the originals and haven't been poorly "modernized," the language passes as fitting with the original mood and time period, and the new plot is believable. This book passes on all three accounts. The narration was also excellent! Stevie Zimmerman does a great job with both male and female voices and various accents.

While we don't get to see much into Elizabeth's perspective, or Colonel Fitzwilliam's for that matter, about how their courtship and his proposal unfolded at the very beginning of the book, what we do see, largely from Darcy's perspective, is believable. And it is, as another reviewer wrote, exquisite torture! Poor Darcy is stuck between a rock and a hard place-- or rather, between his inextinguishable and too-late acted upon love for Elizabeth and his loyalty to Fitzwilliam and respect for his and Elizabeth's obviously sincere attachment. Later on we do see more things from Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam's sides, to round out the whole story a bit more. For the longest time you'll be wondering how in the world this whole thing could possibly be resolved! I enjoyed it all with a smile on my face.

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5 people found this helpful

wonderfully entangled plot

Lovely story with great lines and twists in the plot. Fantastic narration with accents in English (many), French, Spanish and Scottish. Very enjoyable. Superb author.

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3 people found this helpful

Surprisingly good

I was surprised at how good this book was. If you like Jane Austen FF, I recommend it.

The opening one-third or so of Austen's Pride and Prejudice is mentioned as a backstory, as the book opens with Lizzie visiting Charlotte Collins and encountering Darcy and his cousin Fitzwilliam at Rosings. Darcy is on the verge of proposing when Lizzie and Fitzwilliam announce their engagement. Naturally, Darcy is crushed and agonizes at the thought of the woman he loves being married to his dearest friend.

Fitzwilliam is on leave from the Army and must return to the Peninsula, and here is where the author begins her own plot. Events conspire to throw Lizzie and Darcy together in fairly believable ways, and Lizzie begins to see Darcy's admirable traits, even though Darcy is careful not to reveal his true feelings for her.

Fitzwilliam is a doll, though, so how can Lizzie dump him for Darcy? Fear not, this author has devised a plot that gives everyone a happy ending. As I said, it's really quite good.

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1 person found this helpful

Heart wrenching

Darcy is forced to bemoan his poor decisions and timing repeatedly and watch as Lizzie shows her affection for Richard. It’s a very angst ridden version, for all and sundry, at one time or another.

It is well written and, of course, Stevie Zimmerman makes it well worth the listen.

Not 5 star worthy, except for Ms. Zimmerman, but worth the credit for sure.

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1 person found this helpful

Agree it is exquisite torture but very satisfying

Agree it is exquisite torture but very satisfying. A love triangle, but one where you feel compassion for all parties. Although I wish there had been more insight to Elizabeth’s initial acceptance of the Colonel. The story will not disappoint! The first half is mostly from Darcy’s viewpoint and it is endearing and tortuous.
I recommend to anyone enjoying strong believable characters on a P&P variation.
This is the 3rd Joana Starnes I have enjoyed and Stevie Zimmerman is of course amazing!

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1 person found this helpful

I did like this!

I'm not crazy about love triangles, but I have been itching for a good P&P variation, so why not?



The story follows Darcy, Elizabeth, and Colonel Fitzwilliam. Darcy is about to propose, but the Colonel beats him to it and Elizabeth accepts. What is Darcy to do? He loves Elizabeth, but how could he break his cousin's heart?



I do love how this "triangle" was played out. It really wasn't a true triangle, so that made me happy. Elizabeth had no idea Darcy loved her and honestly...she didn't realize her feelings for him either so she accepted a good match.



It was so sad seeing Darcy being in so much pain!!!!! I like the cousin too, but Darcy was a true gentleman the entire time. I wanted him to shove his cousin out of the way and take Elizabeth away. LOL. But Elizabeth needed time to realize her true feelings even though it took forever and a day. For a girl being so smart, she was super dumb here.



I do like how the author dealt with the Colonel in the end. It wasn't easy but I feel that was the best way. And I was happy he did what he did. It redeemed him for his selfish attitude at one point.



Now...I did struggle a little bit with this at the beginning. Not sure why. Maybe it was because it was dragging on a touch? I'm not sure, but after a certain scene, I could not stop listening.



The narrator was good. I liked her voices. I would love to listen to more with her.



Overall, I did like this. I was pleasantly surprised the love triangle didn't annoy me like it normally does. The author did an excellent job of avoiding the a-typical triangle pitfalls. I did struggle to get connected at the beginning, but it turned around after a certain scene. I will stamp this with 3 stars.

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1 person found this helpful

Loved this book

I always wanted a love triangle story between these three. Got what I wanted and more. Many P&P variations hint at Colonel Fitzwilliams feelings for Elizabeth but nothing ever happeneds between them because he needs to marry well. Alot of the book is through a heartbroken Mr.Darcys POV. If your looking for a Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam love story this is not it. You see most of their relationship through Darcy. Even though I felt bad for Fitzwilliam. Darcy is just too passionate and so sweet throughout the book so of course she falls in love with him

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Really fabulous P&P variation

I’ve bought all of Ms Starnes P&P variations and this is one of my favorites. My advice is to read (or listen to) this one third or forth, so you’ve already formed an attachment to Mr Darcy’s favorite cousin, Richard Fitzwilliam. One of the best aspects of Ms Starnes’ books is the depth of character development, resulting in the reader/listener getting to know the main characters deeper with each piece.

That said, this is a love triangle among Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy, and Richard Fitzwilliam. The book is filled with a mix of romance, angst, edge-of-your-seat drama, and the reader truly doesn’t guess the outcomes of the many twists.

There are scenes where I couldn’t put this book down. It’s that good.

Another aspect of this book is getting to know minor characters and how their influence plays into the actions of the main characters. The reader can draw conclusions to the original P&P based on what we learn from the characters in this and other variations from Ms Starnes.

I especially applaud the author for how she portrays strong women (Specifically Elizabeth and Anne) in a time when women weren’t permitted much of a voice at all.

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Such angst

I agree with other readers this is heart wrenching but it does have a HEA. Darcy is so kind and wonderful and Colonel Fitzwilliam is amazing. Please listen it so worth it. Stevie Zimmerman is worth the 5 star rating.

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Heart wrenching

The emotion in this is powerful and the character development, especially Richard’s brings to light there’s not always that happy ending you think

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