Blame the Mistletoe by Sarah Johnson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Blame the Mistletoe is a sweet Christmas treat for JAFF fans. It is light, fluffy and romantic.

Darcy and Bingley are in London after not returning to Netherfield. Even Georgiana can tell both of them are down in the dumps. What can it be? Are they disappointed in love? In her wisdom, Georgiana convinces Darcy and Bingley to return to Hertfordshire and fight for their loves. And, she wants to go with them, without Bingley's siblings.

All of Meryton society is caught up in the planning, decorating and traditions of the season. Ever since Elizabeth was a little girl, she has been the one to climb up trees to obtain the all important mistletoe. However, this time she suffers an accident, luckily while Darcy is nearby to assist. She is well, but suffers a twisted ankle and must limit her movements.

Darcy discovers Elizabeth's dislike for him, but convinces her to give him a chance to improve her opinion. Another wise little sister, Lydia, recognizes the signs between Elizabeth and Darcy and determines she will assist. She seeks out opportunities to alert the couple they are standing under mistletoe, and tells them they must kiss. At first embarrassing, it becomes less and less so as it gets closer to Christmas.

Blame the Mistletoe leads us to our inevitable HEA, despite a bit of Wickham, Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine, per usual. Traditions around the Christmas holiday play an important role in bringing ODC together often and in warm, loving environments. This is not the season for fussing and fighting, and this leads to a resolution much faster.

The themes of family, tradition and the warmth of the holidays emphasize how much Darcy and Elizabeth wish this for themselves. Even Mrs. Bennet looks like a loving mother to Darcy when bustling around the family as they get ready for Christmas. For the lonely Darcy orphans, this is just too tempting a life and they wish to have the laughter and love of family around them.

In the final chapters, all get their wishes fulfilled, except our resident baddies. Many of our traditional characters are a bit brighter, less annoying, and more loving. P&P JAFF fans will find this variation does not stray too far from Austen's version, but allows for a much earlier resolution set around the joys and romance of the Christmas season.

It just feels good....



View all my reviews

Darcy's Crush: A Pride and Prejudice Variation 

by Kate Bedlow

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Darcy's Crush by Kate Bedlow was a disappointment. It is basically a rewrite of Pride and Prejudice with the author's own short story added at the end.

In this title, author Bedlow rewrites Pride and Prejudice (seriously?) in her own words, with a decent sprinkling of JA's own work. Then, at the ball at Netherfield, the story changes and then ends fairly quickly, too quickly for my taste.

Many author's are publishing novelettes or short stories in the JAFF world, and, as long as it is made clear it is not a full novel, they are selling. If Kate Bedlow had done so, she would have written a slightly silly, but still fun story and I would have given a higher star rating. However, I had to skip through the book always looking for where the variations take place and was very disappointed to not see much until late in the book.

Therefore, I do not recommend Darcy's Crush: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Kate Bedlow. There is too little here to make it worth paying either in money or in time. However, I would encourage the author to either write short story compilations or to vary the larger part of her books from the original. She has the writing ability and can certainly come up with original ideas.

View all my reviews

Satisying P&P Variation with Lovely Christmas Message: Darcy's Christmas Wish

Darcy's Christmas Wish: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Penelope Swan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As a twelve year old boy, Fitzwilliam Darcy falls into a frozen pond while at Rosings for the Christmas season. No one is in sight as he desperately tries to reach shore, but he is tired and soaking wet and feels himself greatly in danger of drowning. From nowhere comes a very young, but strong girl to help pull him from the water. She covers him with pine branches for some protection and runs for help. But, he is discovered by servants before she returns. In his feverish state his family almost convinces him she was just his imagination. But, he remembers her eyes. His Christmas Wish that year is to someday meet the little girl that saved his life. Years later, as an adult, Darcy is again at Rosings for Christmas, and wonders about the lovely Elizabeth Bennet whose eyes immediately caught his attention when they met in Meryton.

My initial thought in reading Darcy's Christmas Wish was that it was a story that could have been written about anyone, but the characters were given names from Pride and Prejudice. However, as time goes on, you begin to see how P&P takes hold in the characters personalities and actions. This is a tale of P&P with all personalities true to Jane Austen's characters.

The only serious variations, outside the initial premise, are in time of year and Colonel Fitzwilliam being a widowed father of a young boy named George. However, a potentially tragic incident involving George and his puppy, tied to the weather in winter, plays a very important role in unifying all of our usual characters during the Christmas season.

Darcy's Christmas Wish is a very sweet tale played around the tendency of the upper circles to judge too harshly and too quickly based on class and the importance of good breeding. Elizabeth is the character who helps to demonstrate how honesty and love are universal, and trust in appropriate blood lines is not always well placed.

As in P&P, we see Darcy change for the better due to Elizabeth's actions and harsh words. But, Darcy is not the only one at Rosings to undergo these changes. All are bettered due to Elizabeth's influence. And, the result is seen just as Christmas morning arrives.

This is a very satisfying P&P variation. Of course, our dear couple have their happily ever after, but the story has a lovely message for the Christmas season regarding love and kindness and the role they can have in overcoming pride and prejudice. I am not sure if I have read other Penelope Swan JAFF but I will certainly check them out.

View all my reviews

Sweet and Funny - Mr. Darcy to the Rescue: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Victoria Kincaid

Mr. Darcy to the Rescue: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Victoria Kincaid

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Elizabeth plans to refuse Mr. Collins, but when her father tells her he is ill and may not live long, she realizes she is the only sister in a position to save the Bennet family from ruin. She changes her answer and accepts him instead.

Meanwhile, in London, Mr. Darcy is pining away for Elizabeth when he hears of her engagement. He realizes he cannot live without her, and determines only he can rescue her from the toady Mr. Collins. He immediately heads to Longbourn with the plan to propose to her and sweep her off her feet to Pemberley.

However, things do not go as planned for our hero as he overhears a conversation among the Bennet sisters and realizes the poor impression he has left with them and all of Meryton. In order to save the woman he loves, he must convince her that life with him would be preferable to life at Hunsford with Collins and Lady Catherine.

Aha! He writes to Lady Catherine about Elizabeth describing the lovely, vivacious, intelligent, outspoken woman she is. As expected, Lady C. determines she cannot wait for the wedding to meet this woman her vicar plans to install at Hunsford. Once again, Darcy's plans go astray.

Of course, our couple eventually achieves their HEA, but only after slightly rocky starts and stops. This is a very charming story about our dear couple, and it is full of humor. I teared up a couple of times as Darcy expresses his history and his vulnerability to Elizabeth, but the story is basically light and sweet. And, despite a few lusty thoughts on Darcy's part, the story is clean.

Definitely highly recommended as an antidote for gray autumn days. Best read before a warm fire with a glass of wine or sherry. Enjoy!

View all my reviews

The Return: A Pride and Prejudice Story by Timothy Underwood

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Return: A Pride and Prejudice Story is a very fun read. Although it has its share of angst, the premise of the story eliminates some of the angst appearing in the original Austen story.

In this version, Bingley just does not believe Darcy and his sisters when they tell him Jane doesn't love him. He returns to Longbourn to question Jane directly and find out the truth of the matter. Jane assures him of her love, so the couple are engaged only a few days after the ball at Netherfield.

Now to Darcy and Elizabeth. Both stand up with Jane and Bingley at the wedding. They are then seated at a table together. They proceed to have their "Hunsford" moment during the wedding breakfast entertaining all attending to an obvious argument.

Prior to the wedding, Caroline Bingley told some pretty obvious lies to Elizabeth about Darcy's treatment of Wickham. Darcy is simply hurt and amazed that Elizabeth would believe the concocted story. Thus he leaves Hertfordshire with less regret than in the original story, but Elizabeth is much more chagrined at her behavior and belief in Darcy's guilt.

Now when they meet again in Kent they are both in very different mindsets than in the original. Darcy is once again struck by Elizabeth's charms, but he is not under any illusion about her feelings for him. He knows he has to woo her. Elizabeth is painfully aware of how unfair she was in her estimation of Darcy and is determined to apologize, thus making her more receptive to his advances.

This is a very charming variation. I so enjoyed the banter between the couple, as well as between Darcy and Bingley. It is always interesting to read a male author's take on the story. Austen admitted she was uncomfortable writing about male interactions when women were not present. Timothy Underwood shows us this perspective and does a great job.
Recommended.

View all my reviews

Doubts and Dilemmas by Evita O'Malley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this variation. This is Darcy and Elizabeth after the wedding. Darcy faces a serious accusation and is determined to protect Elizabeth by not telling her. This results in a strain on their marriage, but all is resolved.

This is a unique take on the couple and I found it very compelling. Many readers like to see Darcy portrayed as the perfect man, but this story is truer to the time period and to Darcy's fears of losing Elizabeth.

The only real negative with the story is the ending. It feels a bit rushed, and the tragedy mixed with joy at the end feels uncomfortable and unresolved. Yes it is probably more realistic, but there is no mention of the Darcys reaching out to the family. That feels odd given the large portion of the book given to their kindness to the child Maria.

The author makes note at the end that she hesitated in publishing the story, but I think she made the right choice. This is a nice addition to the world of JAFF.

View all my reviews

Yours Forevermore, Darcy, by KaraLynne Mackrory

Yours Forevermore, Darcy 

by KaraLynne Mackrory

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of the best

After reading a couple of hundred P&P sequels, prequels and variations, just this week I had the thought that maybe I had read enough and the authors had exhausted all the possibilities. Luckily for me KaraLynne Mackrory has proven me wrong. Yours Forevermore, Darcy grabbed me from the start and gave me a wonderful day and a half of romance with my favorite couple.

I swiftly read through the familiar tale seeing it again from a fresh perspective. Of course you can tell from the very beginning that at some point a letter will arrive accidentally, but it happens in such a beautiful and happy way as to make it feel feasible.

I love a humble and romantic Darcy with just a slight bit of awkwardness, and Mackrory certainly carried it off well. Elizabeth was her usual spunky, impertinent self.

A very enjoyable read that I recommend to all JAFF lovers. Keep a hanky handy.

View all my reviews