Hello Fellow Readers!
Today I have the pleasure of reviewing ‘The Many Lives of Fitzwilliam Darcy' By Beau North & Brooke West, Including a book Giveaway!
I would like to thank Claudine at Just Jane 1813, for her part in bringing this blog tour to fruition and to Beau and Brooke for writing such a fun read and giving readers the opportunity to win a copy. Plus links to 'The Many Faces of Fitzwilliam Darcy contest', with extra prizes to be won!
Synopsis ~
“He
could no longer claim to be Fitzwilliam Darcy of Derbyshire, brother to
Georgiana, master of Pemberley. In that moment, he was but a man. A man filled
with more frustration than most souls could bear. A man torn asunder by his
desperation, his fruitless dreams and desires.”
Review ~
The Many Lives Of Fitzwilliam Darcy !
Synopsis ~
“He
could no longer claim to be Fitzwilliam Darcy of Derbyshire, brother to
Georgiana, master of Pemberley. In that moment, he was but a man. A man filled
with more frustration than most souls could bear. A man torn asunder by his
desperation, his fruitless dreams and desires.”
After Elizabeth Bennet rejects his marriage
proposal, Fitzwilliam Darcy finds himself in the most unusual of circumstances.
At first believing the extraordinary turn of events has granted him an
inexplicable boon, he is eager to put the humiliating proposal behind him.
He soon discovers that he is trapped in the
same waking dream with no end in sight and no possible escape. All that he
holds dear—his name, his home, his love—remains ever out of reach. How will he
find his way back to his normal life? Will one mistake haunt the rest of his
days? It will take all of his fortitude to weather the storms of his strange
new fate, and all of his courage to grasp the promise of his future.
What a fun read! I cannot begin, to tell you how much I
enjoyed this story. The story begins at the Netherfield ball and swiftly follows
Darcy from London to Kent, where the story becomes a ‘what if’. Although Pride & Prejudice fans
will know the parts until the 'what if', the scenes and conversations until then, are different from canon, which is always better than a standard repeat. Most importantly, some of you will be pleased to hear, the book is written from Darcy’s perspective, so we get to follow him
everywhere!!!.
By
page four of my Kindle, I was already highlighting passages. The cattiness of Miss
Bingley, the humour of the Colonel and the slow but gentle reminder that Mr Darcy,
as much as we love him, is a snob, all had me laughing. At this point I had
planned to put the book down and get on with my housework, as some of you know
from experience, when you read a good JAFF there is no “putting the book down”.
Justifying that I was a fast reader and needing some fresh air, I took my
kindle outside saying to myself "I’ll just read one more chapter". Do I need to
tell you, I finished the book in the garden? I thought not. Welcome to Groundhog day Mr
Darcy style and not just any day, but the day after his disastrous proposal to
Elizabeth, I guess Mr Darcy won’t be departing Kent as swiftly as he thought
lol!
“Excellent! I shall join you if you want for company.”
“On my account, I suppose?” Darcy asked with a lazy grin.
Fitzwilliam dismissed him with a wave. “Oh come now, Darcy, you love paying my way. It keeps the distinction of rank preserved.”
“From Her Ladyship’s lips to your ears it would seem,” Darcy said with a chuckle. - B.North & B.West
“Excellent! I shall join you if you want for company.”
“On my account, I suppose?” Darcy asked with a lazy grin.
Fitzwilliam dismissed him with a wave. “Oh come now, Darcy, you love paying my way. It keeps the distinction of rank preserved.”
“From Her Ladyship’s lips to your ears it would seem,” Darcy said with a chuckle. - B.North & B.West
I liked that Darcy was able to rationale, what was happening
to him, was it real or not real? What could he alter or not alter, it all
felt very believable, which is what you want with concepts such as these, you
want the reader to buy into the impossible. I myself, was planning alongside
Darcy as to what he could do to work this out and I loved that every part of
the book was working towards, not just D&E having their HEA, but Anne, Jane,
the Colonel and Bingley also. Ultimately though, it was the humour and wit, that stood out for
me.
Watching someone going through the same day and what it could do to them had me laughing and crying, especially because it was Mr Darcy and the day after Huntsford. In particular, Darcy
went through a school boy phase, being immature and playing pranks, which was
hilarious at times. For example, Darcy hid Lady Catherine’s best silverware,
sending the Butler a note.
“Mr. Turnbull read the note again: If you wish to give fools something to eat, you shall find your tools amongst treacherous sweet." - B.North & B.West
After reading this particular passage, I laughed; slowly letting it sink in, I laughed some more, by the time I had grasped the full weight
of what he had done, I was crying in hysterics. I literally, could not, stop laughing
and I do believe the neighbours must have wondered, what I was laughing at so
loudly, however the more I thought about how I would explain it to them the
more I laughed. I mean really, if I told them what Darcy had done, do you think
they would be in the same hysterics? I think not, but isn’t that the beauty of JAFF and
the special connection Janeites have with it? We know the butlers going to
be in a lot of trouble, the wrath of Lady Catherine, that Darcy would
never deliberately make a member of staff suffer at his expense, it is so out
of character, which is what makes it all the funnier. As we imagine, the implacably dressed, stoic faced Mr Darcy, gathering all the silverware and sitting at a writing desk, looking every
inch the Master of Pemberley, writing 'that note' to Lady Catherine’s butler. Indeed,
I do not believe my neighbours would understand with as much insight, because let’s be honest you don’t
bump into Janeites every day or lovers of JAFF for that matter, yet the exclusivity of it, is
exciting, something to feel almost proud of, that you're part of something that
other people know little about, like you’re in on the 'inside joke' or the greatest secret.
Great JAFF is written by true Janeites, not only do you feel connected with the story but with the authors' love of all things Austen, I felt the respect and admiration they had for Pride & Prejudice. I enjoyed, that the Colonel was central, as was Anne, the relationship between Darcy and his valet, Lady Catherine’s haughtiness, Mrs Gardiner, Jane and Charlotte!
Great JAFF is written by true Janeites, not only do you feel connected with the story but with the authors' love of all things Austen, I felt the respect and admiration they had for Pride & Prejudice. I enjoyed, that the Colonel was central, as was Anne, the relationship between Darcy and his valet, Lady Catherine’s haughtiness, Mrs Gardiner, Jane and Charlotte!
The way in
which the Colonel could read Darcy, always good news for the reader, because
we know Darcy won’t get away, without some kind of confession to the Colonel,
even if he is not aware that he has made one lol! And I always enjoy the part of the story
when Darcy is attending church in Kent, it’s funny that these scenes feel so
familiar, yet they are not in canon. As JAFF has evolved, new scenes have
emerged that we are all so familiar with, that they feel like they were, in
canon. I enjoyed that Elizabeth’s reactions were realistic and I thought the
authors got that spot on, especially considering Darcy knew it was the same day over and Elizabeth did not. At times, I do believe Darcy took risks, considering the
day may not have reset, however taking into account how long it went on, I even believed, that it may never end!
"Peace, Sister. What has that poor instrument ever done to deserve such treatment?”
Georgiana looked up at him, her mouth compressed in a grim line. “I must prepare myself for battle,” she said, her fingers not pausing for an instant.
“Battle? Who do you imagine would be so foolish to attack you in your own home?”
“It is not...Oh, Will.” She threw her hands up, the sound of the keys still lightly vibrating in the air. “Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst. I have never found their company to be congenial.” ~ B.North & B.West
I could not have asked for a better ending, I enjoyed every
minute of it! High praise you say, indeed it is, yet, it cannot be helped, I love JA and JAFF, but only if it is good, therefore from one JAFF lover
to another I recommend that you read this book and for those of
you new to JA or JAFF, it’s an opportunity to see the wonderful talent that JA
has inspired in so many people. If you want a story that will have you laughing
and captivated, then you can’t go wrong with
The Many Lives Of Fitzwilliam Darcy !
 |
| This book is worthy of 5 hearts ~ Mr Darcy! |
The Many Lives Of Fitzwilliam Darcy Giveaway!
Beau and Brooke are giving away 8 copies of their book, which includes 4 ebooks and 4 paperback copies. To win a paperback copy, the winners must have a U.S. mailing address.
Please enter using the Rafflecopter link below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
To vote for your favorite image of Fitzwilliam Darcy from the images shown above, go to The Many Faces of Fitzwilliam Darcy Contest Link. The winning image and the winner will be announced on October 20, 2016, at our last blog stop, So Little Time… So Much to Read.
Blog Tour Schedule
Beau and Brooke are giving away 8 copies of their book, which includes 4 ebooks and 4 paperback copies. To win a paperback copy, the winners must have a U.S. mailing address.
Please enter using the Rafflecopter link below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
“The
Many Faces of Fitzwilliam Darcy” Giveaway Contest
 |
Richard Maddon Matt Bomer Eduardo Verastegui
|
To vote for your favorite image of Fitzwilliam Darcy from the images shown above, go to The Many Faces of Fitzwilliam Darcy Contest Link. The winning image and the winner will be announced on October 20, 2016, at our last blog stop, So Little Time… So Much to Read.
Blog Tour Schedule
October
8/ My Jane Austen Book Club/Launch Post & Giveaway
October
9/ Just Jane 1813/Interview with Beau and Brooke
October
10/ Pemberley to Milton/Book Review & Giveaway
October
11/ A Covent Garden Madame Gilflurt's Guide to
Life/Guest
Post
October
12/ Austenesque Reviews/ Excerpt & Giveaway
October
13/ Margie's Must Reads/ Book Review & Giveaway
October
14/ Babblings of a Bookworm/ Book Review & Giveaway
October
15/ The Calico Critic/Excerpt & Giveaway
October
16/ Obsessed with Mr. Darcy/ Guest
Post
October
17/ Diary of an Eccentric/Book Review & Giveaway
October
18/ My Kids Led Me Back to Pride and Prejudice/ Book Review & Giveaway
October
19/ More Agreeably Engaged/ Fitzwilliam Vignette
October
20/ So Little Time... So Much to Read/ Excerpt & Giveaway
Beau North
Beau North is the author of Longbourn’s Songbird and a contributor
to the anthology Then Comes Winter.
Beau is a native southerner who now calls Portland, Oregon home with her
husband and two cats. She attended the University of South Carolina where she
began a lifelong obsession with Literature. In her spare time, Beau is the
brains behind Rhymes With Nerdy, a
pop culture podcast and website, and a contributor at the San Francisco Book
Review.
Facebook: Beau North Writes
Instagram:Miznorth
Twitter:
@BeauNorth
Brooke West
Brooke West is a contributing author to the
anthology Then Comes Winter. Brooke
has a naturally creative soul that pulls her into myriad artistic
endeavors. While writing fiction always
has been her life's passion, Brooke also finds joy in silversmithing,
sculpting, and costuming. Between projects, she runs and practices yoga. She lives in South Carolina with her fiancé,
son, and three cats.
Facebook: Brooke West
@WordyWest and @BrookeWest
I was given an ARC for my honest opinion.
