Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Blog Tour Book Review: Suddenly Mrs. Darcy by Jenetta James


Suddenly Mrs. Darcy
by Jenetta James

Genre: Romance / Austenesque / Pride & Prejudice Re-telling

Ages: 15 and up

I received an e-copy of this book as part of a blog tour in exchange for a fair and honest review. A big thanks to Jakki Leatherberry for putting this tour together! Stay tuned for a guest post from Ms. James next week and be sure to check out all of the other stops on the tour, the next one being tomorrow at My Jane Austen Book Club.

Description:


Elizabeth Bennet never imagined her own parents would force her to marry a virtual stranger. But when Mrs. Bennet accuses Fitzwilliam Darcy of compromising her daughter, that is exactly the outcome. Trapped in a seemingly loveless marriage and far from home, she grows suspicious of her new husband’s heart and further, suspects he is hiding a great secret. Is there even a chance at love given the happenstance of their hasty marriage?
 
My Thoughts:

I loved the premise of this book. What if Darcy and Elizabeth were trapped into marriage the night of the Netherfield Ball? Neither knows the other very well; Elizabeth hasn't developed the worst of her prejudices yet and Darcy is...well, Darcy is very mysterious.

The story is told entirely from Elizabeth's point of view, so the reader must puzzle through Darcy's motives and actions along with the heroine, much in the same style as in P&P. It was an interesting and different route for the author to take, and one that she executed well. I enjoyed Elizabeth's gradual change in feelings as she goes from trying to make the best of a civil but passionless marriage to falling in love with a man she still doesn't quite know.

Ms. James' writing style is very sweet and straightforward. At first I thought it was a little overly simple, but it grew on me. She has a very subtle way of catching the reader's emotions that I truly appreciated once I noticed just how ensnared I was. It took me a while to notice because it was so sneaky. I like sneaky.

This was a lovely story with a unique, delicate style and just the right amount of angst to keep me happy. I'm looking forward to what Jenetta James does next.

Content Ratings: Profanity, Sexuality and Violence
1 (mild) through 10 (extreme).

Profanity:
There is no profanity in this book.

Sexuality:
I rate it a 4.10 for multiple scenes of sexuality, none of them graphic or detailed.

Violence:
 I give it a 1.10 for a scene of peril, but no real violence.

About the Author:


Jenetta James is a lawyer, writer, mother and taker-on of too much. She grew up in Cambridge and read history at Oxford University where she was a scholar and president of the Oxford University History Society. After graduating, she took to the law and now practises full time as a barrister. Over the years she has lived in France, Hungary and Trinidad as well as her native England. Jenetta currently lives in London with her husband and children where she enjoys reading, laughing and playing with Lego. Suddenly Mrs Darcy is her first novel.



Links:

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Facebook



10 comments:

  1. I read the excerpt at the Calitico Critic (prologue) and it intrigued me very much. It would be interesting to follow the route of Elizabeth in this variation of the arranged marriage:) Thank you for the review! I'm torn between my curiosity, wishing I ask you for some spoilers, and desire to discover everything for myself when I read the book:)

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    1. Hi Oloore, I know what you mean, I can never decide whether I want to wait to read in one go or get a few hints first. I hope very much that you enjoy the book when you get hold of it! Jenetta

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  2. I Read the first excerpt and it made me very curious about this novel. I cannot wait to Read it.

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    1. Great - I hope that you enjoy it! More excerpts coming soon. Happy reading, Jenetta

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  3. looking forward to reading this

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    1. Great - I hope that you enjoy it and the rest of the blog tour as well. Best wishes, Jenetta

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  4. I am seriously looking forward to reading this story. I enjoy having Darcy and Lizzy forced into a marriage and following their path to happily-ever-after.

    Great review, Lieder. I appreciate you posting the sex/language/violence rating. No sense wasting money on a book I won't read through. Thanks!

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  5. I am looking for this book on Amazon and not finding it nor am I finding the author. Is Amazon having a glitch?

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    1. I don't think it's available yet, Sheila.

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    2. Hi Sheila & Dawn - yes that is right. It is not available for preorder but should be coming to an amazon page near you soon. I have my fingers crossed for Monday but in any case I will tweet and post on my facebook page when it is available. Thanks again for your interest, Jenetta

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