Happy April everybody! Spring feels like it's finally here, which always makes me happy. I have some exciting things lined up in April so I thought I'd let you all know a bit more about them, but firstly I am going to show you one of my recent Austenesque purchases, an Elizabeth and Darcy salt and pepper set! You might have seen ones like this before, or even have them yourself, but when I looked at buying them previously they seemed to be US only. However, I was tipped off to these by J Dawn King, who saw on eBay a seller that shipped worldwide. I am pleased to say that these sweet little guys made their trip over the Atlantic intact.
Anyway, on to the planned reading:
I have some visits lined up this month which I'm really looking forward to. Firstly,
Victoria Kincaid will be joining me with an excerpt from her new book, '
Darcy vs. Bennet'. In this variation, Mr Darcy senior is still alive, and he hates Mr Bennet. I have heard this described as 'Pride and Prejudice' meets 'Romeo and Juliet' but with less dying in tombs... and with a description like that who wouldn't want to read it!
Rose Fairbanks will be visiting as part of her blog tour for her new book, '
Sufficient Encouragement'. This looks like an interesting read. Here, Elizabeth overhears Miss Bingley and Mr Darcy's conversation at Netherfield, when Miss Bingley is teasing him in relation to his admiration of Elizabeth and so Elizabeth is aware of some partiality. Knowing Darcy's influence over Bingley, Elizabeth resolves to do nothing to encourage or discourage Darcy as she wants him to stay in the area as long as possible in order to give Mr Bingley chance to propose to Jane, but her scheming might have longer-reaching consequences than she anticipates...
Maria Grace has a new book out about Lydia Bennet, '
The Trouble to Check Her'. In this book, instead of marrying Wickham after their elopement, Lydia is sent to a school for girls who have lost their virtue. How will the spirited Lydia cope with such confinement and rules after having been petted all her life? I wonder whether she will reform or do something even worse!
I will also be welcoming Sophie Turner with her new book, '
A Change of Legacies'. This is the sequel to her book '
A Constant Love' which is itself a sequel, to 'Pride and Prejudice'. I really enjoyed 'A Constant Love' and there were some story threads which I wanted to see brought to a conclusion, so I'm glad to see that the wait is nearly over.
So, I have a pretty busy month ahead! I hope you can join me for these visits. Let me know if any of these books have made it on to your reading lists. What do you have lined up to read this month?
I love your salt and pepper set!!! It's adorable!
ReplyDeleteVictoria Kincaid's book sounds really interesting! And I'm curious to read your thoughts on Maria Grace's story! Happy reading, Ceri! :)
Thanks Maria! It really is super-cute. But I am a little bit scared to put it out in case my daughter pinches it to play with!
DeleteThat's great that you found those salt and pepper shakers after wanting them so long. eBay is like a wonderful treasure bazaar.
ReplyDeleteNice book line up. I can't wait to be introduced to a few of those. And finally read the ones I knew about.
I was pleased to find them, because when I looked before they didn't seem to be available outside the US. I suppose the moral of the story is to keep on trying.
DeleteI hope the line up proves to be as good as it looks :)
Your shakers are adorable! Glad they made it over safely. Looks like a great line-up of books! I loved Maria's book and I am looking forward to reading Victoria's new one. Now it looks like I have to start re-reading 'A Constant Love' in order to be up-to-date before reading Sophie's new one!
ReplyDeleteI am glad to be able to bring you the news of the sequel to 'A Constant Love', Carole. When there's a gap between books in a series it's nice to be able to refresh your memory on the details of the last book. That was the main reason I started writing reviews of books, actually, to help me remember!
DeleteI love the salt and pepper shakers. Good purchase. I have read three of these but 2 were only as WIPs. I have not yet read Rose Fairbanks' new book. It has been awhile since I read Change of Legacies but I did write myself a little synopsis so I could remember what it was all about. I know how I enjoyed the first one. Great line up for the month.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sheila! I haven't been reading works in progress lately because of the combination of not enough reading time and an overstocked kindle, so they will all be new to me.
Deleteadorable S&P set!
ReplyDeletedenise
Thanks, Denise, the set really is very cute. Surprisingly it wasn't that expensive, the postage cost more than the item!
DeleteI was lucky enough to read both Maria Grace's and Victoria Kincaid's books before publication as a beta. Personally, I think both books are just about their best works to date.
ReplyDeleteMaria Grace actually had me rooting for a HEA for Lydia, not a feeling I have very often. I guess many others will probably feel the same.
Victoria Kincaid's book has a very different take on the story of Darcy and Elizabeth, but very cleverly weaves in many of the events from canon for very different reasons.
Hi Anji! I always wish for a more happy ending for Lydia. Although she's not a particularly likeable character in P&P she is so young. It seems sad that she is stuck with the consequences of a stupid decision she made as a teenager.
DeleteI am glad to hear positive feedback about the books I have lined up to read, it makes me anticipate reading them even more :)