The Darcy Legacy by Joana Starnes - Blog Tour & Giveaway - Review

Today I'm happy to be welcoming one of my favorite JAFF authors, Joana Starnes for the blog tour stop of her newest book The Darcy Legacy. There's also a fantastic giveaway! Let me share the blurb with you first.

Book Description

‘Pemberley’s ancient halls harbour many secrets. Which one will affect Fitzwilliam Darcy and the love of his life? How is Mr Bennet to enjoy the comforts of a well-stocked library, when his wife’s premature demise had left him with the task of finding suitable matches for their daughters? What of a misleading encounter on a muddy lane in Hertfordshire, that renders a country-town assembly rather more tolerable than some might have thought?

Shades of mystery, meddlesome relations – not least a drenched Adonis – raillery, old errors and a very recent union make for a challenging courtship when Fitzwilliam Darcy is not on his own ground. Yet when love is the reward, challenges make it more worth the earning. “A fraught courtship? So, let it be fraught,” Colonel Fitzwilliam said with a nonchalant flourish of his hand. “A good challenge never hurt anyone.”’

My Review

I have read nearly all of Joana Starnes’ books so I was excited at the opportunity of reading her latest story, The Darcy Legacy. The blurb hints at something strange going on at Pemberley and the story opens with just that. George Darcy has just died. But instead of this being the end for him, it seems as though he is sticking around. And his former wife, who died some years ago, is still at Pemberley too. It seems as though both Darcys have some things to learn, but particularly George, who quickly finds out that he has been in error in some of his dealings with his son, his wife, and that he has been very mistaken in his favourite, George Wickham. Imagine the frustration of hearing and seeing things, but being unable to communicate warnings or affect events unfolding in front of your eyes and having to watch your children grieve.

As he stood beside his wife watching their son comforting their daughter, he could not find it in him to spare another thought for the conundrums of his new plane of existence. Nothing could dim the warm glow of love.

This story isn’t a direct Pride & Prejudice variation, although there is one big change, which is that poor Mrs Bennet has died, while her daughters were relatively young. This has meant that Mr Bennet wasn’t able to leave the child-raising to her, but has had to be more actively involved. This is an interesting variation as it could change the behaviour of his daughters quite significantly.

The first meeting of Darcy and Elizabeth is quite different too; he makes a bit of a mistake, which leaves him on the back foot when they officially meet. This means that rather than behaving haughtily and offending her, he is mindful that he should be polite, and therefore makes a much better impression. She has made an impression on him too, and he is reluctantly very attracted.

She was engaged for the rest of the evening.

Would he have stood up with her again otherwise? 

The very notion! Of course not.

With the Bennets being less objectionable for Bingley, the sojourn in Hertfordshire becomes extended longer than in canon, and the danger to Darcy, of making an unacceptable alliance, becomes more evident:

There was no future in his fascination. That had become increasingly clearer, the more he learned about her. 

Many of the settings and characters from canon are there, but changed, and it was very enjoyable to go down a different path. I liked seeing more of Mr Bennet, and his sense of humour. Here he is hosting the supercilious Bingley sisters on a visit:

The more laconic their replies, the more eagerly Mr Bennet engaged them in conversation, until Darcy had sufficient reason to suspect it was done on purpose, for the older gentleman’s private amusement.

This story is mainly from Darcy’s perspective, which I enjoyed, as I think his is an interesting head to be in. Particularly when you can see that he’s misinterpreting things and is heading for a set down!

I felt that the pace of the story was a little meandering; there isn’t a lot of angst and the story seemed to take a long time to unfold. Some readers will love that though, to really bask in the events. Towards the end of the story, there is a bit of a mystery, which for me didn’t really mesh with the rest of the story, and I would have liked to have seen the ghosts be a bit more actively involved.

One thing I always enjoy in Joana Starnes books are the touches of humour, and I am glad to say that there was plenty of that here, plus some nice romance, with a besotted Darcy (sigh!). There were also quite a few unexpected turns of events, which is always refreshing, as it makes it harder to anticipate the exact route of the story. This was an enjoyable book and I’d rate it at 4 stars.

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About the author:

Joana Starnes lives in the south of England with her family. Over the years, she has swapped several hats – physician, lecturer, clinical data analyst – but feels most comfortable in a bonnet. She has been living in Georgian England for decades in her imagination and plans to continue in that vein till she lays hands on a time machine.

She is the author of eight Austen-inspired novels: From This Day Forward ~ The Darcys of Pemberley, The Subsequent Proposal, The Second Chance, The Falmouth Connection, The Unthinkable Triangle, Miss Darcy’s Companion, Mr Bennet’s Dutiful Daughter and The Darcy Legacy, and one of the contributing authors to The Darcy Monologues, Dangerous to Know and the upcoming Rational Creatures (due in October 2018).

Joana Starneshas visited this blog with many of these works:

• From This Day Forward ~ The Darcys of Pemberley ~ A Pride & Prejudice sequel - My review
• The Subsequent Proposal ~ A Tale of Pride, Prejudice and Persuasion - My review
• The Second Chance ~ A Pride & Prejudice – Sense & Sensibility Variation - My review
• The Falmouth Connection ~ A Pride & Prejudice Variation set where Jane Austen's beloved characters are compelled to leave their tame and reasonably peaceful lives in the south of England and travel to the far reaches of Cornwall, into a world of deceit and peril, where few - if any! - are what they seem to be... - My review
• The Unthinkable Triangle ~ A Pride & Prejudice Variation that dwells on the most uncomfortable love-triangle of them all. What if Mr. Darcy's rival for Miss Bennet's hand and heart is none other than his dearest, closest friend? And how can they all find their 'happily-ever-after'? - Guest post
• Miss Darcy’s Companion ~ a variation that explores what might have happened if the warm-hearted Miss Elizabeth Bennet were employed instead of the scheming Mrs Younge. - Guest Post / My review
• Mr Bennet's Dutiful Daughter - a Pride & Prejudice variation that sees Elizabeth marrying for the good of her family - but the bridegroom isn't aware of her feelings - My Review

They are available on all Amazon sites.

Books by Joana Starnes at Amazon.com

Books by Joana Starnes at Amazon.co.uk

Books by Joana Starnes on Goodreads

You can connect with Joana Starnes on Facebook, her website or Twitter.

Giveaway Time!

Joana is offering 10 copies of The Darcy Legacy and 20 audiobook codes, each one of which would allow download of one of her audiobooks and a $25.00 Amazon gift card. The giveaway runs until midnight, July 16, 2018.

Please enter using the rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Schedule

Please check out these other posts on the tour as they are posted:

July 2 / Austenesque Reviews/Excerpt Post & Giveaway

July 3 / Diary of an Eccentric/ Guest Post & Giveaway

July 4 / More Agreeably Engaged/ Book Review & Giveaway

July 5 / Of Pens & Pages / Guest Post & Giveaway

July 6 / So Little Time... So Much to Read/ Guest Post & Giveaway

July 7 / My Love for Jane Austen / Excerpt Post & Giveaway

July 8 / Babblings of a Bookworm/ Book Review & Giveaway

July 9 / My Vices and Weaknesses/ Book Review & Giveaway

July 10/ Obsessed with Mr. Darcy/ Book Review & Giveaway

July 11 / Pemberley to Milton/Book Review & Giveaway

July 12 / Just Jane 1813/ Tour Finale & Giveaway