Be Your Own Heroine by Sophie and Charlotte Andrews - Blog Tour, Review & Giveaway

Today I’m happy to be welcoming a previous visitor and a new visitor all in one post! Sisters Sophie and Charlotte Andrews have written Be Your Own Heroine, which has the sub heading of learning the life lessons from heroines in literature, including Pride & Prejudice's Elizabeth Bennet. Sophie Andrews has visited Babblings of a Bookworm before, with her book Be More Jane, but her sister Charlotte is a first time visitor and I welcome them both. The publisher, CICO books, is also offering a giveaway of a physical copy to a UK or US address!

Let’s begin by looking at the blurb.

Book Description

Having brought you the wisdom of Austen in Be More Jane, eager reader Sophie Andrews joins forces with her sister Charlotte and turns her attention to what can be learned from the heroines of other stories from past and present. Whatever your taste in authors, there will be strong female characters you can relate to, from Jo March, the tiger-sister in Little Women, to Eleanor Oliphant, the socially bemused heroine of Gail Honeyman's prize-winning first novel. There are spirited young women such as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, and Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series; and then there are the survivors – July in The Long Song and Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. Sophie and Charlotte show how these six inspirational young women can inspire you and guide you through life's challenges. Whether you are faced with hard times at home, in love, or at work, these characters have something to teach you.

Silver Buckles by Grace Gibson - Blog Tour - Guest Post and Giveaway

Today I’m happy to be welcoming a new author to Babblings of a Bookworm from Meryton Press. Grace Gibson has joined us with a guest post as part of the blog tour for her Pride & Prejudice variation book Silver Buckles. Let’s look at the blurb and then I will hand over to Grace for her post.

Book Description

She staggered a great man. He was reeling. She was overwhelmed. 

Fitzwilliam Darcy, standing irritably at the edge of the Meryton assembly, declines to dance with Elizabeth Bennet. In a mood of revulsion, he rejects her without concern of being overheard. Country pretensions are always in need of squashing, and what better way to make clear he would not partner anyone outside his party? However, when he looks over at her, she does not appear humbled at all. She is secretly laughing at him!

Elizabeth is perversely delighted to encounter such an outrageous snob as Mr. Darcy. When he approaches her with a stiff, graceless apology, she coolly brushes him off, believing that, like most annoyances, he will go away when properly snubbed. But no! The man then puts out his hand and, not wishing to create a scene, compels her to stand up with him.

They go through the steps of the dance mutually disdainful and intent upon wounding each other. But by the time the musicians end their tune, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have traded barbs with such accuracy, they are unaccountably amused and engaged. Will this most inconvenient flirtation drive them apart—or, like silver buckles, are they a matched pair?

As Only Mr Darcy Can by Laura Hile - Excerpt and Giveaway

Today I’m happy to be welcoming Laura Hile back to Babblings of a Bookworm with her newest book, As Only Mr Darcy Can. Laura is visiting us with a delightful excerpt for you to enjoy plus an ebook giveaway for one of you. Let’s look at the blurb and then I’ll hand over to Laura for the excerpt.

Book Description

What a tangled web!

Mr. Darcy’s departure has solved nothing. He loves Elizabeth Bennet as much as ever—and he has left her vulnerable to Wickham’s lies. Why not send her a warning? Anonymously, of course. He must conquer his obsession, yet he must also do something to protect her.

But when Darcy is dunned for a bill of Wickham’s—an old trick—he sends the magistrate’s men with a warrant. Wickham, however, is nowhere to be found. At the same time, a titled lady appears in Hunsford. Why does she look so familiar? What of her pointed interest in Darcy’s sister? Is there anyone who will believe what Darcy suspects?

Elizabeth has her hands full when she comes to Hunsford. Her army-mad youngest sister causes trouble everywhere! What is more, those cryptic Valentines keep arriving. And then there is Mr. Darcy, a man she is determined to dislike. Why must his suspicions about the unknown lady match hers? Sparks fly as she joins forces with him to discover a truth that is both laughable and treacherous.

As for being at odds with Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth’s heart has other ideas. Will a nonsensical demand ruin what has grown up between them?

As Only Mr. Darcy Can is a feel-good Regency romp, featuring all your friends from Pride and Prejudice. Intrigue, romance, and laughter are waiting for you.

Death of a Clergyman by Riana Everly - Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway

Today I’m happy to be welcoming Riana Everly back to the blog with her latest book, Death of a Clergyman. Name a clergyman we could do without – why yes, Mr Collins does spring to mind! But how did he die? In this case, not naturally. So we have a mystery on our hands. And who is a serious minded person who would be drawn to looking into this mystery? Why, Miss Mary Bennet! I know that this book will already be drawing some of you in with it being a mystery and having a focus on Mary.

Riana has come here today with my favourite type of guest post, where authors are so kind as to share with us some history that they have gleaned from their research, to save us having to research for ourselves. Let’s look at the blurb and then I’ll hand over to Riana, for her guest post, an excerpt from Death of a Clergyman and a giveaway for you.

Book Description

Mary Bennet has always been the quiet sister, the studious and contemplative middle child in a busy family of five. She is not interested in balls and parties, and is only slightly bothered by the arrival of the distant cousin who will one day inherit her father’s estate. But then Mr. Collins is found dead, and Mary’s beloved sister Elizabeth is accused of his murder. Mary knows she must learn whatever she can to prove Elizabeth innocent of this most horrible crime, or her sister might be hanged as a murderess!

Alexander Lyons has made a pleasant life for himself in London, far from his home village in Scotland. He investigates missing documents and unfaithful wives, and earns an honest living. Then one day Mr. Darcy walks into his office, begging him to investigate the murder of Mr. Collins and to prove Elizabeth innocent of the crime. It seems like a straightforward enough case, but Alexander did not count on meeting a rather annoying young woman who seems to be in his way at every turn: Mary Bennet. 

As the case grows more and more complicated, Mary and Alexander cannot stop arguing, and discover that each brings new insight into the case. But as they get close to some answers, will they survive the plans of an evildoer in the midst of quiet Meryton?

A Wilful Misunderstanding by Amy D'Orazio - Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

Today I am happy to be featuring another of Amy D’Orazio’s stories as the blog tour for the Pride & Prejudice-inspired A Wilful Misunderstanding stops here today. Let’s look at the blurb, and then we will move on to my review of the book. Quills and Quartos are also giving away an ebook to one of you. Read on for details.

Book Description

The moment he saw her at the assembly in Meryton, he knew he loved her.

WHEN FITZWILLIAM DARCY MEETS ELIZABETH BENNET in the fateful autumn of 1811, their mutual infatuation is immediate and undeniable. Within months, they are married and spend a blissful winter at Pemberley, falling more deeply in love with each other than either might have imagined possible. But spring in London proves more challenging to them. Accident and artifice join to devastating effect for the young couple, destroying their felicity and creating an outcome neither might have imagined.

TWO YEARS LATER, happenstance reunites them. Sorrow and anger have built walls between them but the love they once shared still remains. Will it be enough to conquer the sins of the past? Is the love they still hold within them strong enough to prevail over the anger and mistrust that tore them apart?

Play with Fire by J Marie Croft - Excerpt and Giveaway

You might well have noticed that quite a few authors and publishers have been putting out novellas lately. I know some people like to get their teeth into a longer read but this year has been such a stressful one that some of us want the escape of reading but don’t have the concentration to take on a longer book! J Marie Croft is visiting us here today with her new Pride & Prejudice novella, Play with Fire to share an excerpt, and Meryton Press are offering to give away an ebook of the story to one of you. Read on for more details!

Book Description

Madness! It was nothing but madness from beginning to end, and Darcy was caught up in it. 

What do occupants of Netherfield Park do on a dreary Saturday while the Bennet sisters are still in residence and they have nothing at all to do? They take a page from Mansfield Park, of course, and decide on a theatrical.

 

In the process of planning and performing the play, certain participants get more than a little carried away, especially Fitzwilliam Darcy where Elizabeth Bennet is concerned. There might even be a kiss...and a skirmish...leading to a duel.

 

No one involved in the play had set out with the intention of creating a scandal. None performing in the theatrical began with the aim of ending with blushing faces, or bruised bodies, or blemishes on their reputations.

 

Blame it on The Mésalliance.

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