Unexpected Gifts by Maria Grace - Guest Post and Excerpt

I’m happy to welcome Maria Grace back to Babblings of a Bookworm with a festive offering. Unexpected Gifts is a Pride & Prejudice sequel set at Christmas time. One thing I love about Christmas and the run up to New Year is the feeling of optimism and hope. I am an unabashed optimist and the New Year always seems to me to be a good chance for a fresh start. 

Maria Grace joins us today with an excerpt of Unexpected Gifts, which she will introduce, but first I will share the blurb with you.

Book Description

Yuletide 1814, the Darcys are celebrating their third wedding anniversary and the baby Elizabeth is expecting. Overprotective and perhaps overbearing, Darcy is ready to do anything for Elizabeth’s comfort, including defying the will of his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh who demands their presence to bestow a gift that absolutely cannot wait.

What sort of gift is so urgent it cannot wait for a more auspicious time?

Christmastide 1815, the Darcys hope for a particular sort of joy to bring a close to a dark and difficult season. It only seems fitting that an unexpected—and unwelcome—guest disrupts their small family house party. Could the unexpected gift they bring be the key to the fulfillment of the Darcys’ most heartfelt desires?

Plots, Ploys, and the Art of Matchmaking by Sarah Courtney - Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway

Today I’m happy to be welcoming Sarah Courtney back to the blog with a post about her new book, a Pride & Prejudice variation called Plots, Ploys, and the Art of Matchmaking. Sarah has brought us a guest post, excerpt and giveaway. Let’s look at the blurb and then I’ll hand over to Sarah.

Book Description

When Darcy’s eccentric uncle Lord Matlock arrives in Meryton for a visit with his old friend Mr. Bennet, nobody can escape their mischief. From locked doors to misdirected carriages, Matlock and Bennet wreak havoc on inhabitants of Longbourn and Netherfield alike.

Darcy and Elizabeth fall prey to their relations' schemes more than once, but they firmly resist any matchmaking efforts. Darcy knows his value in the marriage market and has no intention of marrying beneath him. Elizabeth could never marry such a pompous bore. But their pride and prejudice become a lot harder to maintain when they find themselves trapped alone together.

Will Matlock and Bennet succeed in making matches for all of Meryton—except the two stubborn fools they know belong together?

This sweet comedic variation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is 73,000 words of mischief and matchmaking.

Port and Proposals by Mark Brownlow - Blog Tour, Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway

Today I’m delighted to be welcoming Mark Brownlow back to the blog with the blog tour for his new book, Port & Proposals. This can be read stand-alone but is a sequel to Cake & Courtship, a book that focuses on Mr Bennet from Pride & Prejudice. Cake & Courtship has the reader accompany Mr Bennet up until Elizabeth goes to Kent, and we spend the rest of the timeline of Pride & Prejudice with him in Port & Proposals.

I’ll share the blurb with you, and then hand over to Mark for a guest post and excerpt from Port & Proposals. He’s also offering an ebook giveaway to a commenter on the post.

Book Description

All Mr Bennet wants to do is read books, eat cake, and study butterflies. But life has other plans for him in this Regency tale of love, regret, and second chances.

Family troubles and a promise to his middle daughter, Mary, force our father of five out of his library to deal with reticent bachelors, stubborn curates, and glib officers. Though his greatest challenge may be to face up to a past he cannot seem to forget.

Mark Brownlow presents a Pride and Prejudice variation full of Mr Bennet's wit and wisdom that plays out against the backdrop of Vols II and III of Jane Austen’s famous novel.

Although a standalone story, Port and Proposals is also the sequel to Brownlow's Cake and Courtship.