Mistress of Netherfield by Julia Winter - Blog Tour, Deleted Scene and Review

Today I’m happy to be welcoming Julia Winter, a new author, to the blog. Julia has written a Pride & Prejudice variation, Mistress of Netherfield, and she’s visiting here today with a deleted scene from the book and a giveaway opportunity. She was also so kind as to provide me an ebook of Mistress of Netherfield to read and so I’ll share my review below. Let’s look at the blurb first, and then I’ll hand over to Julia.

Book Description

It is a truth universally acknowledged that on escaping an unhappy marriage, a young widow will be delighted to remove to the dower house and lease the marital abode to a single man in possession of a good fortune, provided he looks elsewhere to fulfil his want of a wife.

Forced into an unwanted marriage at the tender age of sixteen, and freed six months later by the death of her abusive husband, Elizabeth Grayson (née Bennet) has finally found a measure of peace. The inheritor of her husband’s estate, Netherfield Park, Elizabeth is now a wealthy young widow, independent and self-reliant. With an eye always on improving her four sisters’ woefully small dowries and providing for her mother, who will be homeless when her father dies, Elizabeth is pleased to lease out Netherfield to the Bingley family from the north of England, making her home in the dower house in Meryton and vowing that she will never remarry.

Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley in Derbyshire is rich and well-connected, but reserved in company with anybody outside the very few he counts as friends. Towards those friends, he is loyal and steadfast, the staunchest of supporters. So when a young man comes to him with a tale of the clandestine marriage and mysterious death of Darcy’s old schoolfriend, James Grayson, and begs Darcy’s help to investigate the widow’s role, Darcy agrees. Visiting Charles Bingley, the new tenant of Netherfield, Darcy is very soon torn between his loyalty to his dead friend, and his burgeoning attraction to the widow.

Throw two unprincipled rogues and an elopement into the confines of Meryton, and how will Darcy’s dilemma over Elizabeth ever be resolved? And is she willing to put aside her misgivings, and trust again?

(British English spelling and grammar used throughout)

Undeceived: Pride and Prejudice in the Spy Game by Karen M Cox - Audio Release and Giveaway

I’m happy to be welcoming Karen M Cox back to the blog. She’s celebrating the audio release of Undeceived: Pride and Prejudice in the Spy Game. This is a Pride & Prejudice-inspired story, transported to the 1980s and involving spies! I read the book some time ago, and really enjoyed it; you can see my review of it here.

I’ll share the blurb with you and then hand over to Karen for a guest post about the audio book, narrated by Elizabeth Grace, and a chance to win a copy.

Book Description

“...if I endeavor to undeceive people as to the rest of his conduct, who will believe me?” 

-Pride & Prejudice, Chapter 40

Elizabeth Bennet, a rookie counterintelligence officer, lands an intriguing first assignment—investigating the CIA's legendary William Darcy, who is suspected of being a double agent. 

Darcy’s charmed existence seems at an end as he fights for his career and struggles against his love for the young woman he doesn’t know is watching his every move.

Elizabeth’s confidence dissolves as nothing is like she planned—and the more she discovers about Darcy, the more she finds herself in an ever-tightening web of danger.

Unexpected twists abound in this suspenseful Cold War era romance inspired by Jane Austen’s classic tale.

Parallels by Linda Gonschior - Blog Tour, Excerpt and Giveaway

Today I’m welcoming Linda Gonschior to the blog. I have featured her work previously as part of the anthology Then Comes Winter but today she joins us with the blog tour for part 3 of her Reflections series, Parallels. This is a modernised story based on Pride & Prejudice and begins with Reflections, followed by A Tarnished Image, and the story concludes in Parallels. Linda joins us here with an excerpt and giveaway of the story. 

Book Description

Love, heartbreak, and self-discovery
are life’s greatest challenges,
no matter who your parents may be.

Will and Elizabeth Darcy faced those challenges twenty years earlier, yet marriage taught them patience, understanding, and most importantly, the irreplaceable value of one another. Now their children are about to embark upon that path, hopefully to learn those lessons more gently and avoid the mistakes of their parents.

This third book in the Reflections series brings to a conclusion the story of a couple whose love drew them together in spite of themselves and continues to test them when least expected.

For the Deepest Love by Mary Anne Mushatt - Excerpt and Giveaway

Today I’m happy to be welcoming Mary Anne Mushatt to Babblings of a Bookworm. Mary Anne has just released For the Deepest Love, which is a Pride & Prejudice variation and she joins us today with an excerpt of the novel. Publishers Quills and Quartos are offering an ebook giveaway too. I’ll share the book description and then hand over to Mary Ann.

Book Description

“After thinking long and hard, I have come to the conclusion that—although it may not be the kind of love my sister and I once had in mind—marrying Mr Darcy would be marrying for a love of the deepest kind.”

Recovering from their parents’ deaths, Elizabeth and Jane Bennet have held their family together, leaning on the support of their uncle, Edward Gardiner, to help them survive.  Thus, when Mr Gardiner is threatened with scandal and ruin, Elizabeth vows to help him.  Hearing of her distress, the scandalous Fitzwilliam Darcy enters her life—offering his aid in exchange for her hand.  Accepting his proposal upends her life in unimaginable ways as she learns of the treachery of the peer courting her, the betrayal and violence committed by her childhood friend, and the threat to her country as it faces another war. 

As Elizabeth and Darcy face the turmoil and trials swirling around them, they risk opening their hearts to unexpected passion.  In order to survive challenges from without and fears within, they must summon unknown strengths and forge new bonds to solidify a love of the deepest kind.

An Unexpected Harvest by Cat Andrews - Blog Tour, Excerpt and Giveaway

I’m happy to be welcoming Cat Andrews back to the blog today with her new book, An Unexpected Harvest. Some of you will have read Sanctuary, which is a 3 part story that takes Pride & Prejudice-inspired characters to a modern setting in New England. If you haven't, I recommend that you do - you can read my review of part one of it here.

Well, An Unexpected Harvest is also a modern, but this time it’s all in one book, and has a bit of a twist in the approach to the characters. I don’t have time to read a lot of stories posted online these days but I did read this one, and really enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to seeing how the published version turned out! 

Cat is joining us as part of her blog tour to celebrate the book’s release, and she’s brought an excerpt and giveaway for Amazon US / UK /CA kindle customers. Let’s look at the blurb and then I’ll hand over to Cat for her excerpt.

Book Description

Elizabeth Bennet left her affluent New England home at the age of sixteen and never looked back. She’s built a fabulous life in Boston and loves everything about the city—especially her dream job as creative director at an advertising agency.

Will Darcy has never lived anywhere but in rural Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He lives the quintessential small-town life and loves everything about the country—especially his family’s farm, which he’s doing his best to modernize and return to prosperity.

When her older sister moves back to New England, Elizabeth reluctantly pays a visit to the hometown she left behind. Soon enough, the city girl meets the country boy and the insults and misunderstandings fly—but so do the sparks.

No one is more surprised than Elizabeth and Will when those sparks turn into a brilliant flame, and the 300 miles between them that once felt far too close suddenly turns into an unbearable distance.

The city girl and the country boy know a good thing when they see it—even if they don’t see it nearly enough. Can they overcome their greatest challenge and find common ground—and their happily-ever-after?

***

This novel is a modern variation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, but with a slight spin on the usual cast of characters. It contains adult content and is meant for mature readers.

Fitzwilliam Darcy, In His Own Words by Shannon Winslow - Guest Post and Excerpt

Today I’m happy to be welcoming Shannon Winslow back to Babblings of a Bookworm with her new book, Fitzwilliam Darcy, In His Own Words, which as the name suggests is a book from Darcy’s point of view. Read on for the blurb, followed by a guest post from Shannon and an excerpt of the story. 

Book Description

What was Mr. Darcy’s life like before he met Elizabeth Bennet? – before he stepped onto the Pride and Prejudice stage at the Meryton assembly? More importantly, where is he and what is he doing all the time he’s absent from the page thereafter? And what is his relationship to a woman named Amelia?

With Fitzwilliam Darcy, in His Own Words, the iconic literary hero finally tells his own story, from the traumas of his early life to the consummation of his love for Elizabeth and everything in between.

This is not a variation but a supplement to the original story, chronicled in Darcy’s point of view – a behind-the-scenes look at the things Jane Austen didn’t tell us. As it happens, Darcy’s journey was more tortuous than she let on, his happy ending with Elizabeth in jeopardy at every turn in his struggle between duty and his heart’s desire, between the suitable lady he has promised to marry and the woman he can’t stop thinking about.

Faults of Understanding by Jennifer Altman - Author Interview and Giveaway

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming Jennifer Altman back to the blog. Jennifer has joined us with a post to celebrate her upcoming book, the Pride & Prejudice variation Faults of Understanding. Jennifer subjected herself to an interview, which I hope you will enjoy. She’s brought an ebook giveaway with her too! I’ll share the blurb with you and then we will move on to the interview.

Book Description

“I have faults enough, but they are not, I hope, of understanding.” – Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice 

When Fitzwilliam Darcy makes an impetuous offer of marriage to Miss Elizabeth Bennet, he is convinced they have as good a chance as any for a harmonious life together. That is, until an overheard conversation changes everything, and Darcy realizes he is now joined in perpetuity to a woman who loathes the very sight of him.

Elizabeth Bennet’s expectations for matrimonial accord were never very high, having accepted Mr. Darcy’s proposal in a fit of pique, not love. Still, she is determined to make the best of her situation, despite having tied herself to such an arrogant, disagreeable man.

But life at Pemberley is not at all what she imagined, and Elizabeth soon finds herself with more questions than answers about the enigmatic gentleman she agreed to wed.

Trapped in a marriage founded on misunderstandings, Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy struggle with deepening attraction while confronting self-doubt and old betrayals. But is love enough to heal the wounds of the past? What will it take for two people bound by duty to find their way home to one another?

Dragons Beyond the Pale by Maria Grace - Guest Post and Giveaway

I’m happy to be welcoming Maria Grace back to the blog to celebrate her latest book, Dragons Beyond the Pale. As you will have deduced from the title, this is the latest in her Jane Austen’s Dragons series, the seventh book in the series. Maria has brought us one of my favourite types of post, which is a post about history, specifically the history of the Georgian terrace house. Now, I live in a street where there are terraced houses but they are not in the same vein as Georgian ones, which are FANTASTIC. And also, in some cases, HUGE. There are stunning examples of Georgian terraced houses in places like London or Bath.

Maria has also been so kind as to bring a book giveaway with her too; either the first in her Jane Austen’s Dragons series, if you are new to the series, or this latest book, Dragons Beyond the Pale. First, we will look at the blurb and then I’ll hand over to Maria for her guest post, which I hope you will enjoy reading as much as I did 😊

Book Description

Smugglers. A kidnapping. A fire-breathing fairy dragon? The Blue Order is falling apart at the seams.  

After months in Bath mentoring Dragon Keepers and Friends, Dragon Sage Elizabeth Darcy actually anticipates traveling to London for the Keeper’s Cotillion. Which says a great deal considering the she-dragons who make up the Cotillion board would very much like to show the Sage her proper place.

The she-dragons, though, are no match for what Sir Fitzwilliam Darcy finds waiting for him in London. Threats to the Order on every side, and Lord Matlock demands he keep them secret from Elizabeth. No one keeps secrets from Elizabeth.

In the meantime, Anne and Frederick Wentworth arrive in London with hopes of finally being accepted in good Blue Order society, unaware of the burgeoning maelstrom about to engulf them.

Darcy manages to keep matters under control until a fairy-dragon’s prank unleashes sinister forces who perpetrate an unthinkable crime that could spell the end of the Pendragon Accords and usher in a new age of dragon war.

Can Elizabeth and Darcy, with the Wentworths’ help, restore balance to the Blue Order before the dragons decide to take matters into their own talons and right the wrongs themselves?

Five Daughers Out at Once by Jayne Bamber - Blog Tour, Excerpt and Giveaway

I’m really pleased to welcome Jayne Bamber back to Babblings of a Bookworm with her new Pride & Prejudice variation, Five Daughters Out at Once. I love that Jayne comes up with ideas that I haven’t seen anywhere else before and this book is no exception. Let’s look at the blurb and then I’ll hand over to Jayne for a guest post.

Book Description

After the untimely death of their parents, Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters are left to make their own way in the world, and the dubious decision to stay at Longbourn until they are forced out leads to chaos and confrontation two years later, when their cousin Mr. Collins comes to claim his inheritance.

Hot on his heels is his noble patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, a woman consumed by grief of her own after the loss of her husband and daughter in a terrible fire at her estate, Rosings Park. While her nephew Mr. Darcy is shocked by his aunt’s interest in the five orphaned girls, her niece Georgiana thinks it just the thing to soothe the dowager’s low spirits. Moved by the bonds of sorrow and a shared contempt of Mr. Collins, Lady Catherine offers the Bennet sisters her protection and assistance in society – and what better way to help them than to find them all rich husbands?

Much to her chagrin, Lady Catherine is not the only one to meddle in Meryton’s marriage mart – Richard Fitzwilliam joins her, at leisure to make mischief, Charlotte Lucas, now an heiress in her own right, has a secret of her own, and Georgiana Darcy finds herself inspired to write a novel that will document – and change – the lives of her new friends.

Tensions rise between Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy as they both bristle at Lady Catherine’s plans – for very different reasons. Misapprehension and misunderstandings abound and plans go awry as the great lady rents Netherfield Park and hosts a horde of single gentlemen in possession of good fortunes, who must be in want of wives.

Will the Bennet sisters find love and happiness? What other Austen heroes and rakes might appear in the once dull village of Meryton? Will Darcy and Lizzy overcome the obstacles of their own making?

Dangerous Magic: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Monica Fairview - Blog Tour, Excerpt and Giveaway

Today I’m happy to be welcoming author Monica Fairview back to the blog with her latest release, Dangerous Magic: A Pride and Prejudice Variation, which mixes Pride & Prejudice with some magic! First I’ll share the blurb with you, and then hand over to Monica for a guest post and excerpt from the novel.

Book Description

A sparkling tale of Regency England, a forced marriage, and two magicians who must work together to save the Kingdom. 

Elizabeth Bennet is stunned when the Royal Mages come to her peaceful country home of Longbourn to take her away. She is even more bewildered when she is commanded to marry a powerful mage by the name of Fitzwilliam Darcy. She has always dreamed of marrying for love, and an arranged marriage with an arrogant stranger was never part of her plans. 

But Darcy and Elizabeth have no choice in the matter. Uniting their two forms of magic is essential if the Kingdom is to defeat Napoleon’s mages. They may dislike each other on sight, but Darcy and Elizabeth have to overcome their differences and find common ground before it is too late. Fortunately, it is not long before the sparks begin to fly between them.

Join the author of ‘Fortune and Felicity’ in this Jane Austen Fantasy Variation, an enchanting story of determination, love, and hope against all odds.