Category: Book Reviews

One Thread Pulled: The Dance with Mr. Darcy (Volume 1), By Diana J. Oaks – A Review

From the desk of Jeffrey Ward:  How differently would Pride and Prejudice have proceeded if Miss Elizabeth Bennet had not overheard Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy’s insulting remarks during the Meryton assembly?  Differently? Yes, very-very differently according to this debut author’s totally diverting and brilliant re-imagining of Jane Austen’s timeless romance. Starting at page one and continuing... Continue Reading →

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Pemberley or Pride and Prejudice Continued, by Emma Tennant – A Review

This is my third selection for The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge 2013, our year-long event honoring Jane Austen’s second published novel. Please follow the link above to read all the details of this reading and viewing challenge. Sign up’s are open until July 1, 2013. If you can, take yourself back to 1993. Some... Continue Reading →

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To Marry an English Lord, by Gail MacColl and Carol McD. Wallace – A Review

From the desk of Laura A. Wallace:   Originally published in 1989, this 2012 re-issue of To Marry and English Lord is an attractive trade paperback edition by Workman Publishing. Promoted as “an inspiration for Downton Abbey,” Julian Fellowes, the screenplay writer who created the series, has been quoted as saying that he was reading this... Continue Reading →

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Circles of Time: Book Two of the Greville Family Saga, by Philip Rock – A Review

After re-discovering The Passing Bells – after a thirty-year estrangement – I was thrilled to learn there were two more books in the Greville Family Saga. Originally published between 1978 - 1986, this welcome reissue of the trilogy by William Morrow Books is just in time for fans of the popular television series Downton Abbey... Continue Reading →

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Summerset Abbey: A Novel, by T. J. Brown – A Review

From the desk of Christina Boyd:  Now that the third season of Downton Abbey has ended and left us quite reeling, what better balm to soothe our broken hearts than this new Edwardian series, Summerset Abbey by debut writer T. J. Brown. The year is 1913, the prelude to WWI, and three young women gently... Continue Reading →

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A Change of Heart: A Regency Romance, by Candice Hern – A Review

A Change of Heart, by Candice Hern (2012)

This is my second selection in the Regency Romance Reading Challenge 2013, our celebration of Regency romance author Candice Hern. We will be reading all of her traditional Regencies over the next nine months, discussing her characters, plots and Regency history. You can still join the reading challenge until July 1, 2013. Participants, please leave... Continue Reading →

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Emmalee: The Jane Austen Diaries #4, by Jenni James – A Review

Emmalee: The Jane Austen Diaries #4, by Jenni James (2012)

From the desk of Kimberly Denny-Ryder:  Several months ago I had the opportunity to read Persuaded by Jenni James, a modern YA (young adult) adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion.  I was really impressed with James’ ability to keep the depth of Austen’s works when translating them into the modern world and make them appealing to... Continue Reading →

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Falling For Mr. Darcy, by KaraLynne Mackrory – A Review

Falling For Mr. Darcy, by KaraLynne Mackrory (2012 )

From the desk of Jeffrey Ward:  We know from the surviving canceled chapters of Persuasion that Jane Austen penned an alternative conclusion to her final novel, with stunning results. Based on the now 200-year-old masterpiece Pride and Prejudice, debut Author KaraLynne Mackrory has likewise crafted her own romantic detour. Let us find out, through the... Continue Reading →

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Austensibly Ordinary, by Alyssa Goodnight – A Review

From the desk of Lisa Galek:  What’s an average girl to do when she wants to add some excitement and romance to her life? Just ask Jane Austen, of course! Sure, she’s been dead for nearly 200 years, but there are ways around that little problem. Cate Kendall spends her days teaching the classics like... Continue Reading →

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Celebrating Pride and Prejudice: 200 Years of Jane Austen’s Masterpiece, by Susannah Fullerton – A Review

From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress:  “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” Besides being trotted out for the opening of every news article containing anything vaguely related to Pride and Prejudice, its author, its characters, its plot... Continue Reading →

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The Passing Bells: Book One of the Greville Family Saga, by Philip Rock – A Review

I love a good mystery. I just didn’t know that I would be so personally engaged in one for over thirty years. In 1980, a read a book about an aristocratic English family during WWI that I absolutely adored. I was so enthusiastic about it that I promptly loaned it to my best friend who... Continue Reading →

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Indiscretion: A Novel, by Jude Morgan – A Review

From the desk of Katie Patchell:  Jane Austen. Georgette Heyer. The Regency. Those names instantly bring to mind witty conversations, saturnine heroes, and lavish ballrooms. So often we see these words on the cover or in reviews of a book, and eagerly pick it up hoping to find yet another book that will quickly become... Continue Reading →

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