Well done!

I love this story. It was so much fun and my beloved Austen characters stayed true to her vision, it was just the story that changed. It started off. Little slow but then took off. I loved it.

This was an enjoyable read. The mystery was quite good and I liked the set up - Darcy is accused of murder as he can't explain his whereabouts because he was with Elizabeth, trapped in the library and doesn't want to force her to have to marry him.

Spoiler

I'd have liked that particular scenario to have paid off more - I spent the whole story waiting for Elizabeth to admit to it and face the consequences but this doesn't happen.

I needed a Pride and Prejudice story and had this one stowed away on my kindle so, I decided to go ahead and read it. I usually do not like retellings of Pride and Prejudice or alternate stories but this one was not bad. It does not have the crude romance scenes that most retelling/alternate tellings do and it was a quick, light and fairly enjoyable read. I plan to read the rest of this series to see how Joy plays out the getting together of Darcy and Elizabeth.

I liked this a lot. I AM a P&P fan ... as likely most of the readers of such a book would be. I received the audio edition for free in exchange for an honest review. I saw that the text version was also available to me (on Kindle Unlimited) and as I wrapped up the book, I found myself needing to go back and review a few things to make sure I understood. Sometimes my multitasking makes me miss things. I was very glad to have the kindle copy, as it's so much easier to quickly review and reread then trying to go back and relisten to audio portions.

I loved the narrator. Of course this was presented with a British accent, and it was great. I'd commented before on a narrator who pronounced "room" as "rum" (and it annoyed me) ... that happened here, but it aligned with the accent and English pronunciations.

I've read a few P&P re-imaginings and retellings. I don't think this book recreated any specific scene directly as some of the others have done. It would reference scenes that P&P fans would be familiar with, but most of the story was new back or side stories. I thought the tone and telling matched the original quite well. Although ... as I went to reread portions after listening, I think it came across much more naturally with the talented narrator telling the tale. When I read it myself, the writing seemed a little more stilted and unnatural in spots (something I hadn't really noticed at all when listening ... I guess I was completely caught up in the voice telling the story to critique).

There is the moment where this version disconnects from the original - there is a death, a MURDER, and this becomes a bit of a "who done it" mystery. Darcy's and Elizabeth's relationship progresses in a slightly different, but still enjoyable, manner. As with most murder mysteries, clues are dropped to make the reader suspect several individuals. As it all came crashing together at the end, it seemed a little abrupt to me ... SPOILERS AHEAD

Spoiler

When Elizabeth drinks the drugged tea and looks to C. Forster and says "it was you" ... I was like "who is he again? And why on earth would he have murdered Wickham?" and at that point no one really knows why he did it. It isn't until later when he confesses and explains that we learn more background. And Mrs. Yates/Younge. I liked her. It wasn't until the very end that I had any suspicions, and that was only as Elizabeth realizes she really doesn't know much about her. But when Darcy sees her and grabs her and "She writhed like the evil serpent she was" ... well, I guess we are being told she's bad! But it just seemed a leap, as while Darcy knows her background, WE (the reader) don't know for sure until it's explained a bit later.

I guess that's the only thing I really didn't care for. The conclusion where things came crashing together, yet still had to be explained to be understood.

But overall - I really enjoyed this. I would be interested in the sequels, but I think I'd absolutely want them in audio (with a kindle copy as backup, but I'm not sure I'd get around to reading them only on my own).

I enjoyed this one so much! Being "Pride and Prejudice" my all time favourite book I wanted to read more things that involved the same characters. Yes, it's not the same thing, there's only one Jane Austen (well, was), but still! I loved this a lot.

It was not the type of romance book that only revolted around superficial flirt and "love at first sight", no, it was more profound than that. Above anything, I enjoyed the fact that the characters were realistic and did not fall into clichés.

Moreover, is the only book I read of its type. The only "adaptation" I had put my hands on, and I must admit I enjoyed it to the lengths that I will continue the saga (and I'll probably start reading more like it because it was nostalgic to read new stories around the same characters that made me fall in love with Jane Austen).

I definitely recommend it to anyone who loves P&P and Jane Austen. And to those who want to see more of an Honourable Mr. Darcy and taciturn Elizabeth Bennet.

A truly great fusion of P&P and Agatha Christie

Wonderful melding of Whodunnit and romance. Our Dear couple are forced to solve a murder. Great dialogs and a lot of Darcy and Elizabeth - perfect recipe for a fun read.