Book 2 in a 3 book series: Darcy and Elizabeth are overcome with magic in my new series - The Witches of Longbourn, a magical and light-hearted Regency trilogy. Love blossoms over three complete but continuing adventures in which Darcy and Elizabeth discover what we have known all along. They belong together. Lizzy’s Love Apprentice is Book Two in the Witches of Longbourn series, a variation on a variation. *** Will Lizzy Bennet accept Fitzwilliam Darcy’s hand in marriage? Can a union between two strong willed witches find a happily ever after in the world of Regency? Can Lizzy teach the love witch a thing or two about being lovable? And will one of the most powerful witches in England—who also happens to be Darcy’s mother—accept Lizzy as worthy of her son?
If you enjoyed the MISTER DARCY SERIES OF COMEDIC MYSTERIES and The Witches of Eastwick, you don’t want to miss The Witches of Longbourn series.
Coming soon! DARCY’S MAGICAL MESSAGE – Book 3 in the series. Clean read: no graphic violence, sex, or strong language—just lots of laughter.
Barbara Silkstone applies her smart, bent brand of humor to her new Witches of Longbourn series, and I love it! My favorite new character is Fiona Feelgood, the love witch. The scrapes Darcy gets himself into—and Lizzy gets him out of—are hilarious. ~ L.K. Rigel, author of My Mr. Rochester (Jane Eyre Retold)
Barbara Silkstone is the best selling author of over twenty-five novels and novellas. Her comedy mysteries feature goodhearted heroines caught up in screwball situations. Silkstone’s popular Wendy Darlin Tomb Raider series has been compared to the writings of Douglas Adams and Monty Python. Her Mister Darcy series of comedic mysteries based on Jane Austen’s classic, Pride and Prejudice now includes seven adventures. She is also the author of two Regency novels: The Gallant Vicar and The Return of the Gallant Vicar.
Barbara Silkstone’s Amazon Author’s page http://www.amazon.com/Barbara-Silksto...
Barbara Silkstone is the best-selling author of the Wendy Darlin Tomb Raider series that includes: Wendy and the Lost Boys, London Broil, Cairo Caper, Miami Mummies, Vulgarian Vamp, Wendy Darlin Tomb Raider Boxed Set. Her Criminally Funny Fables Romantic Suspense series includes: The Secret Diary of Alice in Wonderland, Age 42 and Three-Quarters; Wendy and the Lost Boys; Zo White and the Seven Morphs. For a squirt of paranormal comedy try: Cold Case Morphs. True fiction fan? Try: The Adventures of a Love Investigator.
New: Mister Darcy Series Book One: Mister Darcy's Dogs Book Two: Mister Darcy's Christmas Book Three: Mister Darcy's Secret
Silkstone’s writing has been described as “perfectly paced and pitched – shades of Janet Evanovich and Carl Hiaasen – without seeming remotely derivative. Fast moving action that shoots from the hip with bullet-proof characterization.”
P&P meets paranormal, short, better writing than first, but still problems
This is the second installment in the paranormal variation of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Even though it had a better writing style, it was still full of problems and frustrating.
Are there timelines that dictate that these books have to be rushed? Are there limits to the word count or page numbers that have to be adhered to? It feels rushed like those problematic novellas everyone complains about. There was such possibility and potential to this story but, once again, it fell short.
There was a story that desperately wanted to be told. I could feel it as it pushed forward desperate to be released and expressed. However, instead of giving it freedom, it was stifled, pushed down and cut short so that canon paragraphs and dialogue could be inserted. By trying to force the merger between the two different styles of work, it made for a story that was jumpy, disjointed, and frustrating. It would have been better to simply let the story tell itself instead of trying to force canon pieces where they didn’t fit or belong.
There are several great reviews for you to read for a rundown on what happened. No need for all of us to repeat the same thing.
There were some editing errors, missing words and articles, not too bad.
The turtle incident… it was obviously a nod to the wet shirt from the film… OK, I loved the wet shirt, but Darcy has powers and didn’t need to dive into the lake to retrieve the turtle. Couldn’t he have simply conjured the turtle out of the water? If Lizzy had giggled, it probably would have floated out, come on.
In the segment titled The Room of Spells: we are given a brief history regarding Darcy’s mother. For her service to the crown, the forever title of Lady was bestowed to her and all the women in her lineage. So then… that means her daughter would be Lady Georgiana??
Transition problems: In the section titled Jane, they receive the express from Colonel Forster regarding Lydia running off with one of his officers. When did Lydia go to Brighton? There was no mention of it. You are here and then you are there.
In the section titled Marriage: Lizzy cries that she should have told her family about Wickham? She hasn’t been home. How would she tell them anything? When she left Pemberley, her Aunt and Uncle dropped her off at Broom Cottage. ???
Suddenly we hear that the curse on Elizabeth has been lifted. How? When? Snap, it is done. In the section titled Hunting Wickham: Elizabeth announces that she has accepted Darcy’s hand in marriage. The entire book she has disdained him and refused him. Suddenly, she’s decided she loves him. OK, but I didn’t hear her say she would marry him. When did she do that? The last paragraph I read, she had put him off once again due to their troubles.
Last one: when the big carriage arrives in the drive at Longbourn, Lizzy notes that it is 3-times larger than Lady Catherine’s carriage. How does she know this? She has not seen Lady Catherine, nor has Lady Catherine been in the area. Once again we have a character with knowledge and no background to support it. This happened over and over again…making for a WTH [what the heck] feeling.
I haven’t decided if I will read the next book or not. I am afraid it will turn out to be another novella style writing in a long line of continuations…and frankly I don’t think I am up to it.
I've always enjoyed Ms. Silkstone's light, breezy writing style, and her Pride and Prejudice variations are amusing and fun to read. Unfortunately, this book falls a little short of her usual efforts for reasons I will explain.
Lizzy's Love Apprentice is the second in the 3-book series, The Witches of Longbourn. You do need to read the prior book to completely understand this one, especially since this picks up to immediately resolve the cliffhanger at the end of book #1. We learn that Mr. Gardiner is a very powerful witch. Mr. Darcy's mother exerts her strong witch powers beyond the grave and puts Lizzy's life at risk. Fiona Feelgood, meanwhile, desperately seeks Lizzy's help to become more loveable in order to attract the man she loves. Herman the hermit mysteriously disappears. The Prince Regent wants Lizzy as his latest consort and isn't taking no for an answer. Lydia runs off with Wickham. And through all of this chaos, Lizzy falls in love with Darcy.
Considering that this is a fairly short book, it's an understatement to say there are a lot of different storylines packed in here. Most remain unresolved with all conclusions to come in the third and final book. As I wrote in my review of book #1, Ms. Silkstone's books that I've read in the past have all been stand alone, even when they were part of a series, so these two books break that pattern.
An unusually large number of editing errors appear, especially with misplaced quotation marks. Some segments of information turn up more than once within a couple of pages of each other, as if the author forgot and accidentally repeated herself. At one point, the timeline doesn't match up correctly, as Lizzy harbors all kinds of guilt for not warning the rest of her family about Wickham but, by my reckoning, she doesn't learn the truth about him herself until Lydia had already gone off with him. Overall, there's a sense of this having a somewhat slipshod, slung-together quality. Fortunately, this lighthearted tale doesn't suffer the irrevocable damage from these problems that a more serious story would.
I'm sure I will end up reading the last installment in this series because I really do want to know how all this ends. I know Ms. Silkstone can do better, though, and I sincerely hope she does.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars. Again this second in the series ends early, @ 84% on my Kindle, and with another cliffhanger. Another review pointed out that there are several events which happen with no preamble: at the end of this book, all of a sudden, Lizzy is said to have accepted Darcy's proposal...but when did this happen? Also she speaks of comparing the size of a carriage which has arrived at Longbourn to Lady's Catherine's carriage...but we have not yet heard of Lady Catherine in this story so how does Lizzy know the size of her carriage?
As book one ended Lizzy had been thrown over Darcy's shoulder and spirited away. She remembers nothing as she had sniffed some of the "memory-fog sachets" she had been making. As we read on we learn that Darcy has brought her to Pemberley so that she may learn first-hand that she is under a curse from his mother. One that will turn her to dust if...(I won't spoil it for you here.) So we get a lot of background about Lady Anne Darcy...although dead she is still able to communicate with her son...a magic mirror.
Before Lizzy can sort out her feelings upon learning about the curse and before she can decided if she will act to save her own life or to find a way to counter that spell she finds herself with a premonition that she must return to Broom Cottage, where the love witch, Fiona Feelgood, lives...something is happening. The Gardiners help her return there.
She finds Herman the Hermit there also and there is more to his story but, again, I'll let you read about that for yourself. We haven't heard the last of the Prince Regent as further on in this story we read how he has cast his lustful eye in Lizzy's direction.
But before we get to that, the whole debacle with Lydia and Wickham is thrown into the whirlwind of events/multiple story lines here. Has he eloped with L. to have a human act for him during his "cat" phases or does he have another reason in this story?
Meanwhile Fiona has called upon Lizzy to teach her how to be "lovable". Lizzy gains some insights as she tries to mentor her friend, telling her to love herself in order to be loved.
Then we find that the one Fiona wants to love her has now disappeared. His cottage is abandoned and left in a mess, which is not how he would have left it.
With Elizabeth under a spell can she and Darcy have a happy ending. But more importantly Miss Fiona Feelgood is in love. But where has Herman the hermit disappeared to. It still seems rushed but the conclusion is coming.
I enjoyed this new installment to the series, but also felt there were a few continuity holes. I know shorter works have more of a tendency towards gaps, so maybe that is why. But I still overall love this author, therefore am looking forward to the next offering in this amusing series. A combination of P&P, comedy and magic I just cannot resist!
A great continuation for this series, Lizzy is learning new things. She is taken by surprise by a suitor and then everything happens in a whirl. Can't wait for the next!
"Learning to Love without Magic" Barbara begins this book with a 'What!' Lizzie is kidnapped by Mr. Darcy? And of course, Lizzie believes he has nefarious intentions. Why else? In searching for the man, she finds him in the woods of Pemberley with, of all people, Caroline Bingley. Oh, my. Why does Darcy kidnap her? His mother's curse. Then we meet up with Fiona Feelgood again. She wants Lizzy to teach her how to love someone without putting a spell on them. As for the curse....Who is cursed? Has the curse been lifted or not? I'm not telling. Barbara's wit and humor is seasoned with just the right amount of angst for a great story. But it is not over yet.
I was so happy to see that Jannie Meisberger continues to narrate for Barbara. Her accent brings the characters and story to life. A wonderful story to listen to.
I received this audiobook as a gift from the author.
I received this book for free. I am voluntarily posting this review and all opinions expressed herein are my own.
This is the second book in the Witches of Longbourn series. It is not a standalone and ends on the cliffhanger. You really need to start with the first book in the series to truly enjoy the twist on P&P theme.
How charming! Here, the second book picks up not long after the cliffhanger of the first book ended. This story deals mostly with the issues of Lydia and Wickham and Lizzie awakening to her feelings about Darcy. In addition, Darcy's mother is a very powerful witch who has cursed Lizzie. This is a light easy breezy twist on P&P. Really enjoyable.
The narrator, Jannie Meisberger, did a great job and handled the humor/lightness of the series wonderfully. She has a very pleasant voice to listen to, with a slight British accent. She is the same narrator throughout the series.
This is book 2 of the Witches of Longbourn series, it picks right up where book 1 left off and you'll need to read the first one to understand the events of this book. Lizzy has been spirited off, and she wakes up wanting answers. Unfortunately, her captor only has bad news for her, and Lizzy gets even worse news from Longbourn about Lydia.
I like how this book weaves the events of the original book in new ways! Lizzy ends up at Pemberley and has a tour of the house, but it's not how we expect. Lizzy's feelings towards Darcy are gradually changing as she witnesses his goodness. And Lizzy gives some hilarious lessons about men to the little love witch. It was a very sweet story.
The narration was well done, as always, with a performance that brought me right into the story. I requested a copy of the audiobook, and I'm voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a 3.5 stars for me... this is the second book of a trilogy and picks up where the last left off. In this tale we see more of Darcy and Elizabeth together as they try to unravel Lady Anne's spell that was cast upon Elizabeth when she refused his proposal.
The Prince Regent makes a return, as do all those we met in the last book with the exception of Herman... who appears to be missing.
This book is quite fun but not at all one to even try and take seriously. If it didn't have the Pride and Prejudice characters, I doubt I'd have continued reading. These books take a few hours each to read so are good for an easy, lazy read.
2nd in a 3 book series. Another delightful read which I enjoyed like the 1st book. Funny story with quirky characters. Learning more about Mr. Darcy and his family. Again, since I have never read Pride and Prejudice, I have no predetermined ideas and I really enjoyed this funny story. I love how the witches make mistakes. Such a fun read.
Disclaimer: I am totally addicted to Barbara Silkstone's books! Not many authors can snark so well or have the reader groaning quite so loudly over the gawdawful puns! The situations and plot twists are both diabolical and ingenious. Just like her way of producing several short interconnected books that leave you wanting more instead of groaning over the 700 page wonders. In this episode, Lizzy nearly reaps the effects of declining Darcy, sees Caroline become a mud turtle, is tasked with teaching the love witch how to be loveable, worries over two of her sisters, speaks with Darcy's mother in a painting, and is commanded to be mistress of the prince regent! I still don't see how Jannie Meisberger can do such a remarkable narration without ROFL.
I Love Barbara Silkstone's comedic take when writing these books. They are so much fun and a really quick read. Lizzy is sure that Fitzwilliam Darcy is up to no good when he kidnaps her and takes her to his estate. He has got to convince her that he loves her and his notions were honorable. His mother can not stand that she has turned her son down, so she puts a spell on her. With the help of her family and friends, can she get the answers she craves before it's too late. Fiona's character is so much fun and I can't wait to see what kind of trouble that girl gets into in the next book in this series.