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Never A Bride: A Fade-To-Black "Pride & Prejudice" Variation
She is resolved to never be a bride, but she has no objection to mistress…
Dragging along a reluctant Lydia due to her scandalous behavior with a certain redcoat, Lizzy arrives at Hunsford to reunite with Charlotte. To her displeasure, she discovers Mr. Darcy is visiting his aunt at Rosings Park, and their stays overlap. At first, acrimony remains between them, but as the days pass, she starts to soften toward him. Lydia and Georgiana unexpectedly become close friends, and when Lydia is invited to stay with them at Darcy House, Lizzy can scarcely refuse to act as Lydia’s chaperone.
While in London, Fitzwilliam reveals the true depths of his affections and proposes. Lizzy is adamantly against marriage and determined to be never a bride, but a mistress is an entirely different matter. Her counterproposal shocks him, but Lizzy has means of persuading him. She is content as they are, until they are compromised and forced to marry. Convinced he contrived the matter to leg-shackle her, Lizzy is determined to ensure their marriage is a battleground. Can her pride ever yield, or is she too stubborn to see beyond her perceptions to the truth and grasp a chance at happiness?
The events follow the timeline of the original by Jane Austen until Hunsford with only a slight modification. After that, the plot diverges greatly.
While Abbey sometimes writes sensual JAFF, this is mostly SWEET, with a few instances of suggestion and moments that fade to black.
Dragging along a reluctant Lydia due to her scandalous behavior with a certain redcoat, Lizzy arrives at Hunsford to reunite with Charlotte. To her displeasure, she discovers Mr. Darcy is visiting his aunt at Rosings Park, and their stays overlap. At first, acrimony remains between them, but as the days pass, she starts to soften toward him. Lydia and Georgiana unexpectedly become close friends, and when Lydia is invited to stay with them at Darcy House, Lizzy can scarcely refuse to act as Lydia’s chaperone.
While in London, Fitzwilliam reveals the true depths of his affections and proposes. Lizzy is adamantly against marriage and determined to be never a bride, but a mistress is an entirely different matter. Her counterproposal shocks him, but Lizzy has means of persuading him. She is content as they are, until they are compromised and forced to marry. Convinced he contrived the matter to leg-shackle her, Lizzy is determined to ensure their marriage is a battleground. Can her pride ever yield, or is she too stubborn to see beyond her perceptions to the truth and grasp a chance at happiness?
The events follow the timeline of the original by Jane Austen until Hunsford with only a slight modification. After that, the plot diverges greatly.
While Abbey sometimes writes sensual JAFF, this is mostly SWEET, with a few instances of suggestion and moments that fade to black.
91 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2020
23 people are currently reading
5 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 10, 2020
I found myself having a great time reading this book it’s well written. The characters are great and engaging with plenty of chemistry throughout the pages.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 9, 2020
Elizabeth Benett (“Lizzy”) is making the reluctant Lydia come with her due to her scandalous behavior of going into the garden alone and kissing a soldier. She tries explaining it to Lydia to no avail. When Lizzy arrives at Hunsford to reunite with Charlotte, she is unhappy to find Mr. Darcy is visiting his aunt at Rosings Park, and their stays overlap. Lydia and Georgiana unexpectedly become close friends, and when Lydia is invited to stay with them at Darcy House, Lizzy must stay to act as Lydia’s chaperone.
While in London, Fitzwilliam Darcy reveals his affections and proposes. But Lizzy states she is completely against marriage, never intends to be a bride, yet was willing to be a mistress! This is not at all something I would expect from her, as she pointed out the impropriety of Lydia’s behavior with the soldier which could ruin both the family reputation as well as Lydia’s! I would imagine offering herself as a mistress would be equally or more shaming. Her counterproposal rightfully shocks him. However, when the two of them are compromised, they are forced to marry, much to Lizzy’s dismay! Certain that it was a deliberate action to force her to change her mind, Lizzy turns their marriage into a battle to make him unhappy at his trickery. Can she reconsider her stance against marriage and accept his offer of love and happiness? Or will she allow stubborn pride and her need to be “right” ruin her marriage?
While in London, Fitzwilliam Darcy reveals his affections and proposes. But Lizzy states she is completely against marriage, never intends to be a bride, yet was willing to be a mistress! This is not at all something I would expect from her, as she pointed out the impropriety of Lydia’s behavior with the soldier which could ruin both the family reputation as well as Lydia’s! I would imagine offering herself as a mistress would be equally or more shaming. Her counterproposal rightfully shocks him. However, when the two of them are compromised, they are forced to marry, much to Lizzy’s dismay! Certain that it was a deliberate action to force her to change her mind, Lizzy turns their marriage into a battle to make him unhappy at his trickery. Can she reconsider her stance against marriage and accept his offer of love and happiness? Or will she allow stubborn pride and her need to be “right” ruin her marriage?
September 4, 2020
Utterly Unbelievable
Whoa, Nelly! Is this ever a bad variation on our beloved classic Pride and Prejudice! While the mistress trope is sometimes done (to death at times!), it was soooo poorly executed in this book. It's a hard trope to sell in general because of what we know and love about Elizabeth Bennet. It also, of course, doesn't really align with the times. A woman of Elizabeth's station would not likely become a mistress or actually WANT to be one, as happened in this one. To make it work in a variation, you need to create a different sort of Elizabeth to make it believable. The author utterly failed in this. At the beginning of the book, Lizzy is heading to Hunsford with Lydia in tow because Lydia has been caught kissing Wickham, and Lizzy let her know in no uncertain terms that doing so not only jeopardizes her own reputation but could ruin her sisters' as well. With Elizabeth knowing this, it seems unlikely that she would offer herself to Darcy as his mistress. That would certainly ruin her sisters' reputation... more than Lydia kissing Wickham! The book also had some issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage. I had enjoyed some of this author's multi-part mystery series about our beloved couple, but this was utterly unbelievable and completely unenjoyable. Skip. Avoid. Unless you like reading a trainwreck.
Whoa, Nelly! Is this ever a bad variation on our beloved classic Pride and Prejudice! While the mistress trope is sometimes done (to death at times!), it was soooo poorly executed in this book. It's a hard trope to sell in general because of what we know and love about Elizabeth Bennet. It also, of course, doesn't really align with the times. A woman of Elizabeth's station would not likely become a mistress or actually WANT to be one, as happened in this one. To make it work in a variation, you need to create a different sort of Elizabeth to make it believable. The author utterly failed in this. At the beginning of the book, Lizzy is heading to Hunsford with Lydia in tow because Lydia has been caught kissing Wickham, and Lizzy let her know in no uncertain terms that doing so not only jeopardizes her own reputation but could ruin her sisters' as well. With Elizabeth knowing this, it seems unlikely that she would offer herself to Darcy as his mistress. That would certainly ruin her sisters' reputation... more than Lydia kissing Wickham! The book also had some issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage. I had enjoyed some of this author's multi-part mystery series about our beloved couple, but this was utterly unbelievable and completely unenjoyable. Skip. Avoid. Unless you like reading a trainwreck.
August 9, 2020
I was eager to read another story from Ms North esp after the 5 mystery short stories she did. This was unexpected!!!
Story started with EB and LB visiting CC in Hunsford. Typical story when they met the Rosing's Party etc. Early on, FD and EB had animosity with regards to JB and CB, and then the proposal and a counter proposal.
The counter proposal was appalling and I cannot believe the argument given by EB. Though it has some sense regarding relinquishing freedom once married, I cannot believe EB would be brazen to offer such arrangement. (Esp given her reason of taking LB to Hunsford with her - she might as well tell Lydia to continue but be discreet so it will not harm their sisters' prospects) The counter offer and reasoning was just not consistet with EB's character and mindset (in this story) It's like 2 different women. She actually acted like Lydia.
I read an ARC. There were some errors but still able to comprehend the story. The narration was good enough but the argument/reasoning was insupportable. I did like the trap and the condition for GW. They were sound!!! Thus the rating of 2 1/2 stars ( it did have a story, shockingly reformed GW, and a realistic HEA)
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Story started with EB and LB visiting CC in Hunsford. Typical story when they met the Rosing's Party etc. Early on, FD and EB had animosity with regards to JB and CB, and then the proposal and a counter proposal.
The counter proposal was appalling and I cannot believe the argument given by EB. Though it has some sense regarding relinquishing freedom once married, I cannot believe EB would be brazen to offer such arrangement. (Esp given her reason of taking LB to Hunsford with her - she might as well tell Lydia to continue but be discreet so it will not harm their sisters' prospects) The counter offer and reasoning was just not consistet with EB's character and mindset (in this story) It's like 2 different women. She actually acted like Lydia.
I read an ARC. There were some errors but still able to comprehend the story. The narration was good enough but the argument/reasoning was insupportable. I did like the trap and the condition for GW. They were sound!!! Thus the rating of 2 1/2 stars ( it did have a story, shockingly reformed GW, and a realistic HEA)
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 19, 2020
Another lovely variation of my favorite novel! I am always eager to read one of Ms. North's stories. I read her mysteries and loved them, so I was excited to read this one. She does a wonderful job of keeping the general gist of the original and adding her own creative twist. This was a well-written tale and I had a lot of fun reading it. With wonderful characters and witty dialogue, this book was a delightful read. Looking forward to more from Ms. North!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 18, 2020
Interesting and entertaining characters. Witty and charming tale with some comparison to an old classic with variations. Good historical read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
September 17, 2020
Not really sure the plot worked
This to me is a modern plot overlaid on recency time which for me did not really work.
I found hard to believe that either of ODC would act in the manner depicted.
This to me is a modern plot overlaid on recency time which for me did not really work.
I found hard to believe that either of ODC would act in the manner depicted.
August 21, 2020
I enjoyed Darcy & Lizzy's book. Good characters. It was a fun, entertaining read. I received a free copy of the book. And am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews