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A Little Magic : A Pride and Prejudice Variation
The day following the Netherfield ball, Fitzwilliam Darcy is entrusted by Miss Bingley to convince Bingley of the undesirability of a connection with the Bennets while she herself prepares to move the household back to London without the knowledge of her brother. Although Darcy agrees in principle to Miss Bingley’s objections, he is unhappy with the furtive manner in which she is going about the whole thing. To think things through an agitated Darcy goes out for a ride and has an extraordinary experience that leaves him endowed with a special ability - is it a boon or a bane?
268 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 11, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
May 19, 2022
“The things you think about determine the quality of your mind.” –Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
SPOILER ALERT: This review may contain *** SPOILERS ***
“Guard well your thoughts when alone and your words when accompanied.” –Roy T. Bennett
>>Rating: PG17: with a caveat due to adult themes discussed: murder and seductions >>Angst Level: some angst as certain events play out. >>Tissue Alert: I teared up a few times. It was nothing too serious but still it touched me. >>Source: Borrowed [KU] 5-17-22 with no expectations of a review. The views and opinions are my own.
“Never underestimate the power of thought; it is the greatest path to discovery.” –Idowu Koyenikan, Wealth for all: Living a Life of Success at the Edge of Your Ability
Fitzwilliam Darcy was busy ruminating about his inability to understand people and had just wished that he could know what they were thinking. It just so happened that was the moment his Guardian Angel was passing by and granted his wish. Would that be a gift or a curse? We would have to see as Darcy now knew exactly what people were thinking. Oh, dear.
“The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them.” –Ralph G. Nichols
What fun! Darcy and the reader were now privileged to hear the inner thoughts of the people around him. What was Mr. Collins really thinking about? Was it only thoughts of lace and fripperies for Mrs. Bennet? What secret was Mr. Bennet keeping from his family and from Elizabeth, especially? Please, not Caroline, I beg you. Was Jane a fortune hunter after all or did she really care about Bingley? Questions, questions, questions, that would all be answered in time. This was really interesting. Poor Darcy did not know what to do with the knowledge he now possessed. Hang on until the end for a delightful finish.
SPOILER ALERT: This review may contain *** SPOILERS ***
“Guard well your thoughts when alone and your words when accompanied.” –Roy T. Bennett
>>Rating: PG17: with a caveat due to adult themes discussed: murder and seductions >>Angst Level: some angst as certain events play out. >>Tissue Alert: I teared up a few times. It was nothing too serious but still it touched me. >>Source: Borrowed [KU] 5-17-22 with no expectations of a review. The views and opinions are my own.
“Never underestimate the power of thought; it is the greatest path to discovery.” –Idowu Koyenikan, Wealth for all: Living a Life of Success at the Edge of Your Ability
Fitzwilliam Darcy was busy ruminating about his inability to understand people and had just wished that he could know what they were thinking. It just so happened that was the moment his Guardian Angel was passing by and granted his wish. Would that be a gift or a curse? We would have to see as Darcy now knew exactly what people were thinking. Oh, dear.
“The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them.” –Ralph G. Nichols
What fun! Darcy and the reader were now privileged to hear the inner thoughts of the people around him. What was Mr. Collins really thinking about? Was it only thoughts of lace and fripperies for Mrs. Bennet? What secret was Mr. Bennet keeping from his family and from Elizabeth, especially? Please, not Caroline, I beg you. Was Jane a fortune hunter after all or did she really care about Bingley? Questions, questions, questions, that would all be answered in time. This was really interesting. Poor Darcy did not know what to do with the knowledge he now possessed. Hang on until the end for a delightful finish.
June 10, 2022
4.5 rounded up to 5 stars
I don't remember ever reading another story with a premise like this. As the story description informs us Darcy gains a "magical" ability while thinking about Caroline's plan to leave Netherfield without letting her brother know her plans. It seems Darcy's Guardian Angel "just happens" to be nearby when he wishes he could know what people are thinking and thus Darcy is granted his wish.
Yes, there are lots of passages informing us of what people are thinking and Darcy's reaction to those. (Although he only "hears" their thoughts when looking directly at them and there are no filters blocking anybody's thoughts.) Some thoughts lead Darcy to help along some and to thwart the actions of others. And there is another "magical" event which I won't disclose here but which hints at the oh-so-sweet epilogue.
As Darcy intervenes in other's lives he also learns that there are some changes needed in his own life. It was interesting reading of his opining about how he was taught about his relationships to other while he was growing up.
Does Darcy ever regret this bit of magic? Can he live with it?
I enjoyed this story and highly recommend it.
I don't remember ever reading another story with a premise like this. As the story description informs us Darcy gains a "magical" ability while thinking about Caroline's plan to leave Netherfield without letting her brother know her plans. It seems Darcy's Guardian Angel "just happens" to be nearby when he wishes he could know what people are thinking and thus Darcy is granted his wish.
Yes, there are lots of passages informing us of what people are thinking and Darcy's reaction to those. (Although he only "hears" their thoughts when looking directly at them and there are no filters blocking anybody's thoughts.) Some thoughts lead Darcy to help along some and to thwart the actions of others. And there is another "magical" event which I won't disclose here but which hints at the oh-so-sweet epilogue.
As Darcy intervenes in other's lives he also learns that there are some changes needed in his own life. It was interesting reading of his opining about how he was taught about his relationships to other while he was growing up.
Does Darcy ever regret this bit of magic? Can he live with it?
I enjoyed this story and highly recommend it.
July 28, 2022
Mr. Darcy is blessed? with the ability to hear the thoughts of those around him. As a result, he knows how much Elizabeth Bennet dislikes him and why. He is able to adjust his course of action and help out those around him to prevent tragedy and in general be seen as supportive.
Putting his still to good use, he and Elizabeth are able to find their happily ever after. The epilogue is the best! It is NOT typical and super sweet.
Putting his still to good use, he and Elizabeth are able to find their happily ever after. The epilogue is the best! It is NOT typical and super sweet.
June 12, 2022
Delightful
A little magic goes a long way in this delightful P&P variation, as a temporary ability to read the minds of others leads Fitzwilliam Darcy to interfere in their lives with positive results. He even takes part in some matchmaking. I think my favourite part is how he dealt with Miss Bingley’s efforts to snare him.
Great dialogue, even though much is the reading of thoughts, and the almost perfect absence of typos (just one by my count) is a great plus. The author is much improved on this score. This is my favourite book by this author. Well done.
A little magic goes a long way in this delightful P&P variation, as a temporary ability to read the minds of others leads Fitzwilliam Darcy to interfere in their lives with positive results. He even takes part in some matchmaking. I think my favourite part is how he dealt with Miss Bingley’s efforts to snare him.
Great dialogue, even though much is the reading of thoughts, and the almost perfect absence of typos (just one by my count) is a great plus. The author is much improved on this score. This is my favourite book by this author. Well done.
May 30, 2022
Thinking, thinking, thinking. So many sections of italics, you begin to wonder about the wisdom of them and the choices of text to go into them. However, thoughts are a theme in the book, so the author does have to give some of them importance. And the magic is in the thinking!
But more on that later. This review is a technical review, so it won't deal with too much in the way of subjective issues. The topics will be those most reviewers don't touch on, yet most readers notice. Too many of instances of bad editing cause loss of stars.
The plot is exceptionally unique, although if the author had inspiration from another source, I'm not aware of it. The book starts in canon, and I usually detest rehashes of Austen's work. However, this author did a good job of a quick setup in Darcy's POV before veering off into the fascinating original story, and at that point, we were no longer in Austen-land. The story arc is complete with a slightly long and drawn out set of epilogues that should have been edited down to half their length.
The flow is linear and pace is moderate. I found I looked forward to reading this book each evening more than most, but it wasn't to the point that I'd stay up all night for it. In other words, that pace kept me engaged.
This book is low in angst, and the tension gets up to moderate only in small doses since there are no external threats, and the internal threats are not much different than in canon.
The author used footnotes that were unnecessary; most JAFF readers know most of these terms or will understand the words through context. If not, it's better to not use them.
Point of view is third person multiple, deep point of view, with head-hopping.
This author writes deep point of view well, however, she puts too many thoughts in italics. Now I know this was a theme in the book, but hear me out. Typically, there are little to no thoughts in italics in deep point of view since the whole narrative is essentially the protagonist's thoughts. In this novel, about 1/3 of the italics in thoughts of the book could be dropped and put into the deep point of view to make for a better emphasis on only those that are being mind-read. In other words, only the mind-read thoughts would be in italics. The others would be incorporated into the narrative deep POV. This technique would have improved the reading of the novel immensely, since apparently (according to my technical editor) readers have trouble reading italics and authors are supposed to avoid them for that reason as well. Also: when using italics as thoughts, there is no need to label them, e.g., "he thought." The italics take care of that and the label is redundant.
As for the head-hopping, this is a huge no-no as it is a distraction for the reader and it is the hallmark of a new or lazy author. S. Neha needs to read a couple articles on this topic to learn how to use one POV per scene and use scene breaks to demonstrate to the reader when the POV changes. It's not that hard once you get in the groove. Otherwise, the reader stalls by wondering whose POV they're reading, and we never want the reader slowing their forward pace and reading back.
Language is good quality Regency, with good readability and no big words to look up with the exception of "volte-face," which was used several times in the novel. The Kindle dictionary was not friendly to the hyphenated word, so I had to wait until I was at a computer to look it up. It's also from 1819, so shouldn't have been used in the book. Other non-Regency words or word applications included the following: normal, "long shot," snort, reaction, "wax poetic," optimistic, interact/interactions, share, "make over," react/reaction, and outing. This is a normal size of list for a JAFF book of this length. American "I will" was used where the British would have said "I shall," as well as calling a person "nice": Brits would say things are nice but not people. There was an over-use of the word "then." I only caught one contraction.
Hyphens and en-dashes were used where em-dashes were the correct punctuation mark. The author should check MS Word's Insert-Symbol-More Symbols-Special Characters to find the em-dash and use it where appropriate. The author used parenthesis and underline in fiction, where neither is appropriate. Keep these for your term papers and use other punctuation for either in your novel.
Filter words were leaned upon rather than showing. The author should look this up as it would enhance an already blossoming writing ability in showing, not telling.
Expressions that were not Regency or were Americanisms knocked this reader out of the feel of the place and time. Examples that were noted included the following: "you all," "out of the woods," "companionable silence," "easy on the eye," "over the moon," "wanted to do it yesterday," and "pull any punches." Some non-Regency uses of names also grated on me: Aunt Catherine rather than Lady Catherine, and the worst: Darce.
Although scene-setting had some lovely descriptions in terms of the senses, they were too often half-baked, so the reader was confused about the environs. A little more time spent on the full description was warranted to make the picture clear.
The romance was extremely well-developed. This is what makes this book a star compared to so many others that make it as if D&E only like each other or are still half ambivalent then get engaged. A Little Magic had the right amount of personal feelings that lent themselves towards romantic passion before the protagonists admitted their love, and by the time they did tell themselves the L-word, the reader could truly believe it.
I liked the characters in this novel. S. Neha worked closely with what Austen gave us and made a few decisions that helped the novel, all of which were believable. The biggest changes were in Mary, Mr. Collins, and Lydia. The thing about the characterization changes in this novel compared to some others is that they seemed well-justified and not willy-nilly. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet had some minor changes that drew from their wants and needs in P&P. D&E were much the same as in canon, perhaps drawing out certain characteristics from towards the end of the novel more.
I'm not keen on the cover. It's clear that it's professionally done because the balance is good and the fonts are attractive. However, at thumbnail size, as you'd see it on Amazon, the fonts are a bit on the small side, so the cleverness in the layout is hard to read. In addition, one cannot make out the picture on the cover at that scale. At first, I thought it was a slightly abstract painting of a messy forest. I had to open the image in a new tab to see that there's a lake there. Then it made sense, and it's a great match to the story. At paperback scale, I imagine it's lovely. But 95% of books sold will be e-books, and it has to POP on Amazon, which it does not.
Okay, I've listed a bunch of flaws, but what do I really think? Well, I truly enjoyed this book. If the above had been fixed, it would have been a pretty darn fine read. As it was, warts and all, I found A Little Magic a comfortable novel, a good read. The premise was what really made this book exceedingly special, and the twists and turns in the story that the other reviewers will go ga-ga about put it on a different level than other JAFF, never mind the romance that tugged at the heart-strings. Well done, S. Neha.
Disclaimer: I'm a JAFF author, and this review could be considered a conflict of interest. However, I was a reader first, and my reviews are honest and impartial. I write them for the benefit of both the reader and the author.
But more on that later. This review is a technical review, so it won't deal with too much in the way of subjective issues. The topics will be those most reviewers don't touch on, yet most readers notice. Too many of instances of bad editing cause loss of stars.
The plot is exceptionally unique, although if the author had inspiration from another source, I'm not aware of it. The book starts in canon, and I usually detest rehashes of Austen's work. However, this author did a good job of a quick setup in Darcy's POV before veering off into the fascinating original story, and at that point, we were no longer in Austen-land. The story arc is complete with a slightly long and drawn out set of epilogues that should have been edited down to half their length.
The flow is linear and pace is moderate. I found I looked forward to reading this book each evening more than most, but it wasn't to the point that I'd stay up all night for it. In other words, that pace kept me engaged.
This book is low in angst, and the tension gets up to moderate only in small doses since there are no external threats, and the internal threats are not much different than in canon.
The author used footnotes that were unnecessary; most JAFF readers know most of these terms or will understand the words through context. If not, it's better to not use them.
Point of view is third person multiple, deep point of view, with head-hopping.
This author writes deep point of view well, however, she puts too many thoughts in italics. Now I know this was a theme in the book, but hear me out. Typically, there are little to no thoughts in italics in deep point of view since the whole narrative is essentially the protagonist's thoughts. In this novel, about 1/3 of the italics in thoughts of the book could be dropped and put into the deep point of view to make for a better emphasis on only those that are being mind-read. In other words, only the mind-read thoughts would be in italics. The others would be incorporated into the narrative deep POV. This technique would have improved the reading of the novel immensely, since apparently (according to my technical editor) readers have trouble reading italics and authors are supposed to avoid them for that reason as well. Also: when using italics as thoughts, there is no need to label them, e.g., "he thought." The italics take care of that and the label is redundant.
As for the head-hopping, this is a huge no-no as it is a distraction for the reader and it is the hallmark of a new or lazy author. S. Neha needs to read a couple articles on this topic to learn how to use one POV per scene and use scene breaks to demonstrate to the reader when the POV changes. It's not that hard once you get in the groove. Otherwise, the reader stalls by wondering whose POV they're reading, and we never want the reader slowing their forward pace and reading back.
Language is good quality Regency, with good readability and no big words to look up with the exception of "volte-face," which was used several times in the novel. The Kindle dictionary was not friendly to the hyphenated word, so I had to wait until I was at a computer to look it up. It's also from 1819, so shouldn't have been used in the book. Other non-Regency words or word applications included the following: normal, "long shot," snort, reaction, "wax poetic," optimistic, interact/interactions, share, "make over," react/reaction, and outing. This is a normal size of list for a JAFF book of this length. American "I will" was used where the British would have said "I shall," as well as calling a person "nice": Brits would say things are nice but not people. There was an over-use of the word "then." I only caught one contraction.
Hyphens and en-dashes were used where em-dashes were the correct punctuation mark. The author should check MS Word's Insert-Symbol-More Symbols-Special Characters to find the em-dash and use it where appropriate. The author used parenthesis and underline in fiction, where neither is appropriate. Keep these for your term papers and use other punctuation for either in your novel.
Filter words were leaned upon rather than showing. The author should look this up as it would enhance an already blossoming writing ability in showing, not telling.
Expressions that were not Regency or were Americanisms knocked this reader out of the feel of the place and time. Examples that were noted included the following: "you all," "out of the woods," "companionable silence," "easy on the eye," "over the moon," "wanted to do it yesterday," and "pull any punches." Some non-Regency uses of names also grated on me: Aunt Catherine rather than Lady Catherine, and the worst: Darce.
Although scene-setting had some lovely descriptions in terms of the senses, they were too often half-baked, so the reader was confused about the environs. A little more time spent on the full description was warranted to make the picture clear.
The romance was extremely well-developed. This is what makes this book a star compared to so many others that make it as if D&E only like each other or are still half ambivalent then get engaged. A Little Magic had the right amount of personal feelings that lent themselves towards romantic passion before the protagonists admitted their love, and by the time they did tell themselves the L-word, the reader could truly believe it.
I liked the characters in this novel. S. Neha worked closely with what Austen gave us and made a few decisions that helped the novel, all of which were believable. The biggest changes were in Mary, Mr. Collins, and Lydia. The thing about the characterization changes in this novel compared to some others is that they seemed well-justified and not willy-nilly. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet had some minor changes that drew from their wants and needs in P&P. D&E were much the same as in canon, perhaps drawing out certain characteristics from towards the end of the novel more.
I'm not keen on the cover. It's clear that it's professionally done because the balance is good and the fonts are attractive. However, at thumbnail size, as you'd see it on Amazon, the fonts are a bit on the small side, so the cleverness in the layout is hard to read. In addition, one cannot make out the picture on the cover at that scale. At first, I thought it was a slightly abstract painting of a messy forest. I had to open the image in a new tab to see that there's a lake there. Then it made sense, and it's a great match to the story. At paperback scale, I imagine it's lovely. But 95% of books sold will be e-books, and it has to POP on Amazon, which it does not.
Okay, I've listed a bunch of flaws, but what do I really think? Well, I truly enjoyed this book. If the above had been fixed, it would have been a pretty darn fine read. As it was, warts and all, I found A Little Magic a comfortable novel, a good read. The premise was what really made this book exceedingly special, and the twists and turns in the story that the other reviewers will go ga-ga about put it on a different level than other JAFF, never mind the romance that tugged at the heart-strings. Well done, S. Neha.
Disclaimer: I'm a JAFF author, and this review could be considered a conflict of interest. However, I was a reader first, and my reviews are honest and impartial. I write them for the benefit of both the reader and the author.
May 12, 2022
Unique
A rather fun, lively and interesting variation inspired by author Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice by S. Neha.
A rather fun, lively and interesting variation inspired by author Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice by S. Neha.
July 1, 2022
Nice variation on a movie theme
Darcy is Mel Gobson in this regency variation of What Women Want. Pleasing to see the Bennet parents go from indolence and silliness to harmony.
Darcy is Mel Gobson in this regency variation of What Women Want. Pleasing to see the Bennet parents go from indolence and silliness to harmony.
November 3, 2023
3.5 stars rounded up. While this Pride and Prejudice variation has a similar premise (Mr. Darcy being telepathic) to Elizabeth Adams' Think of Me, it is an entirely different and unique story. I like both stories.
In this one, Mr. Darcy suddenly develops the ability to hear others' thoughts when he is looking at them. We learn why this happens at the end. It begins with him coming upon Miss Elizabeth Bennet, who is in despair over her parents expecting her to marry Mr. Collins. At first he thinks she's speaking aloud, but then he realizes her lips aren't moving, that he's hearing her inner thoughts. It provides him a unique opportunity to help not only Elizabeth but others.
I can't provide much more without spoilers, so let me just say I love some of the outcomes, and almost wished, while reading, that he could tell people why he was doing some of the things he did. But it was satisfying to be in the know, as a reader. This is a touching and low-angst story, and a satisfying read that held my interest throughout.
I deducted a star because of some odd wording, phrasing, and punctuation problems, and a little too much time spent inside characters' heads, but I found this much improved over the last book I read by the same author. Recommended.
In this one, Mr. Darcy suddenly develops the ability to hear others' thoughts when he is looking at them. We learn why this happens at the end. It begins with him coming upon Miss Elizabeth Bennet, who is in despair over her parents expecting her to marry Mr. Collins. At first he thinks she's speaking aloud, but then he realizes her lips aren't moving, that he's hearing her inner thoughts. It provides him a unique opportunity to help not only Elizabeth but others.
I can't provide much more without spoilers, so let me just say I love some of the outcomes, and almost wished, while reading, that he could tell people why he was doing some of the things he did. But it was satisfying to be in the know, as a reader. This is a touching and low-angst story, and a satisfying read that held my interest throughout.
I deducted a star because of some odd wording, phrasing, and punctuation problems, and a little too much time spent inside characters' heads, but I found this much improved over the last book I read by the same author. Recommended.
May 25, 2023
ADORABLE
You will SO fall in love with Darcy in this book. What will he find out when he is able to hear everyone's thoughts???
You will SO fall in love with Darcy in this book. What will he find out when he is able to hear everyone's thoughts???
September 12, 2023
This was a lovely and sweet P&P variation. So many happy couple is a lovely thing. It had one or two angsty moments but not too bad, as they quickly passed.
May 24, 2022
Enjoyable and well done
I have a strong preference for Magic or magical based P&P stories. It’s probably my favorite of the sub genres. (please be aware there might be some things spoilerish below. I do apologize in advance.)
I thought this was very well done. Without giving away what the magic is… I liked how Darcy still gets his lessons! And that he’s still gentlemanly, even in the face of some strange situation. And I love that Elizabeth was open minded enough to see his improved behaviors. I really thought the part between Mr. Collins and Mary was so sweet. And Lydia’s “education scene” was really very well done. Probably one of the best that I’ve ever seen, to be honest. I also in particular really liked Caroline’s set down. The story was really well composed, and flowed well, it was laugh out loud funny in several parts, and very enjoyable to read.
I have a strong preference for Magic or magical based P&P stories. It’s probably my favorite of the sub genres. (please be aware there might be some things spoilerish below. I do apologize in advance.)
I thought this was very well done. Without giving away what the magic is… I liked how Darcy still gets his lessons! And that he’s still gentlemanly, even in the face of some strange situation. And I love that Elizabeth was open minded enough to see his improved behaviors. I really thought the part between Mr. Collins and Mary was so sweet. And Lydia’s “education scene” was really very well done. Probably one of the best that I’ve ever seen, to be honest. I also in particular really liked Caroline’s set down. The story was really well composed, and flowed well, it was laugh out loud funny in several parts, and very enjoyable to read.
August 1, 2022
A simply charming P&P variation. The "x character can read minds" device has been used before, but never so elegantly. Darcy's evolution as a character is really well served by this framework -- such an efficient way to dramatize his growing understanding of some short-comings in his character.
I don't think that the Bennet family characters -- particularly Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Lydia and Mary -- have ever been modified in such deeply satisfying ways. Darcy's interactions with staff are very nicely done. And this is the best treatment of Mr. Collins ever.
I'm so impressed, and looking forward to reading everything the author writes.
I don't think that the Bennet family characters -- particularly Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Lydia and Mary -- have ever been modified in such deeply satisfying ways. Darcy's interactions with staff are very nicely done. And this is the best treatment of Mr. Collins ever.
I'm so impressed, and looking forward to reading everything the author writes.
October 28, 2023
AWESOME BOOK
A way different view on pride & prejudice’s retelling. I so enjoyed this book couldn’t put it down. Read it while watching my granddaughters do not recommend doing that. Kept icnoring them. Bad granny. That’s how I grossed I was. I finally put it down till there mom got off work and finished it afterwards. To their delight. I highly recommend this book and author.
A way different view on pride & prejudice’s retelling. I so enjoyed this book couldn’t put it down. Read it while watching my granddaughters do not recommend doing that. Kept icnoring them. Bad granny. That’s how I grossed I was. I finally put it down till there mom got off work and finished it afterwards. To their delight. I highly recommend this book and author.
November 11, 2023
Ahhh magic...love...
Ahhh... Magic.... Love....
To nicely be able to read thoughts to set things right. Warm and fuzzy heart felt feelings.
Love the fairy tale feeling and the out comes for everyone!
Recommended.
Ahhh... Magic.... Love....
To nicely be able to read thoughts to set things right. Warm and fuzzy heart felt feelings.
Love the fairy tale feeling and the out comes for everyone!
Recommended.
September 18, 2024
Magical!
A completely original plot creates lovely interactions between the multiple characters in a wonderful story! A decidedly must read for a great pick me up.
A completely original plot creates lovely interactions between the multiple characters in a wonderful story! A decidedly must read for a great pick me up.
June 13, 2022
FUN
This tale was fun to read. I enjoy a litter Darcy and coming to the rescue of everyone. Even liked Collins.. really tired of Caroline and her plots. First time to read this author, good job
And looking forward to more!
This tale was fun to read. I enjoy a litter Darcy and coming to the rescue of everyone. Even liked Collins.. really tired of Caroline and her plots. First time to read this author, good job
And looking forward to more!
February 19, 2024
I am enjoying making my way through this authors backlist, the work is always fresh and exciting and ODC are very believable. Loved this one.
May 28, 2022
I liked the premise a lot. That part of it was handled well. Well edited for the most part.
Everyone kept to their canon personalities except Darcy who had the supernatural experience.
What I didn’t like and the reason I took off two stars:
Very modern and American sounding.
The wedding had a reception rather than the correct wedding breakfast.
Darcy actually says Awkward! as a full sentence
Surreal is used multiple times. This was not a word until the 20th century.
I could go on but I won’t.
Everyone kept to their canon personalities except Darcy who had the supernatural experience.
What I didn’t like and the reason I took off two stars:
Very modern and American sounding.
The wedding had a reception rather than the correct wedding breakfast.
Darcy actually says Awkward! as a full sentence
Surreal is used multiple times. This was not a word until the 20th century.
I could go on but I won’t.
June 13, 2022
Perhaps if I were less ill-tempered, I would have taken this as a light-hearted romp. But I am not, so I felt it silly and clumsily written.
June 12, 2022
A unique story with a fun premise. The head hopping and extra inner thoughts in italics outside of Darcy's POV pulled me out of the story at times, but still an enjoyable read.
June 15, 2022
Fun, silly, romantic
You will need to go into this story prepared for something fantastical, and be willing to just go with it. It's worth it. The story begins the day after the Netherfield ball. Darcy is struggling with his attraction to Elizabeth, and with Caroline Bingley's sneaky efforts to separate Bingley and Jane Bennett. While out for a ride before breakfast, he sees Elizabeth sitting by a stream, and wishes he knew what she's thinking. Darcy's "guardian angel" decides to play a prank, and grant his wish. After a brief period of unconsciousness, Darcy comes to the unwelcome realization that he can hear the thoughts of others if he's looking at them. As a result, Darcy learns, to his chagrin, that Elizabeth doesn't like him, and that almost no one in the area has a good opinion about him. He discovers some hard truths about himself, but he also discovers that he's now in a unique position to help some people avoid troubling situations.
I love Darcy in this version. In spite of this being quite a silly premise, the author handles it with care, and she endows Darcy with suitable amounts of shock and confusion, but also with acceptance and intelligent determination. This is a swoon worthy Darcy, and he's a quick learner. He decides to just dive in and take full advantage of his ability to hear the thoughts that are almost always different than what is being said. Darcy becomes, more or less, a "guardian angel" to others whose troubles he can hear and help to alleviate. His "magical" ability touches many lives in a positive way that changes his own life for the better.
This is a sweet, funny, romantic, and heartwarming tale. The dialogue is delightful, with lots of clever banter. The book is well written and well edited. I recommend it highly.
You will need to go into this story prepared for something fantastical, and be willing to just go with it. It's worth it. The story begins the day after the Netherfield ball. Darcy is struggling with his attraction to Elizabeth, and with Caroline Bingley's sneaky efforts to separate Bingley and Jane Bennett. While out for a ride before breakfast, he sees Elizabeth sitting by a stream, and wishes he knew what she's thinking. Darcy's "guardian angel" decides to play a prank, and grant his wish. After a brief period of unconsciousness, Darcy comes to the unwelcome realization that he can hear the thoughts of others if he's looking at them. As a result, Darcy learns, to his chagrin, that Elizabeth doesn't like him, and that almost no one in the area has a good opinion about him. He discovers some hard truths about himself, but he also discovers that he's now in a unique position to help some people avoid troubling situations.
I love Darcy in this version. In spite of this being quite a silly premise, the author handles it with care, and she endows Darcy with suitable amounts of shock and confusion, but also with acceptance and intelligent determination. This is a swoon worthy Darcy, and he's a quick learner. He decides to just dive in and take full advantage of his ability to hear the thoughts that are almost always different than what is being said. Darcy becomes, more or less, a "guardian angel" to others whose troubles he can hear and help to alleviate. His "magical" ability touches many lives in a positive way that changes his own life for the better.
This is a sweet, funny, romantic, and heartwarming tale. The dialogue is delightful, with lots of clever banter. The book is well written and well edited. I recommend it highly.
July 13, 2022
Wonderfully written humorous variation
I haven’t had so much fun reading a variation for quite some time until reading this offering. It oozes with humor which in itself makes this a worthwhile read, not to mention how well it is written.
The premise of this funny tale is how swifter Fitzwilliam Darcy came about his happily-ever-after with Elizabeth Bennet when suddenly given the ability/power to read the minds and thoughts of those around him. Fantastical it may seem, which the author attributes to divine intervention and the interference of many of the secondary characters, the story thoroughly sews the intricacies of the feelings and thoughts of our beloved couple up to the point when they profess their undying love for each other.
I especially love how brutally honest and straightforward most of the characters are considering that they did not expect anyone to read their innermost thoughts. Nevertheless, the primary beneficiary from all the hilarity is Fitzwilliam Darcy who realize early on how he needed to alter his recalcitrant and haughty if he wishes to win the heart, respect and eventually, the hand of the only woman who has captured his utmost attention and admiration. The journey is fraught with many challenges and obstacles. But leave it up to Fitzwilliam Darcy to make a contingency, an advantage and means to win the heart of the lovely second Bennet daughter from Hertfordshire.
Highly recommended for those who wish for a low angst story with emphasis on characterization and even coming-of-age for many of the characters. A 5 stars for me!
I haven’t had so much fun reading a variation for quite some time until reading this offering. It oozes with humor which in itself makes this a worthwhile read, not to mention how well it is written.
The premise of this funny tale is how swifter Fitzwilliam Darcy came about his happily-ever-after with Elizabeth Bennet when suddenly given the ability/power to read the minds and thoughts of those around him. Fantastical it may seem, which the author attributes to divine intervention and the interference of many of the secondary characters, the story thoroughly sews the intricacies of the feelings and thoughts of our beloved couple up to the point when they profess their undying love for each other.
I especially love how brutally honest and straightforward most of the characters are considering that they did not expect anyone to read their innermost thoughts. Nevertheless, the primary beneficiary from all the hilarity is Fitzwilliam Darcy who realize early on how he needed to alter his recalcitrant and haughty if he wishes to win the heart, respect and eventually, the hand of the only woman who has captured his utmost attention and admiration. The journey is fraught with many challenges and obstacles. But leave it up to Fitzwilliam Darcy to make a contingency, an advantage and means to win the heart of the lovely second Bennet daughter from Hertfordshire.
Highly recommended for those who wish for a low angst story with emphasis on characterization and even coming-of-age for many of the characters. A 5 stars for me!
October 15, 2022
A fun story without being too ridiculous
Darcy suddenly can hear people's thoughts if he's looking directly at them. It came on suddenly and the first person he encountered was Miss Elizabeth where he found out that she didn't like him...but Jane liked Charles very much. He uses his new skill for good - avoiding Caroline and her planned compromises, getting a foot man together with the maid he loves, changing his behaviour, and most importantly leading Mr Collins to Miss Mary Bennet who would be a much better Parsons wife.
Some of these thoughts are funny and he uses his new knowledge to inform Miss Bingley that any woman trying to compromise him will find herself living in Scotland with only one servant. He explains how poor soldiers are to Lydia and tells her how terrible her life will be - no servants, no home, no new dress except once a year.. Effectively turning her away from her obsession with red coated men!
Its fun and a different story from the classic without being too unrecognizable.
Darcy suddenly can hear people's thoughts if he's looking directly at them. It came on suddenly and the first person he encountered was Miss Elizabeth where he found out that she didn't like him...but Jane liked Charles very much. He uses his new skill for good - avoiding Caroline and her planned compromises, getting a foot man together with the maid he loves, changing his behaviour, and most importantly leading Mr Collins to Miss Mary Bennet who would be a much better Parsons wife.
Some of these thoughts are funny and he uses his new knowledge to inform Miss Bingley that any woman trying to compromise him will find herself living in Scotland with only one servant. He explains how poor soldiers are to Lydia and tells her how terrible her life will be - no servants, no home, no new dress except once a year.. Effectively turning her away from her obsession with red coated men!
Its fun and a different story from the classic without being too unrecognizable.
May 12, 2022
fun
If you are looking for a light, fun read, A Little Magic is for you.
What would happen if Darcy could suddenly hear everyone’s thoughts? That is the premise here, and I particularly enjoyed it. The story takes a different path than we are used to but did so in a logical way based on Darcy’s response to his new circumstances. None of the characters deviated significantly from cannon, which for me added to the fun of seeing in their heads. I will look at pink peonies much more fondly going forward.
Thank you, S. Neha, for another treat.
If you are looking for a light, fun read, A Little Magic is for you.
What would happen if Darcy could suddenly hear everyone’s thoughts? That is the premise here, and I particularly enjoyed it. The story takes a different path than we are used to but did so in a logical way based on Darcy’s response to his new circumstances. None of the characters deviated significantly from cannon, which for me added to the fun of seeing in their heads. I will look at pink peonies much more fondly going forward.
Thank you, S. Neha, for another treat.
June 8, 2022
A Pleasant Surprise
I was a bit hesitant about reading a book involving magic, but Darcy's magical gift wasn't overwhelming, but nicely done.
Darcy and Elizabeth were adorable. Actually, I liked all the characters. Darcy's indirect set down of Miss Bingley will go down as one of my all time favorites. Also, Darcy's talk with Lydia was another winner.
I'm glad I gave this book a try.
I was a bit hesitant about reading a book involving magic, but Darcy's magical gift wasn't overwhelming, but nicely done.
Darcy and Elizabeth were adorable. Actually, I liked all the characters. Darcy's indirect set down of Miss Bingley will go down as one of my all time favorites. Also, Darcy's talk with Lydia was another winner.
I'm glad I gave this book a try.
May 17, 2022
Darcy hears others thoughts
What an ingenious idea, giving Darcy the ability to hear the thoughts of those he sees. He begins to understand how he wronged others and genuinely begins to understand others and helps things along.
This was a really fun story and I loved the addition at the end.
What an ingenious idea, giving Darcy the ability to hear the thoughts of those he sees. He begins to understand how he wronged others and genuinely begins to understand others and helps things along.
This was a really fun story and I loved the addition at the end.
May 22, 2022
Sweet and light fantasy
An alternative universe where Darcy experiences a little magic following the Netherfield Ball which changes everything. Lots of humor and romance as the usual cast of characters learn many lessons and see with new understanding. The story is told through many internal dialogues that are often humorous and enlightening. Nicely done!
An alternative universe where Darcy experiences a little magic following the Netherfield Ball which changes everything. Lots of humor and romance as the usual cast of characters learn many lessons and see with new understanding. The story is told through many internal dialogues that are often humorous and enlightening. Nicely done!
June 4, 2022
Mind Blowing
It was not truly Darcy but became Darcy by the middle of the story. I like the change in the story. It was good humor and not filled with heartaches.
I have to admit the beginning was slow but once it was finished with the explanations, it kept improving. Loved the epilogue too!
It was not truly Darcy but became Darcy by the middle of the story. I like the change in the story. It was good humor and not filled with heartaches.
I have to admit the beginning was slow but once it was finished with the explanations, it kept improving. Loved the epilogue too!
November 26, 2022
Very funny
I do not normally like fantasy tales but this one worked so well and the way it was written made it believable, or at least makes you forget it is unbelievable. There are many funny parts as well.
I enjoyed this Mr. Collins. Caroline's storyline was great so if you love to hate her there is just enough here. Lydia has a an interesting experience as well.
I do not normally like fantasy tales but this one worked so well and the way it was written made it believable, or at least makes you forget it is unbelievable. There are many funny parts as well.
I enjoyed this Mr. Collins. Caroline's storyline was great so if you love to hate her there is just enough here. Lydia has a an interesting experience as well.
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