Blame It On The Tea

by Sara O'Brien

When Elizabeth Bennet stays at the Hunsford Parsonage instead of going to Rosings with Mr. & Mrs. Collins, due to a headache she decides to take a draught with her tea- which change the outcome of her confrontation with Mr. Darcy. The results will take the couple on an unexpected and thrilling journey of many discoveries, and several twists to a very eventful end.

340 pages, Paperback

First published May 19, 2010

Reviews

[wosedwew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is no longer on Amazon in the Kindle version but is available at Meryton Reading Room
Sadieo

http://www.meryton.com/mrr/sadieo/sad...

[Elin Eriksen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the stories where the author gets right to it (pun intended).
Had me snickering at the first sentences, the most hilarious introduction I have ever come across.
There was a catch though, Elizabeth cannot remember anything about it...

Entering at the DHP (disastrous Hunsford proposal) and the story ventures off canon immediately.
A swift engagement ensue and although it was not a FMS (forced marriage scenario) it was not a consented one either.
After the funny entrance, the story turned angst-filled with kidnappings and plenty of villains. Attempts at rape and violence was described but amidst it all, love was blossoming. There was also some funny banter to be had.
Ends in an informative epilogue.

I absolutely loved this excruciatingly angsty and utterly captivating story.
Suitable for a mature audience only.

Heartily recommend

[abmom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is no sweet little story. It has lots of angst, kidnapping, conspiracy, scheming, villainy which made it interesting to read. (you can sense a 'But' here) The story lost steam after all the villains are disposed of and when on the well treaded way to HEA with some unnecessary explicit scenes, too much cliched childbirth drama, overly annoying Mrs. Bennet etc. which actually dimmed the enjoyment of the story IMO.

[Gill M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story, I stayed up all night to finish it.
Be warned! Not for the faint hearted.
Starts with, what is essentially a date rape, courtesy of a headache remedy containing the herbal equivalent of GHB.
There is also a great deal of threatened sexual violence.

There is of course the desired HEA. Also a quite satisfactory punishment for Caroline Bingley.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wish there were more stars. I liked this more than 3 stars would indicate…just not enough for 4 stars which would indicate I like it enough to re-read.

Things I liked:

- I liked that the sort of sketchy non consent was written in a way that didn’t make me hate Darcy and also didn’t damage my respect for either of ODC.

- the “bad guys” got what they deserved

Things that could have been better:

- there was too much external angst - kidnappings, rumors, betrayal of family and not much in the way of character development

- I didn’t care for the explicit scenes between ODC but that’s just personal preference I suppose

That said, I read a lot of JAFF. This read like it was posted at one of the JAFF sites in installments rather than a planned out book. In the world of JAFF, there is room for both, but since I was reading an actual paperback, I had higher expectations.

I wouldn’t read this one again, but I would read another by this author.

[M · Rating 1 out of 5]

A few chapters in there is a flashback explaining the circumstances with the tea; it turns out that Lizzy faints, Darcy brings her upstairs and somehow decides that half unconscious Lizzy is “encouraging”, then he uses this as justification for being engaged, so that’s pretty horrible. However Lizzy falls in love with him anyway while he lies to her. Then the whole thing descends into a farce. I gave up when Lizzy and Anne are kidnapped by a known rapist, who Darcy thinks has raped Anne and knows has threatened to rape Lizzy, and both he and Col F say “oh Lizzy wouldn’t let him do that” WTF?! and go home for a bath and a sleep rather than trying to find her. Couldn’t read on.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read on Meryton Reading Room.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this very different variation.

[Ange · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there were aspects of this book I enjoyed, I ended up skimming the majority of the kidnapping sections because they were just too silly. I however loved how Lady Matlock squelched Caroline.

[Barb · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the poorest Pride and Prejudice variations I have read. I actually had to force myself to finish the book and found myself falling asleep reading time after time. Some of the reasons I could not recommend this book:
1. The characters are very poorly sketched. If you have not read any other books with Darcy and Elizabeth, you would have a hard time identifying with these characters.
2. This book contains little of Austen's humor or wit.
3. I found this book so unbelievably boring. You would think a book with so much happening would keep your interest, but everything just drags and drags.
4. I have never read a book with so much repetition. The author does not appear to understand that once you have told a story, you can then use a device similar to "and then Darcy explained the circumstances". This author feels the need to have the full story repeated in the text each time a new character is involved. VERY BORING. In some cases, the same information is repeated in the same conversation. VERY ANNOYING.
5. The motivations of the characters are just not believable.
6. The bad guys are punished for bad behavior and the good guys are rewarded for bad behavior. Darcy's actions are totally unbelievable. And, people's reactions to his behavior are beyond belief.

I have read every Pride and Prejudice variation/sequel I could find. That is my only excuse for reading this book. I could not find any others to read. It was not a very good excuse.

[Andranae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was definitely one of the most random versions I've ever read and I LOVED IT!!!!! lol!