Austenesque Lovers TBR Pile Reading Challenge 2015 discussion

Caroline says “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! -- When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.”

Please post updates in separate comments. Books and book cover links may be utilized by clicking the 'add book/author' link above the comment box.

I've started with the first book in my Austenesque TBR list: Becoming Elizabeth Darcy

Nice, Farida!

I plan for the same strategy of starting my first one just before the New Year so it will count as my first one finished in 2015.

Sophia wrote: "Nice, Farida!

I plan for the same strategy of starting my first one just before the New Year so it will count as my first one finished in 2015."

I decided not to wait another month))

Yay! I've finished reading Becoming Elizabeth Darcy. Quite enjoyed it, actually)) The next in my TBR pile is Darcy's Days.

Getting off to a good start, Farida!

Thank you! Hope I can keep it up))

I just started reading Darcy and Elizabeth a Season of Courtship by Sharon Lathan

That one sounded good to me too, Lou! I've read the books she wrote from the marriage on, but the prequel would be nice too.

I'm going to start on Syrie James’s Jane Austen's First Love, and then it’s on to Maria Grace’s A Jane Austen Christmas: Regency Christmas Traditions (not really Austenesque and okay, I’m a little behind) and the first volume of Stanley Hurd’s Darcy’s Tale series. Where I go from there is still up in the air!

Nice plan, Abigail!

Maria's book totally counts because of its relationship to Jane Austen's world. Enjoy them all!

Hmm I guess today is not my day. I cannot get all my Kindle books to load to my Goodreads. I have a houseful of sickies. I tried to be quiet so I did not do any housework, This was not a plus. I thought Oh Goody ad I began to read. Well dag nab it, I finished my book. The plan had been to finish it after the first of the year. So... I guess I now have time tow write a review and choose another book to begin for the first of the year.

Darcy and Elizabeth: A Season of Courtship
I began and finished this book very quickly. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I cannot wait to read more of her books.

Ah, poor Lou!

But at least you got some time to read a good book.

My latest read was The Trouble with Mr Darcy byThe Trouble with Mr. Darcy. I enjoyed the book. I could see many parts of relationships between the charcters that would be doing the smae things today given that set of circumstances. I will read all of Sharon's books.

Now on to mmy next read.

My second book will be Loving Mr Darcy by Sharon Lathan.

I am currently reading The Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig. It is perhaps not a strictly Austenesque book, but I consider it within the realm because Jane Austen is a character in the story. It is simply delightful. There is also a Christmas pudding, a hero who goes by the name Turnip, and a mystery along with romance. It is part of the "Pink Carnation" spy series, but works perfectly as a standalone.

I have been working on my shelves. I am not quite sure how to post links. I have not decided what my next read here will be. I have over 100 books on my to-read list...ah, ha, ha, ha.

Just finished Syrie James’s Jane Austen's First Love (thanks to a head cold keeping me up most of the night). Review to come shortly—but I’d recommend it to anyone who hasn’t read it yet! I think I’m going to step out of JAFF for a bit to participate in the group read of Arabella in the Georgette Heyer group; back soon!

Hi Paige!

Good to know tat Mischief of the Mistletoe can standalone since I just got that one and haven't started that series. Jane as a character totally works toward this.

As to posting, if you open a new comment or reply box then at the top of the box toward the right side you will see 'add book/author'. By clicking on this, it will open up and allow you to search for a book or author on GoodReads. You can choose just the link to the book or allow it to show the cover too by checking that at the bottom before adding the book to your comment. You can keep adding as many book links as you want in the comment. Then by posting the comment, it will show your links. Hope that helps.

Glad Syrie's latest was a good one, Abigail. Arabella is fantastic too. Enjoy!

I just finished Loving Mr Darcy. ottingham, Chesterfield and Bolsover Castle. They are three of the places I have visited on trip to England. Sharon brought back all of those wonderfull memories to me very vividly. i enjoyed this one.

I love that about books. We get to visit fabulous places or revisit them too. Glad it was good, Lou!

Can’t find where I posted what I’ve read for the challenge (to which list I intended to add as I finished new books); sorry to repeat.

1. Syrie James, Jane Austen’s First Love
2. Maria Grace, A Jane Austen Christmas
3. Stanley Michael Hurd, Darcy’s Tale, volume I: Into Hertfordshire, 2nd ed. (Or is that only one-third of a read?)
4. Stanley Michael Hurd, Darcy’s Tale, volume II: Into Kent
5. Stanley Michael Hurd, Darcy’s Tale, volume III: The Way Home (but note query above)

Will move on to the third volume shortly.

LOL, Abigail!
I'm glad I'm not the only one who 'puts something away' and then can't find it.

I'm reading Syrie's book soon. I want to read Maria and Stanley's books too.

I finished the second book but had to change from Darcy's Days to Fitzwilliam Ebenezer Darcy because I felt nothing for my first choice. Still, I'll try to tackle it too. I just don't like abandoning books that I've started reading.

I don't like giving up on books either even when I'm miserable or bored with them. Hopefully your next one will be better, Farida.

I finished The Mischief of the Mistletoe. I highly recommend it. It is so much fun and so well written. It does have a bit of a Christmas theme, obviously, but it could be enjoyed at any time of year. Also, even though it is part of the "Pink Carnation" series, it is truly a standalone book.

This is one of my favorite books. It has French spies, Jane Austen, a Christmas pudding, and a hero named Turnip. After reading the notes at the end of the book, I learned that there were some elements of The Watsons incorporated, as well as some other interesting tidbits about some of the story elements that related to Jane Austen and letters. Truly, this is a delightful book.

Fabulous news about Mistletoe, Paige!

I got that one for Christmas and now I know I won't need to catch up on the series before I can enjoy it.

Finished volume I of Stanley Michael Hurd’s Darcy’s Tale; review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Well January is over and I made it to the end of Caroline Bingley level! This is what I read:

1) Holidays With Jane: Christmas Cheer

2) To Refine Like Silver

3) The Beresfords

4) The Muse: A Pride and Prejudice Variation

5) Northanger Abbey (Austen rather than Austenesque but I'm counting it!)

The first three have reviews on Goodreads, the last two I've written the reviews but not posted them yet. My shelf for this group is here if you wanted to see my reviews so far: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Very Nice!

Hello mine name is Manda and I'm a huge Jane Austen fan. I luv a good book especially Pride and Prejudice which also happens to be one of my favorite movies. Wish I had a Mr. Darcy lol. I am currently reading a new novel called Jane Austen's First love by Syrie James. I am going to read all of Jane Austen's novels this year.

Good choice for a first one this year, Amanda. I loved that one. Enjoy the challenge!

Oh boys, yeah, Mr. Darcy is a fav!

Thanks for sharing your review, Loren. I loved P,P and Secrets too. I don't think I knew about Persuaded so I'll have to check it out.

So much for stepping away from reading Austenesques for a while…it’s so much easier to read than to write!

Starting vol. II of Stanley Hurd’s Darcy’s Tale series, Into Kent. Haven’t read very far yet, but it’s even better than vol. I! He seems more confident in the language and the world.

Haha, Abigail!

Guess you needed a mental health break before tackling your writing. I've heard his books are really good.

I will soon post my book report, as we called them in elementary school, for The Mysteries of Udolpho and will beg for "honourable mention" in the Catherine Morland level for my steadfast endurance in reading this gothic horror novel. (I'm kind of surprised Mrs. Morland allowed Catherine to read it.)

It will definitely count, Sarah. I read enough of it to think the same thing about young girls reading that stuff. I'm glad that I have a better range of gothic authors to choose from than Jane did in her day. Wonder what they would have made of Rebecca? ;)

I have been meaning to read Udolpho for years, probably about 15 years at least, so I look forward to reading your review Sarah, particularly now you've given us a teaser!

Ceri wrote: "I have been meaning to read Udolpho for years, probably about 15 years at least, so I look forward to reading your review Sarah, particularly now you've given us a teaser!"

My review will try to persuade you that I read it so that you don't have to, Ceri. Save yourself!

Sophia wrote: "It will definitely count, Sarah. I read enough of it to think the same thing about young girls reading that stuff. I'm glad that I have a better range of gothic authors to choose from than Jane d..."

Rebecca they would have loved! And I don't think it would have led Catherine Morland astray as Udolpho did.

Finished volume II of Stanley Michael Hurd’s Darcy’s Tale series, Into Kent; review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Ha! Done! Read it and weep (what Emily does throughout the book).

Hilarious review, Sarah! (I especially loved the asthma attack.) Thank you for reading it so I don’t have to!

Do I read a huge sigh of relief from you, Abigail?

No kidding, Sarah! Life’s too short (at least, what’s left of mine is—you look a lot younger than me!).

Totally counts, Loren!

I loved this one as he put out scenes as an ongoing serial. Sooo funny!

Made it to 5 books! (unless you count all three volumes of Stanley Michael Hurd’s Darcy’s Tale as a single book, in which case I’m only at 3).

My review of the final volume of Darcy’s Tale, The Way Home, here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Marianne Dashwood, here I come!

Nope! You are good to go. Congrats on moving up! ;)

Hi! I finished my second book for the challenge. I am now getting around to posting and need to add my review. My down and dirty summary is that I enjoyed it and I recommend it!

I was a lucky winner at Austenesque Reviews and that is how I received this e-book. I very much think this format is perfect for this particular book. This is a modern take on Pride and Prejudice, and the Elizabeth character starts a blog, which is accessible through links at the end of each chapter. The blog is an important and enjoyable component to the story, i believe. Other characters make appearances and posts on the blog.

The two most important things that made this book so enjoyable for me were the delightful characters, especially the amazingly swoon-worthy yet believable Darcy, and the fresh but natural updated storyline. Things were changed enough so as to be recognizable, yet also enough so that it was not the exact same P &P storyline just with modern clothes. There are some adult scene references that might make some readers uncomfortable,yet might make other readers disappointed based upon the level of explicitness desired. In either case, there is definitely adult content in this book.