I've owned this book for...years (wow, far longer than I thought by at least a couple of years!) but I'd never read it before now. It both was and wasn't what I was expecting.
The book is broken into three sections: Darcy, The Colonel, and the Family. The first two sections focus on Darcy after his marriage and the issues he and Elizabeth face surrounding that (Aunt Catherine, a baby, etc.) and Colonel Fitzwilliam as he deals with what war has done to him mentally and emotionally as well as finally finds a woman he can't live without. The last wraps up the situations both face as well as other elements.
I can't in good conscience recommend this book. The attempts to make it sound contemporary were...to me, nonexistent and there were several plot points that I found...implausible is a kind word.
Yet I loved this book. I've not laughed so hard at an Austen-esque book since Austen herself. Yes, some of the characters were a bit (more than a bit OOC though there were reasons given, but this book shocked loud laughs out of me again and again.
The best had to be when Lady Catherine and Marie Fitzherbert (the Prince regent's wife whose marriage was dissolved by George III) stage a noble raid on a woman who is trying to sever all ties between the woman Fitzwilliam loves and her child from her first marriage. How they get her to change her mind is hilarious and worth the read by itself.
There were also some truly poignant moments. I've never seen a P&P pastiche deal to a such a degree with Col. Fitzwilliam's profession and the toll that would take on him.
So while I say try this only if it sounds really interesting to you (or like me, you have to try basically every P&P pastiche once), this is basically one of my guilty pleasures.
I think I've read too many of these. I spent the entire time convinced I'd read this before and yet every time the original parts surprised me (as much as they could within the framework of source material). All in all, I found this to be a decent pastiche but nothing spectacular.
This novel falls into the category of P&P from Darcy's POV. It starts out, of course, with Ramsgate and we see some of Georgiana's struggles after the aborted elopment. Darcy is practically packed off to Netherfield by his cousin in order for him to get some distance and so that his sister can heal.
We see how he perceives Elizabeth's teasing and because of this, her refusal is a complete surprise. And we see how hard he works to conquer his pride and try to correct the faults she threw in his face.
I tend to like these type of pastiches, though some are stronger than others. Here, the author stayed very true to the original source but managed to expand beyond it. One of the best parts was that Colonel Fitzwilliam gets a much bigger role and we get to see how much he means to the Darcy family. I loved seeing how he totally knew Darcy loved Elizabeth and goaded him a bit while at Rosings.
A quick and easy read, my biggest issue with this book was the style of writing and vocabulary. While nothing stuck out, it also didn't really read as contemporary to Austen. Now the author also didn't do anything crazy like have Darcy and Elizabeth make out before their marriage, so I'm willing to forgive a lot just for that.
This. This was exactly what I needed last year. I couldn't seem to read anything, so anime was my staple. But I kept hearing everyone sing the praises of this new series, so I had to give it try. Superheroes in manga/anime seems to be a thing now. Not too long ago, Tiger and Bunny came out. Now, One-Punch Man and My Hero Academia have come out roughly at the same time. I've only read the last but if the others are as good as this one, I may finally jump on the Superhero bandwagon!
Our hero, Izuku Midoriya, lives in a world where 80% of the population has a "quirk," a superhero ability that can range from water, gigantism, explosions, and even stranger ones. With so many people holding powerful abilities, the police forces were unable to handle them and so some rose up to take the mantle of hero and keep the peace. The best known hero, All Might, is Midoriya's personal hero as well. He wants to save people with a smile just as All Might does. There's just one problem. Midoriya is one of the rare 20% born quirkless. How can someone without powers ever be a hero?