'Only Mr. Darcy Will Do' by Kara Louise

1. Title of book:  
Only Mr. Darcy Will Do 
by Kara Louise
short synopsis: After her father's death, Elizabeth Bennet goes to work as a governess. Little does she know, the Willstones are social acquaintances of the Bingley's and the Darcy's, and Elizabeth finds herself once again drawn into Mr. Darcy's orbit. With Elizabeth's social status even lower than it was before, she knows she must abandon all hope of Darcy renewing his proposals, even as she begins to see him in a completely different light....

2. Words to describe the book: charming, original, nerve-wracking, satisfying....

3. Location or characters you met:

• Elizabeth Bennett: I honestly can not get enough of Elizabeth Bennett. She's one character that I truly adore and have often wanted to just be her! I thought the situation that the author put Elizabeth in was pure genius and so very believable!!
• Mr. Darcy : once again I found myself falling in love with Darcy. Oh, if I could only get my husband to read one of these books and then to embrace me and turn my face to him and tell me "how ardently I love you!"
• The Willstones, their daughter Emily, and the overzealous Miss Matthews: even though they played minor roles within the story, they were crucial to how Elizabeth and Darcy meet up after over a years absence.

4. Things you liked/disliked:

• I thought that this was one of the best ORIGINAL variations of Pride & Prejudice that I have read to-date! I really enjoyed the storyline and felt that the author stayed very true to the themes of Austen.
• Loved the ending....
• I think this would actually make a great movie...hello BBC are you listening?!
• It was absolutely satisfying from the beginning to the end. I want to delve into Kara Louise's other books!

5. Rating:  9.5/10


Thank you to Beth of Sourcebooks for sending me a review copy. I
was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist. They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel.

Review Style patterned after Show Me 5 

Published: March, 2011

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Pages: 354

Genre: Pride and Prejudice Variation

ISBN: 9781402241031

*Uncorrected Advance Copy

 

© 2011, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

'My Jane Austen Summer: A Season in Mansfield Park' by Cindy Jones- TLC Book Tour

Synopsis from TLC Book Tours:
Lily is a dreamer. In fact, her dreams of Jane Austen have gotten a little out of control. Not only has she just been let go of her job for reading Northanger Abbey when she should be doing work, she's taken to having an imaginary friend give her advice-Jane herself! So when she gets the amazing opportunity to travel to London to re-enact Austen's  Mansfield Park, she leaps at the chance. But though it seems like Lily will be escaping her troubles, the truth is she'll begin facing-and dealing-with them....with a little help from Jane, of course!

My Jane Austen lurked in the fringes, but it would come to nothing. In an effort to explain my bad behavior with Sixby, I'd told My Jane Austen, I don't know how to have a relationship with a man. With my father never home, and my mother unhappy most of her life, my entire knowledge of happy relationships came from books. You raised me, Jane. So forgive me this mistake. I know what I did was wrong.
*[p. 256]

My Thoughts:
From the excerpt above we glean from the story that Lily, the protagonist, loses herself in Jane Austen's stories because her family life leaves her sad. I think many of us have found ourselves getting lost in a book, especially to escape from the everyday average life. I have often wanted to live inside a story and it won't come as a surprise to many who read my blog that I would love to live out Pride and Prejudice just once!! For me, I thought this book was simply delightful. I connected with Lily and could really understand her neediness and that all too consuming desire to be loved by anyone. I was especially blown away by the fact that this is Cindy Jones' debut novel! She crafted a story that flowed and kept my interest. The descriptions were detailed enough to make the scenes come to life inside my head.

Recommend? Absolutely! It does help if you have a bit of prior knowledge of Mansfield Park before reading this one, but I wouldn't say that it is a must. I've watched the movie version and that was enough for me to get the parallels between Fannie and Lily. If you're totally obsessed with all things Austen then this is a MUST read for you!!

Rating: 8.5/10

Published: April 2011

Publisher: William Morrow

Pages:352

Genre: Absolutely satisfying Austenesque story!

ISBN: 9780062003973

 

 

About Cindy Jones

Cindy Jones was born in Ohio and grew up in small midwestern towns, reading for escape. She is a winner of the Writers’ League of Texas Manuscript Contest, and she lives with her family in Dallas.
You can find Cindy at her blog, First Draft, and on Facebook.

 Stop by these blogs to read their thoughts!

Disclaimer:Thank you to TLC Book Tours for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel

© 2011, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission. 

Mailbox Monday and It's Monday...What are you reading?

Mailbox Monday

is a gathering place for readers to

share the books that came into their house last week 

and explore great book blogs. 

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

Hosted this month by

Passages to the Past 

The Truth about Mr. Darcy by Susan Adriani- review copy from Sourcebooks

Mr. Darcy and the Secret of Becoming a Gentleman by Maria Hamilton- review copy from Sourcebooks

** I'm sorry about all of the Austen variation overloads...I'm slightly addicted!! 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Hosted by Sheila @ One Person's Journey Through a World of Books

We discuss the books that we've read and what we're planning to read for the week.

Read and reviewed last week:

Wickham's Diary- 4/10 could've been better

Lost & Found by Shaun Tan- visually powerful 8.5/10

What Would Mr. Darcy Do by Abigail Reynolds- great P&P variation 8/10

Reviews for this week:

My Jane Austen Summer- Tuesday TLC Book Stop

Only Mr. Darcy Will Do- Wednesday

Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet- Six Sentence Saturday

On my nightstand:

24 RAT- Have fun everyone!

Hi Everyone!!

I'm not sure that I will be reading all 24 hours today but I will be cheering each of you on in my own way! My son is coming home from Spring Break and chaos will reign in the house. Plus...the sun is shining (FINALLY!) here in Michigan and I may take a walk with the dogs later today. When and if I read more than one book I will update on this post so that for the day I only have one post going!
So with all of that being said here's what my plans are for today:


1)Where are you reading from today?
I'm going to read from my cozy mystery stash today!

2)Three random facts about me…
I'm very OCD about things, I love M&M's in my popcorn, and I like to get up in the wee hours of morning for the solitude!!

3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
3

4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
No goals...no nothing! I will try to visit blogs as the day allows.

5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
Just enjoy the day and don't put any pressure on yourself!!

'What Would Mr. Darcy Do?' by Abigail Reynolds

About the book (from the author's website):
(Previously published as From Lambton to Longbourn)
But what if Darcy hadn’t immediately left the inn? What if Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy had chosen to speak their feelings rather than to assume the worst about the other? Jane Austen’s beloved characters are given the opportunity to reach out one last time before they part. While their path forward is still filled with misadventures and misunderstandings it is rich with humor, romance, and sensuality as they learn about each other and the meaning of love.



My Thoughts:
Ahhhhh...what bliss this book was! I loved the little twists that Reynolds put to her Pride & Prejudice variation. It made for an interesting read and she changed the story up just enough to keep my attention. This was certainly a fun way to spend a few hours!! I absolutely loved 'To Conquer Mr. Darcy' that I read last year and one of my favorite aspects of that book was the way the author added some steaminess to Darcy and Elizabeth's relationship. Well, she didn't let me down with this one either!! I really like how she portrays Darcy as a man who worships the woman that he loves...makes my heart swoon a bit!! Now if I could just convince my husband to wear that Mr. Darcy shirt maybe we could re-enact some of those steamy scenes!!!!

Recommend? Absolutely! This one was just fun and original. It took me about two hours to read it and not once did my attention waver. This is one P&P variation that you should add to your list!!

Rating: 8/10

Disclaimer:Thank you to Beena @ Sourcebooks for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel

Published: March, 2011

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Pages: 230

Genre: Pride and Prejudice Variation

ISBN: 9781402240935

*Uncorrected Advance Copy

 

© 2011, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

'Lost & Found' by Shaun Tan

About (from back of book): This book contains 3 stories : A girl finds a bright spot in a dark world. A boy leads a strange, lost creature home. And a group of peaceful creatures cedes their home to cruel invaders.

My Thoughts:

Shaun Tan has created a world that speaks differently to each person who opens up this book. I'm drawn by his quirky and strange images. I have a copy of "The Arrival" on my middle school library shelves and students often like to tell me what they thought the images were about. I love hearing their interpretations and comparing them to mine. I'm just a bit afraid that the first story, The Red Tree, may be one that younger readers may not connect with, but the The Lost Thing and The Rabbits are both stories that are universal. I will certainly be adding this title to my school collection because I can see people, young and old alike, getting lost in his artwork and letting the story take over their imagination.

Recommend? Yes, especially if you've never had the opportunity to see Tan's artwork. Each page is a new adventure and what I love the most is that no two person's experience will be the same!!

The Lost Thing, The Red Tree, and The Rabbits

Disclaimer:Thank you to Amazon Vine Program for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel

Published: March 1, 2011

Publisher: Scholastic

Pages:unnumbered

Genre: Graphic Novel/Picture Book

ISBN: 9780545229241

*Uncorrected Advance Copy

 

© 2011, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

'Wickham's Diary' by Amanda Grange

About the book: (From Goodreads):
This prequel to Pride and Prejudice begins with George Wickham at age 12, handsome and charming but also acutely aware that his friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy, is rich, whilst he is poor. His mother encourages him to exercise his charm on the young Georgiana Darcy and Anne de Bourgh in the hopes of establishing a stable of wealthy social connections. At university, Darcy and Wickham grow apart. Wickham is always drinking and wenching, whilst Darcy, who apparently has everything, is looking for something he cannot find. Wickham runs through the money Darcy gives him and then takes up with the scandalous Belle, a woman after Wickham's own greedy, black heart.

My Thoughts:
I have to admit that I was disappointed in this one. No two ways about it. I thought and hoped that the author would develop Wickham's character and really give us (her idea why) the reason why he turned out to be such an abuser of women! Alas, I was wrong. He seems to have just been a bad egg, which he came by honestly enough from his manipulative mother. I'm glad that this one was short ,so I didn't feel too terrible about the time I spent reading it.

Recommend? Only to the die-hard Austen fans out there that feel they must read all of the variations available. I would, however, recommend Mr. Darcy's Diary, which Grange wrote and that I totally loved!!

Rating: 4/10

Please visit Austenesque Reviews for her thoughts on this one!

Disclaimer:Thank you to Beena @ Sourcebooks for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel

Published: March, 2011

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Pages: 198

Genre: Pride and Prejudice Variation

ISBN: 9781402251863

*Uncorrected Advance Copy

 

© 2011, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.