Recent Reads {The Perfect Bride for Mr Darcy}

 

The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy by Mary Lydon Simonsen - I couldn't resist going back to more Jane Austen Fan Fiction for a bit, and this one was a very good choice.  Simonsen retells a story very similar to Austen's original Pride and Prejudice, but gives Georgiana Darcy and Anne  de Bourgh much more ink.   These and a few other characters have their personalities developed more fully, and have a hand in bringing Darcy and Elizabeth together.  Anne de Bourgh has a very warm and affectionate friendship with her cousin, Fitzwilliam Darcy, and suspects his growing attachment to Elizabeth while he is at Rosings.  After he leaves, Anne takes it upon herself to further her own friendship with Elizabeth and find out just what has happened between the two prospective lovers.  She puts a plan into place to bring to two together again in hopes that they can mend their differences and overcome their misunderstandings (and pride, and prejudice, of course!).  Anne has help from Georgiana, who has suspected her older brother is in love ever since he first returned from Netherfield, but it is some time until she can find out just who is the object of his interest and what has happened to part them after the disastrous proposal at Rosings.  The two ladies join forces in a delightful matchmaking effort that I felt stayed true to Austen's original characters and settings.  This is a piece of JAFF that I really enjoyed, and didn't descend into anything cheap and tawdry for the most part.

Recent Reads {A House for My Name}

 

A House for My Name ( A Survey of the Old Testament) by Peter J. Leithart - This was at least the third time I've read this study which was my introduction to Leithart's work.  As the subtitle suggests, this is a "survey" of the Old Testament, giving an overview of the themes and how they are related, not just throughout the Old Testament, but how they relate to the New Testament as well.  It is full of insight on the construction of the narratives, and how the literary construction subtly enhances the teachings.  I read the Scripture passages alongside Leithart's analysis and was amazed (again) at the way the entire Bible works together despite the multitude of authors and their backgrounds and styles, and the span of centuries over which the various books were written.  Only the inspiration and instruction of the Holy Spirit working in and through each of the authors to harmonize the themes could account for this.  Although this is what I would consider a scholarly work, it is an interesting and engaging book to read.  Each chapter is followed by a set of review and discussion questions, so the book could be used as the basis for personal or group Bible study, or as a Biblical literature course for high school students.

By the same author: Miniatures and Morals

Recent Reads {The Forgiven Duke}

The Forgiven Duke by Jamie Carie - Just like the first in this series, I won the book in a blog giveaway! I'm thinking that's the best way to acquire new books for my collection.  LOL  After finishing The Guardian Duke a few months ago, I was looking forward to finding out what would happen next in the story of Alex and Gabriel.  At the close of the first book,  Gabriel had just missed catching Alex before she sailed away from Ireland on her way to Iceland, accompanied by a man who had just become her fiance.  Alex is unsure about her promise to become John's wife, but since he is willing to go with her and continue the search for her missing parents, she believes she did the only thing she could.  She spends a lot of time convincing herself that it will all work out and that she could be happy with John, but as events continue, she is less sure and realizes that her heart really belongs to another.  Gabriel is determined to find Alex and hopes to win her love as well, but he finds himself in great danger and prevented from from following.  And even if he does catch up to her before she comes to harm, and before she goes through with the marriage to John, will she be interested in the love he offers her? His deafness continues to undermine his confidence, as well as his ability to act independently.

Alex's reckless decision to evade Gabriel yet again, and to accept John's proposal puts her in danger and demonstrates the tendency that many of us have - we make our own decisions and rush headlong into what we think is best, and then ask God's blessing on it, thinking that we've followed His leading.  But as Alex discovers, praying and waiting for God's answer might open doors that we don't expect.  Alex and Gabriel both learn lessons about trust and forgiveness in this story, and it looks like more adventure awaits them in book three, which is expected later this year.

Even though the situations in the second book seemed even more unlikely and unbelievable than in the first, I still enjoyed the read, the characters, and the settings.  And I will definitely be picking up the third book (third time lucky? can I win it in another giveaway?) to find out how the story continues.

By the same author: The Guardian Duke

Recent Reads {The Guardian Duke}

 

The Guardian Duke by Jamie Carie - I was lucky enough to win this book on a blog giveaway, and I really enjoyed it.  It is the first in a trilogy set in the early 1800s.  The story opens with the title character, the Duke of St. Easton (Gabriel) receiving the news that he has been appointed the guardian of a young woman named Alexandria Featherstone, whose parents have been missing and are presumed dead.  On the same day, Gabriel suddenly finds that he has lost his hearing.  Alexandria is living at her family home on a remote island in Northumberland, and when she receives the news about the guardianship, she refuses to believe her parents are dead.  They have been treasure hunters and their long absences are not unusual, but it has been a very long time since she had a letter from them... so she runs away, determined to track her parents down and equally determined to not allow the duke's men to take her to London.  What follows is a grand chase across England and Ireland, with Alex doing her best to elude Gabriel and stay one step ahead of him, while the two of them correspond and start a friendship through their letters.  The more clues Alex finds leading her to her parents, the more she finds herself in danger, and it's not only Gabriel that is pursuing her.

I enjoyed the characters and found that I liked them and sympathized with them, and I appreciated the settings and sense of adventure and romance throughout.  I found many of the situations to be unrealistic and with a sense of the fantastic, but I was drawn into the storyline and turned pages eagerly.  The cliff-hanger ending left me anxiously awaiting the second installment.

 

Recent Reads {A Crimson Warning}

A Crimson Warning by Tasha Alexander - Lady Emily and her husband, Colin Hargreaves, have recently returned to London after their stay in Normandy, where their involvement in solving a murder threatened Emily's life.  Emily is hoping to simply enjoy the London season, but she is also drawn into the movement to gain the vote for women, and is still interested in antiquities and the study of ancient Greek.  However, a clever vandal begins terrorizing London society by splashing bright red paint on the fronts of the homes of some elite families.  Colin and Emily get involved in unraveling the case, which includes arson, murder and kidnapping, in a race to discover how all of it might be connected and capture the criminal before more lives are destroyed.  Another exciting mystery with the likeable and eccentric Lady Emily and her friends tempting fate and doing the unexpected in order to bring a criminal to justice.

By the same author: Dangerous to Know,  Tears of Pearl, A Fatal Waltz, A Poisoned Season, And Only to Deceive

Recent Reads {Dangerous to Know}

Dangerous to Know by Tasha Alexander - In this installment of the Lady Emily mystery series, Emily and Colin return from their honeymoon to visit Colin's mother in Normandy.  Emily had a brush with death while on their honeymoon in Constantinople and needs time to recover her health.  Not long after their arrival, things get exciting - and dangerous - again! Emily stumbles across the body of a young woman that has been murdered and soon she and Colin are involved in the investigation.  Emily is determined to bring the killer to justice, but as events unfold she begins to wonder about her own sanity.  She hears a child's voice but can't find her, and even finds blue ribbons that the child has supposedly left behind.  The killer is devious and manipulative, and Emily must keep her wits about her and use all her instincts and intelligence to outsmart him and avoid being his next victim.

By the same author: Tears of Pearl, A Fatal Waltz, A Poisoned Season, And Only to Deceive

Recent Reads {The Witch from the Sea}

The Witch from the Sea by Philippa Carr -  This will catch me up on this series for now!  I didn't read them all this weekend, just to be clear!  The third in the Daughters of England series tells the story of two women - Catherine's daughter Linnet, and Linnet's own daughter Tamsyn.  In Part One, Linnet journals her experiences beginning with her family's meeting a young man that is considered an excellent suitor for her.  She is very interested in the kind, peace-loving Fennimore Cooper, but on a journey with her mother to visit the Cooper family, fate intervenes.  Linnet is noticed, and pursued by the powerful Colum Casvellyn, and she is forced to accept her role as his wife and the life she has at his castle on the rocky coast.  For a time all is well, but Linnet begins to suspect her husband of foul play both past and present.  Things only get more dramatic and dangerous when she rescues a mysterious woman from drowning on their shore and takes her into their home.  Linnet learns more about her husband than she wishes to know and becomes very fearful for her own life as he becomes more and more detached from her.

Part Two begins quite abruptly, with Tamsyn's remembering her mother's death.  As Tamsyn grows up, she realizes there was more to her mother and the intrigues in the castle than she had thought, and her strange relationship with her 'sister' Senara is often enigmatic.  Tamsyn eventually uncovers the secrets of the castle and her mother's unexpected and sudden death, and must make decisions about what she must do to keep herself safe and to bring some kind of justice for the crimes that have been committed.

More dark Gothic novel intrigue with dramatically drawn characters and fantastically imagined storylines, but (for me, anyway) hard to put down.  The series continues through many more generations, all the way to the early 1900s (if I remember correctly), and once restarted on the road of re-reading the series, I will be at it for awhile to come.

By the same author: The Miracle at St Bruno's , and The Lion Triumphant