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Mailbox Monday #529

April 29, 2019 by

Mailbox Monday has become a tradition in the blogging world, and many of us thank Marcia of The Printed Page for creating it.

It now has it’s own blog where book bloggers can link up their own mailbox posts and share which books they bought or which they received for review from publishers, authors, and more.

Leslie, Martha, and I also will share our picks from everyone’s links in the new feature Books that Caught Our Eye. We hope you’ll join us.

Here’s what I received:

Darcy and Elizabeth: Mischief and Misunderstanding by Cassandra Knightley, a Kindle freebie.

A stolen kiss at the Netherfield Ball sparks a merry war between Darcy and Elizabeth.

After unexpectedly inheriting both a title and the fine estate of Messina Grove, Lord Bennet and his family leave Longbourn forever to start a new life of nobility. And why should they not? Mr. Bingley and his party had quit Netherfield no more than a week earlier, leaving Jane quite publicly heartbroken, and Elizabeth secretly so.

A Forever Kind of Love by Christie Capps, a Kindle freebie.

In this sweet Regency variation of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, Fitzwilliam Darcy’s eldest son sets out to seek a bride. Alexander Fitzwilliam Darcy is the spitting image of his father—in looks, temperament, and his inability to impress a woman not particularly wanting to be impressed.

Darcy, against the loving advice of his intelligent wife, decides to help his son along. In the process, the forever kind of love our dear couple has for each other is displayed as tenderness meets stubbornness and affection meets determination.

Come along for the bumpy ride between Darcy & Elizabeth as love blooms at Pemberley—or does it?

We Are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines, illustrated by Julianna Swaney, which came from the Easter Bunny.

You and your children can learn all about the Gaines family’s story of becoming gardeners in Joanna’s first children’s book—starting with the first little fern Chip bought for Jo. Over the years, the family’s love for gardening blossomed into what is now a beautiful, bustling garden.

Julianna Swaney’s illustrations bring the Gaines family garden to life with colorful, whimsical watercolors and invite you to enjoy the beauty of a thriving garden.

Katt vs. Dogg by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein, which also came via the Easter Bunny.

Oscar is a happy dogg—a rambunctious kid who loves being a Dogg Scout. Thanks to his family, he knows that snobby katts are good for nothing but chasing up trees.

What did you receive?

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Mailbox Monday #498

September 17, 2018 by

Mailbox Monday has become a tradition in the blogging world, and many of us thank Marcia of The Printed Page for creating it.

It now has it’s own blog where book bloggers can link up their own mailbox posts and share which books they bought or which they received for review from publishers, authors, and more.

Leslie, Martha, and I also will share our picks from everyone’s links in the new feature Books that Caught Our Eye. We hope you’ll join us.

Here’s what we received:

The Kennedy Debutante by Kerry Maher for review in October.

London, 1938. The effervescent “It girl” of London society since her father was named the ambassador, Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy moves in rarified circles, rubbing satin-covered elbows with some of the 20th century’s most powerful figures. Eager to escape the watchful eye of her strict mother, Rose, the antics of her older brothers, Jack and Joe, and the erratic behavior of her sister Rosemary, Kick is ready to strike out on her own and is soon swept off her feet by Billy Hartington, the future Duke of Devonshire.

But their love is forbidden, as Kick’s devout Catholic family and Billy’s staunchly Protestant one would never approve their match. When war breaks like a tidal wave across her world, Billy is ripped from her arms as the Kennedys are forced to return to the States. Kick gets work as a journalist and joins the Red Cross to get back to England, where she will have to decide where her true loyalties lie–with family or with love . . .

Mrs Bates of Highbury by Allie Cresswell, a kindle freebie.

Thirty years before the beginning of ‘Emma’ Mrs Bates is entirely different from the elderly, silent figure familiar to fans of Jane Austen’s fourth novel. She is comparatively young and beautiful, widowed – but ready to love again. She is the lynch-pin of Highbury society until the appalling Mrs Winwood arrives, very determined to hold sway over that ordered little town.

Miss Bates is as talkative aged twenty nine as she is in her later iteration, with a ghoulish fancy, seeing disaster in every cloud. When young Mr Woodhouse arrives looking for a plot for his new house, the two strike up a relationship characterised by their shared hypochondria, personal chariness and horror of draughts.

Jane, the other Miss Bates, is just seventeen and eager to leave the parochialism of Highbury behind her until handsome Lieutenant Weston comes home on furlough from the militia and sweeps her – quite literally – off her feet.

Darcy and Elizabeth: Unexpected Affection by Cassandra Knightley, a Kindle freebie.

For her beloved family, Elizabeth would accept Mr Darcy’s indelicate proposal.

She hoped to ensure the happiness of her sisters, what she didn’t expect was to fall in love with the very man she vowed to hate.

Lady Catherine’s objections will be the least of their concerns when compared with the nasty schemes of Mr Wickham, not to mention the scandals posed by Elizabeth’s own relations! Can Mr Darcy handle the chaos that is the Bennet Family? Can Elizabeth put aside her hurt pride long enough to allow her true feelings to shine? Will these two withstand scandal and scorn to finally discover their happily ever?

What did you receive?

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Mailbox Monday #474

April 9, 2018 by

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia at To Be Continued, formerly The Printed Page, has a permanent home at its own blog. To check out what everyone has received over the last week, visit the blog and check out the links. Leave yours too.

Also, each week, Leslie, Martha, and I will share the Books that Caught Our Eye from everyone’s weekly links.

Here’s what we received:

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls from Audible for book club.

The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette’s brilliant and charismatic father captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn’t want the responsibility of raising a family.

The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.

Monsoon Mansion by Cinelle Barnes, purchased.

Cinelle Barnes was barely three years old when her family moved into Mansion Royale, a stately ten-bedroom home in the Philippines. Filled with her mother’s opulent social aspirations and the gloriously excessive evidence of her father’s self-made success, it was a girl’s storybook playland. But when a monsoon hits, her father leaves, and her mother’s terrible lover takes the reins, Cinelle’s fantastical childhood turns toward tyranny she could never have imagined. Formerly a home worthy of magazines and lavish parties, Mansion Royale becomes a dangerous shell of the splendid palace it had once been.

In this remarkable ode to survival, Cinelle creates something magical out of her truth—underscored by her complicated relationship with her mother. Through a tangle of tragedy and betrayal emerges a revelatory journey of perseverance and strength, of grit and beauty, and of coming to terms with the price of family—and what it takes to grow up.

Aided by Austen by Vaishnavi Nair Kolli, Kindle freebie.

At twenty-seven, Jane Cotton cannot identify with any literary heroines, except one – Anne Elliot of Persuasion, whom she has long loved. Jane however, with her executive job, is no Anne; there is no lost love nor long regrets and at least Anne in Regency England did not have to deal with the small town gossip of Summerfield, where everybody knows everybody. Cautious Jane can only take comfort in her art of staying low! But when she is unexpectedly persuaded into the Annual Summerfield musical, Jane must realize that heroines become so, not as they watch from the sidelines, but as they wade knee deep into life’s hubbubs… perhaps her chance now with trials, confidantes (even suitors gasp!) and Austen-esque triumphs, might finally make for a life worthy of a novel?!

Mr Darcy & Elizabeth: Unexpected Affection by Cassandra Knightley, a Kindle freebie.

Lady Catherine’s objections will be the least of their concerns when compared with the nasty schemes of Mr Wickham, not to mention the scandals posed by Elizabeth’s own relations! Can Mr Darcy handle the chaos that is the Bennet Family? Can Elizabeth put aside her hurt pride long enough to allow her true feelings to shine? Will these two withstand scandal and scorn to finally discover their happily ever ?

Hell’s Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men by Harold Schechter, purchased.

In the pantheon of serial killers, Belle Gunness stands alone. She was the rarest of female psychopaths, a woman who engaged in wholesale slaughter, partly out of greed but mostly for the sheer joy of it. Between 1902 and 1908, she lured a succession of unsuspecting victims to her Indiana “murder farm.” Some were hired hands. Others were well-to-do bachelors. All of them vanished without a trace. When their bodies were dug up, they hadn’t merely been poisoned, like victims of other female killers. They’d been butchered.

Hell’s Princess is a riveting account of one of the most sensational killing sprees in the annals of American crime: the shocking series of murders committed by the woman who came to be known as Lady Bluebeard. The only definitive book on this notorious case and the first to reveal previously unknown information about its subject, Harold Schechter’s gripping, suspenseful narrative has all the elements of a classic mystery—and all the gruesome twists of a nightmare.

What did you receive?

Filed Under: mailbox monday, meme Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Mailbox Monday #466

February 12, 2018 by

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia at To Be Continued, formerly The Printed Page, has a permanent home at its own blog. To check out what everyone has received over the last week, visit the blog and check out the links. Leave yours too.

Also, each week, Leslie, Martha, and I will share the Books that Caught Our Eye from everyone’s weekly links.

Here’s what we received:

Marrying Well for Fun & Profit: Persuasion’s Sir Walter Elliot advises the Upwardly Mobile Miss by Laura Hile, which was a free Kindle.

Was there ever a snob like Sir Walter?

He fairly leaps from the pages of Jane Austen’s Persuasion.
With one eye on the looking glass and the other the Baronetage,
Sir Walter is Regency England’s society expert.

Who better to give advice to the modern young woman
wishing to improve her worth through marriage?

Because marrying into wealth and privilege—thus improving the family gene pool—is not as easy as it appears.

And so Sir Walter Elliot has consented to share advice with the less fortunate.

That would be us.

Anne de Bourgh Manages by Renata McMann, which was a free Kindle.

This short story is a “Pride and Prejudice” variation, which centers on Anne de Bourgh, the daughter of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. After Darcy’s disastrous proposal to Elizabeth, Elizabeth saves Anne de Bourgh’s life. In the process of doing something for Elizabeth, Anne makes decisions about her own life.

Mischief and Misunderstanding: A Darcy and Elizabeth Variation by Cassandra Knightley, which was a free Kindle.

A stolen kiss at the Netherfield Ball sparks a merry war between Darcy and Elizabeth.

After unexpectedly inheriting both a title and the fine estate of Messina Grove, Lord Bennet and his family leave Longbourn forever to start a new life of nobility. And why should they not? Mr. Bingley and his party had quit Netherfield no more than a week earlier, leaving Jane quite publicly heartbroken, and Elizabeth secretly so.

But two years later, Lord and Lady Bennet receive a request from Lady Catherine De Bourgh asking if her Nephews and a small party would be welcome to stay at Messina Grove for a short duration.

Jane is very excited to have a second chance with the still unmarried Mr. Bingley. Elizabeth does not care what Darcy does because she does not care at all about him! In this week of mischief and games, true love will be reunited and discovered, but hearts will also be broken when jealousy and old hurts rise.

Georgiana’s Folly: A Pride and Prejudice Variation (The Wickham Coin Book 1) by Renata McMann and Summer Hanford, which was a free Kindle.

In this Pride and Prejudice variation, Darcy enlists Elizabeth’s aid to help him deal with Georgiana, a tricky task with Wickham in town. This is the first of the two novella The Wickham Coin Series, and this novella is about 35,000 words in length.

This is the first of a two-novella series. Both novellas have different interpretations of Wickham, although he is not the main character in either. Both bring Darcy and Georgiana to Hertfordshire, both show another way Elizabeth and Darcy find each other, and both involve Wickham. In this novella, Georgiana’s Folly, an attempt was made to make Wickham as good a man as possible and still be consistent with Pride and Prejudice. This is partly Georgiana’s story. In the second novella in this series, Elizabeth’s Plight, Wickham is definitely a villain.

Together, the two novella’s, “Georgiana’s Folly” and “Elizabeth’s Plight,” make up “The Wickham Coin Series,” which is also available in paperback. The ebook version of the paperback was released for the convenience of customers who have not bought either novella.

Please note, this is the second edition of Elizabeth’s Plight, with special thanks to our new editor, Joanne Girard.

What did you receive?

Filed Under: mailbox monday, meme Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Mailbox Monday #457

December 11, 2017 by

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia at To Be Continued, formerly The Printed Page, has a permanent home at its own blog. To check out what everyone has received over the last week, visit the blog and check out the links. Leave yours too.

Also, each week, Leslie, Martha, and I will share the Books that Caught Our Eye from everyone’s weekly links.

Here’s what we received:

Angel of Waterloo: Jane Bennet, War Nurse: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Novel by Emma Osborne, free on Kindle.

When Charles Bingley takes up his brother’s regimental appointment and goes across the channel to face Napoleon, Jane Bennet is faced with a choice… stay in Hertfordshire while her sisters court the Meryton regiment, or follow her heart to Brussels.

When Jane’s letters stop coming, Elizabeth Bennet is determined to find her sister, no matter the cost. Mr. Darcy, concerned about his friend Charles Bingley’s sudden silence is also planning a trip across the channel and the two are thrust together in an uneasy alliance to discover the truth behind Jane and Bingley’s ominous silence.

Kitty’s Lucky Charm: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Bianca St James, a Kindle freebie.

Catherine Bennet is in possession of the worst kind of luck. With three of her four sisters happily married, she is stuck in a quiet house with a sister who does not care for balls and dancing with garrison officers, or what new ribbons are in the shops in town. Mrs. Bennet might be anxious to have her married off, but for Kitty Bennet, nothing seems to be going right.

Kitty’s luck takes a turn for the worse when a journey to visit her sister Elizabeth to help welcome their first child puts Kitty in a perilous situation. Her disappointment is unmatched, however, as she discovers that her only hope is not a dashing officer in regimental red, but a young man with ink-stained cuffs and an earnest smile.

Miss Darcy’s Companion by Joana Starnes, a Kindle freebie.

Miss Georgiana Darcy is need of a companion, and she would much rather not have Mrs Younge. The recently bereaved Miss Elizabeth Bennet is in need of a position. When she accepts the one Mr Darcy offers, she finds herself in his near-constant company and gets to know him at his best. Not as he would present himself to strangers in some remote corner of Hertfordshire, but as his nearest and dearest know him. An excellent brother, landlord, master. A wonderful man, noble, kind – and impossibly handsome.

So who falls in love first? What of Mr Wickham and his dastardly ploys? And how is a lady’s companion ever to have a future with one who could marry into the best houses in the land?

Holidays with Jane: Thankful Hearts by Ceclia Gray, Jessica Gray, Nancy Kelley, and more, a Kindle Freebie.

t’s time for crisp weather, colorful leaves, and a Thanksgiving feast. The authors of the Holidays with Jane series bring you Holidays with Jane: Thankful Hearts with six modern-day adaptations of Jane Austen’s novels. Join your favorite heroines around the fire with a cup of hot apple cider for heart-warming takes on these classic stories.

Amelia Elkins Elkins by A.M. Blair, a Kindle freebie.

In 1817, if childbirth didn’t kill a woman, there were good odds a “miasma” would. Now, thanks to modern medicine, a woman’s demise at the prime of her life is uncommon enough to deserve an investigation. That’s what two lawyers at the Harville Firm promise to do when Amelia Elkins Elkins, a member of a prominent family with more baggage than money, contacts them in the wake of her mother’s untimely death.

In this retelling of Jane Austen’s PERSUASION, Amelia and her sisters turn to the American court system to seek justice for their mother’s death. It’s too bad their conceited, silly father is doing everything he can — inadvertently, of course — to hinder their success.

Fitzwilliam Darcy An Honourable Man by Brenda J. Webb, a Kindle freebie

Fitzwilliam Darcy, An Honourable Man is a Pride and Prejudice variation. Not a simple retelling, it is an intriguing new story that does not follow canon. It is rated for mature audiences.

Leaving England after his disastrous proposal was refused at Hunsford, Darcy spent two lonely years in Scotland and Ireland before returning home to face Elizabeth Bennet, certain that he could regard her as an indifferent acquaintance.

Events that transpired in his absence have left Elizabeth a changed woman. The victim of a marriage by deception to Count Stefano, she has suffered greatly at his hands.

Will Mr. Darcy rescue the woman he vowed to forget?

Jewels on the Water: A Pride and Prejudice Sequel by Rachel Elizabeth, a Kindle freebie.

Does love truly conquer all? Or is sadness inescapable? Is it worth the effort required to be free of its dark downward pull?

The Victorian Age has been kind indeed to Gardiner-Bingley Enterprises, third largest company in Great Britain. Gardiner’s Emporium warehouses in London and Scarborough, and most recently expanded to include Bristol and New York City, are well supplied by the partnership with Bingley Shipping and Bingley Woolen Mills now headed by patriarch Charles Bingley. His second son, Thomas, is blessed with everything the mortal heart can most desire—good looks, splendid property, noble kindred—and his own ship.

He enjoys his well-ordered life until the day he looks into the eyes of his heart’s partner and recognizes her for who she is. But mystery surrounds her. Why is a gentlewoman, a peeress, booked aboard a freight steamer enroute to America—without a maid or companion? Why does she deflect all questions about herself or her future plans?

Like his father before him, Thomas quickly comprehends that he has found his ‘angel’. But will she fly away before he can convince her to stay?

Although there is no explicit content in this story, it does deal with the sensitive topic of successfully recovering from sexual, physical, and emotional violence to find that life can still include ‘jewels on the water’.
This is a clean read appropriate for readers 17 and older

Mr Darcy’s Christmas Angel by Katy Green, a Kindle freebie.

In this story, Lady Catherine never visited Longbourn so Elizabeth and Mr Darcy were never reunited. Mr Darcy is dangerously ill the following Christmas and calling for Elizabeth. Colonel Fitzwilliam goes to fetch her and what happens next is the subject of this festive short story.

Darcy and Elizabeth: Duet in the Halls of Pemberley: Two Pride and Prejudice Variations by Cassandra Knightley, a Kindle freebie.

Two chances for Darcy and Elizabeth to find their happily ever after!

Escape to the polite society of Pride & Prejudice in these sweet, clean variations bubbling with spirit, humor, and romance.

Love Blooms at Pemberley
In the aftermath of Elizabeth’s rejection of Mr Darcy, the worst possible outcome has befallen the Bennet family. Mr Bennet has died unexpectedly, leaving his widow and unmarried daughters at the mercy of Mr Collins.

In this time of hardship and sorrow, Mr Darcy shows his true nature through his kindness, generosity, and friendship. But will Darcy and Elizabeth be able to put aside their hurt pride and stubborn natures to find the Happilly Ever After they both seek?

Mischief & Misunderstanding
A stolen kiss at the Netherfield Ball sparks a merry war between Darcy and Elizabeth.
After unexpectedly inheriting both a title and the fine estate of Messina Grove, Lord Bennet and his family leave Longbourn forever to start a new life of nobility. And why should they not? Mr. Bingley and his party had quit Netherfield no more than a week earlier, leaving Jane quite publicly heartbroken, and Elizabeth secretly so.

But two years later, Lord and Lady Bennet receive a request from Lady Catherine De Bourgh asking if her Nephews and a small party would be welcome to stay at Messina Grove for a short duration.

Jane is very excited to have a second chance with the still unmarried Mr. Bingley. Elizabeth does not care what Darcy does because she does not care at all about him! In this week of mischief and games, true love will be reunited and discovered, but hearts will also be broken when jealousy and old hurts rise.

In this silly, clean variation, Cassandra Knightley knits together two of her favorite tales: Pride & Prejudice and Much Ado About Nothing.

Pour yourself a cup of tea, take a seat on a comfy sofa, and be prepared to laugh and cry and swoon as Darcy and Elizabeth muddle their way towards true love in these two adorable P&P variations.

What found its way into your mailbox this week?

Filed Under: mailbox monday, meme Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mailbox Monday #451

October 30, 2017 by

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia at To Be Continued, formerly The Printed Page, has a permanent home at its own blog. To check out what everyone has received over the last week, visit the blog and check out the links. Leave yours too.

Also, each week, Leslie, Martha, and I will share the Books that Caught Our Eye from everyone’s weekly links.

Here’s what I received:

First Impressions: A Tale of Less Pride & Prejudice (Tales of Less Pride and Prejudice Book 1)  by Alexa Adams, a kindle freebie.

In Pride and Prejudice, Fitzwilliam Darcy begins his relationship with Elizabeth Bennet with the words: “She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me; I am in no humour at present togive consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.” What would have happened if Mr. Darcy had never spoken so disdainfully? First Impressions explores how the events of Jane Austen’s beloved novel would have transpired if Darcy and Elizabeth had danced together at the Meryton Assembly. Jane and Bingley’s relationship blossoms unimpeded, Mary makes a most fortunate match, and Lydia never sets a foot in Brighton. Austen’s witty style is authentically invoked in this playful romp from Longbourn to Pemberley.

Second Glances: A Tale of Less Pride and Prejudice Continues (Tales of Less Pride and Prejudice Book 2)  by Alexa Adams, a kindle freebie

A year has passed since the conclusion of First Impressions, and the marriages made by the three eldest Bennet ladies are prospering. Expectations are high for the two youngest sisters to do equally well. Kitty, having excelled in school, receives an invitation to join Georgiana Darcy in her first London season, leaving Lydia to bear the burden of the classroom alone. Will the most forward Bennet tolerate such inequity?

Kitty arrives in London prepared to be happy, but her delight is marred when she finds a most unwelcome gentleman on intimate terms with her hosts. She has met the reckless Sir James Stratton before and would like nothing more than to never encounter him again, but his acquaintance she is forced to endure. Struggling for firm footing amidst the whirlwind of London society, will Kitty be allowed to follow her heart, or will her family force her hand? Join the reimagined cast of Pride and Prejudice as they pursue happiness amidst the ongoing obstacles of life, love, and interfering relations.

Holidays at Pemberley, or Third Encounters: A Tale of Less Pride and Prejudice Concludes (Tales of Less Pride and Prejudice Book 3) by Alexa Adams, a Kindle freebie

Both a Christmas celebration and conclusion to Tales of Less Pride & Prejudice, Holidays at Pemberley begins where First Impressions ends, with the marriage Fitzwilliam Darcy to Elizabeth Bennet, and spans the course of Second Glances to conclude their story. As the Darcys enjoy their first years of marriage, Charlotte Lucas is often invited to join them. Watching as the Bennet sisters, one by one, marry to both outrageous advantage and with great affection, her only ambition remains independence and respectability, stubbornly blind to the virtues of a love match. Miss Lucas thinks she has found an acceptable husband in David Westover, rector of Kympton and determined bachelor, but he remains oblivious to the implications of befriending a Miss Lucas. It may mean some heartbreak, but if Mrs. Darcy’s pragmatic friend will only surrender to Cupid, she may find wild fantasies do come true, even for ladies dangerously close to thirty.

Nachtstürm Castle: A Gothic Austen Novel by Emily C. A. Snyder, a kindle freebie

Moonlight! Castles! Ghosts! Storms! Secret trap doors! Suicide! Grave yards! Mistaken Identities! Carriage accidents! Gypsies! Hauntings! A kidnapping! Purloined letters! A duel! Swooning! Wild Pursuits! Demonic possession! A disputed inheritance! Three romances! A ransacking! Ancient curses! A stolen will and testament! Dank subterranean passageways!

Multi-talented Emily C. A. Snyder has managed to pack the above list (and more) into Nachtstürm Castle, a sophisticated Gothic fantasy sequel, taking up the further adventures of Henry and Catherine Tilney where our divine Miss Austen finished the last lines of Northanger Abbey.

Rumours & Recklessness: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Nicole Clarkston

Fitzwilliam Darcy is desperate. Finally confronted with a woman who ignites all his hopes, he agonizes over the cruel trick of fate which placed her in a situation beneath his notice. The morning after the Netherfield ball, he resolves to put as much distance between himself and her as possible.

That very morning, however, Elizabeth’s future is jeopardized by her father’s untimely accident. With Mr Bennet unconscious and surrounded by concerned neighbors, Mr Collins presses his suit. Elizabeth’s mother frantically demands her acceptance to secure the family’s welfare. With so many witnesses to his proposal and everyone expecting her to make a practical choice, Elizabeth’s reputation hangs in the balance.

Without her father to defend her refusal of Mr Collins, there is no one to speak up for her… except the last man in the world she would ever marry.

A Thousand Letters by Staci Hart, a kindle freebie

Sometimes your life is split by a single decision.

I’ve spent every day of the last seven years regretting mine: he left, and I didn’t follow. A thousand letters went unanswered, my words like petals in the wind, spinning away into nothing, taking me with them.

But now he’s back.

I barely recognize the man he’s become, but I can still see a glimmer of the boy who asked me to be his forever, the boy I walked away from when I was young and afraid.

Maybe if he’d come home under better circumstances, he could speak to me without anger in his voice. Maybe if I’d said yes all those years ago, he’d look at me without the weight of rejection in his eyes. Maybe if things were different, we would have had a chance.

One regretted decision sent him away. One painful journey brought him back to me. I only wish I could keep him.

*A contemporary romance inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion*

Love Blooms at Pemberley: A Sweet Pride and Prejudice Variation by Cassandra Knightley, a kindle freebie.

In the aftermath of Elizabeth’s rejection of Mr Darcy, the worst possible outcome has befallen the Bennet family. Mr Bennet has died unexpectedly, leaving his widow and unmarried daughters at the mercy of Mr Collins.

In this time of hardship and sorrow, Mr Darcy shows his true nature through his kindness, generosity, and friendship. But will Darcy and Elizabeth be able to put aside their hurt pride and stubborn natures to find the Happilly Ever After they both seek?

A Darcy and Elizabeth P&P variation bubbling with spirit, humor, and romance. Pour yourself a cup of your favorite tea, find a comfy sofa, and settle in for an afternoon of love, laughs, and manners with Love Blooms at Pemberley.

Mr. Darcy’s Debt: A Pride & Prejudice Variation Novel by April Floyd, a kindle freebie.

Thomas Bennet has died and left his wife and five daughters during the visit of his cousin Mr. Collins who has come to offer marriage as an olive branch to soothe the way when he inherits their home, Longbourn. A deathbed promise from the past saves the ladies and Elizabeth Bennet becomes better acquainted with the wealthy, handsome Mr. Darcy, the man who insulted her at the assembly in Meryton. With the Bennets living at Somersal, a country estate that belongs to the Fitzwilliam family and is only a short distance from Pemberley, the home of Mr. Darcy, their mutual love of riding fosters a love neither Darcy nor Elizabeth can deny. After a terrible accident, Elizabeth believes she must race in the spring to secure her family’s future, much to Mr. Darcy’s dismay. His proposal, given to keep her from racing, is summarily refused as Elizabeth Bennet will not marry from necessity.

A Vintage Halloween by Cat Gardiner, purchased because I love her books.

Halloween is an exciting time at the Memories of Old antique shop, and William Darcy and Lizzy Bennet are about to discover why–yet again. The shop holds much more than trinkets from the past in the modern day. It holds the memories of those who once cherished them– maybe even their spirits.

Anxiously missing and waiting for her fiance’s return from military service, our dear heroine has a heavy heart and–a little envy–as she helps to arrange her sister’s wedding, putting off making wedding plans of her own. Perhaps a mysterious mirror in the shop and a little mischief-making on All Hallows’ Eve will help to fill that hole in her heart by working a little miracle back in 1944.

Join the fun and travel back in time with Lizzy Bennet to the WWII-era where she attends an exciting masquerade ball at Pemberley Manor, meeting a bevy of characters–one in particular–who will lift her spirits

What did you receive?

Filed Under: mailbox monday, meme Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,