For months, I have looked forward to diving into Sharon Lathan’s series, The Darcy Saga. I managed to obtain Books 1-3, and signed up to review Book 4 for this month. My goal was to work through the series from the beginning and then continue to Book 4, In the Arms of Mr. Darcy
, now available from Sourcebooks Landmark. Alas, my schedule—both my personal and my reading schedule have been inundated with activity and I have had to begin my experience with The Darcy Saga without reading the first three books in the series.Fortunately, Sharon has presented a Darcy tale that can stand on its own—all that is required is a rudimentary knowledge of Jane Austen’s classic novel, Pride and Prejudice. While I wish I could have begun the series from the top, I don’t believe my experience was diminished by this fact at all. I became easily immersed into this Austenian world and had a complete grasp of the events and relationships within.
A listing of the “Cast of Characters”, a brief description of the main characters, including some birth dates and wedding anniversaries, precedes Lathan’s tale. This was quite a useful tool for me at the outset, as it kept me from disorientation with all of the individuals within the story. I especially liked the inclusion of dates, as I was able to understand the context of events in Lathan’s timeline.
In the Arms of Mr. Darcy is quiet and yet recurrently passionate, primarily focusing on Fitzwilliam Darcy, his wife Elizabeth and their newborn son Alexander. Surrounding them are their close friends and family, most of who were introduced in the original Pride and Prejudice. The book is essentially a series of anecdotal tales, revealing the everyday life events of these characters and the occasional moments of drama in their lives.
For Darcy and Elizabeth, most of their drama comes within the bedroom. Darcy does have a couple of side adventures of his own and plays rescuer to Elizabeth in one harrowing incident, but most of the action comes from their marital relationship’s intimacies. While I’m pleased that sex is portrayed as a wonderful gift of married life, readers should be aware that their love scenes are fairly steamy and occur regularly within the novel.
Outside of Darcy and Elizabeth, other anecdotal moments in the lives of their loved ones are shared. Most of these incidents are short and sometimes seem inconsequential to the rest of the story, but they are enjoyable nonetheless. The storyline that probably has the longest reach across the novel is that of Colonel Fitzwilliam as he grows from an ambitious soldier to a man who desires a steady home life and family of his own. His storyline had quite a few twists and turns, and I highly enjoyed his journey as an individual.
While I didn’t enjoy In the Arms of Mr. Darcy as much as I had hoped, it was still a pleasant, ambling stroll with the characters of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Again, I could have done without the amount of sexual detail with Darcy & Lizzie, but at least that aspect was kept within a married relationship. Little Alexander Darcy was simply adorable, and the way his parents doted on him almost made me fancy another little one myself! Books 1-3 are still on my shelf, and I do plan to read them as well. This Janeite cannot get enough of these characters, and I’m pleased that Sharon Lathan has given them another enjoyable way of being in this reader’s life.
This title was provided by Sourcebooks Landmark.
No obligation other than an honest review was required.
is my third foray into Abigail Reynolds’ novels. To be honest, when I picked it up to read this month I was unsure about it. The previous two novels I’d read had left me frustrated at the amount of graphic sexual content that was used. As I began reading Obsession, I said, “C’mon, Abigail! Tell us a good story! You don’t need that extra stuff! I know you’ve got it in you. Please….”
From the back cover:
explores how Jo, a journalist investigating hypnotic regression, plunges into the life of Matilda, Lady of Hay—who lived eight hundred years earlier. As she learns of Matilda’s unhappy marriage, her troubled love for Richard de Clare, and the brutal treatment she received from King John, it seems that Jo’s past and present are hopelessly entwined. Centuries later, a story of secret passion and unspeakable treachery is about to begin again—and she has no choice but to brave both lives if she wants to shake the iron grip of history.”
London, 1888: A series of gruesome murders were attributed to the mysterious “Jack the Ripper”, but the identity of the serial killer or killers was never conclusively determined. Today there are scores of theories postulating a solution to this now infamous mystery. As a result, many works of fiction have grown out of these speculations.
, the real-life yet fictionalized versions of Henry, William and Alice James are brought in to investigate the murders. Henry has a novelist’s point of view as he ponders the killer’s choices. He even sees some similarities in the passion of the murderer with his own passion for writing. His elder brother William is a respected psychologist and philosopher who works to get into the mind of the killer in order to apprehend him. Although Sister Alice is mostly confined to her bed, she assists in the investigation by offering her opinions and observations as details are brought to her. Together they work to solve an urgent mystery, sometimes putting their very lives in danger to do so.