Historical Romance
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Published: 1.38.25
Time: 18 hours 25 minutes
Speed: 1
Rating: 3.5 stars
Narrator Rating: 5 stars
Format: audio
Source: Tantor Audio
Sellers: Amazon
ADD TO: GoodReads
GoodReads Synopsis:
At a dinner party in London during the season, Fitzwilliam Darcy meets an enchanting young woman. Though he recognizes her beauty and poise, he is struck by a sense of familiarity and realizes she is someone connected to him.
What follows is a whirlwind of events in which the woman's lineage is discovered and her true identity is established. Darcy quickly realizes she is a woman estimable in her own right, and he finds himself besotted.
But amid the miraculous events of a lost soul returning home, dark forces conspire against the young woman, for her loss was not an accident. And so it is that a man is moved to action by a boon long denied, determined to avoid being cheated by Miss Elizabeth Bennet again.
Sophia Rose's Review:
What if Elizabeth was kidnapped from her birth family and been brought up as a Bennet and then discovered by none other than Mr. Darcy? In this latest Jann Rowland, there is ‘Elizabeth isn’t a Bennet’ variation trope, family, adoption, class difference, intrigue, and slow burn romance combined for one engaging plot.
I’ve been enjoying Jann Rowland books narrated by the incomparable Harry Frost for the last few years and these P&P variations are something of an auto-buy for me at this point.
That said, this one started so strong and absorbing for me only to fizzle out in the latter half to a story I limped through for a moderately engaging finish.
So, let’s get to it. The kidnapping, the early days of Darcy discovering Elizabeth as his cousin, her learning the truth and the truth being presented to her birth family, then her adopted family learns about her true status, the reason Lizzy was forced out of her adopted home to live in London, the suspense of the ‘Hunter’ learning his plans twenty years before were foiled, early days of being presented to extended family and the Ton, and early stirrings of love were ‘chef’s kiss’ lovely.
Elizabeth has to face those who might be a hindrance like Miss Bingley, her ambitious adopted mother Mrs. Bennet, and Lady Catherine. I enjoyed the surprise choices on how these conflicts turned out.
But,
Then it just stalled out for the middle third of the book. During Elizabeth’s societal debut, she encounters men who turn her off and a few are practically stalkers. Elizabeth says no, all her male relations including her father an earl says no, and yet for several chapters it is rinse, wash, repeat of these same guys still making their play. It made no sense. Elizabeth isn’t the only titled heiress in the world and all one of them did was insult her or get offended by her yet he still kept coming back. It was almost comedy to me at this point. I wouldn’t have minded so much, but the budding romance remains a little bud and the mysterious ‘hunter’ is also busy with the villain grumblings and cacklings and little else. I had to set it aside for other books including another by this author that I adored so much, but then came back to it hoping upon hope that the last third would pick up and finish strong.
Ahem… while not as dull as the central third, I found the hunter’s reveal and motives were a sad letdown since I felt the motive didn’t explain the drastic measures of a kidnapping and continued efforts against the adult Elizabeth. The romance which had been percolating in the background since their meeting never really got that special sparkle though, of course, I loved them together.
In summary, Harry Frost was lights out fabulous and the first third to half of the book was five-star marvelous, but it left me wanting after that. So, a moderately good gentle historical romance by a talented author and narrator.
Author Bio:
Jann Rowland is a Canadian, born and bred. Other than a two-year span in which he lived in Japan, he has been a resident of the Great White North his entire life, though he professes to still hate the winters.
Though Jann did not start writing until his mid-twenties, writing has grown from a hobby to an all-consuming passion. His interests as a child were almost exclusively centered on the exotic fantasy worlds of Tolkien and Eddings, among a host of others. As an adult, his interests have grown to include historical fiction and romance, with a particular focus on the works of Jane Austen.
When Jann is not writing, he enjoys rooting for his favorite sports teams. He is also a master musician (in his own mind) who enjoys playing piano and singing as well as moonlighting as the choir director in his church’s congregation.
Jann lives in Alberta with his wife of more than twenty years, two grown sons, and one young daughter. He is convinced that whatever hair he has left will be entirely gone by the time his little girl hits her teenage years. Sadly, though he has told his daughter repeatedly that she is not allowed to grow up, she continues to ignore him.
Website: http://onegoodsonnet.com/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/
Twitter: @OneGoodSonnet
Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/bol2p9
Sophia’s Bio:
Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sophia.rose.7587
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sophiarose1816
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418187.Sophia_Rose
Well I'm glad it was ok and not bad at least.
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