Fated to Meet: A Pride and Prejudice Variation

by Madeline Kennet

While spending the autumn in London, Elizabeth Bennet misses Mr. Bingley’s arrival in Meryton and the assembly, but she keeps encountering an unknown gentleman to whom she is irresistibly drawn. Mr. Darcy’s heart is stirred by her as well, and each time their paths cross he longs to see her again. Fate always intended them to meet. 32,000 words

Genres: Romance, Regency

101 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2016

Reviews

[J. W. Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

No angst, little drama, but a lot of romantic notions and inclinations

Oh what a cute story. This was a quick read that can be accomplished in one sitting. It is off canon; however, I loved this variation. I enjoyed the romantic interactions of our dear couple as they circled each other over and over again while Elizabeth stayed with Uncle and Aunt Gardiner in London. At every turn they kept noticing each other. At the theater, in the park, while Darcy was in his carriage, at the jewelers, their eyes would meet and information would be conveyed. It was so romantic and I enjoyed the simplistic nature of their encounters. We were nearly halfway through the book before they were actually introduced at the Netherfield Ball. The romantic tension was extended to the limit of endurance of the reader. I realized this was a low angst story, but every once in a while, you need a good story to sooth the ruffled feathers of a rough day. It was cute, predictable, enjoyable and simply lovely watching the admiration build between the lovers.

[Carol Perrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rated to Meet: A Pride and Prejudice Variation

A very happy and enjoyable story. None of the extreme pride on Darcy's feelings nor the extreme prejudice on Elizabeth's feelings. The feelings about one another began at the theatre. Elizabeth noticed the care and considerate attention to his younger companion. Thinking her to be his wife, Elizabeth felt that this is the type of marriage she wanted. Aunt Gardiner tells her that the young lady is too young to be married and is probably his sister. Let Lizzy's dreams begin. Unknown to Elizabeth, Darcy noticed her sparking eyes and laughter. Darcy had dreams of his own. After passing several times, their eyes holding each other with respect, their dreams escalated that hang priority, the next time they would introduce themselves. He met the Gardiners through a mutual friend, but his dream had left that morning for Longbourn. He invited them to Pemberley when they were to take their trip with Elizabeth. He finally decides to go to Netherfield for Bingley's ball and meets her there. He is taken aback by Wickham's presence and is not happy. When Wickham dances with Elizabeth, Darcy is very concerned especially after his not so welcomed greeting. Elizabeth figures Wickham out. He is just like Collins, but handsome. Elizabeth hears Darcy telling Bingley to follow his heart and ignore his sister's demands. Jane and Bingley are married first, but Elizabeth and Darcy are married right after Christmas. No angst, but we know Wickham's treachery with Georgiana. No Wickham really, other than attending the ball. And last but not least, no Lady Catherine. Darcy gave none of his family any forwarding about his wedding except Georgiana.

[Sheila Majczan · Rating 4 out of 5]

At only 100 pages this was a quick read as others mention. The song about Strangers in the Night, Two Lonely People…kept coursing through my head. Another author did begin her tale of Darcy and Elizabeth first seeing each other across a crowded theater but in this one as they are viewing a play. Elizabeth fights to keep her eyes from staring at the handsome gentleman who is showing such solicitous care of his “wife” and she remarks to her aunt how she would like a husband who showed such care if she ever marries. Aunt Gardiner observes the couple and states her opinion that the female is his sister as she is too young to be a wife. So Elizabeth can have wistful thoughts about an unknown gentleman.

What I liked most about this tale was how each made observations about the other’s character in judging the behavior, watching their interaction with various other people or even in overhearing conversations. What was written made sense to me in how their esteem grew with these times they came upon each other with not knowing the identity of the person so ensnaring their admiration.

Yes, Elizabeth is spending time in London and Jane writes letters about the Meryton Assembly and how the two new gentlemen impressed or antagonized the community. When Bingley holds a ball and Elizabeth finally learns who Darcy is she must decide if she will trust her own judgment and instincts or listen to the opinions of everyone else.

And then he does not help his case when he is the tongue tied Darcy we all know from canon as they are finally introduced. But during this ball ODC does find time to hold further conversation. Wickham and Caroline have cameo roles but then bow out. “Little did we know that love was just a dance away…”

A very sweet angst free quick read to fill a short space of time for all JAFF lovers.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes one just wants Darcy and Elizabeth to have fewer problems to overcome in their relationship. Occasionally one just wants to see the romantic aspects of P&P. Fated to Meet is a nice antidote to the angst and issues so often faced by our dear couple.

Fated to Meet is a very short variation where Elizabeth and Darcy have several silent encounters in London. As their eyes meet in various situations, they form impressions of each other and they wish to meet. But, circumstances keep them apart. The reader is left to wonder if they will ever meet.

But, they do, of course, as they are Fated to Meet. This is a very sweet story and just a bit of fluff to lighten up your day. Appreciating it for what it is, it is highly recommended.

[Dung · Rating 4 out of 5]

The other reviews sum it up nicely. Short and sweet with no angst.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. While there isn't angst in the context of horrible barriers erected, there's a lovely sense of reader anticipation which builds as Darcy and Elizabeth repeatedly come across each other's path in London.

She is visiting her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner while Mr. Bingley takes residence in Netherfield. Darcy and Elizabeth each notice and feel an attraction for the other, and they have a strong desire to meet each other. Unfortunately, Regency manners dictate that they must be properly introduced by a third party. There are a number of near misses, and things develop so they DO have acquaintances in common, but... AAARRRGGGHHH!! Missed being introduced yet again!

In the meantime, Elizabeth exchanges letters with Jane. She hears all about the Meryton assembly and the haughty and rude Mr. Darcy, who refuses to dance with anyone except the ladies in his own party. He even is overheard insulting Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth's best friend. Darcy and Elizabeth both return to Hertfordshire in time attend the Netherfield ball. Mr. Wickham also is in attendance, dances with Elizabeth before Darcy, and doesn't waste time pouring his sob story into her ears. So how might she respond when she finally has the long-awaited introduction to Darcy?

I thought this was very cleverly done-- a delightful novella-length story.

[Les · Rating 5 out of 5]

SQUEEEEE X 1000!! Where is the 10 Stars button??

This is a short, sweet, utterly brilliant re-imagining of P&P without much Pride or Prejudice. It imagines a world where Lizzy and Darcy admire each other from afar in London without meeting. Thus literally seeing one another at his or her best they can create an idealized version. Darcy is willing to overlook her lack of connections or consequence and she his habit of being silent.

When they finally do meet at the Netherfield ball they are half in love with one another. This is a book of insight and self awareness and simply scrumptious.
LOVED IT!!!

[Hazel Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

My sheer enjoyment of this novella might have been due to reading it between two books I did not really like. There is little angst just a lovely voyage of discovery for Elizabeth and Darcy. It is frustrating how they almost meet properly several times but that's the fun of the story. This will not set the literary world on fire but it is a really feel good short story that definitely left me feeling good. Short and sweet!

[colleen churm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fated to Meet.

This was a very sweet story. Darcy and Lizzie kept seeing each other while Lizzie was visiting the Gardiners in London. Finally they meet at the famous Netherfield Ball. My favorite part was when Lizzie brushed off our dastardly Lieutenant. A good, calm read. Miss Bingley was her usual obnoxious self but she didn't get very far with her attack on the Bennet family.

[Kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet, sweet, sweet!!! Letters from Jane to Elizabeth!!!!! And then letters back...yeah! Did I mention letters from Jane yet????? :) :) :)

[Sam H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fairytale kind of story

Utterly sweet, love at first sight story. Almost no misunderstandings or conflict. ODC feel bonded on their various sightings of each other in town. They finally get to meet at the Netherfield ball and after a slow start, plow thru and connect in a real way- with words, options and everything.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous off canon P&P variation!!!

I have to say that this was a thoroughly enjoyable off canon tale of ODC!! It was a short, yet complete story that snatched my complete attention until I could finish it within the same day!!!

The story starts out with Elizabeth enjoying the season in London with her aunt and uncle Gardiner. While out enjoying a play, a strikingly handsome gentleman captures her eye and she has difficulty keeping her eyes away, even under her suspicion that the lovely young lady with him is his wife. Her attraction is caught because of how solicitous the gentleman is with his companion. Elizabeth's aunt has another opinion on who the young lady is.

As a fellow reviewer JW Garret stated in her review, "I enjoyed the romantic inclinations of our dear couple as they circled each other over and over again while Elizabeth stayed with Uncle and Aunt Gardiner in London. At every turn they kept noticing each other. At the theater, in the park, while Darcy was in his carriage, at the jewelers, their eyes would meet and information would be conveyed. It was so romantic and I enjoyed the simplistic nature of their encounters." I totally agree with her, but she put it so eloquently that I had to quote her!!!!

Where to minimal angst comes in is that though she never actually meet or interacted with the gentleman, she had to choose between her observations and the negative reports of Mr Darcy when she actually meets him at the Netherfield Ball and the gentlemen are one in the same. I am so glad that things were able to get ironed out with some little conversation between ODC!!!

This is definitely a favorite of mine and I will highly recommend it to all JAFFers!!

[JMarcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sweet, quick read. Our dear couple experience a series of encounters, near misses if you will, where they see each other but never actually meet. Each is intrigued and attracted, but cannot see any way to meet. In the meantime, while Elizabeth stays in London, Darcy accompanies Bingley to Netherfield for a week, and the infamous comment at the Assembly is made to all the girls in general, and Charlotte is the recipient of not being asked to dance. Darcy returns to London, hoping to find his lady walking in the park, to no avail, but it gives him time for introspection, seeing himself in danger of becoming like Miss Bingley, and wanting to be better. Of course Collins arrives at Longbourn, and letters from Jane, who having been at Netherfield without her sister present had her eyes opened to the Bingley sisters, gives Elizabeth the impression she may cave and accept Collins due to the apparent disapproval of Caroline dashing her hopes of Bingley. Elizabeth rushes home to help, unknowingly missing by hours an opportunity to finally meet Darcy, in her uncle's home no less. At this supper, Darcy finds out more about his elusive lady, just not her actual location. He decides at the last minute to attend the Bingley ball. Elizabeth arrives, fighting off the insipid attentions of the odious toad, only to at first be greatly surprised to see her gentleman present, disappointed in their cold interaction at their introduction, then she meets and dances with Wickham. Fortunately she quickly sees how self-centered he is, and quickly dismisses his story of woe. To this point, she has had a poor evening, but Darcy asks her to dance, and they finally have the chance to get to know each other. I'll leave what happens from there for you to find out.

[MaryR · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet story, odd writing

This novella is, as another reviewer pointed out, very much like the beginning of Linda Well's excellent novel, Memory. As a very short novella (read in under an hour) , they is little room for plot or character development.. It is very predictable, no angst, no tension, no misunderstanding, almost no dialogue.

While each author has his or her own distinctive style, it is desirous as a reader that it not be at the expense of readability. There is not a single word written in italics in this piece, yet many uses of self-talk/inner dialogue and irony are found. The POV switches frequently back and forth between the two main characters even in the same scene when they are finally introduced somewhere past the two-thirds midpoint of the story. Also, there are no chapter indications. There are page breaks with titles, which are sometimes a single scene, sometimes multiple. Letters back and forth between the two oldest Bennet sisters is a plot device early own, but again, without typical letter parts , location, salutation, signature, actually any start or ending point even an ellipsis, it is takes a bit to realise who is writing and when one letter has been aborted and another picked up mid- point. All in all, it makes the reading of this novella a bit awkward.

A simple, one-time read, not one I would repeat.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

While entertaining, short and sweet, this what-if story about Lizzy and Darcy almost meeting several times in London prior to and during the first half of Pride and Prejudice, is not a strong story. There is a lack of conflict but it is great if you want to read something fluffy, light and quick.
Jane is a bit out of character in her letters (casting judgement on Mr Darcy which is unlike her optimistic nature.) Lizzy is far more perceptive than the original Lizzy and Darcy is less pretentious.
But it was fun, despite some issues with historical accuracy and all.
Worth a read, especially if you have access to Kindle Unlimited.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of choppy.

Sentences tended to be choppy, with a lot of telling, not showing. The concept of the story was pretty good, but I didn't think it was that well executed.

[lori huff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet

Just a short little bit of fluff, but sweet and romantic. Darcy and Elizabeth see each other from afar, and speculate on each other's characters, for several weeks before actually meeting. They both form an ideal impression of the other, so are predisposed to like each other when they do finally meet at the Netherfield ball.

This is not great literature, but is well crafted and a pleasant way to pass a couple of hours. There is not all the usual angst, other than a snarky Caroline Bingley who is easily neutralized by a more sensitive Darcy and Bingley. The book is well written and well edited. I recommend it as a fun read.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short, angst free story that was sweet, but a little strange. It was a love at first sight story that didn't really have much of a plot besides the romance. It had lots of fluff, but not a lot of substance. D & E were very out of character, but I did moderately enjoy it due to the fact that it was short. Some things are better in small doses. Good for a rainy afternoon.

[Katja · Rating 3 out of 5]

This starts slowly as most of this short book takes place before Darcy and Lizzy meet. They exchange googly eyes from a distance in London, jumping to a lot of conclusions about each other. Darcy befriends the Gardiners before meeting Lizzy at the Netherfield ball. The pace picks up when Darcy still manages to say the wrong thing and Wickham is there to spew his poison, but eventually their dance is a success and they're great friends by the time the ball is over.

Darcy had managed to make himself disagreeable in Meryton and Wickham was already Lydia's favorite but those threads are left hanging.

There is some nice swan imagery.

[Emily Bowman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorably delightful

What a cute concept. This is definently a light hearted read; it's clean, it's a sigh worthy and, extremely low angst. It's proven to be a worthy light hearted escape from reality. A fun read for any p&p variation lover.

[Yas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely

This book was delightful. The story is sweet and endearing. It is a short story, however we still get a chance to grow attached to the characters.
It is a lovely book to entertain oneself on a lazy afternoon.

[Lynn Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

enjoyed it

[dove🤎 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book started really well but then everything happened so quickly.

[Zhora · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5/5

[Jen B · Rating 4 out of 5]

[reread apparently according to KU, it was familiar but didn't remember the details on the reread] 4* meet cute where they didn't manage to actually meet until the Netherfield Ball.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a quick, fun Variation of Pride and Prejudice that I really enjoyed reading. I loved how Elizabeth and Darcy kept seeing one another around London and hoping to find a chance to be introduced by a common acquaintance. I plan to read more by this author in the future.

[Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very sweet story, pure fluff, that has absolutely no substance, no meat to it. At only 30+k words, it's a quick read as well. There is very little angst if any at all. So if you want a quick sappy pick me up book, this is to be highly recommended. There is no trouble, no conflict at all. The D/E courtship happens mainly in London, before they even know each other's name, let alone meet each other officially. As someone else mentioned, the song "Strangers in the Night" is definitely inevitably what comes to mind, as it sums up the situation pretty well. Darcy even saves Elizabeth the bother and corrects his behaviour out of his own volition, thanks to a comment of Miss Bingley's: Her assumption that his and her opinions are the same, that they share the same disdain for the feelings of others shakes him up and makes him realise he needs to change. Well well, Miss Bingley. How very useful of you! :)

Three things in this book I wish had been a bit expanded:


1) It's Charlotte against whom Darcy makes his ill-fated remark at the assembly.

2) Because Elizabeth is in London at the time, Jane has no one to nurse her back to health in Netherfield. Consequently, Jane's rose-coloured glasses are ripped away, and she recognises the Bingley sisters for the false friends they are very early.

3) Because Elizabeth did not have a dislike against Darcy as motivator, Elizabeth recognised Wickham's tale of woe for what it is immediately. Of course it also helps Elizabeth knows Darcy to be honourable and kind by that time. But since too many times people forget that Elizabeth *would not* have been taken in by Wickham had it not been for her determination to dislike Darcy, there are far too many P&P FF that have Elizabeth believing Wickham even without Darcy in the picture, which always annoys me. So kudos to the author on that count.


So yeah, I wish these three things had been a bit expounded on, but I recognise that would not be possible if in the framework of this particular story.

[Sheryl Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light and Pleasing

Within a genre often ripe with unnecessary, intentional angst, this brief story cuts to the chase. The author is talented, incorporating full episodes and thorough characterization. She writes an abbreviated but fresh plot line, reminiscent of longer stories, but it's reliance on coincidence most closely imitates the similarities with its Canon origin. Well done light fare.

[Christi · Rating 2 out of 5]

My major problem with this book was the utter lack of conflict in it. So, Darcy makes a poor first impression upon actually meeting. It's solved within an hour and a single dance. It was a cute attempt at a 'what if' but fell short of better stories (even some without the benefit of a unique premise).

[Nisi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3.5: A nice story

This is a pleasant and light story reminiscent of Linda Well's epic "Memory" series. Although not as substantive (or as satisfying) as Ms. Well's stories, I did like the story but didn't love it especially when compared to the former.