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Sooooo hard to narrow it down to 10All That This Entails Noell Chesney READ
Abandoned at the Altar: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Julie Cooper READ
The Bachelor Mr Darcy Julie Cooper
His Secret Betrothal: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Renee McKenzie READ
The Art of Apology: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Lucy Marin READ
Twins for Mr. Darcy: A Pride & Prejudice Variation J. Dawn King
Consequences C.P. Odom READ
Thwarted: A Darcy and Elizabeth Pride and Prejudice Variation M.J. Stratton
Once Upon a Compromise: A Pride & Prejudice Variation Novella Jennifer Joy READ
Born From the Ashes: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Meeyah Channan
This is such a good idea! I am looking forward to seeing your top 10 lists :-)
Here is my list.
Most of them are read for the first in 2025 except for two.
All of them are available as audios except for #3 and #5
1) Dishonorable gentlemen - Summer Hanford
Very original premise, isn't a variation but reimagination
First in a duology, the second book is just as good.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
2) The Lake house at Ramsgate - M J Stratton
Inspired by the movie with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves very elegant brought in to the Pride and Prejudice universe
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
3) My dear friend - Heather Moll
Darcy and Elizabeth become anonymous pen pals
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
4) The winter of our discontent - Grace Gibson
A forced marriage situation
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
5) Better luck next time - Alix James
Also a reimagination and Elizabeth not a Bennet.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
6) A sister's curse - Jayne Bamber
Also a great reimagination
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
7) Done for the best - Amy D'Oracio
Elizabeth has a mishap after the disastrous Hunsford proposal and wakes up with memory loss a thinking she is engaged to Mr Darcy
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
8) The magic of Pemberley - Abigail Reynolds
The second book of magical quartet. The third book is also published
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
9) Tempt me - Julie Cooper
Mr Darcy as vampire
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
10) The mist of her memory - Suzanne Lauder
Another memory loss story
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
ooh! The Lake House. Forgot about that one.Oooff too many to choose from and mine were all from the first half of the year!
I am impressed that you both who read and listened to tons of books this year were able to narrow it down so well, Sam and Nina.I shall go next and hope I can follow your lead and keep it to ten. :)
Like the others, my list could have gone on and on. This means there are many more 'golden' reads that I didn't include.I have a mix of books I took for review, books from my own shelves, borrowed books, and one online fanfic. Most are from the first half of my reading year. There are a wide variety of release years. I'm pretty sure several will become re-reads.
1. Georgiana’s Friend by CP Odom
2. A Bouquet of Bennets, Mary's Story by Victoria Lynn
3. Turnabout by Sydney Salier
4. Pemberley to Waterloo: Georgiana Darcy's Diary, Volume 2 by Anna Elliott *** This is a second book in a series that must be read in order
5. Still Waters: A Pride and Prejudice variation by Elin Eriksen
6. Love by Turns: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary Novella by Kimbelle Pease
7. Brighton Rescue: A Pride and Prejudice Variationby Laraba Kendig
8. The Redemption of Lydia Wickham: A Pride and Prejudice Sequel/Variation by MJ Stratton
9. Belle Lisette by Jan Hahn*** this is a second book in series that must be read in order
10. Children of Mansfield by maembe13 (unpub from fanfiction.net
Here are mine 
I might have 1 or 2 more once I finish the book to add to list
here are some of my five stars in no particular order (i also loved several that have already been mentioned)
A Public Compromise: A Pride & Prejudice Variation
An Offer of Marriage: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Disarmed: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Enamoured
Expectations: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
May I Have the Pleasure: Six Pride and Prejudice Stories in Six Styles
Letter to Georgiana: A Sweet Pride and Prejudice Variation
Fair Stands the Wind: A Pride and Prejudice Variation I also loved Lover's meeting by this author
Once Upon a Compromise: A Pride & Prejudice Variation Novella
The Seven Sins of Fitzwilliam Darcy
Honourable mentions include my regular rereads: Unequal affections, Tact, Elizabeth Adams's Houseguest, Unwilling, How to fall in love with a man you thought you hated, Jennifer Altman's books, some of Abigail Reynolds...
Not at all easy to cut it down to 10 but I have managed it. These were all first time reads,Mr. Darcy and the Enchanted Library: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Jane Austen at Home
The Making of Lady Catherine de Bourgh
The Sound of Christmas: A Jazz-Age Pride and Prejudice Christmas Variation
Pemberley / Rosings Park: A Pride & Prejudice Variation (a 2 part series)
More Than You Know
The Zephyr: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
A Heart's Secret: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
All Stirred Up
Without Undue Pride
I have’t reached 50 Austen-related reads yet this year and probably won’t, but here are some gems I enjoyed. Plz note that I include under this umbrella Austen lit crit and biography, as well as books that illuminate her era. Not ranked.1. Anne Toledo, Emma Watson and Her Sisters: A continuation of Jane Austen's fragment. Available only on Kindle so far as I can determine. Not the most accurate novel based on The Watsons but the one I find most interesting to read.
2. Mrs. Hubback, The younger sister. The first Watsons completion. Very Victorian-melodrama but excellent dialogue and full of hints about Austen’s intentions.
3. Honorable mention: Kaila Eve Haines, The Watsons: Emma—very inaccurate to the era but also an original take on the story and full of heart.
4. Tom Keymer, Jane Austen: Writing, Society, Politics. This teeny book is an ideal introduction to critical analysis of the novels. It covers a lot of ground in an accessible way. Insightful and thoughtful.
5. Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones’s Diary. I hadn’t read it since it first came out but found it as clever and hilarious and touching as ever.
6. Irene Collins, Jane Austen and the Clergy. This book is much better than her later, more accessible study. It is a VERY deep dive into the lives and culture of the clergy in Jane Austen’s day.
7. Janice Hadlow, The Other Bennet Sister. A bit long but interesting.
8. Jude Morgan, A Little Folly. No Austen characters but a very accomplished and hilarious novel set in the Regency.
9. Susannah Gibson, The Bluestockings: A History of the First Women's Movement. Fascinating short biographies of the female writers and intellectuals of the generation before Jane Austen.
Six Weeks by the Sea
Caytee
The Suspicion at Sanditon
Orange Roses
Sanditon on Reflection
Introducing Mrs Collins
A Tale of Two Suitors
I just want to sneak a new one in .... If you want some modern Christmas fun (clean content) then I really do recommend Melanie Rachel's new one, Unwrapping Christmas: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Kirk wrote: "Six Weeks by the SeaCaytee
The Suspicion at Sanditon
[bookcover:The Suspicion at Sanditon (Or, The Disappearance of Lady D..."
Kirk, you seem to be on a Sanditon kick—might you have some project in mind? 🤔
Sanditon kick...yes!!! Project...alas no. Certainly tempting for a fluffy and very very very short fan fiction.net thingy...if I ever free myself from something from a dream several yrs ago.
Kirk wrote: "Sanditon kick...yes!!! Project...alas no. Certainly tempting for a fluffy and very very very short fan fiction.net thingy...if I ever free myself from something from a dream several yrs ago."Please let us know if you do. We'd love to cheer you on.
Sam wrote: "Kirk wrote: "Sanditon kick...yes!!! Project...alas no. Certainly tempting for a fluffy and very very very short fan fiction.net thingy...if I ever free myself from something from a dream several yr..."Thx!!! Cheering on is a most
delightful thought! (And, of course, editing!)
Yes! Kirk, we depend on you to fix Sanditon
Katja wrote: "Yes! Kirk, we depend on you to fix Sanditon"Thx!!! Fix??? Hahaha…you mean muddle and confuse in my figure eight
“style”. But I’m thinking a series of brief
fluffy sequels is the very thing to work
on…ie it’s been 20 yrs since…
I hope you do turn to it someday, Kirk! The story I’ve always wanted to engage with is Catharine; or, The Bower (or is it Catherine? I’m too lazy to go look it up).
Abigail wrote: "I hope you do turn to it someday, Kirk! The story I’ve always wanted to enfage with is Catharine; or, The Bower (or is it Catherine? I’m too lazy to go look it up)."Or perhaps "The Beautiful Cassandra [sic]"? Now that could be interesting....
I am starting a day early with The Lake House at Ramsgate by M.J. Stratton as recommended by Nina.I have never seen the film so I am going at this fresh.
I might do Orange roses or The Lake House at Ramsgate as my pick for December
I’d like to read Six Weeks by the Sea by Paula Byrne—thank you for reminding me about this book, Kirk!
I'm leaning toward Introducing Mrs. Collins, but we'll see... I might join some of you with The Lake House at Ramsgate.Six Weeks by the Sea is a good one, Abigail. Like I said, I couldn't cram in all the ones I loved onto my list. :)
Craftyhj wrote: "Abigail wrote: "I hope you do turn to it someday, Kirk! The story I’ve always wanted to enfage with is Catharine; or, The Bower (or is it Catherine? I’m too lazy to go look it up)."Or perhaps "Th..."
Hmmmmmmm….. I don’t think anything
can compare with the original. However,
just the mention of the original and all
kinds of sparks started flying…
Abigail wrote: "I hope you do turn to it someday, Kirk! The story I’ve always wanted to enfage with is Catharine; or, The Bower (or is it Catherine? I’m too lazy to go look it up)."Someone finished it but
didn’t do a ton(pun?) w it.
Abigail wrote: "I’d like to read Six Weeks by the Sea by Paula Byrne—thank you for reminding me about this book, Kirk!"Yeah!
Thank you Patricia! A Tale of Two Suitors was…wait for it…purrfect!
Kirk wrote: "Thank you Patricia! A Tale of Two Suitors was…wait for it…purrfect!
"Lol (*at purrfect*)
I am glad you enjoyed it! :)
I have managed two so far,1) The Lake House at Ramsgate by M.J. Stratton as recommended by Nina.
I really enjoyed this one. I have never seen the film so only had a hazy idea of what to expect. My only quibble was that it perhaps took a but to long to get going and came to an end a bit too quickly but it was very enjoyable.
2) Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding as recommended by Abigail.
I read this when it first came out 30 years ago but had not been back to it since. I listened to the audio version and I rally enjoyed it. I had forgotten just how good the book is.
I may well dip into the lists again later in the month.
Craftyhj wrote: "Abigail wrote: "I hope you do turn to it someday, Kirk! The story I’ve always wanted to enfage with is Catharine; or, The Bower (or is it Catherine? I’m too lazy to go look it up)."Or perhaps "Th..."
The Beautifull Cassandra has been done! By the guy who wrote the Bitch in a Bonnet blog, forgetting his name.
Abigail wrote: "Craftyhj wrote: "Abigail wrote: "I hope you do turn to it someday, Kirk! The story I’ve always wanted to enfage with is Catharine; or, The Bower (or is it Catherine? I’m too lazy to go look it up)...."I must look it up. The Beautifull Cassandra is one of Lucy Worsley's favourites.
I am wrong! So sorry. The author in question is Robert Rodi and the story he completed was “Edgar and Emma.” Goodreads not letting me link to the book.
Abigail wrote: "I am wrong! So sorry. The author in question is Robert Rodi and the story he completed was “Edgar and Emma.” Goodreads not letting me link to the book."I will have to look it up, thanks.
Finished my Jane Austen Gold read, Six Weeks by the Sea by Paula Byrne. Man, was that ever a disappointment! I thought Byrne was a Jane Austen scholar, but the book was riddled with obvious errors. I thought the writing was jerky and inconsistent too, and she falsified the history of a real person instead of creating a fictionalized character based on the person. Waste of a great story idea.I know, I know, tell us how you really feel, Abigail.
Abigail wrote: "Finished my Jane Austen Gold read, Six Weeks by the Sea by Paula Byrne. Man, was that ever a disappointment! I thought Byrne was a Jane Austen scholar, but the book was riddled with obvious errors...."LOL, but I do feel bad you were disappointed so much. I was struck by that oddity relating to fictionalizing the real person, too.
On the bright side, I'm currently very much enjoying another book with Jane Austen as a character! The Austens by Sarah Emsley. The Austens: A Novel
And whaddaya know--Goodreads let me link to it! Maybe they've fixed the glitch?
Two more finished - and both definitely deserved to be in the Gold list.Expectations: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Julie Cooper
and
The Winter of Our Discontent: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Grace Gibson
Both quite sad at times, definitely in the 'serious-no-fluff' category. But both very good indeed. The Winter of Our Discontent: A Pride and Prejudice Variation is really superb indeed. There is rather too much that is mediocre in this genre at the moment and these two were head and shoulders above. It is good to know there is still quality writing out there.
Craftyhj wrote: "Two more finished - and both definitely deserved to be in the Gold list.Expectations: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Julie Cooper
and
[book:The Winter of Ou..."
You sold me on them. I haven't read either yet, but I will. :)
Abigail wrote: "On the bright side, I'm currently very much enjoying another book with Jane Austen as a character! The Austens by Sarah Emsley. The Austens: A Novel"I wasn't even aware of that one and I love that its about Charles and Fanny in the story- a first for me.
I hadn’t either; a member of my local book group saw it was available from the library and asked if I’d read it. Sarah Emsley is a scholar of Austen, Wharton, and L. M. Montgomery (do I have those initials right?) living in Nova Scotia and I think this is her first novel. She is truly a master of the details of the lives of J.A. as well as of Charles and Fanny, but better than that, she has imagined the texture of those lives with great empathy. It’s really an extraordinary book, told in alternating letters and narratives, and she illuminates the inner landscapes of Fanny and Jane with equal insight. Their lives are so different and she refrains from treating one set of choices as “right” and the other as “wrong.” It may be a little overlong—occasionally she falls prey to the scholar-turned-author’s fault of including an unnecessary scene just to show what her research has taught her—but those moments are rare and forgivable against the deep insight into the two women as people. Her letters from Jane really capture the style of the original’s correspondence.
I haven’t finished it yet but I’m wowed! I had to violate my Amazon boycott to get it on Kindle, but halfway through I learned a hard copy could be bought at a ruinous price from the Jane Austen Bookstore, so of course I did! Must have for my permanent Austenesque collection.
Abigail wrote: "I hadn’t either; a member of my local book group saw it was available from the library and asked if I’d read it. Sarah Emsley is a scholar of Austen, Wharton, and L. M. Montgomery (do I have thos..."
Well, say no more! You sold me on it. :)
I slipped my Golden read in this week of Christmas and it was a pip. I can totally see why Introducing Mrs. Collins made the cut.
Nina wrote: "This is such a good idea! I am looking forward to seeing your top 10 lists :-)
Here is my list.
Most of them are read for the first in 2025 except for two.
All of them are available as audios ex..."
I just finished
wow no words. My first 5 stars of the year. I loved this!
Patricia wrote: "Nina wrote: "This is such a good idea! I am looking forward to seeing your top 10 lists :-)
Here is my list.
Most of them are read for the first in 2025 except for two.
All of them are available..."
Love that you got a five-star read to start off the year!
Considering its our Golden Ten anniversary year and Jane Austen's 250th birthday, our annual Austen Gold group read title seems extra spot on.
Austen Gold Group Read is a two part activity that will wrap up our challenge year and hopefully give readers more books to consider while fitting in one last book for the year.
Time to award your GOLD winners!
The first section of the challenge is easy. LIST your favorite Austenesque books read during 2025. Release year does not matter and try to keep it under ten.
Make sure both title and author are listed because we definitely want others to peruse and maybe find their next favorite, too. You're welcome to share why the book made your list, if you like.
Leave your lists any time between now and the end of the year though, preferably, by Dec 1st.
Read another GOLD Winner!
Once you leave your list, peruse the other lists and choose to read a book from someone else's list that you think sounds good. Even better if it's already on your own TBR pile.
If you don't spot one from another list that you already have access to, try choosing one from your own wish list that you know a group member has given a five-star rating.
Because it's the holiday season, feel free to start reading early. Happy Reading, fellow challengers!