Colonel Brandon Level 101-199 Books

[Sheila]

Debbie wrote: "I'm honestly not TRYING to keep pace with Sheila-- it's just turning out that way!

181. A Proper Introduction to Dragons - 5 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
..."

Great progress, Debbie. I will add that last one to my TBR list.

[J. W.]

I am so enjoying your #181. Even though I followed it on her website... I am having fun reading it again.

[Debbie]

It was actually a second read for me, too, Jeanne. Much more enjoyable to have it all in hand to read at your own pace! I often forget to record W.I.P.s because (strange as it sounds) reading them doesn't FEEL like reading a book to me. I just don't get the same sense of satisfaction when I finish, and I HATE trying to pick up the thread of a story when its been a while since the last posting. I really try to avoid them except when my curiosity overcomes my reluctance.

[Sheila]

Yes, it is sometimes very difficult to remember previous chapters when the time between such is long. Some, i.e., Brenda Webb, Kara Louise and Maria Grace are better at posting regularly.

[J. W.]

I will sometimes start a word document and make little notes as I read. That way it reminds me what I had read over time. You take a story that is 20-30 or even 40 installments and I wouldn't even remember my own name... let alone the plot of a story. Then if I am reading several other WIPs... that can drive one crazy.

[Sheila]

Amen.

[Sheila]

184.) The Unforgettable Mr. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation 5 stars

[Sheila]

185.) Yearning For You: A Pride and Prejudice Variation 3 stars

[Sheila]

186.) A Flurry of Lies 3.5 stars NOT JAFF

[Debbie]

You just keep stacking more on that tall pile, Sheila! Nice!

[Sheila]

Thanks but you are right there with me, my friend.

[Sheila]

187.) Meryton Medley: Four Pride and Prejudice Novelettes 4 stars

[Debbie]

I've got a great, another great, and a really, really awful book to post. (Can't remember the last time I gave a book 1 star, but this one deserved it.)

184. A Contrary Wind: a variation on Mansfield Park - 5+ stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

185. A Marriage of Attachment: a sequel to A Contrary Wind - 5+ stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

186. Returning to Mr. Darcy - 1 star
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Sheila]

188.) Meryton Vignettes: Tales of Pride and Prejudice 4 stars

[Sheila]

Debbie wrote: "I've got a great, another great, and a really, really awful book to post. (Can't remember the last time I gave a book 1 star, but this one deserved it.)

184. [book:A Contrary Wind: a variation on ..."

Great Progress.

I plan to read #184 next.

[Debbie]

FYI, Sheila, it's book #1 of at least a trilogy. Lots of loose ends left flopping after the sequel, my #185. Neither book description says how many will be in the series when it's completed.

[Sheila]

But as you rated them 5+ they must be very good reads. Fanny is not my favorite heroine but we'll see how she comes across in this story.

[Debbie]

Oh, they're really excellent. Just wanted to give you a heads up that it's incomplete with who knows how many books to come. I probably would've waited so I could read them all back to back if I hadn't thought it was just the one sequel.

Fanny's not my favorite heroine either, but the author gets her away from Mansfield Park and out into the world, where she gradually gains more self-confidence. Mary and Henry Crawford are even worse than in canon, though.

[Sheila]

Maybe I will delay reading it then. I have a problem remembering details if time lapses before I read the rest of the story. Not like I don't have a lot to read with my pile of books.

[J. W.]

Oh, in that case... I think I will wait and read as a group... it is on my wish list anyway and since I haven't read 'Contrary Wind' yet ... I can wait. Thanks for the heads up.

[Debbie]

Ok, folks, I need a little help. Which P&P variation has Darcy reliving the same day (I believe it's the Hunsford proposal day) over and over a la Groundhog Day? I know I'll recognize the name immediately, but I'm having trouble pulling it out of my cobwebbed brain. I'm hoping someone with more brain cells than me can come up with it. Thanks!

[Dung]

@Debbie- “The Many Lives of Fitzwilliam Darcy”by Beau North.

[Sheila]

I am also reading Pride in Meryton: Three Pride and Prejudice Novelettes in which one of the stories has Darcy reliving the day of the Assembly in Meryton over & over again.

[wosedwew]

Also Mr. Darcy's Miracle at Longbourn: A Pride and Prejudice Holiday Tale where the characters re-live December 23rd

[Debbie]

You folks are the BEST! I was thinking of Beau North's, though I knew I'd read others. Thank you!!

[Sheila]

189.) Pride in Meryton: Three Pride and Prejudice Novelettes 3.5 stars

[Susan]

Debbie wrote: "Ok, folks, I need a little help. Which P&P variation has Darcy reliving the same day (I believe it's the Hunsford proposal day) over and over a la Groundhog Day? I know I'll recognize the name imme..."

Also - Pride and Persistence by Jeanna Ellsworth

[Debbie]

Thanks, Susan! I can see there's some similarity to Groundhog Day in that one too, though I think of it more as a mashup with 50 First Dates.

[Sheila]

190.) The Husband Mission 4 stars Not JAFF

[Debbie]

More to add to my stack:

187. Southern Spirits (non JAFF) - 3.5 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

188. The Unforgettable Mr. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation - 4 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

189. Come Find Me - by Kayleighnicolej (unpublished) - 2.5 stars
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5955857/1/
This is an unpublished work I snagged, thinking it was complete but discovering that it's still a W.I.P. After 30 chapters, it may not be done, but I sure am! The primary plot has long since resolved. Unfortunately, this is one of those unpublished authors who doesn't know when to tie a bow on it, tag it, and be done with it.

The basic story is a good one. A week after the Hunsford proposal, Darcy is at Pemberley and can't get back to sleep. He goes out riding on his horse to blow off some energy, goes far afield of his property, and stumbles across an overturned carriage but no horses and no driver. When he opens the door, he finds Elizabeth alone and injured. (Okay, ridiculously major coincidence, but he's riding in response to an unsettling dream with Elizabeth calling the title to him.) He brings her back to his estate and sees that she is nursed back to health.

It turns out she had been lured from Hertfordshire under false pretenses and her carriage was attacked. The intent was for Elizabeth to be killed. (We never do find out what happens to the poor driver.) As the book continues, D&E become engaged, but it becomes apparent that someone still wants Elizabeth dead.

The author demonstrates a gift for fluid writing. However, it's apparent that she types up a chapter and then posts it without even reading it through herself. There are missing words, random misspelled words, homonym misspellings, incorrect tense changes, etc., etc. Occasional modern terms ("okay," for one) sneak in here and there, and there's only a half-hearted attempt to write in Regency style to begin with. There are situations obviously outside the rules of Regency propriety. I would love to read this story after it's properly edited and chopped to conclude at the appropriate point.

As of Chapter 30, the villains have been uncovered and are dead now, but Mr. Wickham has JUST entered the scene, and it seems he is about to be featured as a villain in a brand new story arc. This is after several chapters of unnecessarily long HEA stuff.

I'm crying "uncle!"

[Sheila]

191.) To Save Elizabeth 3.5 stars Kindle edition

[Sheila]

192.) The Year of the Rooster, an unpublished about 3 page modern JAFF variation in which Lizbeth and Wil are expecting and his sister, Ginny, digs out his old toys, the prime one being a stuffed rooster from a movie. http://saramarks.net/wp-content/uploa... 3 stars

[Debbie]

190. Not My Jane! - by Pimprenell (unpublished) - 5 stars
http://meryton.com/aha/index.php?show...
Really well done story-- What if Jane and the Gardiners had the same attitude about marriage as Mrs. Bennet. Their approach is more subtle and refined, but their goal is the same: a rich husband. It's executed well, and the writing itself is quite good. Seven long chapters, roughly novella length. Clean read. Loved it!

[Sheila]

I think I will read this - sounds good but I have a long one now.

[Sheila]

193.) Personally, I'd Rather Lick Sand: A Modern Pride and Prejudice Variation Romantic Comedy 4 stars

[Debbie]

Looks like Sheila and I will be strolling into the Darcy library arm-in-arm (so he can admire our figures AND we can exchange confidences, of course)!

191. Darcy in Love and War: A Pride and Prejudice Variation - 4 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

192. Undercover Princess (non-JAFF) - 2.5 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

193. The Darcy Ring: A Pride and Prejudice Sequel - 5 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[J. W.]

Way to work it ladies... :-)

[Sheila]

194.) Darcy in Love and War: A Pride and Prejudice Variation 3 stars

[Sheila]

195.) The Nunnery: A Pride and Prejudice Variation 4.5 stars

[Sheila]

196.) Not My Jane! - by Pimprenell (unpublished) – 3.5 stars
http://meryton.com/aha/index.php?show...
Jane is not at all the woman JA has written but only out to land a rich husband and when exposure in London while living with the Gardiners who dote on her doesn't work she uses her mother's advice about showing a man how interested you are. Meanwhile Elizabeth has sadly learned Jane is not the friend she thought and accepts Darcy, even tho' love has not yet settled in her heart. This short story is 7 chapters of about 60 pages.

[Debbie]

All 4-star stories in this batch. Huh.

194. Assumptions Absurdities: A Pride Prejudice Variation - 4 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

195. Wild Goose Chase: A Pride and Prejudice Variation - 4 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

196. Pledged: A Pride and Prejudice Variation - 4 stars (re-read)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

197. Reunited: A Pride and Prejudice Novella Variation - 4 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[J. W.]

5... 4... 3...

[Sheila]

Debbie wrote: "All 4-star stories in this batch. Huh.

194. Assumptions Absurdities: A Pride Prejudice Variation - 4 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

195. [book:Wild Goose C..."

Huzzah for Debbie...I'm right behind you and it looks like we are reading some of the same...I am doing the Goose Chase now.

[Kirk]

Great!!!!!

[Sheila]

197.) Wild Goose Chase: A Pride and Prejudice Variation 4 stars

[Debbie]

Hmmm... Apparently I'm 6 hours and 45 minutes behind Sheila.

197. Being Mrs Darcy: A Pride & Prejudice Variation - 4 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Sheila]

198.) The Darcy Ring: A Pride and Prejudice Sequel 3 stars

I am gently laughing, Debbie. It is not a contest and I would join hands with you if I could and enter at the same time. Now which book for my last one at this level...a long one so Debbie can pass me? Let's see.

[Debbie]

No, it's definitely not a contest. My post was tongue in cheek, dearie. Choose a book as long or short as you like.

[Debbie]

My next two books are a re-read of The Darcy Madness and the new sequel Love And Other Madness. Both are long, so I expect you'll already be sitting by the window, cup of tea in one hand and book in the other.

[Sheila]

I have read the first one but not the second one - 677 pages. I may read it soon but first... Assumptions & Absurdities: A Pride and Prejudice Variation which you already read.