Austenesque Lovers TBR Challenge 2019 discussion
Challenge Levels
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Colonel Brandon Level 101- 199 Books
More books!125. Under the Harvest Moon: A Pride and Prejudice Variation - 5 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is the same author as my #124, and this one is just as zany. Inspired lunacy!
126. For The Sake Of Her Happiness: A Pride and Prejudice Variation - 3 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Haven't read anything by this author and thought to give her a chance. Not impressed.
127. Beauty and the Baron - 5 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
As in all B-and-the-B stories, there are definite parallels to Pride and Prejudice. This is a good one. Clean content. Quick read. Free today on Amazon!
128. Through Every Storm: A Pride and Prejudice Novella - 4 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Typical Leenie Brown. This is a Lydia-and-Wickham story after they've been married several years. He's improved; she hasn't.
Colonel Brandon's Library 111 - 125
I'd not felt up to tackling much in the way of longfer works in the first three weeks or so of May, apart from listening to audiobooks on my commutes, so I've been picking out some shorter unpublished stuff from my friends' lists. I've read a couple of longer works this past week, though.
111. Smile, Mrs Wickham by I Found My Mr. Darcy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11284858...
Author's note: "George Wickham has been missing for three days. Where is he? What is Lydia thinking? First person Lydia POV with a cameo appearance by Mrs. Darcy. Rated M for themes of domestic violence. Super short, one-shot."
112. Unwittingly by Ms. Pimprenelle⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12741903/1...
Author's note: "What Lydia did is wong, very much so, and though I have a soft spot for the character (the fate Austen gave her always left me a bit sad), I don't want to leave anybody with the impression that I approve of what I have her do here."
113. Letters from Elizabeth by I Found My Mr. Darcy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11332802...
Author's note: "What if Mrs. Bennet forces Elizabeth to marry Mr. Collins? We are told he is not vicious. What if that is not true? A portrait of a marriage, a recovery and Elizabeth's happily ever afkter. Rated T for safety. Contains veiled references to domestic violence but is not explicit. Appearances by the characters we love and love to hate."
114. Letters from Mr. Darcy by I Found My Mr. Darcy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11444392...
Author's note: "Mr. Darcy returns to Hertfordshire and learns Elizabeth has married. Witness his journey from heartbreak to HEA as you read his private correspondence. Cameo appearances from all those we love. This is a companion piece to Letters From Elizabeth. If you have not read it, you should start there."
115. Letters from the Heart by mrsdarcy2032 (aka I Found My Mr. Darcy) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
http://meryton.com/aha/index.php?show...
Author's note: "What if Mr. Darcy returned to Hertfordshire only to discover it was too late and Elizabeth had been forced to marry a vicious Mr. Collins? With Elizabeth all but stranded in Kent and Darcy determined never to love another, how will they find their way to happiness and each other? Follow the journey from heartbreak to happily ever after in the personal correspondence of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. This has been previously posted on ffn as two stories. This is my first run at combining the letters. There is an underlying theme of domestic violence, but there are no explicit scenes. The violence is suggested, not described."
116. One Great Love by I Found My Mr. Darcy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11580555...
Author's note: "Elizabeth Grace Bennet is a popular romance author...read the interview as she talks about her one great love."
117. What Might Have Been by I Found My Mr. Darcy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author's note: "Darcy never learns of Lydia's elopement, she is not recovered and the Bennets depart Hertfordshire under a cloud of scandal. This is a regency era one shot from Elizabeth's POV. D&E, but no other canon pairings." Two chapters.
118. Recovered and Restored by I Found My Mr. Darcy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12086434...
Author's note: "Lydia has eloped, the Bennets are in disgrace and now Mr. Darcy has spirited Elizabeth away under cover of night. What excuse can he possibly give for such behavior?"
119. I Shall Know How to Act by I Found My Mr. Darcy unpublished ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author's note: "Created for the July/August playground challenge, Outrageously Out of Canon Characters at AHA. What if Lady C came to Longbourn determined not to break an engagement, but to help plan a wedding? One shot."
120. The Black Oyster by I Found My Mr. Darcy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12696957...
Author's note: "Liz drunk dials her boss, Will Darcy and they meet up in a bar. Some foul language. Brief reference to Charlotte/Caroline pairing. D&E HEA."
121. By Reason, by Reflection, by Everything: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by P.O. Dixon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ audiobook performance by Pearl Hewitt.
What if Mr. Darcy Senior was still alive and was an old university friend of Mr. Bennet? What if they'd agreed that the Darcys' first-born son would marry the Bennets' first-born daughter? Mr. Bennet, Jane and Elizabeth make a lengthy summer visit to Pemberley for the purpose of seeing if the wishes of the two fathers would come to fruition. It's not a spoiler to say, here and now, that they don't!
122. A Most Affectionate Mother: A Pride and Prejudice sequel by Maria Grace ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jane, Elizabeth and Lydia are all married and gone as per canon. So Mrs. Bennet's matchmaking attentions turn to Mary. A lovely, novella-length story, first posted on the author's website I think.
123. The Darcy Legacy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Joana Starnes 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Another brilliant tale from Joana! Darcy's parents, although now passed away, still appear as significant characters in this book. Darcy meets Elizabeth before the Meryton Assembly but gets off to an unfortunate start (no change there!) when he mistakes her for a servant! Mrs. Bennet is also deceased, so it's left to her husband to make suitable matches for his daughters and there's an unexpected second marriage for him!
124. Our Lady of Longbourn by leavesfallingup unpublished ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Yes, the tale of Elizabeth Bennet - Superwoman! The author does explain why she wrote Elizabeth this way in one of her Author's Notes, as she knows people like that. Whether it would have happened in Regency times is another matter but I can more or less let it go for the purposes of the story. One thing that could do with attention is the forms of address and titles of the nobility and other characters.
So, a quarter of the way from Delaford to Pemberley. Puts me somewhere around the northern border of Wiltshire, I think.
Wow, Anji, You certainly made great progress even if some are short and/or unpublished. I have read some of these also. Hope you are as well as can be expected. Take care.
Mod
Anji wrote: "Colonel Brandon's Library 111 - 125
I'd not felt up to tackling much in the way of longfer works in the first three weeks or so of May, apart from listening to audiobooks on my commutes, so I..."
Great!!! Enjoy the northern border of Wiltshire. Oh that I was there!
Thanks for the support, friends. I've just realised that I hadn't added my no. 125 to the above list, so here it is:125. His Beautiful Bea: A Touches of Austen Novella by Leenie Brown ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Beatrice has been in love with Everett for as long as she can remember. When he starts playing court to Bea's cousin Felicity, his brother Graeme thinks he's a total idiot for overlooking Bea's finer qualities. But then is Bea overlooking Graeme's finer qualities, too? It's good to see a story with shades of Mansfield Park about it for a change.
I paid $3.99 to read Darcy's Hidden Desire: A Steamy Pride and Prejudice Variation on Kindle but now found a site to read for free online...https://violetkingauthor.com/darcys-h...
My turn to update my list:129. The Last Man in London (non-JAFF) - 5 stars
Unique storyline. Regency romance between a Regency lord and a con artist who must be be engaged to a nobleman before her 21st birthday in order to claim her inheritance.
130. Shattered Stars (non-JAFF) - 5 stars
Modern. Depressing storyline till the end, but it's positively brilliant.
131. Ruined: A New Adult and Billionaire Romance (non-JAFF) - 3.5 stars
Meh.
132. A Fortunate Alliance: A Pride and Prejudice Story - 4 stars
(Review to come)
133. True Love Never Fails... - 2 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Did not finish (yes, it was that bad), but I read enough that I could post a review.
134. In the Way of Other Rich Men: A Pride and Prejudice "What if...?" Novella - 4.5 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Well done novella. I really liked the way the author plays out the Lydia-in-Brighton storyline. Some reviewers don't like that Elizabeth's altered feelings aren't revealed, but it's told exclusively from Darcy's POV (aside from a couple of very small snippets), and he obviously doesn't know what she's thinking.
Mod
It wasn't until after I gave up that I noticed Rose had tried to read it and abandoned it too!
Mod
Debbie wrote: "It wasn't until after I gave up that I noticed Rose had tried to read it and abandoned it too!"Great progress Debbie! I agree with you and Sophia. Seeing others reviewes or DNF ratings helps save me valuale time. I started another book recently (Audible) and hated the narrator and reviewes helped me realize it's not worth plodding though so I stopped. that's hard for me to do sometimes, but I know its worth it to move on to something I'll enjoy more.
Yep - and I KNOW I'll love my next one: a re-read of Longbourn's Songbird before I move to its sequel The Colonel.
Debbie wrote: "You're doing great, Anji!"Thanks Debbie. Not doing so bad yourself!
Debbie wrote: "Yep - and I KNOW I'll love my next one: a re-read of Longbourn's Songbird before I move to its sequel The Colonel."I'm going to be doing that, too!
Great progress Anji. Don't worry about whether it is a long or short read. It all counts.
Great list Debbie. Thanks for taking one for the team. I do appreciate that warning.
Debbie wrote: "My turn to update my list:129. The Last Man in London (non-JAFF) - 5 stars
Unique storyline. Regency romance between a Regency lord and a con artist who must be be engaged to a no..."
Great!
I have a rare S&S variation on my list but I thought it fitted well while visiting Colonel Brandon's library...131 Darcy's Hidden Desire, Violet King, ARC, K, 11,5K, M, http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46... 4,5*
132 Lifting the veil, LisaNYC70, AHA, Jane gives Caroline a set down.
http://meryton.com/aha/index.php?show... 4*
133 Lifting of the veil part II, LisaNYC70, AHA, Jane gives Darcy a set down. http://meryton.com/aha/index.php?show... 4*
134 A year and a day, Michele A, download PL, 73k, M, Caroline paired with a gay guy.
Year and a Day http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23... 3*
135 Boots & Backpacks, KC_Derby, AHA, Modern, M, Hilarious http://meryton.com/aha/index.php?show... 5*
136 Mrs Bennet is dead Charlotte's gambit, prhood, FF, 8k, K
https://m.fanfiction.net/s/11823779/1... 3*
137 Slices of Life, Laure001, FF, modern
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13149846... 5*
138 The Mist of Her Memory, Suzanne Lauder, Download, T. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45... 4*
139 Fixing Emma, Riana Everly, Ebook, K. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45... 2*
140 The Correction of Folly book1, Christina Combe, S&S variation, pairing the Colonel & Elinor, mash up with PnP. K, Rated: T. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40... 3,5*
Wow, great progress. Well done. I have to check out #137.
Mod
Fun to slip in variations from the other novels. Lifting the Veil sounds fun.
Doing great, Elin. Definitely need to check up on some of those.
To all of you who wrote with your encouragement - thank you! I appreciated the Bible verses, the personal stories, and the encouraging words. Let me give you an update. :-) I was a few days behind on reading my digests because I've been tired and sick. I'm on day two or three of a fever plus cold symptoms. My wonderful husband picked up more of the responsibilities today, including taking the kids at 3:30 for a movie and not coming back home until 7:00. I slept for half of that time and "laptopped" for the other half. First, the following day, the contractor came over on SATURDAY to distribute the dirt of our dirt mountain. So since then, my kids have been able to play outside in the backyard. SUCH a blessing. I can now see the play set - which is still on grass - and the kids are mostly following the "play only on the grass" rule. They - and their shoes - get really dirty when they don't, and there's plenty of grass to play on. Our backyard is very big, so even though 2/3 of it is now covered in dirt, it's USABLE!
Also, Dan spoke to his parents about the visible plumbing through the basement problem, and they suggested a possible solution. We're still waiting to find out how much it will cost, but he says his parents are willing to help pay for that because this whole project is because they want an in-law apartment, and it's affecting other parts of the house. So we don't know whether we will do it the "free" but annoying way, but at least we're going to have another OPTION. The lack of options was the worst part! (I consider this to be the contractor's fault - lack of foresight - they had the information they needed to be aware that this was going to be an issue.)
One of the problems, Dan convinced me isn't a problem, so I'm OK with that one.
The other problem I am mad about - I consider it to be the contractor's fault - but we're moving forward and again are waiting to find out how much an alternative solution would cost.
So - bottom line is - possible solutions, but possible solutions will cost more money. And this is a very expensive project. Please DO keep us in your prayers. Once school is out, I so HOPE that the first floor will be more livable. And I'm anxious for the project to be completed so that I can get my air conditioning back!!!!!! :-D
It's good to see you feeling a bit more upbeat about it all Marlene, and that the various problems have solutions on the horizon. We'll still be keeping you in our thoughts.
Mod
Appreciate the update, Marlene!
There are so many great new choices here!
Elin wrote: "I have a rare S&S variation on my list but I thought it fitted well while visiting Colonel Brandon's library...131 Darcy's Hidden Desire, Violet King, ARC, K, 11,5K, M, http://www.goodreads.com/b..."
Another wonderful list, Elin! Well done!
Marlene wrote: "To all of you who wrote with your encouragement - thank you! I appreciated the Bible verses, the personal stories, and the encouraging words. Let me give you an update. :-) I was a few days behind ..."Glad to hear there's light at the end of the reno tunnel, especially since the kids CAN play outdoors now. Interesting, isn't it, how those projects look so seamless on HGTV and DOY shows? The reality rarely works out that way, and usually is way more expensive than anticipated. Hang in there, girl! We'll do our best to pray you through!
Marlene, my heart goes out to you. Will be praying and hoping you will soon know better times. This too will past - but that saying is so trite when you are going through it.
Marlene, I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this! I’m glad the kids can go outside. You have a great attitude in what has to be a difficult situation.
102-The Mist of Her Memory: A Pride & Prejudice Romantic Suspense Variation 4.5 stars103-Gardiner’s Business Investors: A Pride and Prejudice Variation 1 star STAY AWAY
104-The Bride 5 stars, Audible, non-JAFF but READ IT!!!!!
105-The Proposal 4 stars, Audible, non-JAFF
106-The Arrangement 4 stars, Audible, non-JAFF
107-An Unwavering Trust 5 stars 3rd read Audible
108-Pick Me Up 4.5 stars 2nd read
109-An Intolerable Situation: A Pride and Prejudice Variation 3 stars (too much of the intolerable for me)
110-Betrayal 4 stars
111- A Large Party of Friends 3 stars
112-The Escape 4 stars, Audible, non-JAF
113-It's Always Been You 4 stars great summer read!
114- book on AHA that author doesn't want disclosed. 4 stars but not-finished.
Whew. that was a good slog of books. I'm ready for more, but have to admit to being a bit burned out on the new JAFF lately. Too many duds than greats.
Coming along nicely there, Sara. I really should get around to An Unwaving Trust.
Anji wrote: "Coming along nicely there, Sara. I really should get around to An Unwaving Trust."Thanks Anji. I really like that book, though not quite as interesting the 3rd time around, but still a goody. ;)
Great, Sara. I'll have to check out some of those that you rave about.
Sheila wrote: "Great, Sara. I'll have to check out some of those that you rave about."The Bride was absolutely fabulous. i didn't want it to end. Worth every penny i spent! highly recommend. it's highland territory and the characters are so well done. There are tons of reviews on it too, all very good.
Hey Sara! Nice to see all those re-reads! Always great to return to a book you KNOW you'll enjoy! Sorry you're finding the newbies to be mostly duds. I'm reading Beau North's latest right now (The Colonel). Really interesting companion book to Longbourn's Songbird - the stories overlap, with some scenes actually repeated.
Mod
Debbie wrote: "Hey Sara! Nice to see all those re-reads! Always great to return to a book you KNOW you'll enjoy! Sorry you're finding the newbies to be mostly duds. I'm reading Beau North's latest right now ([boo..."I'm in the same place as you, Debbie, - reread Longbourn's Songbird and now in reading The Colonel, finding some passages repeated.
Sara wrote: "Sheila wrote: "Great, Sara. I'll have to check out some of those that you rave about."The Bride was absolutely fabulous. i didn't want it to end. Worth every penny i spent! highly recommend. it's..."
I used the read a lot of that author's books, back when I was reading Historical Romances. Her name is one of about 10 which I bought as I knew I could trust her books to be very good...and juicy! LOL
Dana wrote: "Marlene, I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this! I’m glad the kids can go outside. You have a great attitude in what has to be a difficult situation."Thank you to all for continued encouragement. :-)
Hold up, late to the party here...there's a sequel to Longbourn's Songbird?!?!!!*drops everything to rush over to buy it*
Mod
*drops everything to rush over to buy it*"
Yes!!! But you're still safe. It comes out in July, Michelle. :)
I am posting this ahead of the others I have read to date as the epilogue was just posted today and it is such a good story I could not wait to share. Unpublished on AHA and started in 2017. Elizabeth has a brother.196. The Means of Uniting Them (formerly Strange Bedfellows) By tanyal, angst, forced marriage scenario, MA, MA-V, http://meryton.com/aha/index.php?show... 696 pages in my word documents to which I copied it so I could change the font and not lose track of this story over the years.
Hey, Sheila, great idea to let others know this has finished. I just read the epilogue. Wow! This was a tough read. Wickham was diabolical and Elizabeth's brother was amazing. Just what you would expect from her brother. This is not for the faint of heart. It is not roses and butterflies. This is gut-wrenching and Elizabeth is not her canon self. Her OOC behavior nearly destroyed her and her family. I have never wanted to shake someone as badly as I did her. It is well worth the read if you plan ahead with plenty of time to devote to it.
Mod
ok what book are you ladies talking about, you have me really wondering
See Sheila's message 295. It's The Means of Uniting Them by tanyal on the meryton fanfic website.
Sara wrote: "102-The Mist of Her Memory: A Pride & Prejudice Romantic Suspense Variation 4.5 stars103-Gardiner’s Business Investors: A Pride and Prejudice Variation 1 star STAY ..."
I loved Mary Balogh's Survivor series. I've listened to the audio versions all through twice now.
Austenesque Lovers TBR Challenge 2019
Books mentioned in this topic
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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Thank goodness the weather has been middling here. ..."
I feel for you Marlene. We built a new house twelve years ago and I'll never forget it. We did it direct labour to save money so that means we did a lot of it ourselves. My husband was working full time and my son and daughter were doing their final exams in secondary school at the time. IT WAS A NIGHTMARE. I'd never do it again. Everything that could go wrong did. I was running the home all day and working on the new house all night. We were completely worn out and it took us a long time to get over it and to enjoy our new place. I'll light a candle for you and keep you in my prayers. Best of luck.