I love the title of this book. It rolls off the tongue because of the alliteration and reminds me of Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen.

This Austen variation however is not about the lovely Misses Dashwoods, it is about Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.

As is the tradition of Reynold’s Pemberley Variations, Impulse and Initiative is seeded from one major difference between Austen’s original and this new telling. For Impulse and Initiative this difference is Mr. Darcy and his decision not to take Elizabeth’s rejection lying down.

He reveals early to Charles Bingley his mistakes regarding Jane Bennet and together they head off to Hertfordshire to win back the affections of their respective Misses Bennets. As is expected, Charles lands immediately back into the good graces of the Bennet family.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth battles her feelings throughout Darcy’s renewed and more obvious courtship. She constantly wavers between falling in love with him and worrying that she’s allowing his attentions for all the wrong reasons: gratitude, pleasure in being desired, and the vanity of winning such a man do not make for a good relationship (to which I agree with completely).

I confess her constant waffling during the first half of the novel grated on my nerves. Abigail Reynolds carefully brings the two together ensuring its relative believability, though I and my grinding teeth would have preferred one or two or ten different tactics throughout the course of the telling.

Truly I must be a glutton for agony because frankly I missed the pain of their separation and surety that both were lost to the other. It was another something that I&I lacked in my opinion. Of course they argued and had mini ‘Big Misunderstandings’ and fretted about and over each but it wasn’t the same.

I end with saying that I closed the book fairly satisfied despite my misgivings and that I&I filled my Jane Austen craving.

Rating: 2.5-3 Stars

Buy: Impulse & Initiative

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Categories:

2.5 Stars, 3 Stars, Book Review, Gentry, Great Britain, Jane Austen, P-R, Regency, Virgin Heroine, Working with Land

Tags:

Abigail Reynolds, affections, alliteration, attentions, believability, bennet family, glutton, good graces, good relationship, grinding teeth, Jane Austen, jane bennet, miss bennet, mr darcy, pemberley, preferred one, pride and prejudice, reynold, sense and sensibility, sense and sensibility by jane austen, wavers