January 25th, 2010 — Guest Blogger, J-L, Jane Austen
by Sharon Lathan, guest blogger and author of My Dearest Mr. Darcy
The pearly treasures of the sea,
The lights that spatter heaven above,
More precious than these wonders are
My heart-of-hearts filled with your love.
- Heinrich Heine, “Of Pearls and Stars”
Several years ago I set out on a mission. Inspired partly by a beautiful love story portrayed on screen and within the pages of a book, and equally by my own love story of over twenty years, I embarked on a quest to intimately reveal a happy marriage.
Today the concept of a “happy marriage” is deemed a fantasy; an oxymoron. I do not believe that, not now or when I first sat down at the keyboard and wrote the opening lines of Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One
. I knew it was possible to have a fulfilling, contented, romantic, and passionate relationship within a marriage, even after several decades. I knew it because I witnessed it with others. I knew it because God said it was to be so. I knew it because I possessed one myself.
And the moments which find life there
Become the brightest stars above,
Which live forever beautiful
In the sky of my heart’s love.
- Steve Lathan, “Your Smile Stops the Minutes”
I knew it was not a “Mission: Impossible
.” I approached the life of Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy with my goal clearly in mind. The mission statement was clear. Love. Romance. Passion. Those are the attainable treasures that they would pursue. Daily. Weekly. Monthly. Yearly. And maybe even on into eternity.
Throughout my Darcy Saga series I have faithfully held to the ideal. I wanted to give Darcy and Lizzy the life that I believe Austen intended. I wanted to allow the reader to journey along with them as they attended to their normal lives with an unusual event thrown in occasionally. I wanted to show the Darcys growing in their accord and deepening their love.
Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear,
too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice,
but for those who love, time is eternity.
- Henry van Dyke, “Time Is”
My newest novel, My Dearest Mr. Darcy
, follows along in the same vein as the previous two. The Darcys travel to the seacoast for a holiday jammed with history, entertainment, action, and romance. Of course! Then they return to Pemberley, settling in and enjoying the autumn months. The culmination as their first year of marriage draws near is the birth of their child. As with all my novels, the theme is positive with the love between these two heightening as they await the addition to their family.
Have I convinced a skeptical world? Have I succeeded in restoring hope? That is for each individual to decide. I have succeeded in my mission: The Darcys are still in love, are passionate for each other, delight in their company, respect and honor their vows, and are not ashamed to express their feelings.
Darcy was gazing into his lap with a soft smile upon his mouth. He did not answer hastily, finally speaking lowly, “I do not know if I can sufficiently place it into words. Perhaps that is why the poets wax eloquent with platitudes and analogies as mere common phrases do not suffice. All I know for certain is that almost from the moment I saw her she has filled my senses and my heart. There is joy with Elizabeth in every way and every moment, whether present or no. I feel light and buoyant, yet also grounded and secure. Giddy and frivolous, yet strong and steady. Childish and masculine simultaneously.” He chuckled softly, closing his eyes and leaning back against the carriage wall. “Yet you know what the most miraculous part is, Richard? Greater than how she makes me feel is the miracle that she loves me.”
An excerpt from My Dearest Mr. Darcy © Sharon Lathan, Sourcebooks Landmark 2010
True love. Everlasting love. Passionate love. These are goals to reach for. Do you agree?
MY DEAREST MR. DARCY—IN STORES JANUARY 2010
Married life is bringing out the best in the Darcys. Their mutual attentiveness brings readers into a magical world of love and wedded bliss.
Elizabeth is growing into her role as Mistress of Pemberley, and Darcy has mellowed under her gentle teasing and light-heartedness. Pemberley becomes a true home and a welcoming environment for loving family and friends. The Darcys travel to the seaside, welcome their firstborn, celebrate their anniversary and second Christmas, and at every moment embrace the love gifted to them.
“I love you, my Elizabeth. You are my soul, my blood and bone, my very life.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sharon Lathan is the author of the bestselling Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One, and Loving Mr. Darcy: Journeys Beyond Pemberley. In addition to her writing, she works as a Registered Nurse in a Neonatal ICU. She resides in Hanford, California in the sunny San Joaquin Valley. For more information on Sharon and her saga, come to her website at: www.darcysaga.net
Giveaway: One set of Sharon ’s three books (Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One, Loving Mr. Darcy
and My Dearest Mr. Darcy) is up for grabs. One winner, US and Canadian readers only please. Sorry international readers! One entry per relevant comment; multiple entries allowed. Ends: February 1, 2010.
Online Stores
January 15th, 2010 — 5 Stars, A-C, ARC, Cowboy, Firefighter, Friends, Guest Reviews, Kidnapping, Older Woman/Younger Man, Ranching, Soldier, Teacher, United States of America, Western
By Susan S., Guest Reviewer
Brown’s novel will warm your heart, and bring you characters so real, you’ll swear they’re flesh and bone. Getting Lucky will move to the top of everyone’s list of new comfort reads.
Getting Lucky is book three from Brown’s Lucky Trilogy. It stands alone, here’s why: In this novel the hero (Griffin Luckadeau) tells the heroine (Julie Donavan) fate stories. These stories will retell Milli and Beau’s fate in Lucky in Love. Griffin also goes on to retell Jane and Slade’s fate in One Lucky Cowboy.
Do we have “small” cameo appearances in Getting Lucky? Not just no, hell no! We got the whole family together!
In book three, which tells the story of another hunky Luckadeau cowboy named Griffin, we’ll stumble upon a chockfull of clichés, idioms, silly sayings, and similes. Here’s a glimpse:
Cliché: Don’t get your panties in a wad.
Idiom: The pot calling the kettle black.
Silly saying: One legged chicken at a coyote convention.
Simile: Her heart thumped in her chest like a bass drum.
This book reminded me of my first romances, First Love from Silhouette. I’m recommending this novel to anyone who enjoys romances, HEA’s, and heart-warming stories which leave you smiling.
Julie moves from Jefferson, Texas to St. Jo. As a single mom raising a daughter named Annie, she hopes to leave the gossip-mongers behind. She’ll soon realize she’s jumped out of the frying pan, and straight into the fire. Julie’s first day as a kindergarten school teacher has left her stupefied. Her new student Lizzy, is the exact double of her daughter Annie.
Lizzy’s single father Griffin feels perplexed over the girls' similarities. While the story unravels, the reasons for these similarities will begin to surface.
Getting Lucky gives us plenty of new characters to fall in love with. My favorite of these? Alvie, the love-stuttering rancher.
What will you love? References to Wild Sex Anonymous, bumping headboards, bull riding, women making bets, and the six sheets to the wind stories.
What did I love? In the barn, Julie’s heel gets caught on a loose board. She trips, Griffin grabs her, but ultimately they both fall to the floor. Is there more to this? Maybe.
Fundamental themes: Friendships are to be cherished, and fate will not be ignored.
Julie thinks Griffin’s egotistical, domineering, and too young for her (she’s six years older.)
He thinks all women are shrewd, conniving, with ulterior motives.
They certainly feel the attraction, but will they overcome prejudices, and stop letting their past cloud their judgments? Maybe.
This is a 5 Star Comfort Read!
Buy: Getting Lucky
Contemporary Romance, ARC, Trilogy, Sourcebooks, Inc., Casablanca, January 2010, Mass Market Paperback, Print Pages 393. ISBN# 978-1-4022-2436-2.
Online Stores
November 11th, 2009 — 3 Stars, Book Review, Great Britain, J-L, Jane Austen, Regency, Virgin Hero, Virgin Heroine
What I love most about this book is the research and language used to express the time period. Lathan’s diction is vastly superb – I had to look one or two words up. (Romance novels have all the credit when it comes to my 750 verbal SAT score from way back when.) The way she writes is very mellow, you’re not putting the book down feeling more anxious than when you started. This is an excellent novel to curl up with before drifting off to sleep. Who doesn't love to dream of Mr. Darcy?
I am as much a fan of Pride and Prejudice as Lathan is, especially the 2005 movie rendition. I could not picture her version of Darcy and Elizabeth as Matthew and Keira after a few chapters, but I could see them in Jane’s original portrayal. Elizabeth is sometimes silly, seeming younger than she should, but I found it understandable if you remembered how young she actually was and the fact that Pemberley and its surroundings are all new to her. Her silliness does not reach at any point Lydia’s level of stupidity… more like Jane’s silliness when it came to Bingley during the hardships of their courtship. Little problems are solved quickly and easily if both Darcy and Lizzy open up to each other.
Darcy and Elizabeth are effusive in their declarations of love. I applaud Lathan for writing Darcy as a virgin hero. It's hard to imagine him as experienced even with his deep passions, because he held himself apart from society and saw their superficial actions as crude and undignified (both in Austen's novel I feel and expressly in Lathan's continuation.) He seems like the man who would wait for the right woman. He is by no means asexual as you'll find when you read this novel. They make love like bunnies, but the sex is never vulgar or overly detailed after their initial honeymoon weekend. In fact, the whole saga is about exploring Darcy and Elizabeth’s love for each other starting from the end of Austen’s telling.
What does marriage look like on the other side of ‘I do’ and happily ever after? Lathan unfolds their story slowly, taking her time, showing nights spent whispering secrets, days traumatizing Darcy’s valet, and Elizabeth’s struggles and successes in filing the role as Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy.
Rating: 3 Stars
Originally posted 2009-03-10 05:23:01. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Online Stores
November 4th, 2009 — 3.5 Stars, ARC, Great Britain, Guest Reviews, Jane Austen, M-O, Regency
by Isabel G., guest reviewer
Marianne is one of the main characters of the story. She’s married to Colonel William Brandon, and although it is a seemingly perfect match, she becomes more insecure about their marriage. These feelings are tested when her old beau, and first love, Willoughby returns to town. Marianne learns that she still has strong feelings for Willoughby despite her attempts at denial. The fact that her husband is absent for long periods of time to aid another woman and her child does little to stifle her doubts.
Colonel Brandon is torn between duties to his own family and his duties of office. He goes to aid the child Willoughby abandoned, Lizzy, feeling it’s his responsibility to take care of her. However, one of Brandon’s trips drags out longer than any other and a letter he sends Marianne raises even more doubts in her mind. Of course, Willoughby is there to comfort her in her “time of need.” Yak! Can someone put up a stop sign?! What kind of woman would be turned on by a man who has abandoned his own child? Although the attraction and tension between Willoughby and Marianne worked for the plot, I couldn’t get past the idea. I don’t consider Willoughby a man for leaving his child and her mother behind to fend for themselves.
Marianne’s sister, Margaret, is a young lady with high expectations for a husband. She’s more concerned in being truly attracted and captivated by a suitor then with his wealth. Just as she begins to think there is no one who can capture her interest, Henry enters her life. He proves that looks can be deceiving when he begins to shower another young lady with his attention. However, the outcome is not what everyone expects.
Liked: The torn feelings some characters have towards each other. The book is also an easy read.
Disliked: In my opinion, the style of writing and some commentary does not fit the time period. It throws you out of the book at certain parts because it seems casual and modern. It also turned me off that Marianne gave in and was unfaithful in any way. What made it worse is that the attraction was to a man who had abandoned his own child.
If you ever found the idea of having two people interested in you flattering then, this book is for you.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
ISBN 978-1-4022-2267-2
Copyright 2009
Genre: Historical Romance
Pages: 345
Buy: Willoughby's Return
Online Stores
