“When a man meets the woman with whom he is destined to share his life, he knows.”
● Ranked #1 Best Seller in Amazon’s Historical Regency Fiction ●Praise for A Lasting Love Affair“A Lasting Love Affair is a light and quick escapist read that kept me company at a time when I needed a little Darcy pick-me-up, and I’m looking forward to reading more by this author.” – Diary of an Eccentric“The … reading more by this author.” – Diary of an Eccentric
“The writing in the story was very good. While the story was very fast moving, it flowed well and the language was very appropriate to the time, very much in the style of Jane Austen. This was a fun, quick, easy read, not without its angst, but also with touches of humour and romance.” – Laughing with Lizzie
“Such as any book of Ms P O Dixon, this is such a lovely mix of the original and its variation.” – NetGalley
Mr. Darcy was not looking to fall in love. He thought he had it all: wealth, privilege, and ardent passion for his sport. Then he meets Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and soon thereafter he knows that she is the woman with whom he is destined to spend his life.
Having suffered a traumatic loss, Elizabeth knows the pain of heartache. She is determined to shield herself against forming strong attachments so she might never feel that way again. Then Mr. Darcy comes along, and he has a way of melting all her defenses.
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I feels more like a different story has been woven into the original. there are several places where the story is exactly the same as the original. Then it will be different again.
The narrator was good.
“Love involves a peculiar unfathomable combination of understanding and misunderstanding.” –Diane Arbus
This story is an AU [Alternate Universe] Pride and Prejudice and is quite different than canon. There are many changes and timelines that are skewed and ODC [our dear couple] meet under different circumstances. Elizabeth has been sent to live with her father’s elder sister Lady Vanessa Barrett, with whom he had been estranged. Her ladyship was a widow, without an heir, and had decided to mend the breach in the family by taking Elizabeth and training her in how to be a lady in a new circle of society. She was concerned that Mrs. Bennet, a tradesman’s daughter, wouldn’t know how to raise a proper gentlewoman. If Elizabeth stayed with her and did well during her training, consisting of a twelve-month complete, then Lady Barrett would adopt Elizabeth, making her the heir.
Elizabeth was trying very hard to adjust to a new environment and society. Every evening before going to bed, she wrote faithfully to her dear sister Jane. This was so touching especially when we learned the heartbreaking truth. When Elizabeth and Darcy were introduced, I was especially thrilled to see the famous dialogue switched about with different outcomes. There were so many misunderstandings and trials between ODC. At times, I wanted to shake Elizabeth.
“Jealousy can even be good for love. One partner may feel secretly flattered when the other is mildly jealous. And catching someone flirting with your beloved can spark the kind of lust and romance that reignites a relationship.” –Helen Fisher
Talk about your jealous triangles of love. This One loved That One, but That One longed for Another, and Another lusted for Someone Else, while Someone Else languished for This One. [Who’s on first?] Add to that conflab, a grasping Caroline Bingley and her wimp of a brother, and you have a complete mess of Who is in love with Whom. Jealously was flaunted back and forth among the many single characters. It became tedious and drawn out in unusual and confusing ways. The direction Elizabeth went, with her thinking and behavior, was crazy at best, stupid on one hand and utterly frustrating on the other. Again, I wanted to shake her and ask, “WTH [what-the-heck] is your problem?”
“People who have strong likes and dislikes find life very difficult; they are as rigid as if they had only one bone.” –Eknath Easwaran, The Mantram Handbook
Lady Catherine was extremely vexing as she demanded that Darcy fulfill his family duty and marry Anne. She threatened him with something that even angered her brother the Earl of Matlock. She was a witch. She traipsed all over the countryside looking for Elizabeth, in order to make her sentiments known. I especially felt for her poor coachman and horses. It was hilarious.
Of course, Wickham made his disgusting appearance… the scum-bag-rat-bastard. I wanted to know why they didn’t hang him for desertion? We never did address that. But then, that would throw a wrench in the works and the Bennet sisters didn’t need to suffer because Lydia was being stupid. And boy, was she a pip in this story. La, that child… help us all.
What I didn’t like: Gaps or something that would jolt me from the story. Something would be missing that I needed to transition from one place to another, or from scene to scene. Snippets would jar me and I would think, ‘What?’ This was throughout the story and it was perplexing as well as disconcerting. It was that note that was off in the symphony and flow of the story.
This was a clean, and yet enjoyable read. It was short and could be read rather quickly. It is followed by book 2, ‘Tis the Season for Matchmaking, and continues the story-line with even more outrageous behavior and angst.
I first read this in 2017 as part of the ‘First There is Love’ Collection. Not realizing it was the same story, I volunteered to read an unedited galley from the publisher via NetGalley. I even purchased a copy, due to it having a different cover. Dang, these cover changes, collections, box-sets, and anthologies can be confusing.