Forget the missing diamonds. Will Mr. Darcy steal Elizabeth’s heart—again?What could go wrong at a Netherfield house party?Why, everything!Elizabeth is trapped for days with a conniving Caroline, a match-making Mrs. Bennet, and now—surprisingly—Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.She has not seen Mr. Darcy since his disastrous proposal to her in Hunsford nearly eight years ago. Since that time, Elizabeth lost … eight years ago. Since that time, Elizabeth lost her father and husband—but gained a certain measure of independence.
She is happy, she reminds herself—especially when Mr. Darcy and his sky-blue eyes seem to seek her out constantly and make her question everything.
Unfortunately, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy is as proud, arrogant—and annoyingly handsome—as ever.
And he seems to have very firm opinions about Lizzy’s life and how she should conduct it.
After her first marriage, Elizabeth is determined to never again allow a man to control her. But when a devious thief targets the house party, Elizabeth finds herself working with Mr. Darcy to discover the culprit.
Will they be able to bring the criminal to justice?
And will a changed Mr. Darcy be able to steal Elizabeth’s heart?
Are you ready for a sweet and clean Pride and Prejudice variation that features love, humor, and Mr. Darcy in a soaking-wet shirt? (Because who doesn’t like to be reminded of Colin Firth?) This 67,000-word novel also includes a Darcy who knows what he wants, an Elizabeth who needs to find herself again, a runaway horse, a truly conniving Caroline, a guaranteed happily ever after, and—of course—diamonds!
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“Big girls need big diamonds.” –Elizabeth Taylor
Rating Clean: trigger warning: due to an attempted assault where our female character was a bit roughed up.
“True Friends are like diamonds—bright, beautiful, valuable, and always in style.” –Nicole Richie
Because this story is several years later than our canon story, I suppose we could say ODC is older and wiser… not that they acted any better than in canon… OMG!! We spent a LOT of time in the heads of D&E and let’s just say… they are messed up. If you can hang on through most of the book… the story really picks up and we start getting all the answers to the questions posed throughout the story. There were clues thrown all over the place and I was trying to hold on to them and see if my conjecture was correct.
What I liked: The Bingley House Party was a scream. Poor Jane, always wanting things to go smoothly, just about lost her cool when things started going downhill with her guests. Her mother and younger sisters were as they ever were causing embarrassment to the elder daughters. I hated to see that but they were still funny. I loved the business associate that Bingley was trying to impress. That was an absolute scream. You will have to wait for it… however, it was worth it.
Characters I loved: Colonel Fitzwilliam… now that’s a guy you’d want to have in a knife fight… loved him. I adored dear sweet Georgiana… who was that woman? Of course, we had dear Aunt and Uncle Gardiner, they were the best. Our dear couple [ODC]: Once the misunderstandings were cleared up… the love language was absolutely swoon-worthy. I also enjoyed the many servants and their relationship with their charges. They were so sweet. I’m glad our author didn’t forget them. Darcy’s valet was a hoot.
“I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond.” –Mae West
Villains: OMG! I cannot believe the author didn’t provide an epilogue so I could see what happened to all the villains. I can assume the siblings got what they deserved… as it rather hinted at that. Darcy on a tear would certainly see that they got what they deserved and more. The creative way the author brought about their downfall was amazing. You don’t usually see it played out that way. That was really cool. However, what about Caroline? I think she knows she will NEVER EVER, in this life or the next, be allowed on Darcy property or near anyone named Darcy for that matter. That should be a given. Her name should not even be mentioned… hey… shades of Lady Catherine. I wanted a damage report on her. I really did not like her. She was awful, horrid, cruel, insidious, creative as heck, and mean as a snake. Yeah, that’s our Caro.
“It’s hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone world.” –Dolly Parton
2-28-19: I won an ebook copy from a random drawing at Anna’s ‘Diary of an Eccentric’ blog. There were no stipulations requiring a review attached to the drawing. The views expressed are my own. I highly recommend this story. I love that cover. You’ll have to wait for it… but that cover will be significant at the very end. Yeah… it works.