* New cover – content unchanged * * When Colonel Fitzwilliam’s disclosures are interrupted by the bearer of distressing news from Longbourn, Miss Elizabeth Bennet is compelled to accept an offer she would have otherwise dismissed out of hand. An offer of marriage from the all-too-proud Mr Darcy.Yet how is she to live with a husband she hardly knows and does not love? Will she continue to feel … continue to feel trapped in a marriage of convenience while events conspire to divide them? Or would love grow as, day by day and hour after hour, she learns to understand the man she married, before she loses his trust and his heart?
Given the ‘early marriage’ premise, the issue of growing affection and intimacy is central to the story. The scenes are not graphic, but the novel does address mature themes.
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Excerpt from ‘Mr Bennet’s Dutiful Daughter’ – a journey from duty into love.
His hand came up to cup her cheek, his fingertips stroked her hair and he smiled again. A heartbreakingly warm smile.
“There is so much I do not know of you. What joy it will be to discover.”
“And I of you. It was quite a surprise to hear you were contemplating kissing me as far back as November.”
“I should have. What a foolish waste of five months of happiness.”
“I am very glad I make you happy.”
“You know you do. More than I ever thought possible,” Mr Darcy whispered hoarsely and reached to lift her off the sofa and bring her close, ensconced in a tight embrace. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his neck, abandoning herself to his kisses, only to find guilt welling afresh when his lips left her skin just for long enough to whisper, “My love, you are everything.”
‘Do not say it, oh, do not say it!’ she felt the strongest urge to caution him. ‘Do not give me so much power over you.’
How unspeakably odd it felt to hear him openly avow it, after his reserve of full six months’ standing. It was as if everything he had held in check was now offered without hesitation, unstoppably coming out in one rush after another, now that all reason for concealment was removed. It was overwhelming to discover that all this wealth of feeling had been there for so long, and she had noticed nothing.
Her heart twisted in sudden compassion – the last sentiment she had imagined Mr Darcy would inspire in her, and for the least expected reason. Did he not see it was dreadfully unwise to reveal quite so much of himself to her? That it would make him vulnerable in the extreme and put him in the greatest danger, were she so heartless as to use it against him? Surely he did not think her equally in love, to trust her so implicitly with every formerly hidden feeling! What blow must it be to him, were the truth of her deep-held reservations ever to come to light. What burden of responsibility on her, to carefully conceal it from so astute a man.
Unspeakably odd too that she should fret so much over sparing Mr Darcy’s feelings, after spending months with the firm conviction he had none. Not for her, nor for the world in general. How aptly he had put it, all that time ago, when he had remarked that her greatest fault was her propensity to wilfully misunderstand.
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I have read many forced or arranged marriages “Pride and Prejudice” inspired romance novels. But in Joana Starnes’ just released “Mr. Bennet’s Dutiful Daughter,” Mr. Bennet has some kind of apoplectic fit, leaving him at death’s door. Darcy, already in love with Elizabeth Bennet, sees the only way to protect her should the worst occur, is to marry her. And soon. Though Elizabeth still finds him abhorrent, under the circumstances, and after he has confessed his adoration for her, his protection and his person do not seem as repugnant as upon first acquaintance. As the story unfolds and as she becomes more familiar with the man she has hastily married, she discovers he has a kind and generous heart–especially towards her.
“Did he not see it dreadfully unwise to reveal quite so much of himself to her? That it would make him vulnerable in the extreme and put him in the greatest danger, were dye so heartless as to use it against him? Surely he did not think her equally in love, to trust her so implicitly with every formerly hidden feeling! What a blow must it be to him, were the truth if her deep-held reservations ever to come to light. What burden of responsibility on her, to carefully conceal it from so astute a man.”
And that dear reader, is the crux. What happens to our beloved couple after he has successfully made her fall in love with him–and he discovers that she married him only to protect her family?
“‘Aye. He deserves the world.’
And her eyes filled with tears when [Colonel] Fitzwilliam incautiously retorted, ‘That is precisely what he said of you.'”
Gah! Get your tissues out and be prepared to chew a few finger nails because a lot of tears will be shed by Elizabeth and you, dear reader, before the last pages. Three nights in a row did I stay up until 3 a.m. reading Joana Starnes’ latest. The evil genius that she is had me sobbing–I haven’t been so emotionally distraught for pages, nay CHAPTERS, since C.P. Odom’s “Consequences.” This book is going to follow me for days as it did something to my soul. Felt every emotion possible. This very well may be her best yet.
Reviewed: December 8, 2016
Hallelujah…my agony is over, my tears are dried and my heart has melted. This is not your average Pride & Prejudice variation that takes you on a sweet journey to ‘happily ever after’. This exquisite and emotional tale of Elizabeth accepting Mr. Darcy’s proposal, after being told her father is gravely ill, has your heart feeling anxious, hopeful and utterly gripped until the very end. No one does angst better than Joana Starnes. The path to ‘happily ever after’ is hard fought and hard won. Her writing is compelling and beautifully rendered leaving you breathless when it’s over…
Sanguine meets Melancholic in an emotion packed story.
“I feel incompetent to perform duties… which have been so unexpectedly thrown upon me.” Andrew Johnson
I have just finished Joana Starnes’ latest book and I am an emotional wreck. I absolutely loved it. Please be warned that this is not a quick and easy read. Nor is it a fluffy ‘falling in love’ and everything is A-OK story. Nope, there is drama that will drive you to tears and angst that will grip your heart. The creative writing will pull emotions from you and make you feel things right along with the characters as they live through the roughest time in their lives. It will break your heart.
Elizabeth Bennet – POV:
How can one person sustain that much angst, fear, grief, and overwhelming emotions and remain sane? Elizabeth Bennet has been put through the wringer and lived to tell the tale… barely. Her strength of character was amazing as she was put to the test. In most JAFF, she breezes through the Ton, sweet-talks Darcy’s relatives, impresses his friends with her quick wit and intelligence, and sails through any and all problems with flying colors. Not so in this story. This variation runs more closely to real life than what we normally read in JAFF and, I have a feeling, this is fairly close to how a marriage of convenience would transpire in that time period. This story was one disaster after another. All of a sudden, Elizabeth’s visit with her friend in Kent became her worst nightmare, when an express arrived regarding her father. I was an emotional wreck as I tried to figure out what was happening, as the story was going down the tubes, and there was nothing to stop it. I could not put it down.
Fitzwilliam Darcy – POV:
Bless his heart. He was trying so hard to do the right thing. Our Mr. Darcy has always been a ‘large and in charge’ sort of guy and I just love that about him. In this story, he had been through a lot as he watched his mother give up her will to live and succumb to a fever, leaving him and Georgiana to go it alone. He loved his parents, but was determined to not mimic their marriage of convenience. He was so in love with Elizabeth that he never saw her true feelings. He was so thoughtful with Elizabeth, as he made plans for their future and that of her family. He thought of everything. But, that was his way. He made sure to cover all the bases of what she or her family would need and over time, she fell in love with him. Only he didn’t see it.
His horror and shock was understandable when he thought Elizabeth had married him solely for the security and provisions of her family after her father had fallen ill. Oh, his anger, embarrassment, grief and dismay when he thought she was taking advantage of him was awful. I could not bear his rejection of her in spite of her reassurances. His bitter tirade was to protect his heart. All he had was his pride and he had laid that at her feet, only to feel that she had carelessly trodden upon it. He experienced a gamut of feelings, dismay, rejection, anger and disgust at his weakness. I was horrified at the result of his bitterness and anger. OMG! I’ve never seen it done before in JAFF. What a bold move on the part of our author. I was horrified. I wanted to scream ‘NO’ at the screen of my e-reader. What on earth would Elizabeth do? How could she go on? It was horrible. Austen’s words screamed in my brain, “my good opinion, once lost….” OMG!!!
Villains: Lady Catherine showed up and showed out big time. Caroline made an appearance with her opinion and snide comments. Wickham slithered by and made his evil presence known. Mr. Collins… well, he outdid himself and was awarded Mr. Darcy’s full and undivided attention. Most Excellent!! It was awesome. Mrs. Bennet, not normally seen as a villain, added strife to our story and pushed along the drama. She was ‘best pleased’ that Elizabeth did her duty and sacrificed herself for her family. She had the nerve to declare it was a good thing she had refused Mr. Collins so she could snare Mr. Darcy. Can you believe that? I wanted to shake her. All she could think of was her and Lydia’s comfort. Since Elizabeth was her least favorite child, it was good that she was the one to put up with that disdainful Mr. Darcy. And lastly, Elizabeth and Darcy proved to be the worst villains of all to their peaceful existence. I wanted to cry.
Personalities Types:
Most employees have, at some time or another, taken a personality survey or inventory to determine personality type. Management finds this useful in assessing employee strengths and traits and uses it to assist employees with their strengths and to improve those weaknesses. Wikipedia lists ‘The Four Temperaments’ as the following: Sanguine [optimistic & social], choleric [short-tempered or irritable], melancholic [analytical and quiet], and phlegmatic [relaxed and peaceful], or a combination of more than one trait.
Immediately, Mr. Bennet’s personality type and trait stands out, phlegmatic for sure, bless his heart. But Mr. Darcy can be none other than Melancholic with his brooding, quiet, and analytical manner. In this story, he also leans toward Choleric with his anger and rash behavior. Elizabeth was a combination of Sanguine and Melancholic.
So why mention this? To help readers understand why Elizabeth and Darcy had such a hard time talking to each other. Some reviews may try to downplay this as not being realistic; however, this is a very real problem and our author addressed it beautifully.
A Melancholic and Sanguine together is like speaking two different languages. Joanna displayed this so eloquently as she used each character’s POV to revealed their thoughts. They looked at each other aghast and horrified and wondered how on earth they continually misunderstood each other. I know this to be true as this Sanguine wife, still to the day, has trouble carrying on a conversation with her Melancholic husband. It is a very real and upfront problem and I recognized it immediately when Elizabeth and Darcy were going head-to-head.
Social strata:
We also have to remember; they are coming together from two very different worlds. She, from a gently-born country life, and he from a high- social- circle of the Ton, and with noble relatives thrown in the mix. Their perspectives are from the opposite ends of the spectrum. Their education was different, although she was smart, she had been limited by not attending school, nor had access to masters and by being a woman. As problems arose, they addressed them with the knowledge-base that they had. Their emotional toolbox was equipped differently and their perspectives were skewed right from the beginning. He saw the world through a different lens than she. In order for them to come together, they would have to meet in the middle. Joana did a beautiful job of bringing ODC through hell in order to bring us to a conclusion that was amazing. I nearly wept as she brought the last few chapters to a conclusion. Oh-my-gosh, I was a mess.
I am still affected by this story. Thoughts and impressions are running through my emotion wracked brain. I am so moved by this story. I have all of Joana’s books and even though a friend offered me a copy, I declined so that I might purchase it in my support of this marvelous author. I love your work Joana.