AlyLin

Amazing magic system and plot!

Revisado: 09-21-24

I found this while searching for another book like ÷Enchanting Mr Darcy, and it did not disappoint! Excellent world building, with a seemingly insurmountable guiding conflict for which the characters need to learn, explore, and open themselves to new possibilities in order to find a resolution.

I will warn that the primary conflict is not resolved in this book, but they have overcome all the obstacles in the way for their main preparations - except, of course, for time. Lizzy, Darcy, and a set of determined allies are trying to find a way to address the heart of the issue - because it isn't what the government thinks.

We also explore the realism of how people actually feel and respond to shocking details. Not everyone will take your side when shocked, and those who do may not be as much on your side - or against you - as you'd think.

But don't think it will all be good at the end - they still have a whole host of problems to handle, and a few wildcard characters who have yet to show their hands.

Second book comes out soon in text format, but I'm eager for the audio as well.

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Enthralling fantasy with underlying romance

Revisado: 11-01-23

I would LOVE more of this world (and am looking forward to the sequel, which was just released in text form a week ago! no audio book yet, but I'm hoping!)

It focuses mostly on the storyline rather than the romance, with the romance serving to push the help the plot forward as the characters reconcile. There is plenty mention of the fact that Balen is pining after Zavrius, but due to their past and their positions as king and paladin, he doesn't think he can bring up his feelings and tries to resign himself to only friendly-ish terms between them. Meanwhile Zavrius, as it is later revealed, has very good reasons not to welcome anyone in as deeply as he would like.

Excellent world building, wonderful romance, and the smutty parts are confined to 2 chapters. If you are looking to skip those, or if you want to share the story with someone who would prefer to skip them, it's very easy to tell when those sections are starting and just skip to the start of the next chapter, no plot missed!

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Very classy execution

Revisado: 04-02-23

I hesitated, because it could have been so cheesy and cringy, but instead it was amazing. Story, writing, and execution were all exquisite.

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Wonderful world building and unbelievable plot!!!

Revisado: 12-31-22

Every time I thought the plot might be winding down, new things kept turning up. Some things were predictable, but most of the time there was so much happening unexpectedly that you just have to keep listening to find out what's coming!

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Absolutely enthralling!

Revisado: 11-05-22

This is a murder mystery romantic thriller, and I was powerless in staying up til 5AM (on a weekend) to finish it!

There are so many mysteries tied into it that you keep guessing at what else could be about to happen - and as usual J Dawn King delivers many unexpected results!

Stevie Zimmerman performed as impeccably as ever, with great voices for both men and women and easily distinguished voices for all characters!

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Always down for J Dawn King and Stevie Zimmerman

Revisado: 11-02-22

I was confused at the speed with which the book seemed to be reaching a resolution, and then more problems arose. I tried over and over to guess what would happen next, but only a few guesses were correct.

I was particularly impressed by how clear it was that characters of an unexpectedly appearing profession knew exactly what they were doing while Darcy was completely unaware as they did their own job. There were no action moments of Darcy or Lizzy suddenly having impressive skills that they have no place possessing. Great writing!

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Highly enjoyable, with more realism than most

Revisado: 10-21-22

Let's be honest, lots of P&P variations have a very predictable outcome of everyone besides the usual villains being wealthy friends who live an agreeable distance from each other. This story is far from that.

They face more realistic problems, dealing with issues that are much more likely to occur. There are not infinite blankets in the parsonage to warm the villagers, nor is there an endless supply of food to serve them as they take refuge. Not all the villagers live, there is fighting over supplies, people get messy and muddy in the storm, and a child injured in the storm wets themself when unable to reach the chamberpot alone.

Unlike many stories, Lizzy does not fall in love with Darcy and promptly marry him after just a couple days. She does accept him fairly quickly, after seeing how he handles an emergency, but she thinks it over first and there is more to getting married than just rushing to a church.

And the story takes place over far more than just the posed scenario included in the summary - there are plenty of steps along the way to a happy ending, and they are not filled with frills and bonnets and curtseys before the queen.

I will note that, like many female narrators, this one has some rather comical male voices, but all voices are distinct and fairly suitable, and it is easy to follow along. Mr. Bennet does sound like Archie from Veggietales, but as I said, the voices are comical, so to match with an erudite cartoon character works well for Mr. Bennet, regardless of whether that character is a stalk of asparagus.

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Had to dramatically explain the plot to my husband

Revisado: 10-19-22

Sometimes I know it's good from how excited I get to explain as much plot as necessary for my husband to understand how fantastic a certain line is. This book, which was very well performed, was one of those books, in particular the scene immediately following Elizabeth accepting Darcy.

Ladt Catherine is confusing for a lot of the book, but when the tea is spilled on her backstory (which has a twist I've only encountered one other time in all my P&P fiction binging, and a more shocking version of it), I at first thought it was being almost skimmed past, as if such hot gossip had just been dropped without a second glance until the person sharing the story reacted to the listeners. They said it was kinda funny now, but they were sure they looked just as shocked as the rest the first time they heard it... and it's not as if our favorite characters would spread the story, so like the speaker said, it just becomes a shocking and maybe amusing story you rarely think about.

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Funny and a smidge angsty

Revisado: 10-18-22

Have you ever wanted to injure or drug Lydia or Mrs Bennet to make them stop their antics? This Lizzy does! I had a good time guessing which iteration of the ball would be the one that gets it right while I avoided looking at how much of the book was left. Twist, you get some alternate POV at the end so you can't judge how much longer is left in the story by how much time is left!

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Pretty predictable, but still enjoyable

Revisado: 09-24-22

Pretty much everything you would expect from a clumsy girl x playboy love-ish at first sight but neither wants it to be love story. Narrator does not distinguish well between masculine and feminine voices, and ends up pretty much just using an exaggerated accent for men's voices, but tends to also use higher pitches for them??? Drake often has more emphasis on the accent than on using appropriate tone for the scene. But I really liked the intonation she used for Penelope.

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