Jolene

A Satisfying P&P Variation

Revisado: 08-12-24

I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this variation's Darcy and Elizabeth, this is one of my favorite takes on their journey. I found Darcy to be very romantic throughout the book and it wasn't weighed down with unnecessary misunderstandings. If you can stomach the virtual voice (which doesn't bother me over much) I would highly recommend giving this a listen. It's well worth your time.

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Dialog heavy writing style poorly suits virtual voice

Revisado: 07-03-24

I'm very tolerant of virtual voice but when there's a lot of back and forth dialog, who's talking becomes muddled.

I decided to stop reading at chapter 18 after some disturbingly graphic depictions of wartime torture. It feels like the author inserted a description of wartime behavior they read in a history book. It was abrupt and distasteful in this otherwise boring story.

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The first marriage lasted longer than expected

Revisado: 07-02-24

Premise: Darcy is Lizzie's second husband after she's left widowed by her first loving husband.

I was surprised that so much time was given to Lizzie's first marriage. In these situations often we only get a summary or flashbacks to former relationships. This book is written in chronological order with the first couple hours devoted to Lizzie getting to know and love her first husband. It definitely made it more impactful and sad when he inevitably died.
Learning to love again isn't my favorite trope, but I think it was well done here. Reading the book was an interesting experience because I spent the first half waiting for Darcy to show up and spent the second half realizing I think I liked Lizzie's first husband better.

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More focused on recovery than romance

Revisado: 07-01-24

The bulk of this book focuses on Harry's first month recovering from addictions to gambling and alcohol. During this month he's also healing from a brutal clubbing, finds God, and manages to fall helplessly in love with his savior, Sabrina. A LOT happens in this one month for Harry. I'm tempted to argue too much happens in one month. I'm actually quite forgiving of wonky book timelines as long as the ending has time to breathe; that isn't the case here. I wish Harry and Sabrina's romantic relationship was given as much attention as their friendship. The romance is condensed and I feel a whole third of this book is missing.

Things I would've like to see: Harry put in social situations where his sobriety is tested, the couple's courtship (a couple kisses ≠ courtship), Harry's resolution with Uncle Elliot, opposition Sabrina might face for courting a notorious former drunk and rake, any interaction with Harry's family post recovery.

I also find it preposterous that Sabrina, a former victim of domestic abuse who doesn't trust men, has decided her pet project will be saving young men who've put themselves in bad situations. It's not unthinkable for a woman to want to help men, but Sabrina doesn't have the backstory to support that particular choice.

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