Angels, Demons, and Austen…Oh My!

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Source: Giveaway Win

In this erotically-charged Pride and Prejudice variation Enid Wilson not only turns our beloved story on its ear, she infuses it with paranormal elements and action. Whenever Elizabeth is around Mr. Darcy strange and inexplicable things happen, things that almost seem magical. Elizabeth soon learns the reason why these things happen to her from Michael, a Lost Angel Commissioner who visits her. He explains that she is a guardian angel that accidentally fell out of Heaven or Himins. Elizabeth not only learns that she possess angelic powers and wings but that she will need to return to Himins as soon as she finishes her training on how to be a proper angel. To make matters even more intriguing, Elizabeth discovers that the person that she is supposed to guard, guide, and protect is none other than Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy…

Since she is supposed to be Mr. Darcy’s guardian angel, Elizabeth closely observes Darcy during her stay at Netherfield, and as a result she gains new understanding about his manners and behavior which help her to forgive his proud behavior and ill-fated insult earlier than she would have done naturally. Because of her role as Darcy’s protector Elizabeth is able to ‘hear’ him in her mind when he ‘calls’ for her, almost as if she is able to read his thoughts. When Mr. Darcy ‘calls’ for her while she is at Netherfield tending her sister, Elizabeth is surprised that his ‘call’ has nothing to do with being in pain or danger and everything to do with wanting to capture her in a passionate embrace. While Darcy and Elizabeth don’t have as much pride and prejudice to contend with in this variation they do have to face demons, dark magic, and the intricacy of an angel falling in love with her ward.

Really Angelic is an amusing and rollicking ride through Pride and Prejudice! When you encounter angels, demons, and sex in a Pride and Prejudice variation you better be prepared to suspend disbelief a little and not expect a close imitation of Jane Austen’s writing. Moreover, I would label this novel as erotica as Darcy and Elizabeth engage in intimate and steamy embraces quite frequently. That being said, I greatly enjoyed this entertaining and fantastical tale. I took pleasure in discovering which of our favorite villains were actually demons and how they intended to use various dark arts to achieve their purposes. In addition, I was captivated by the unpredictable and engaging storyline.

While the inclusion of demons and dark arts was an interesting twist to the story, I found it became a little too complicated and hard to follow towards the end of the novel. I thought the author did a much better job describing and illustrating the history and powers of the angels than she did the demons. My other small quibble is about the characterization of Darcy and Elizabeth. I am very happy that Ms. Wilson properly portrayed Darcy as proud and haughty, and Elizabeth as impertinent and lively, but I felt they both were out of character when Darcy so easily accepted the fact that Elizabeth was his guardian angel and Elizabeth so easily surrendered her innocence and accepted Darcy’s advances.

Even though Really Angelic may be more geared towards readers who enjoy paranormal and erotic novels than Austen fans, it is still an entertaining and unique variation of Pride and Prejudice that many Austen fans can enjoy. I found it to be a diverting and captivating read, and I am now very eager to read Ms. Wilson’s first novel, Bargain with the Devil (another Pride and Prejudice variation), to see what sort of mischief she produces there!