Mr. Darcy’s Rival – Kara Louise + GIVEAWAY!!!

June 24, 2015 • Giveaways, Reviews • 88 Comments

Mr. Darcy's RivalWhat if Another Nephew of Lady Catherine’s Came to Visit?

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Source: Review Copy form Author

It is well known that Lady Catherine is “particularly attached” to her nephews, and according to her ladyship, they are just as attached to her. But what if this grouping of nephews included one more…a nephew from Sir Lewis de Bourgh’s side of the family, his sister’s son Matthew Rickland?

If such a nephew did exist, we can be sure that Lady Catherine would take a prodigious concern in all his affairs, give her superior council on many matters of his life, and demand his attendance at Rosings every so often. In this lovely new variation by Kara Louise we explore the possibility of Lady Catherine’s nephews coming to visit all at the very same time. What if Elizabeth met Mr. Rickland and found him handsome, charming, and amiable? What if Mr. Darcy arrived in Kent and found himself, not only staying a short distance away from Elizabeth Bennet, but residing under the same roof as someone who seems to greatly admire her? Let the battle begin…

Hmm…it is a little tricky to talk about the plot of this book because partway through some surprising twists take place! And I don’t want to spoil any of it for anyone…so I’ll have to give you some teasers…Throughout the course of Mr. Darcy’s Rival readers will encounter three handsome gentleman who persistently pay calls at Hunsford Parsonage, witness a character read several startling revelations, an unexpected secret about Anne de Bourgh, and a heroic rescue that will make anyone go weak in the knees… (There, that ought to whet your appetite but still keep you guessing!) 😉

As you probably can already discern, I adored this premise! (Oh yes! Let’s give Darcy some competition, let’s give him a challenging opponent!) I love seeing Darcy thrown off his game and not so overly-confident! And Lizzy – with her surplus of suitors who practically trip over themselves to attend her – boy, do some people get all the luck!  It was very entertaining to see Lizzy surround by so many interested men! I particularly enjoyed it when in the midst of their charming conversations and flattery there would come to a point where Darcy would want/need to participate in their exchanges, and when he did it was often cringe-worthy and awkward! (Poor Darcy, conversation is not really his thing. Appearing at the most imperative and opportune moment is more his thing! *swoon*)

Another aspect of the story I greatly enjoyed was seeing some new development for Anne de Bourgh. I love it when Anne becomes more than Lady Catherine’s sickly and cross-looking daughter. This story showed she had a very observant nature and a special secret talent of which very few knew. I greatly enjoyed the thought-provoking look at her childhood and feelings towards her cousin. In addition, I loved how her story progressed and I found the conclusion wonderfully satisfying!

Like Lizzy, I thought Mr. Rickland everything that is affable and attractive. I liked how there was a little bit of mystery surrounding him; he played his cards close to his chest so to speak. 😉 He started off as a brilliant contender for Elizabeth’s heart, and a worthy rival for Mr. Darcy. SPOILER ALERT!! (However, along the way I felt a little bit ambivalent towards Mr. Rickland. I was slightly disappointed by the true level of his interest in Elizabeth Bennet and his involvement with another female character in the story. That part didn’t feel so plausible at times.)

Despite this quibble, Mr. Darcy’s Rival was another remarkable and absorbing read from the talented Kara Louise! I’m a long time admirer of Kara Louise’s work (since 2007!), and I will always want to read anything she writes – I love her respectful representation of Jane Austen’s characters, the creative and original scenarios she fabricates, and those heart-stopping, memorable moments between Darcy and Elizabeth (you know the kind!) that she deftly weaves into each one of her stories!

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GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

Kara Louise has kindly offered to giveaway TWO copies (paperback for US, ebook for international) of her new release, Mr. Darcy’s Rival, in conjunction with this review and my interview with Matthew Rickland (which was posted on Monday).

 Mr. Darcy's Rival Mr. Darcy's Rival

To enter and win this lovely prize all you have to do is comment below.

Psst!  If you comment on Monday’s post, you will be entered twice!

  • This giveaway is open worldwide! (paperback for US residents, ebook for international readers) Thank you, Kara!
  • This giveaway ends July 1st.

 

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Disclaimer: The Amazon links used in this post are affiliate links. 

88 comments

  2. Anything with the name “Darcy” in it, anything at all, hooks me right in. I would love to read this book and, yes, the cover is truly lovely.

    Thanks so much for this giveaway.

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  3. The premise of this story sounds great! Thanks for the write up! (I skipped over the spoiler section ;))

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  6. Jumping in to say…excellent review. I did read and enjoy this book as I have all of her books.

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  7. What a beautiful cover for the book. Fantastic review Meredith, as always, have read and loved all Kara’s books so will be ordereing this one too. I suspect this may book will jump quite a few others on my TBR list.

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  9. I’m with you, I’m a big fan of Kara’s books so this one will definitely go on the “must have” list if I don’t get lucky and win it 😉 I suspected your review would be good considering you were having dreams of Mr. Rickland. LOL

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  14. I’d love to win this. I’d love to read this. I’m dying to find out if mr. Rickland is a good guy or a scoundrel.

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  15. Im always sceptical about well-known character like Anne de Bourgh change too much but i like the idea of her having a quiet role like an observer. Even though you didn’t say much about her i’d like to see if she will encounter the rebel she could grow into and of course I’m exited to see a rival ‘tickle the core’ out of Darcy so to speak 😀

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    1. Anne is still quiet and not as physically strong. I think you will find any changes to be very plausible. 🙂 I like that expression – tickle the core!

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  18. Thanks, Meredith, for your generous review, and all the commenters on their encouraging words! Good luck to all who have entered – I hope you get an opportunity to read the book – by hook or by crook (that’s another way of saying by winning or buying)! 🙂

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  19. I like too when Mr Darcy is put to the test with other suitors, LOL, as you say: “Let the battle begin”. I enjoyed this review and the “dialogue” between Meredith (while flying in the plane) and the handsome Rickland, it has been a very original way of presenting a review, very refreshing, congrats Meredith!.
    I am reading “Pemberley Celebrations” , every chapter in the right month, I am in the June story and it´s a delightful thing to “stay” in Pemberley thanks to the elegant style of Kara Louise. So, Kara, I wish you the best with your new novel.
    By the way, Meredith, don´t put me for the giveaway, you know I´m not very friend of ebooks LOL 😉 but I wanted to stop by to comment your review!

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    1. You are so sweet, Teresa! 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! I always love to read your comments – I’m with you on the ebooks!

      That’s great that you are reading Pemberley Celebrations! I’d like to reread it again like you are doing!

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    2. Thanks, Teresa, for you comments! I think we need to make Darcy try a little harder! And I’m thrilled you’re reading Celebrations by holiday! Way to go!

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  21. I’m glad you didn’t give everything away, Meredith, although I would dearly love to read spoilers and know everything that happened so that I won’t be surprised. As I suspected, there is something fishy about Matthew Rickland in order for Elizabeth to choose to marry Darcy. Or maybe she is opened to Darcy’s true nature and fell in love with him. I can’t wait to find out which of my theory is true.

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  22. Great review! I have this one on my kindle (so no need to drop me into the giveaway hat) and I hope to read it soon.

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  25. I had a feeling this one would rate high b/c of the worthy rival and the secretive Anne. Thanks for tantalizing us without giving any of the good stuff away.

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    1. 🙂 Those two twists were very fun to see play out. Thank you for reading my review, Sophia! I always appreciate your visits to my blog!

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  26. I love the cover. It is beautiful. I already have the ebook and if I am not fortunate, I will be purchasing the paperback due to the cover art. It is on my TBR, and as I love Kara’s books, I am sure this one will follow suit. Thank you for the generous give away and for Meredith’s review.
    scamper (at) gmail (dot) com

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  27. I love all her books and am excited to see a new one. I am throughly intrigued. Once again a wonderful review.

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  32. Today is granddaughter babysitting day, so I haven’t be able to individually thank you for your comments – I started to, but just didn’t have time. So let me say here, that you are all so kind in your thoughts. I hope you’ll each be able to read it and that you’ll enjoy it! Thanks again!

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  33. I’d love to win a paperback copy (U.S.). I’ve read Only Mr. Darcy Will Do and would like to read other books by this author.

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  36. Lovely review, Meredith! I am such a huge fan of Kara Louise, everything she writes is delightful! I am so excited about this one. Thanks for the giveaway!!:)

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  37. Oh this sounds like such a great variation, love the idea of a competitor for Lizzie’s affections (of course I still hope Darcy wins in the end!)

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  38. Excellent review (though I skipped the spoiler section :P). I always love it when things aren’t that easy for Darcy! 😀 😀

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  42. This book sound always more interesting (and any book who give a better role/life to poor Anne is always interesting for me) and i really need to discover what kind of guy is this other cousin of Anne…

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  43. Thanks everyone who has commented and I hope you are all able to read the book and will enjoy it. I truly wish I had the time to respond individually to each comment, but my time is not always my own. I thank Meredith – again – for her review and hosting me. It’s been a pleasure. Thank you all! And good luck in the giveaway! 🙂

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  44. The premise of this story sounds like so much fun! It’s always fun to see Darcy have a rival for Elizabeth’s affection! Looking forward to reading this novel. Thank you for the giveaway!

    Love the review Meredith!

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