An Engaging Tangle of Engagements!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Source: Review Copy from Author
What if an unexpected series of events caused the four principal couples of Pride and Prejudice to form completely different pairings?
What if Mrs. Bennet caught Mr. Darcy in a compromising situation with Lydia Bennet and forced him to enter into an engagement to protect her reputation?
What if everything was completely mixed-up and everyone wanted to be with someone other than their betrothed?
A romantic farce full of humor would ensue….
In her newest Pride and Prejudice variation author Victoria Kincaid takes readers on a very twisted romp. Instead of employing one popular romantic trope, she utilizes four! Darcy is in a forced engagement with Lydia, Wickham is blackmailed into an engagement with Charlotte Lucas, Jane accepts Mr. Collins’ proposal as a marriage of convenience, and Lizzy enters into a fake engagement with Mr. Bingley! Poor Mr. Darcy wants to desperately find away out of his engagement with Lydia. They both know he isn’t the rake who led her to the library at Netherfield and seduced her. And even though Lizzy was at first outraged at the despicable actions she suspected of Mr. Darcy, she now begins to believe that something isn’t quite adding up and that Mr. Darcy must be innocent. But how can they prove that when Lydia insists Mr. Darcy was her seducer!
Didn’t Victoria Kincaid dream up a delightfully entertaining scenario?!? This is definitely one of those stories where you don’t take everything seriously and suspend your disbelief a little! I would recommend expecting some characters to act with a little less propriety and be a little more open about their personal lives. This jocular tale is definitely tongue in cheek!
I thought Victoria Kincaid did a masterful job orchestrating all the mismatched couples in a believable fashion. Each couples’ engagement happened for a plausible reason and I enjoyed witnessing the domino effect of it all. No one could untangle themselves from their situation without effecting the others. I thought Darcy was supremely I adorable in this impossible situation! And I loved how begrudging Lydia was to act like his finacée and I thought Charlotte’s surprising preference was inspired!
Even though it was most diverting to witness the chaotic and conflicting situations these characters got themselves embroiled in, my favorite part of the story was seeing Elizabeth fall in love with Darcy and optimistically wish for his freedom! Their romance developes gracefully and gradually and I loved witnessing Lizzy’s change of heart and growing awareness of wonderful and honorable man Mr. Darcy is. Oh! And that scene in the alcove?!? *swoon!*
Chaos Comes to Longbourn is a deliciously wicked romantic romp that will have readers chortling in delight and quickly turning the pages! Definitely a perfect choice for readers in search of an amusing and unique variation to captivate their attention!
I loved this premise in Lost in Austen and am delighted that Victoria Kincaid has “upped the stakes” as it were. Looking forward to enjoying this story!
You are so right, Janis! I didn’t event think of it being similar to Lost in Austen until you mentioned it. It does have the same feel – everything on its ear! Hope you get to read this story soon!
Hi Janis, I hadn’t thought of that either. I hope you enjoy it!
reading the book at the moment, hoping that there will be more Wickham/Charlotte scenes
Yes, there are some great scenes for those two! Charlotte is too much!
Hi Vesper, I’m glad you’re enjoying Wickham and Charlotte. I had a great time writing those scenes.
I found this book to be a very fun read. There were a lot of moments where I just had to grin as I read, so very innovative and just plain fun. Very satisfying ending as well!
So glad you enjoyed this one, Stephanie! I read it while we were traveling and it was the perfect way to spend my time on the plane! 🙂 Yes, the ending is great!
Hi Stephanie, I’m glad it made you laugh! I had great fun writing it.
I have bought this book but not got round to reading it yet as I am in the middle of another very long story. However I love your review and look forward even more to reading this book. I was a little worried about Darcy with Lydia but am reassured that he doesn’t actually end up with her as that would be one of my worst nightmares. I can cope with any other pairings but Darcy just has to be with Elizabeth. Thanks Meredith.
Yay! I’m glad you like my review! This book will be a great one to follow the longer read! It goes by pretty quickly! I read it in one day in between airports! Your worst nightmare?!? What about Darcy’s!!! LOL!
Hi Glynis, Thank you for buying the book! And don’t worry, my books will always have a happy ending — which does not include Darcy ending up with Lydia (shudder)!
The author really had some fun with the premise! Sometimes it requires a truly out-there plot for me to relax and enjoy and stop being all schoolmarmy about accuracy—it sounds like this one would get me there!
Definitely! It is fun to just let go and enjoy the ride! 🙂
Hi Abigail, This is definitely a book to read for fun and not for a lot of historical fact. 🙂 I hope you enjoy it!
It’s such a fun story!. I like when you talk about the “domino effect” because I can imagine all these characters as little pieces falling down in this twist of the plot LOL
I think Victoria Kincaid had fun writing the novel although maybe she had to make a big effort in order to put all these characters in different couples and giving them a plausible development. Thanks for your opinion 🙂
Hi Teresa, I’m so glad you liked the story and thank you for letting us know! I did have fun getting the characters tangled into a knot of misbegotten relationships. Then I realized I needed to get them untangled! That was harder. 🙂
Hi Teresa! It was a tangle and very fun! But yes, probably a little challenging for the author to set everything to rights! Victoria pulled it off very well! 🙂
I had the very great pleasure of being one of Victoria’s betas on this book. I remember being amazed when she told me that there were going to be no less than EIGHT PoVs in it and wondering how she was going to keep everything straight. She did it wonderfully and there are so many laugh out loud moments that I couldn’t pick just one as a favourite. The whole book reminded me of the Whitehall farces that were popular on stage and TV here in the UK when I was growing up.
Meredith, your review is spot on, as always, and you’re right in what you say about the “alcove scene” being swoonworthy!
Hi Anji, Thank you again for being a beta! I’m still in shock over the eight POVs, but I’m glad you thought I pulled it off.
Yes, it is amazing how seamlessly the 8 PoV’s went! I agree Victoria did a wonderful job! It is hard to pick a favorite scene! Thanks for checking out my review, Anji!
I read this story and loved it also. Loved how our couple worked together to come up with a plan to undo the chaos.
Hi Sheila, I’m so glad you enjoyed the book. That means a lot to me!
Yes! It was great to see them work together like that!
Oh, yes, this was hilarious with the mixes and matches going on.
Hi Sophia, I’m glad you thought it was funny! I had a great time writing it.
I love comedies like this! Romantic farces are fun!
Thank you for the lovely review, Meredith! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Thank you for making several flights and the time in between so wonderfully entertaining, Victoria! 🙂 We greatly appreciate you sharing your talent with the world!