Hello, dear readers! Today we are welcoming the first author visit of 2020 – Anniina Sjöblom!! 🎉 You may remember Anniina’s debut release Thaw came out last month and it has a spectacular cover!! 😍📕Anniina is back here today to celebrate her blog tour and brings with her a tempting excerpt from Thaw! We hope you enjoy!
Hi everyone, and thank you Meredith for inviting me to post an excerpt from Thaw at Austenesque Reviews as a part of the blog tour! The following is an excerpt from a letter Elizabeth writes to Jane about a month into her unexpected marriage to Mr. Darcy after a rather short acquaintance. Earlier in the story, she has had an unfortunate encounter with the slippery bank of a Hertfordshire pond—and has just discovered that Derbyshire ponds can be just as dangerous.
~ Excerpt from Thaw ~
Pemberley House, January 19, 1812
My dearest Jane,
I am an utter fool. If you ever repeat to anyone what I am about to write, I swear I shall deny ever writing such a thing and declare you a liar of the most scandalous nature. Of course, I trust your discretion above that of anyone else, so here it is, my terrible confession, entrusted to your care for you to laugh at and for no one else to ever hear of: if only I had listened to my mother.
Ever since I learned to walk, she has said time and time again that traipsing about the countryside is not a suitable form of exercise for a genteel lady. Every time I came home with a tear in my frock or my petticoats six inches in mud, she faithfully remembered to admonish me for my unseemly habits. But did I ever listen to her? Did I ever heed her advice? I most certainly did not—and now I must face the consequences.
One might think I would have learned my lesson that day at Mr Thompson’s pond; certainly that was a fair example of the trouble a girl can get into whilst walking in the woods unaccompanied. Instead it seems I have learned absolutely nothing. Thus, I am doomed to be confined to my bedchamber for at least a fortnight—nursing a sprained ankle and a severely bruised amour propre.
The day before yesterday was another one of those charming crisp winter days, and I could not resist going for a walk even if it was somewhat windy and more than a little chilly. I was rambling by a little pond amidst the trees (yes, dear sister, you have read correctly—a pond) when suddenly a furious gust of wind caught onto my scarf and hurled it onto the ice. I stepped most carefully onto the edge of the slippery surface—and, as I have already told you of the state of my ankle, I am sure you can guess what happened next. I beg you not to tell Papa, or he might reconsider his estimation of my intellect!
After a good quarter of an hour spent crawling towards the house in the snow—having made several futile attempts to stand—I resolved to never, ever go walking alone again and resorted to crying for help. And of course, it was none other than my husband who heard my cries. I do not know what he was doing walking in the woods, but I can tell you that my embarrassment was acute. A lesser man—or a man with a healthier sense of irony—might have laughed when I mentioned the words ‘slip’ and ‘pond’ but, stoic creature that he is, my husband merely raised his brow. While I looked elsewhere, thoroughly mortified, he undid the laces of my boot and examined my ankle. Then, without another word, he took off his greatcoat, settled it on my shoulders, and lifted me off the ground.
It took us quite a while to reach the house and, try as I might, I could not think of a single word to say. The feel of the coat wrapped around me, the dark look on his face, and the steady, stubborn rhythm of his steps—every single thing reminded me of the unfortunate events at Mr Thompson’s pond. I am quite sure that he was thinking of the exact same thing. From now on, I plan to keep at least a mile between myself and any nearby ponds, lest he start to suspect there is some truth to the malice Lettice Thompson has been spreading.
I must admit that there is something to admire in the cool, calm way he faces adversity. (In his mind, I am sure that a penniless country-savage of a wife with a tendency to slip into ponds is most certainly an adversity!) He did not fuss when he rescued me from drowning in Mr Thompson’s pond. He did not fuss when Papa asked him to marry me. He did not fuss today when he found me, sitting in the snow, squealing like a little piglet. Instead, as I have seen him do before, he simply assessed the situation and did what he thought needed to be done. After almost one and twenty years of Mama fussing over every little thing, I confess that I find the change oddly refreshing.
Oh, yes! I love that Darcy is the one to hear Elizabeth and that he carries her! And what a thoughtful ponderings of Mr. Darcy’s character that Elizabeth shares! I cannot wait to see more of their interactions together!
~ Book Description ~
On a rainy November day in 1811, a few blithe steps and an unfortunate mishap bind the fate of Miss Elizabeth Bennet irrevocably to the haughty and conceited Mr. Darcy – the last man in the world she had ever thought to marry.
As winter days slowly pass, she writes letters to her loved ones, trying to come to terms with her new role as a wife and the Mistress of Pemberley. But can she ever learn to love her husband? Will he overcome his arrogant notions of rank and circumstance?
And most importantly – will the shades of Pemberley ever recover from being thus polluted?
What do you think, friends? Have you read Thaw yet?
Are you planning to?
~ Connect with Anniina ~
~ About Anniina ~
Anniina Sjöblom lives in the beautiful but cold Finland and works in university administration. She 
has an MA in History and enjoys a long-standing love affair with the works of Jane Austen.
Her previous works include titles such as “Thirteen Days,” Fix You,” and “When He Comes Back,” published in various online Austenesque forums under the pen name boogima. The new novella “Thaw,” expanded from the original version of the story first published online in 2011, is her first commercially published work.
When not writing, Anniina spends her time hanging out with friends, binge-watching TV dramas and re-reading her favourite books while the stack of new ones still waiting to be read piles higher on her nightstand. She can ride a unicycle, and once, after losing an unfortunate bet, ate a bowl of ice cream with green dish soap as dressing. She does not recommend attempting it to anyone.
~~~
GIVEAWAY TIME!
The lovely people at Quills and Quartos are offering an ebook copy of Thaw to ONE lucky reader who comments on this blog post! 📗🙌🏼
To enter this giveaway leave a question, comment, or some love for Anniina below.
- This giveaway is open worldwide. Thank you, Quills and Quartos!
- This giveaway ends January 22nd.
Follow along on Anniina’s Tour!
Our sincere gratitude to Anniina Sjöblom, Christina Boyd, and the wonderful people at Quills and Quartos for putting this tour together! We are so happy to take part!
Thaw was one of the first JAFF stories I discovered on AHA and I adored it back then. I love it even more now in its updated version. Epistolary stories are brilliant fun when done well and this one treats the reader like a true adult, crediting us with the ability to conclude what’s happened off stage and between letters, drawing us even further into the story as a consequence. It also contains one of my favourite Darcy-alpha-male lines in all of Jaff, consisting of just one word: Enough. The whole story is worth it for that swoon worthy moment alone but I heartily recommend it for the entire story as well. Good luck on your tour Anniina, and thanks for hosting Meredith. (Dont include me in the draw – I already own it )
Thank you, Jessie! Darcy doesn’t get a lot of say in this story, so his ability to make one swoon with a single word certainly comes in handy!
What a delicious excerpt and such a tantalising premise! I love early-marriage scenarios, and who could resists Mr Darcy as the stoic alpha male 🙂
Thanks for this great post, Meredith and Anniina! Best wishes and Happy New Year!
Thank you, Joana, and best wishes for the new year to you as well! 🙂
Surprised Darcy let her walk alone after the first pond incident
Maybe, despite his sombre mien, he secretly rather likes to play the knight in shining armour to her damsel in distress? 🙂 Thanks for stopping by Vesper!
Forced marriage scenario and romantic tension? I’m here for this! Congratulations on your debut, Anniina!
Thanks so much, Heather!
As interesting as it is to know Elizabeth’s thoughts on the matter of once again slipping into a pond and being rescued by Darcy, I would truly love to know his thoughts–not much can be read into her description of the look on his face. I’m chuckling as my thoughts go to his internal reaction.
I’m afraid Darcy doesn’t get all that much say in this story – he’s rather miffed about it, to be honest. I might have to make it up to him one day. 🙂
Wonderful story–so glad you are publishing it! Please count me in for the giveaway!
Thank you, Melanie! Good luck in the giveaway! 🙂
This book looks really cute and I would love to read it.
Thanks, Beth & good luck in the giveaway! 🙂
Like Jessie, I love epistolary-form stories when they’re done well and this one is done exceptionally well! Please don’t enter me in the draw, as I’ve already read this fantastic tale.
Thanks so much, Anji – I’m so happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
Sigh! What a hero! I love the idea of this book and it’s on the top of my ‘to buy next’ list.
I can’t wait to read it. Thank you Anniina and Meredith for sharing this lovely excerpt.
Thank you, Glynis, I hope you’ll enjoy it! 🙂
The letter sounds like Jane Austen with the striking humor – kudos! I love the cover and hope that the thaw refers to the relationship of Elizabeth and Darcy and just not the weather. Thank you for the excerpt and giveaway. And, no, I will not be trying the topping Anji used on her ice cream!
Thank you, Eva!! And definitely more than one kind of thawing will take place as spring arrives to Pemberley. 🙂
Great excerpt. My old kindle died and am now only adding my newer stories to the new kindle. Can’t wait to finally read.
Thank you, Christina – both for stopping by and for organising the tour in the first place! 🙂
Thaw was one of my favorite books to read in 2019 and one of my very few 5-star reviews. Loved it!
Thank you, Katie, I’m so, so happy to hear it! 🙂
That is an excellent cover. The title confused me when I first read it as an unpublished work. As I continued to read the story, the title then made sense and was a perfect choice. The icing on the cake is of course the cover. What a delightful story. I love this Darcy. The letters are a hoot as we read and watch the iceberg that is Elizabeth’s emotions start to crack and ‘thaw.’ See? I even use it. Lovely that Meredith is featuring you this post [hello to Mr. Bingley]. Blessings on the success of this work. I can’t wait to see what you launch next. I’ve read many of your unpublished work.
Thank you so much!! And you’re not alone – while I love my little title, I remember many readers were a bit baffled with it at first when I started posting the original version of this story on the forums way back when. 😀
This books sounds wonderful so will definitely be following the blog tour.
Thank you & good luck in the giveaway! 🙂
Love this story so much. Thanks for hosting the wonderful Anniina, Meredith!
Thanks, Jan! 🙂
Such a delightful story. Thank you.
Thank you, Betty! 🙂
I have not read Thaw yet but is already on my wishlist when it was made available. Thank you for the excerpt. Just wondering is the story only based on EB’s perspective? Really eager to know how both will thaw out 🙂
It’s EB’s perspective only – a collection of letters E writes to Jane and Aunt Gardiner after her unexpected marriage to Mr Darcy. She’s a pretty descriptive correspondent (though perhaps not always quite as perceptive as she thinks she is, at least when it comes to divining the moods of her new husband). Good luck in the giveaway! 🙂
I had no doubt that I would love the expanded version too. I did read it straight through entirely…twice…in one sitting 😉 Delightful!
Thank you, Deborah!! 🙂
I must wonder if Darcy was out walking looking for his wife. Love this letter to Jane. I am looking forward to reading! Definitely on my tbr list!
I’m pretty sure he was (though if asked, probably wouldn’t admit it)! Thanks for stopping by, Becky and good luck in the giveaway! 🙂
Thank you for the chance.
Good luck! 🙂
Loved the excerpt, thank you for making me laugh out loud. I adore both Elizabeth and Darcy in this story that I read a long time ago.
PS: The cover is absolutely gorgeous.
Thanks so much, Elin! Btw, the published version has been updated with a bunch of brand new letters. 🙂
I read Thaw soon after it was released, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was great fun and brilliantly done. Best of luck with it, Anniina! (And no need to put me in the draw; I own the book already.)
Thanks so much, Lucy! 🙂
I love FMS and this looks so good!
Thank you & best of luck in the giveaway! 🙂
I read it and loved it! Great job Anniina. I look forward to reading more from you.
Thanks so much, Kristin, I’m so happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
I love novels, written as a series of letters. You feel, as if you are a privileged character of the story, who is a confident of the letter receivers,
You’ve described the feeling of reading epistolary novels spot on! Hope you’ll enjoy this one – thanks for stopping by & good luck in the giveaway! 🙂
This sounds like a delightful variation of the classic story. I hope very soon to read it. I actually love letters in books, because they can give insight into the mind of a character.
Thank you, Christina, I hope you’ll like it! Good luck in the giveaway! 🙂
I love the fact that while she is oblivious to Darcy’s feelings for her and mortified to be exposed as a tomboy, she appreciates Darcy’s efficient and decisive way of dealing with a situation. You capture Elizabeth’s tendency to assume and assume and assume – I look forward to seeing how much of the wrong thing! Thanks for the giveaway!
She really is big on making assumptions – and unfortunately not always the most perceptive kind, when it comes to her husband. 😀 Thanks for stopping by & best of luck in the giveaway!
Really looking forward to reading this one. I always like the idea of reading journals or letters, it feels like an insiders view, a place where we think things we don’t always say out loud. 🙂
Thanks, Danielle, I hope you’ll enjoy it! Good luck in the giveaway! 🙂
Thank you for the giveaway and congrats on your wonderful book! I read it on kindleunlimited and thought it was terrific!
Thanks so much I’m glad you liked it!!
Oh, great excerpt. Just enough to draw us in and crave more. I love how Lizzy writes to her sister, Jane. I’m looking forward to reading this. I’m still reading a few more holiday novellas before I’m done for the season, and I bring this up because the cover looks so Christmasy or at least wintery. That is a beautiful cover, it really grabs my attention. Best of luck Anniina.
Thanks so much, Michelle, I’m glad you liked it – and hope you’ll enjoy the book as well! And I wholly agree with you, Ellen Pickels did a beautiful job with the cover! Good luck in the giveaway. 🙂
Lovely story and nice, creative variation!
Thank you, Cheryl!! 🙂
Love the excerpt. I’m glad Elizabeth is seeing the responsible side of him.
Congrats on publishing! Can’t wait to read it!
Thanks so much, I hope you’ll enjoy it! Good luck in the giveaway! 🙂