What If Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Were Trapped in A Snowstorm and Mr. Darcy Was Injured?
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Source: Review Copy from Publisher
In her second splendid Pride and Prejudice variation, Jessie Lewis brings Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth unexpectedly together in the middle of winter, confined to a crowded inn, and facing a harrowing series of events. Being forced into each others’ company is unpleasant enough for Darcy and Elizabeth, but this challenging situation is exacerbated by the the fact that Mr. Darcy is gravely injured and unable to use his voice! Does Elizabeth nursing Mr. Darcy back to health bring better understanding and amicability between these two? Or does Mr. Darcy’s inability to speak increase their proclivities to misunderstand each other and jump to the wrong conclusions?
Let me tell you friends…I adored this incredibly moving and emotionally-wrought tale. The premise was brilliant, dramatic, and plausible. And even though there are many stories that force or confine Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth together, I will always eagerly want more! It is such a fascinating situation/development to explore…especially when it happens early on in their relationship as it does here. But you need more than an excellent premise to make a story phenomenal, and Ms. Lewis’s masterful execution of this premise is what makes this story phenomenal!
The two elements about this Ms. Lewis’s writing that I most appreciated in this tale were her decision to tell the story from Mr. Darcy’s point-of-view and the perfectly paced romantic development between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. Being in Mr. Darcy’s head for this tale was intense…with Ms. Lewis’s exquisitely evocative prose I felt all Mr. Darcy’s mental, physical, and emotional pain. Jessie Lewis is an expert wordsmith; she continuously conveyed Mr. Darcy’s feelings and experiences in a sensitive and tangible way without ever resorting to repetition.
And now I must devote this next paragraph to how much I was completely enthralled by the leisurely-paced romance that was so beautifully developed by shades and degrees in this story. I loved that Ms. Lewis didn’t reveal everything right away or move along at quick pace. There is much for Mr. Darcy, Lizzy, and the reader to learn along the way and Ms. Lewis chose the perfect moments to peel away each layer. There were many revelations that surprised me just as much as they did Mr. Darcy.
Other aspects of this story that I thoroughly enjoyed was seeing Lizzy be so admirable, strong, and selfless, Mr. Bingley’s role in this story, and meeting the other inhabitants of The Dancing Bear. Not to mention, the conclusion to this story was completely heartwarming and gratifying.
Full of achingly real anguish and a keen understanding of emotions, Speechless is a mesmerizing and outstanding Pride and Prejudice variation that is deserving of the highest of praise. And as you can see from this review, Jessie Lewis’s beautiful prose and adept storytelling most certainly did not leave me speechless… 😉I challenge you to say differently!
Excellent review of an excellent story. This was also a 5 star read for me and one I have on my reread pile. Loved the ways in which they learned to communicate outside of writing it down. I highly recommend this also.
Thank you, Shelia! I am so very happy I got to read this one! It is such a gem!
Yes, it would so lovely to witness their unique communication techniques! Loved it!
I completely agree. This was a wonderful story – your review described it well. It is nice to follow along from Darcy’s POV.
Thank you so much! I am thrilled to hear you loved this one as much as I did!
This sounds wonderful and I must order it asap. Wonderful review Meredith
You won’t be sorry you did, Michelle! I guarantee it! 😉
I never get tired of the “trapped in a snowstorm” story line. It’s one of my favorites. Can’t wait to read this one!
Same!!! I hope you get the chance to read this one soon!
My Goodness, Meredith, I think I’ll be floating through the rest of the day on cloud 9 after reading this. I’m absolutely thrilled that you enjoyed Speechless so much. As you quite rightly point out, it’s a familiar premise, but so much fun to explore with a new twist, and I did so enjoy writing this one. Thank you for taking the time to read and review it and for your kind words about it. Knowing people have enjoyed my stories makes writing them completely and wholly worthwhile. 🙂
Oh thank you so much for this story, Jessie! It was truly phenomenal and you are so deserving of all the praise you receive for it!
I just finished this and enjoyed it thoroughly. I love that Lizzy is the one who quickly learns how to communicate with Darcy while no one else is able to. An interesting premise very well done.
So happy to hear that you loved this one as much as I did! Yes…I really love how Lizzy is better at understanding Darcy than anyone else.
wonderful review
d
Thank you, Denise!
So glad you loved Jessie’s book as much as we did! Her writing is spectacular!
Totally agreed! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this story!
I am about a third of the where are you through listening to the audiobook of Speechless, and though I am loving the story enormously, I am afraid the narrator, William Matthews, is less than wonderful. Mr Matthews certainly has a beautiful voice, deep and rich, very much like I imagine Darcy’s voice would be like, and for the narration and Darcy’s thoughts, he is a very good fit. But for Lizzy’s voice, he is woeful, I’m afraid. Mr Matthews cannot raise his voice to the level of a females and there is absolutely no inflection in his speech, making for a very boring recital of what is (so far) a truly beautiful story.
I am particularly impressed with Jessie’s descriptions of Darcy’s physical pain, fear and frustration.
I have the Kindle edition of the book and I am now going to use mine own eyes, and read the book rather than listen.
I do read, constantly, but I love my audiobooks so that I can follow a story whilst ironing or driving. Unfortunately, the narrator of Speechless does not do the book justice. A shame, but there it is. The narrator makes or breaks even the best of stories.
Very happy to hear you are enjoying the story, Lesley! And I appreciate you sharing your views about the audiobook.
Yes…Jessie absolutely excelled at conveying such palpable feelings and experiences. I loved that especially about this book!
A wonderful review for a brilliant book! 🙂
Thanks so much for checking out my review, Anniina!
What a great review. I have it on my list and will read soon! Love it!
Thank you, Jennifer! I hope you love it as much as I did!
Fab review! Even more fab book!
This book made me cry while reading the first chapter! What on Earth was wrong?
I too love stories when they are together from the start so this was perfect (especially as other known characters didn’t appear until very much later on)
The way ODC managed to communicate and resolve their differences was absolutely wonderful.
Definitely a re read!
Thank you, Glynis! Yes, I completely agree! My chest hurt in sympathy pains the whole time I was reading this book…it was that immersive a reading experience…I physically felt Darcy’s pain.
Yes…it was lovely to see our friends show up later after a good dose of just Darcy and Elizabeth for the first 3/4 of the story!
Sounds like a wonderful story. Don’t know how I missed it. It is now on my wish list
So glad to share this book with you! Hope you get the chance to read it soon!
I didn’t read your review earlier, Meredith, because I was actually reading it at the time. I agree with everything you said about Jessie Lewis’ book, Speechless. Well, I WAS left speechless after I was done reading. It was so painful and heartwrenching to read what Darcy and Elizabeth were going through, it felt so raw and real, but never over the top melodramatic. I tell you though, a couple chapters before the end I was panicking!!! I came this close to hating Colonel Fitzwilliam. And I didn’t want it to end! I just sat there with my jaw open. What! Wait! I want more! I wondered how Jessie could out do herself after Mistaken, but wow. She did. And that says a lot. I’ll be rereading this in the future, you can be sure.