Happy Monday, friends! Guess what!?! It’s time for another cover reveal! 🙌🏼
And this cover reveal us exciting for multiple reasons – it is the second cover reveal for Quills and Quartos this month and it is a cover reveal for a brand new author’s debut release! 🥳
Welcome to Austenesque Reviews, Gailie Ruth Caress! We are so excited to learn about your upcoming release and share your debut release’s cover reveal!! 😊
~ From the Author ~
Writing a novel in the devastation of 2020 presented many unforeseen challenges (and didn’t we all have them?), but it also gave me a gift: a chance to create a story for some much-needed catharsis and healing. In Fearful Symmetry, Elizabeth and Darcy face danger, and they certainly do not disappoint us when they rise to the occasion—and in the process, find a new respect and affinity for each other. Elizabeth bears particular burdens as she works to rebuild her world in this tale, and it is a wonder to see the evocative way cover artist Susan Adriani has captured a vulnerable strength in her glowing gaze, which is all the brighter for the blazing destruction at her back. Thank you, Susan, for this thrilling and beautiful cover!
It is my hope, gentle reader, that in journeying through this new imagining of Elizabeth and Darcy’s story, you can find a boost to your own courage to meet the challenges ahead of us in 2021.
~ Book Description ~
Darcy had never known such a woman, one who could rush into an inferno and emerge as bold and brilliant as burnished brass, bright as any mirror.
FITZWILLIAM DARCY HAD PLANNED TO LEAVE NETHERFIELD PARK and all thoughts of the enchanting Miss Elizabeth Bennet behind him—until one night when he saw smoke rising from Longbourn and realised she was in peril.
ELIZABETH BENNET FOUND MR DARCY ARROGANT AND INSUFERABLE right up until he became her hero, pulling her and her sister from the fire that devastated their home, and could have claimed both of their lives. Seeing how he put his own life at risk to pull her from the fire, how could she help but change her opinion of him?
THROWN TOGETHER AGAIN in the refuge offered at Netherfield, Darcy and Elizabeth’s unexpected bond gains strength. But disapproval, debts, and doubts all arise when the costs in time and expense involved in rebuilding Longbourn threaten to widen the gulf in standing between Elizabeth and Darcy in the eyes of society. Amidst these perplexities of destruction and decorum, can love’s courage overcome calamity?
And without further ado….here is the big reveal!!!
(expected release date: March 8th)
Truly magnificent! I love the texture of the artwork and the glowing of the flames! 🔥
Lol! Just realized I could be super corny and say “This cover is lit.” But seriously though, it is! 😝
A fire at Longbourn…! What will this mean – what happens to the Bennets?! 😱
Mr. Darcy saves Elizabeth from the fire?! I am already in a swoon! 😍
What do you think, friends! 🤔
~~~
~ About Gailie Ruth ~
Gailie Ruth Caress, author of Fearful Symmetry, never dreamed of writing a debut novel in her own pleasure-reading genre when she was a no-nonsense, 4.0-chasing English major who won prizes for her academic essays at Hanover College in her home state of Indiana. Forced to readily adapt after a pivotal loss in early adulthood, she became a dabbler in many forms of expression and relationship-building—from opera and ballroom dance to nonprofit education and mentoring. And yet, she committed mid-Pandemic to the challenge of completing the manuscript of the story that kept her up at night, driven by a need to borrow from the courageous vulnerability of her favorite Jane Austen couple in a landscape transformed by disaster.
Her everyday life continues to hold unexpected adventures. Her two small boys and a duo of sassy tabby cats run wild on the Illinois prairie around a parsonage, where they keep her busy alongside rural community and ministry work with her pastor-husband. Learn more about Gailie Ruth at gailieruthwrites.com.
~~~
GIVEAWAY TIME!
The lovely people at Quills and Quartos are offering a generous giveaway of a $20 Amazon Gift Card for one lucky reader who comments on today’s post! 📚🤤
To enter this giveaway leave a question, comment, or some love for Gailie Ruth below.
- This giveaway is open worldwide. Thank you, Quills and Quartos!
- This giveaway ends January 25th.
You can preorder Fearful Symmetry now!
Our sincere gratitude to Gailie Ruth Caress, Kristi Rawley, and the wonderful people at Quills and Quartos for putting this special post together!
Truly that is a gorgeous cover! Lizzy is transformed by the flames which is put together so well in the cover; it appears the flames continue to be in her even if not physical. Thank you for the cover reveal. Please do not enter me in the contest, but I still wanted to express my admiration for the book cover.
Jen, that is a terrific observation that the flames seem to stay *in* Elizabeth, symbolizing how the fire changes her. I’m delighted you came by to check out my first-ever novel! That cover is amazing!
An absolutely striking cover! The book sounds very interesting. I look forward to reading it!
Thank you for coming to take a look! I hope you enjoy it!
What a fantastic and beautiful cover – full of drama and passion to match the story. Cannot wait to get my mitts on this one!
I totally agree! It’s a wonderful, wonderful cover to match a story that starts with a “buckle up and plunge” (as one peer-reader put it) action sequence full of drama! I hope you enjoy! Thanks for your comment!
WOW! The except blew ne away. I cannot wait to read this. Cover is beautiful. Love the expression on her face and the flames in the background. So looking forward to this!!
I love her expression, too! Vulnerable but resolute! Thank you for checking out my new baby novel!! I hope you love it! March 8 can’t come soon enough!
Great cover, also loved the premise of the story, I look forward to reading more when it’s published
Thank you, Sarah! I couldn’t resist that premise, either. Such a thrill to write! I hope you enjoy reading it in March. 🙂
Oooh….what lovely cover art! So full of the passion we expect from Darcy and Elizabeth. I can’t wait to read what’s inside!
This cover was *everything*. I was so excited when I saw the proof. It’s a wonderfully evocative presentation for the novel. I couldn’t ask for anything better! Glad you agree it’s lovely, too!
Wow what a beautiful and intriguing cover! Can’t wait to get my hands on the book!
When I first saw the proof, I fell in love, too. That cover is *chef’s kiss*. Can’t wait to hear what you think of the story inside when you finally get your hands on it! Thanks for checking it out, Katrina!
I love that Darcy saves Elizabeth, thus improving her opinion of him. It sound like they combine forces to fight adversity and I love that.
Gorgeous cover! Please don’t enter me in the giveaway as I shop on U.K. so can’t use a .com gift card.
Thank you from checking out this cover from all the way in the UK! I am so delighted to have readers from around the world interested in this story. I hope you’ll love Darcy & Elizabeth’s new dynamic in FS!
This is a new angle for Pride & Prejudice. I wish you much success with your debut novel!
You are so kind, Sue! Thank you for checking it out!
Gailie, congratulations on your release – I had no idea Fearful Symmetry was your debut novel! That makes designing your cover even more special for me. It was an absolute pleasure to design 🙂
Susan, the cover is better than anything I could have imagined! What a gift to me to have such an evocative, heart-grabbing cover that “speaks” for itself—for my very first book! I feel downright blessed. Thank you for your visionary work on this!!
Interestig cover, the “fresque” quality of the image is very alluring!
The excerpt and the description are even more alluring!
I confess to being very much intrigued and can’t wait the release day!
Thank you so much, Mihaela! I hope you love the book! March 6 feels so far away!
Whoops, I mean March 8! Even farther away! Hang in there!
I like the cover
I do, too! Thank you for checking it out, Gwendolyn!
Beautiful cover and the story sounds fascinating – I can’t wait to read it!
Thank you so much for checking out my story! I can’t wait for the release on March 8th!
What a striking cover and interesting premise. I look forward to reading this. Congratulations on the upcoming release!
Thank you so much, Kim! This was a delight to write!
After viewing this captivating cover, I am very eager to read this story to learn how the consequences of the fire affect the futures of all the characters.
I love your enthusiasm—and I hope you *love* the book! Thank you for reading about it today!
What a beautiful cover! The idea for the story is very intriguing. Darcy saving Elizabeth from a fire at Longbourn is such a great idea. Can’t wait to read it!
Thank you for checking it out, Tzippy! (Adorable name, by the way!)
A fire at Longbourn, with Darcy as a rescuing hero, inspires a multitude of possibilities for our proud Darcy and his enchanting, prejudiced Elizabeth. I will look forward to reading this book.
It was such a fun challenge to look at all those possibilities, too! Thank you for checking out my brand-new baby novel!
FINALLY! I have been waiting years for this story to become available. So glad that I will now finally be able to read it.
Ginna, your comment means so much to me! I could *cry* to hear that you remember this story when it was half-completed and posted to the DWG five years ago! It has been my greatest delight to FINALLY finish it–and have Quills & Quartos offer to publish it! Your early readership has made the dream happen!
Love Susan Adriani’s cover but also love all the fabulous writers Quills and Quartos has been introducing to the JAFF community. Well done, ladies!
I could not agree more, Regina! They are a fabulous team. Thank you for checking out my first-ever novel!
And, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes Elizabeth is reborn!! Congratulations on your debut! I am quite excited to read this!
Thank you so much, Caroline! I’m thrilled!
Thank you SO much, Meredith, for your warm welcome here! I am as excited as you are about this story, and wowzers, what a great cover. It is such a gift for an author to have a cover with so much life in it that it “speaks” like this one does. Susan Adriani and the team at Quills & Quartos have done it again!
Thank you again for hosting this reveal here at Austenesque Reviews. It’s an honor to be featured!
I love the cover! I’m already worried about what will happen to the Bennets, but so glad that Darcy will save Elizabeth. I’m looking forward to reading this authors first book!
Oh dear! Rest assured: I love a happy ending, and I don’t like to traumatize readers. I hope you love it and find it thrilling but hopeful!
The cover is wonderful! Looks like Collins will be coming to a potentially destroyed house. I wonder how that will develop. Thank you for the blurb and cover reveal.
Poor, poor Mr Collins will be in a quandary, no? Let’s just say his proposal to Elizabeth takes a decided turn! I hope you love it! Thanks for reading the post today!
The cover is gorgeous. Love the story line!
It was such an enjoyable tale to write, Lily! I hope you love it. ❤️
Congrats on the release, it sounds great!
Thank you so much! I’m excited to put it out there!
What a beautifully dramatic cover and exciting excerpt!
Thank you, Katie! I admit, I love how Darcy begins to see Elizabeth in a new light (see excerpt for example) and she, him, far sooner in this version! One gift this kind of disaster brings, I suppose! I hope you love their new dynamic!
Oh my! The cover is beautifully well done! I also love this book title. Can’t wait to read it!
Susan’s work on the cover blew me away, too! Thanks for stopping by to look, Marie!
Although the image is nice, the cursive font is hard to read! I honestly thought it said “Tearful” and only when I went back to the top to read about the book did I realize it was “Fearful”. If it’s this hard to read in the size shown in the article, imagine the difficulty of deciphering it in thumbnail size.
Oops, on my original comment I put the wrong email address to allow me to subscribe. This comment is to fix that.
Hmm, that may be a challenge on Amazon. I’m glad they added the zoom in feature, but I may have to scale carefully when I use it as a smaller graphic, you’re right!
Oddly, that “tearful” misreading could be viewed like a Freudian slip. Kinda fittingly, there’s tears involved in the story, too. What a neat thing for you to notice!
Wouldn’t Jane Austen be amazed at the fires she has lit within the hearts and minds of present day authors! Looking forward to reading your story!
I can’t remember which literary critic claimed Jane Austen left “gaps” in her narrative on which readers could project some of their own feelings to interpret the actions of the characters. It very cleverly invites her readers to participate in the story, which pushed to a farther point, also invites us to *invent* new lines into the story when we set down the book. It lingers with us, and we play in the gaps. I’m so grateful to her generous style of writing that creates a legacy past her own pages!
Thank you for coming by and tickling my brain with your comment, Brenda!
The image is nice, but the script is hard to read. I had scrolled down to see the cover before reading the description, and I honestly thought it said “Tearful”. Only after reading the description did I realize it was “Fearful”. I fear it will be even harder to read when in the thumbnail size.
Thank you for coming to take a peek! I hope you don’t mind, I replied to your top comment above. You pointed out something interesting in your initial cover reading that I think is kinda neat!
I’m sorry about the duplicate comment. I was getting error messages from WordPress that led me to believe my original comment had been rejected.
Fire was such a fear as it could start in flying fireplace embers or in a kitchen. It is sad to think that Longbourn burned. What happened to the other family members? How will the Bennets possibly recover? Thank you for the cover reveal and giveaway.
Yes, fires were a constant danger in 18-19c homes. This nasty surprise really will throw them for a loop! But have trust: I love my happy endings too much to make any outcome *too* horrible! Hope you love this when it comes out in March!
What an amazing cover. OMG! The colors are spectacular and her expression is so resolute. I look forward to reading this. I love a Darcy that is large-and-in-charge and we get to see his hero moment. Yeah, heavy sigh. I have so many questions. Does everyone survive? The cover looks like she is wearing black. Maybe that was just the portrait. I want this book!!! Blessings everyone. Good luck in the drawing, stay safe, and healthy.
I LOVE a Darcy who gets some action in the plot, too—not just walking in gardens, sitting at desks, and riding horses! I hope you love my take on his behavior in a crisis!
Beautiful cover. I can’t wait to find out what the author has in store for the readers. Thanks!
I’m so glad you’re excited! I am, too! Why is March so far away? Thank you for coming by to get a peek at the story!
Beautiful cover! The story sounds like it will be wonderful. I look forward to reading it.
Thank you! I hope you love the way this plot brings Darcy and Elizabeth together!
Put. It. In. My. Eyeballs!!!!
This comment makes me laugh! Thank you! Hoping my other comments (in moderation state) post soon. You all are just wonderful!
Sounds wonderful! I cannot wait to read this!
I can’t wait for the release, either! Thank you for coming to take a peek!
Cannot wait to get my copy! Can’t wait to see how Darcy’s actions may change Elizabeth’s feelings! Artwork is stunning, perfect presentation!
I always felt sad that in P&P, all of Darcy’s best heroism occurs off the page. He gets some great moments in this version, and I hope you love them!
WOW! Sounds like a compelling read – I’m there! The cover adds to the intrigue of the story – the look in those fine eyes speaks volumes!!!!
Yes! Those eyes are so beautiful—so very Elizabeth! Thank you for taking a peek!
The cover is stunning and your quip about the cover being lit made me laugh.
I should warn Meredith that I might steal that line about the cover being “lit”! I laughed, too. Perfection! Thank you for coming by today, Mary!
So glad to hear about the new author, Gailie Ruth, and her first Jane Austen adaptation!
Thank you for coming by to “meet” me and the story! I hope you love it!
It looks like a great book! Can’t wait to read it! Your author picture is adorable!
Oh goodness, why thank you! (Blush)
I recognize the painting with the Titus haircut, something that’s often overlooked for the Regency, but was common, particularly in France. Susan did it again!
She’s got an amazing eye, hasn’t she? So glad you love it!
That is a lovely Austenesque cover! And Longbourn is getting rebuilt? There’s an interesting premise indeed. Looking forward to this one for sure.
The poor Bennets really have their hands full in this one. I hope you enjoy seeing how they grow!
Amazing cover!
Thank you! I definitely agree! 🙂
Beautiful cover – it’s nice to see a bit of grit and determination in her eyes.
Is this the same story that was part posted on Dwiggie at one point? I love that story and was sad to see it abandoned for a long time. If this is indeed the same story, then I’m very glad you have continued it, and look forward to buying it.
Rachy, you have a good memory! This was indeed the story begun on DWG some years ago. I *finally* finished it (around job shifts, two babies, and a cross-state move) and I’m so stoked for you to read it! I hope the wait feels worth it! Thank you for so kindly remembering the story!
Congratulations on writing and publishing your first book. How exciting!
I’m stoked! Thank you for coming by to build on the excitement!!
The cover does give us a hint of the story inside with the house on fire…lovely. I do want to read this one. Good luck with your first release, Gailie. Thanks for sharing here. And thanks for a chance to win the gift card.
I hope you love this story, Sheila!
Such an original cover. Reminds me of old paintings with a crackling paint. Excited to read this!
The *layers* of texture on the cover are so terrific, aren’t they? Thank you for coming by to take a look at it! I hope you enjoy the story!
OMG, the cover is a perfect depiction of the summary! Elizabeth’s mourning eyes with Longbourn in the background in flames! So many questions as well, who/what started the fire, did everyone survive, so does that mean that the fire happened after the ball and Mr. Bingley didn’t leave since the Bennet are now staying there? Oh boy!
Congrats on your debut novel! Can’t wait to read it!
Thank you so much! And yep—this really does throw the timeline at Netherfield for a loop. I hope you enjoy the story.
I *love* the way Darcy comes to view Elizabeth in this story (excerpt is part of the shift)! I hope you love it, too.
I like the cover and am awaiting the release of your debut novel! What happened to the rest of the family, will Mr. Bennet truly take part in rebuilding Longbourn just to know it will end up with Mr. Collins, how will Mrs. Bennet twist this too be Lizzy’s fault? So many questions and as an impatient person I find it hard to wait for the launch!
Satu, I know! March feels so far away, but I hope you love the story when it comes!
I looking closely at Lizzy that I completely miss it. Thanks meredith for pointing out the flames…
Congratulations on your debut book! Looking forward to reading the story. Would love to know the “fire/s” that happen in the book.
There are so many layers of detail in that cover! So amazing! And as for the fires—there’s really just a big one. But it’s enough to change a lot for the Bennets! I hope you enjoy their journey!
The cover looks wonderful – Elizabeth rising from the flames. Congratulations on the release.
Thank you so much! I’m as excited as you are about that cover!
Beautiful cover, love the warmth it projects 🙂 Sounds like a great story, Darcy rescues the Bennet sisters. Pretty sure Lizzie’s heart will soon also be burning with love for her hero 🙂 I hope it goes well for you!!
Thank you, dear Charlotte! You are so kind!
So many lovely new books (covers and story) are coming out in this new year. Look forward to reading them all 😉 Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
This really was a great year for books—we all had to hunker in and write and read! I hope you love this! Thanks for coming to check it out!
Sounds like an amazing story
Thank you for taking a peek, Ann-Marie!
Goalie Ruth, I look forward to reading this. I’m already wondering if Mr. Collins and other family members perished in the fire, and speculating as to who now owns Longbourn. I hope it releases soon!
So many unknowns, but you are already making theories! I love it! I hope you enjoy the story!
Wow! That’s some cover!
Thank you, Jennifer! I had that same reaction! I love it!
Oh, dear, you said Darcy saved Elizabeth & her sister. But what of the rest of the family? Someone must survive to try to rebuild Longbourn… I hope it’s Papa Bennet or else it might be Mr Collins! Cover is lovely and really draws us in.
So many possibilities, am I right? That cover brings all the dramatic potential right to the fore! Thanks for coming to look at it!
Love the cover and enjoyed the excerpt. It is always nice to see Elizabeth have a change of heart about Fitzwilliam. Good luck to you when your book releases.
I definitely love giving Darcy the chance to show his real character to her as well. I am biased, but I love the dynamics they develop! I hope you enjoy the story!
Thank you for your gracious words, Mary! I hope you love D+E’s dynamic in this story!
I love the cover. Elizabeth looks very clever.
I totally am in love with the image of Elizabeth here. She’s quite soulful and has spirit and life, even if she looks a little sad. I hope you enjoy the story!