A Wilful Misunderstanding – Amy D’Orazio

What If Mr. Darcy Married Elizabeth Before Improving His Temper and Pride?

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Source: Gift from Author

TYPE OF NOVEL: Pride and Prejudice Variation

TIME FRAME: Begins with the Meryton Assembly

SYNOPSIS: Mr. Darcy feels an immediate attraction to Elizabeth Bennet at the Meryton Assembly and fully permits himself to fall in love with her and make her his wife. But without being properly humbled and full of selfish and overbearing tendencies, what kind of husband does Mr. Darcy make…?

WHAT I LOVED:

  • A Jagged Journey: Amy D’Orazio flips the form a bit in this variation – beginning her tale with marriage, love, and the happiest example of domestic felicity, and then taking some sharp turns into insecurities, broken hearts, despair, and isolation. With such a unique course and order, this premise is one that will hold readers in thrall and prevent them from being able to predict how things will progress.
  • Raw and Real Emotions: From her very first release readers have seen Ms. D’Orazio’s exceptional gift for creating the most emotionally-wrought and achingly poignant prose, but I swear she took it to the next level in this story. The. Next. Level. In this story she illustrates the many ways that relationships and love can be complicated – all the tangles and turns of building a life and sharing your complete self with another person. And how two strong emotions, such as love and mistrust or love and pain can coexist at the same time. I am deeply impressed by Ms. D’Orazio’s perceptive and authentic portrayal of all the complex emotions and realities her characters faced.
  • Elizabeth: I love and admire Elizabeth for her heart and her resilience in this variation. I love how she gave her whole heart, mind, and soul to Mr. Darcy and how readers witness the strength and endurance of her love. Elizabeth is put through such an intense wringer in this story, and I admired her every decision and her strength to overcome and move forward. At a time when women had such limited options, seeing Elizabeth take care of and advocate for herself is truly a marvel.
  • Darcy: I might be in the minority, but I sympathize with Mr. Darcy and his flaws in this story. He makes some horrific mistakes and his actions are in many ways unforgivable. But I also found his insecurities and irrationality completely conceivable. I appreciated this very human and flawed characterization of Mr. Darcy, but what I loved more was how he sets about to correct his wrongs and redeem himself in Elizabeth’s eyes. He is patient, deeply contrite, and understanding. I loved watching Mr. Darcy do all he could to help Elizabeth – the creative methods he explored and his gentle and heart-stopping reactions to her baby steps. In addition, I must also mention how much I loved the service Mr. Darcy provided for Elizabeth’s family – that was a perfect penance indeed, and so very lovely to witness!
  • Beautifully Complete: Not only does Amy D’Orazio deliver a fully consuming and intricate story about Elizabeth and Darcy, she also creates interesting and unique storylines for many of the secondary characters in this story as well. I especially loved her inventive developments for Wickham, Caroline, Lydia, and of course, Saye. This was an immensely satisfying tale in so many respects – the attention to detail, the well-drawn characters (big and small), and how it all tightly fit together with nothing irrelevant and nothing wanting.

WHAT I WASN’T TOO FOND OF:

  • I found it perfect as is.

CONCLUSION:

With her latest Pride and Prejudice variation – A Wilful Misunderstanding – Amy D’Orazio pens a most exquisitely stirring tale that will unquestionably pierce your soul and send you into a state of half agony, half hope. This penetrating, authentic, and moving Pride and Prejudice variation that explores broken relationships and human flaws is most deserving of high praise and readership!

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36 comments

  1. I also read and loved this story. Although I must add that at times I wanted to reach in and shake Darcy violently. My heart went out to all that Elizabeth experienced and how brave she was to take the steps she did in face of the censure of so many. Excellent review, Meredith.

    1. Thanks for sharing, Sheila. It really is a terrible situation – he is in so much pain and creates even more.

      Elizabeth is a true role model in this story.

    1. I read this book as it was being shared with us a chapter at a time. This story is one that you will go back to and read over and over again! I purchased this story, so I could re-read it again and again. It resonates with me on so many emotional levels. I concur that this is a five star worthy read!!! Great story!!

  2. Amy truly is the queen of wringing emotions out of her readers. Her stories are always utterly heartfelt and the pay off in AWM is rich reward for the journey to HEA. So glad you enjoyed it too Meredith!

  3. I really enjoyed reading this book as well as reliving it through the audiobook! The scene with Georgiana in which Darcy fully realizes his mistake is the perfection of angst!

  4. Every scene in this book is beautifully written, and like you, Meredith, as much as I championed Elizabeth through her terrible ordeal, I could sympathize with Darcy and his insecurities and mistakes. AWM is one of the best stories I’ve ever read in JAFF, and I’m so glad you loved it too.

  5. Thank you so much Meredith! I am so glad you enjoyed AWM!
    Any many thanks to all the commenters here as well, much appreciated!

  6. What a fab review Meredith! I do have this book but I haven’t been able to read it yet. I can’t cope with the angst at the moment but hopefully things will improve and I can then read it.
    I know what you mean about your feelings for Darcy, I often find myself deeply sympathetic to his struggles with portraying his feelings and dealing with society.
    I’m happy to know that he manages to regain Elizabeth’s trust and that they have their happy ending.

    1. Oh thank you, Glynis! I appreciate it! I do understand about needing to be in the right mindset for this story. Save it for later. I know you will love it when you get the chance to read it.

  7. Have have been trying to work up to the angst I think is in this one! I listened to The Best Part of Love by the same author and absolutely sobbed through the middle of that one! She is extremely talented, but I have to be in the right mindset for it!

  8. Great review, and I agree with your assessment. Really angsty stories need to have strong “feels” as a counterbalance, and Amy did a fantastic job with that.

  9. This review is perfect Meredith! I agree with you in every single point! In fact, this was one of my favorite books from last year because of many topics you mention.
    Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us 🙂

    1. You are so lovely to say that, Rita! It is one of my favorites for this year (so far!) and I really had an easy time singing this books praises!

      I appreciate you checking out my review!

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