Happily Ever Afters Come in Many Hues

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Source: Gift from Publisher

There are nine short stories (seven Regency era/two modern day) by nine talented Quills and Quartos authors in this anthology. Each story is specifically about Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet coming together, and they range between thirty-five and fifty pages in length.

Here is a breakdown:

SHADES Of HIS CHARACTER – Jessie Lewis

• Setting: Netherfield Park – pre Netherfield Ball
• The Premise: While tending Jane at Netherfield, Elizabeth starts to feel unwell herself, and Mr. Darcy is the only one who realizes…
• My Thoughts: I loved seeing Mr. Darcy display such solicitous care for Elizabeth’s well-being and what that revealed to her about him. The color game was unique and interesting. I enjoyed how it gave the opportunity for Elizabeth and Darcy to impress each other with their individual skills of sketching characters.

ALL THAT GLITTERS – Julie Cooper

• Setting: London and Meryton- post Netherfield Ball
• The Premise: Hearing that Elizabeth is about to marry Mr. Collins sends Mr. Darcy into turmoil and confusion…
• My Thoughts: This Mr. Darcy seemed more preoccupied with the financial ramifications of marrying Elizabeth, but luckily Mr. Bingley and Colonel Fitzwilliam give him a swift kick in the pants he needs. This one moves apace and I wished for some more before the epilogue.

PINK PARTY PUNCH – Amy D’Orazio

• Setting: Modern-Day
• The Premise: Amongst the few who are single and childless at Jane’s and Bingley’s coed baby shower, Darcy decides to get competitive with Elizabeth…
• My Thoughts: This one was a lot of fun! I enjoyed the playfulness and competitiveness between Darcy and Elizabeth. The results of who won each party game were diverting surprises and I loved the ending.

HER CHARMS TO RECOMMEND HER – Mary Smythe

• Setting: Meryton – post Meryton Assembly
• The Premise: Mr. Darcy suffers from headaches and may need magical assistance from the healer he insulted to cure them…
• My Thoughts: I love the magical elements in this story and everyone’s different Gifts. Caroline and her harebrained schemes are too much! And although they were partially explained, the extreme propriety concerns still seemed a little incongruent in this magical world.

ORANGE ROSES – Frances Reynolds

• Setting: London, post Hunsford proposal
• The Premise: Ardent boys Bingley and Darcy use the language of flowers to communicate their feelings…
• My Thoughts: I love a courting Mr. Darcy! He does much to earn Elizabeth’s approbation and regard in this tale. I especially enjoyed his actions regarding Wickham and Mary’s report of it. This one also had a similar harebrained Miss Bingley scheme and a quick leap to Epilogue.

DARCY AND THE BLUE DEVILS – Lucy Marin

• Setting: Hunsford, pre Hunsford proposal
• The Premise: Oppressed by his dark moods and mocking voices in his head, Mr. Darcy realizes what or who can alleviate them…
• My Thoughts: I enjoyed being in Mr. Darcy’s head and his POV in this story. I loved the peace, comfort, and happiness he felt around Elizabeth. And it was great to see him take additional actions to clear up their misunderstandings.

PERFECTLY RIGHT – Jan Ashton

• Setting: Modern-Day
• The Premise: Darcy already struck out with his offensive and insulting declaration, and in a self-tormenting kind-of-scheme decides he should set Elizabeth up on several blind dates to help her find her match…
• My Thoughts: I love Elizabeth’s counter, and all the playful exchanges that ensue. The date choices each selected were perfect, creative, and hilarious for different reasons. I love how Elizabeth is truly trying to understand Darcy, and how Darcy just wanted to make her happy. This one was my fave! 🤩

ACTIONS, NOT WORDS – Barry S. Richman

• Setting: London and Netherfield, post Pemberley visit
• The Premise: After noticing her matchmaking attempts are failing, Lady Matlock pokes around and discovers her nephew is already in love…
• My Thoughts: This one was so heartwarming! Lady Matlock is a masterful queen. And I loved the unexpected quarters Mr. Darcy received encouragement.

SYMPTOMS OF PECULIAR REGARD – Elise Fulbrook

• Setting: Meryton, pre Netherfield Ball
• The Premise: Jane has a magical sight to see both the affection in someone’s heart and the object of it represented with plants in bloom…
• My Thoughts: Although a little similar to the other fantasy story in this collection, I loved Jane’s magical ability and her instrumental use of it. I love that we continued to learn about Jane’s sight as the story progressed and how other characters reacted to it.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

💕 Affections and wishes are unchanged, and so are the happy conclusions for Darcy and Elizabeth in these nine tales.

💜 A bright and colorful array of love being discovered, love being desired, and love being declared.

💐 With a captivating mix of Regency, modern, and magical tales in this collection, Quills and Quartos delivers a beautiful bouquet of blooms to for readers to appreciate and delight in.

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