Hi friends!! It always a pleasure to welcome back author Monica Fairview to Austenesque Reviews today! 🙌🏼

Monica will forever be an extra-special guest because she was the VERY first author to visit my blog when I started it in 2009! 🥰

Monica is here to celebrate the release of her fourth and final book in the Mr. Darcy’s Magic series – Entwined Magic! 🎉  

I’m so excited about this release, magic isn’t the only thing being entwined in this series – history is too! ✨

And I love how Monica skillfully incorporates actual historical events, Napoleon, and the war. ⚔️

Monica is here to share some interesting history from this time period and and an excerpt from Entwined Magic. 📖

We hope you enjoy! 🤗

I’m so thrilled to be visiting Meredith’s lovely blog today to tell you about the fourth and final book in the series Mr. Darcy’s Magic, which is called Entwined Magic. And of course, it has the HEA ending you’ve all been waiting for. I’ve enjoyed writing the series so much, I didn’t really want to let go, but sometimes you have to let go to let it fly 😉

Speaking of flying, did you know hot air balloons were ‘a thing’ during Jane Austen’s time? Everyone was talking about them especially since Napoleon established a balloon corps to spy on battlegrounds. He even took the corps to Egypt in 1798, but Nelson was able to destroy the balloons before they could be effective. Still, Napoleon wasn’t one to admit defeat easily, and he began to put into motion plans to invade England using them.

Interestingly, the person Napoleon put in charge of the planning was a woman! Yes, you heard me right! Madame Sophie Blanchard.

After extensive study, Sophie Blanchard got back to Napoleon with something he really didn’t want to hear. Crossing the English Channel from France was just not possible. The trouble with those pesky hot air balloons was that they were dependent on the wind and even more unpredictable than sailing boats. And the winds in the Channel tended to blow in the opposite direction. Now if he had suggested launching the balloons the other way, from England to France, it would have worked!

Bitterly disappointed, Napoleon disbanded the corps of balloons and decided not to waste any more money paying for research to develop the hot air balloons. Still, people in England continued to worry about an invasion by balloons, and the press brought out many cartoons and images portraying it.

Naturally, people were captivated, and it developed into a bit of a mania, with several of the Romantic poets like Shelley, Coleridge and Wordsworth writing about balloon and the sublime.

All very interesting stuff, and I just felt I had to include some of it in my novel, just because it was so much fun learning about it. Blanchard – I have a feeling that if Elizabeth Bennet had met her, she would have felt a kindred spirit in her.

But I don’t want to give too much away. All I can say is that there is a part in the novel that involves Darcy, Elizabeth and hot air balloons.

Excerpt from Entwined Magic

Sometime later, Darcy was roused from his thoughts when the strike of a foot against gravel alerted him to the presence of someone else. That would hardly be unusual, since there were soldiers and mages patrolling the grounds. What immediately aroused Darcy’s suspicion was that the other person was a mage, and he was using a Cloaking spell.

Darcy went completely still, trying to make out where the other mage was positioned. There was no moonlight, but faint candlelight from inside revealed a figure heading towards the trees. All Darcy’s senses went into full awareness, his skin prickling, his magic gathering in preparation for a spell. For the second time tonight, he considered that the Prince Regent’s presence at Founder’s Hall made the hall a target.

Darcy followed stealthily, regretting that his ability to stalk someone silently was rusty from lack of training. Sticking to the grass so his footsteps could not be heard, he skirted the area where the intruder had gone. Once he reached the trees, he darted behind them, watching for any sign of movement.

It did not take long for Darcy to find the cloaked mage. The sound of men’s voices reached him. He drew closer, then stopped suddenly. It was Riquer’s voice, and he was speaking in French.

Darcy froze and he struggled with the implications. Who was Riquer speaking to? There was no sign of another man. The voice was muffled. Riquer must be communicating through his mirror. What was Riquer up to? Was it possible he was still in communication with the French Mages?

The image of the wooden ball rushing towards the Prince Regent popped into Darcy’s head. Could Riquer be plotting a French attack?

A sense of urgency gripped him. Darcy recited a spell to hear what de Riquer was saying, but Riquer’s Cloaking spell prevented it. He tried to identify familiar words so he could at least guess the topic of the conversation, but it was useless.

He stood there for some time, his pulse thundering in his ears. Was the Hall in immediate danger? Should he raise the alarm right now? He was torn. Could Riquer really be such a traitor? What if Darcy sounded the alarm, sending everyone into panic, and it turned out to be nothing?

In the end he decided it was not his decision to make. He would take the information to his uncle, and the Master Mage could make the decision.

He hurried back to the Great Hall, moving as quickly as possible.

Just as he was about to re-enter Founder’s Hall, he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. It was Riquer, his magic signature now visible.

If Riquer knew Darcy had heard him, and he was a traitor, there was no chance he would allow Darcy to enter and report what he had just witnessed.

Darcy spun around, prepared to fight, to throw everything he could at this formidable adversary. His life was at stake.

***

Gah! We can’t stop there, Monica! Mr. Darcy could be in peril! 😦

We must learn what happens to him! 🙈

Oh I see what you did there… 😏

It sounds like there is tension and threats all around, I’m so eager to see how Darcy and Elizabeth survive it all! 🫣

~ Book Description ~

The bewitching, much-anticipated conclusion of the award-winning Pride and Prejudice variation!!

Elizabeth and Darcy dream of a peaceful life together in idyllic Pemberley, but when rumors start circulating that Napoleon intends to invade the Kingdom by sea, they are sent with a group of Royal Mages to the coast of Kent to discover the truth.

But the truth is hidden under multiple layers of uncertainty, and they soon suspect they have been lured into a trap. Faced with danger and betrayal, Elizabeth and Darcy must depend on each other to survive. Will their circumstances bring them closer together, or tear them apart? Will the war ever allow Elizabeth and Darcy’s love to blossom? And — most importantly — what sacrifices must they make to find their well-deserved happiness?

Find out in the fourth and final book of Mr. Darcy’s Magic, and prepare to be further enchanted by this Gaslamp fantasy adventure, featuring the beloved characters from Jane Austen’s novel.

Entwined Magic is available NOW

~ Check out the Mr. Darcy Magic series ~

  

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

In conjunction with Monica’s lovely visit today, she is giving away  2️⃣ ebook copies of Entwined Magic to 2️⃣ lucky winners!!

To enter this giveaway leave a comment, a question, or some love for Monica below!

• This giveaway is open worldwide.  Thank you, Monica!
• This giveaway ends November 22nd.

 

Thank you so much for the lovely visit, Monica! I wish you all the best with your lovely new release of Entwined Magic!!