Mr. Darcy Endeavors at a Little Civility
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Review Copy from Publisher
What if Darcy, remembering the many conversational faux pas he’s made in the past with Elizabeth Bennet, spent some time contemplating and carefully selecting the words he would use in his proposal to Elizabeth Bennet? What if Darcy went to Hunsford Parsonage (after spending the night writing himself helpful cue cards) with an eloquent, heartfelt, tender, and most civilproposal? What if Elizabeth still refused him?
The Result: An emotionally charged exchange that was as intense as it was turbulent! Even though Darcy made her a most gentlemanly and amorous proposal, Elizabeth still brought up her two strong points of contention with him. And Darcy, instead of communicating his defenses and explanations to her accusations in writing, he said it all to her in person. Elizabeth was able to see the raw pain, suppressed anger, sincere honesty, and hopeless despair plainly written on Mr. Darcy’s face; and Darcy was able to witness Elizabeth’s reaction to all he disclosed, her fierce fury, uncertainty, agitation, and tears. Such an impassioned and powerful scene! (You might need your smelling salts near by…)
As you can imagine a scene like this would send the characters of Pride and Prejudice on a decidedly different course. And with Darcy’s lengthy, unchaperoned interview with Elizabeth being remarked upon by the gossipy servants of Hunsford Parsonage and the witless Mr. Collins, it would seem that this course has accelerated in speed and direction.
Oh my! I am utterly in love with the premise and many scenes in this book! I loved how, during this intense proposal scene, the point-of-view switched back and forth between Darcy and Elizabeth, and that readers were able to witness their internal thoughts as well as observe their reactions and emotions. It was all extremely well-written! I melted into a puddle at Darcy’s beautiful and sensitive proposal, and I was completely wrapped up in their heated debate and candid conversation. In addition, I loved the scene between Mr. Bennet and Mr. Darcy a few chapters later…whew! What a showdown that was!
POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT! One quibble I have with this story is Elizabeth’s path to self-discovery and love. I don’t mind Lizzy being forced into a situation where she marries Darcy before falling in love with him, that kind of premise has appeared before in novels by Abigail Reynolds, Susan Mason-Milks, Karen Cox, and Jan Hahn. What I wasn’t too fond of was the fact that Elizabeth took immense pleasure, initiated, and craved romantic intimacies with Mr. Darcy yet at the time was still undecided over whether or not she loved him. Why would it take Elizabeth several months to ascertain her true feelings when she already esteemed and admired him before they were married? In addition, I felt Elizabeth having such a strong sexual appetite and not feeling affection for her husband felt a little incongruous. Warning: This book has several romantic scenes and is recommend for Mature Audiences only.
8 out of 30 completed!
Oh this sounds like a good one, I love this sort of variation! It’s now on my “to get” list!
Me too, Nicole! Variations are by far my favorite! And this one has such a plausible premise!
looks like a sweet read!
It was, Marie! Thanks for stoping by and reading my review!
I want it ! 🙂
I know how you feel, Sonia! I started this book as soon as it arrived on my doorstep! There is a lovely international giveaway for this book going on over at Candy’s blog: http://candy-m.blogspot.com/2013/03/review-most-civil-proposal-by-c-p-odom.html You should check it out!
I have this one on the way. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
That’s wonderful! I can’t wait to hear what you think, Sophia Rose!
This one’s next up on my reading list.
Oooh! I look forward to hearing your thoughts, Monica! 🙂
Thanks for the review and insight into this new variation Meredith.
Definitely on my wish list!
Carol
My pleasure, Carol! I’m glad you found this review helpful! I love variations and this one was very enjoyable!
I am almost finished with this book and am enjoying it!! My only issue is with Mr. Bennet~ his response to the marriage seems out of character. What do you think?
Hi Joy! I’m so glad you are enjoying this book! I do feel the same way as you about Mr. Bennet. I know authors can take liberties or augment and diminish traits of these characters, but I sort of felt this Mr. Bennet was a little too stubborn. Especially after Elizabeth and Mr. Gardiner vouched for Darcy.
Sounds like a decent retelling. Will have to add it to my to-read list. Great review, as always!
Just finished reading your book, “A Most Civil Proposal” and loved it! I liked the twist between Lizzy and her father and also the ending where they celebrate Christmas and explain how many people and children each of them had aft er all the years together. Too bad it didn’t have a continuation of another book so that we could follow the families as they grew before the ending. I would give it 5 stars because of the series of twists.