Could Flowers (Not Poetry) Be The True Food Of Love?
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Review Copy from Publisher
What if Lydia and Wickham’s “elopement” took place a couple weeks later? What if Darcy and Georgiana invited Elizabeth, Jane, and Mrs. Gardiner to spend the month of August with them at Pemberley?
In this beautifully rendered Pride and Prejudice variation, Linda Beutler plays with the timeline of Jane Austen’s beloved novel and allows the seeds of love to germinate and bloom in the natural splendor that is Pemberley. With Caroline Bingley and Lady Catherine out of sight and Elizabeth and Jane at Pemberley, you might think that a tender love would easily thrive under such favorable conditions. But alas, doubts, insecurities, and misguided notions keep this love blossom from fully opening its petals…
As you might have already surmised, I greatly enjoyed all the floral allusions, analogies, communications, and connotations in this novel. It was fascinating to learn all the different meanings of flowers and how one could reveal and proclaim feelings with the right bouquet. How I wish the language of flowers was something that was still practiced today!
Besides witnessing the burgeoning sweet romance between Darcy and Elizabeth, some of my favorite scenes in this novel include: Darcy’s tortuous full disclosure to Charles Bingley and Georgiana, Mr. Bingley’s assertive dispatch of his conniving sisters to their family in Scarborough, the touching and tearful goodbye between Mrs. Reynolds and Elizabeth, and Wickham receiving some of the physical retribution he so rightly deserves!
While I found many aspects of this variation to be well-written, thoughtful, and creative, there were a couple of instances that caused me to raise my eyebrow some. Seeing Darcy so open about his feelings and expectations felt a little uncharacteristic because he was open with so many people – Georgiana, Bingley, Colonel Fitzwilliam, the Gardiners, and Mrs. Reynolds were all aware of his heart and his intentions. I guess I felt he would be a little more private and guarded with his personal affairs. Also, after awhile, it seemed a little perplexing that Darcy and Elizabeth would still doubt or question each others’ love – even after they heard confirmation of it from other people.
This book does have some mature intimate scenes after Darcy and Elizabeth wed, but none before that. Readers not wanting to trespass into the Darcys’ bedroom can safely read up to 85% of this novel. The last sixty pages can be described as a slow seduction of escalating intimacy – building passions, delayed gratification, and intense self-control. I enjoyed these leisurely paced and passion-filled scenes between Darcy and Elizabeth. The only thing I wasn’t too fond of was all the talk of Elizabeth acting as a “mistress” and learning how to be a “courtesan.”
Despite my quibbles, I immensely enjoyed reading this debut Austenesque release from Linda Beutler. I think many Austenesque fans will delight in the sweet romance, well-drawn characters, and felicitous unions!
29 out 30 completed!
GIVEAWAY TIME!
Michele and the lovely people at Meryton Press have kindly donated 1 paperback and 1 digital copy of The Red Chrysanthemum for me to giveaway to 2 lucky winners! Woot Woot!
To enter this giveaway, leave a comment!
- This giveaway is open worldwide. Thank you, Meryton Press!
- This giveaway ends November 7th!
Double your chances of winning by leaving a comment my interview with Linda!
This story sounds very interesting!
It was interesting to see a book that focused on flowers and the language of flowers. 🙂
I like P&P variations, and this sounds intriguing. The use of the flower and their meanings will add another dimension. Thanks for the giveaway!
It definitely did add another dimension – I don’t think I’ve read another P&P variation that had so much about flowers before.
Would like to read Bingley’s assertive dispatch of his sisters – so glad they are not my sisters
LOL! Yes, it puts things in perspective for any of us who get frustrated with our siblings – we could have it so much worse!
Would like to read the book untill the end!
I’m sure you won’t be the only one with that plan, Loren. It would still be a complete and enjoyable read for you if you did.
*scribbles note to self*…read last 60.pages first… lol jk! I do really want to read this one. In the proper order from beginning to end. 😉
HAHAHA! Love it! 😀
I love the idea of flower imagery and I’ll admit it: I like the “mature” scenes, too. Clearly, this is a book I will enjoy. Win it or not, it’s going on my wish list!
Awesome! The mature scenes are very tastefully done. 🙂
Thanks for the review. I love the P&P variations and look forward to reading The Red Chrysanthemum.
I’m with you, Leslie. P&P variations are my favorite – I never get tired of them!
Sounds really wonderful this story, want to read it even more now 😀 I too wish the language of flowers was still spoken today. Seems that only red roses have survived, why not start a revival campaign? 😉
Very true. Red roses seem to be the main flower used to communicate sentiments nowadays. You’d be surprised how many different flowers can be used as well. Quite an interesting study.
Thanks for the review! Lovely to hear that the annoying elopement was delayed and the promise of a better understanding was allowed to bloom [dreadful pun – sorry!!!! :)]
Thanks for sharing and for the giveaway!
LOL! It is hard to resist the puns, isn’t it? Yes, that elopement kills me every time – even though I know it is coming, I always feel intense disappointment that D&E don’t reach some kind of understanding first.
I’ll be reading this one soon, so I’m glad to see you enjoyed it.
Looking forward to reading your review, Anna! 😀