Review - The Trouble With Mr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan

Pride and Prejudice continues...

TITLE:    The Trouble with Mr. Darcy
AUTHOR:    Sharon Lathan
INFO:    Paperback, Fiction, 245 pages
PUBLISHED:  Sourcebooks, 2011
SOURCE:   Received ARC from Publisher for Review

FROM GOODREADS:    In the fifth in Sharon Lathan's bestselling series, George Wickham returns to Hertfordshire bent on creating trouble, and Elizabeth and her newborn son are thrown into danger. Knowing that Wickham has nothing left to lose, Darcy and Fitzwilliam rush to the rescue in a race against time.


This lushly romantic story takes a turn for the swashbuckling when Mr. Darcy has to confront the villainous Wickham and his own demons at the same time... devoted as he is, what battles within will Mr. Darcy have to face?

MY TAKE:    I enjoyed Jane Austen books as a younger reader and have recently been having a lot of fun reading some of these remakes and variations of her stories.  Sharon Lathan has done an excellent job of taking some of Jane's beloved, as well as the despised characters and giving them slightly different adventures.  While this book is the fifth installment in the series, it also makes a pleasant stand-alone read.  You are given plenty of background information in the beginning to allow you to jump right into the action.

After I read The Trouble with Mr. Darcy I read some of the reviews for the book on Goodreads.  I usually wait until I've written my own before seeing what others have said, but this time I veered from my routine a bit.  It was interesting to me that some readers were upset that this book wasn't exactly as Jane Austen would write it.  They wanted the characters to be and do exactly the same things as the originals in Pride and Prejudice.  I am siding with the opposite camp who enjoys a different take on the old tried-and-true Darcy and Lizzie that we all know.  The "what-ifs?" are what make Ms. Lathan's stories a lot of fun for me.  We still have the familiar, but they're put into situations out of their normal comfort zone.  New dilemmas are thrown at them and it is fun to see how they either muck it up or get themselves out of it.

The writing is very easy to follow and flows smoothly.  I liked the dialogue as it was filled with warmth and wit.  The solid foundation of Jane Austen's beloved masterpiece are much in evidence, but Sharon Lathan has added her own touches that allow a completely new audience to fall in love with the timeless characters.

Out of 5 JEWELS, I give it: 

WHERE TO BUY IT:    Amazon and The Book Depository

   

  

  

 

~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.