Mr. Darcy's Undoing (A Pride & Prejudice Variation Book 6)

Having read all the other reviews I read such different opinions. But we are all entitled to our own. I purchased and read this book as Without Reserve. I love all of Abigail Reynolds's books and I think this one may be one of my favorites, if not number 1. I have read it many times in part or in whole. I can take or leave sex scenes but am not offended by such nor do I read Abigail's as porn. I have posted several other reviews in which I do describe the stories as smut or porn, but Abigail builds the sexual tension and the relationship between two people with the bedroom scenes as natural results of such. I LOVE the angst, the anxiety, the confusion, etc. described and built upon in this tale. My reasoning for finding the bedroom scenes, etc. as a natural progression come from the thoughts in Darcy's head, "He determined that his best strategy lay in wearing down her resistance, and realized one of his strongest weapons lay in the pleasure he could give her by touching her...He could not change her mind, but perhaps with enough time and enough familiarity with him, she would change it for herself...Having determined there was no reason to deny himself, especially since he had every intention of marrying her, he seized every opportunity to steal kisses from her, and when this was not possible, at least to find a way to unobtrusively touch the back of her hand." The conversations and their journey to accepting where they are and how they feel about each other portray two very independent and passionate people, which is what Jane Austen gave us and Abigail builds on in modern times.Darcy, in going back to Meryton to once again court Elizabeth and finding her engaged decides to stay b/c of social conventions (He can't just run off after only being there for a day or two) and also to assess the relationship between Elizabeth and James Covington; are they in love? He detected no such feelings on display. The scenes with the tigers and unicorns, the poetry, are so romantic! And then apologizing - what for? He then kisses her!!!! And that kiss stirs the embers in Elizabeth's heart. Now she knows what chemistry can mean. I loved the scene after the wedding rehearsal for Jane's wedding during which Darcy discovers Elizabeth is not "Mrs. Covington". Oh how my heart warmed.It is so endearing to read their discourse. First one, then the other explaining why they can't feel guilty or why they must or must not marry, etc. kept me turning pages every time I read this book. I really appreciate Ms. Reynolds' ability in this department. She develops the thoughts in depth and takes us on such a love trip. Thank you.

First I'd like to review the genre. I have read many P&P variations and alternatives lately and they fall into different categories. It's probably helpful to know what they are like going in so that you don't read something you are bound to hate in principle. The Abigail Reynolds P&P books are romance novels that borrow the Darcy and Elizabeth characters and the scenes we know and love, but turn them into adorable, sweet, fluffy bathtub reading. There's lots of smooching and puppy love passion. They are R-rated (explicit sex), as are other similar novels that are not about P&P. I don't think they are meant to be canonical but are fun little fantasy escapes into What-If Land. Don't read them if you are squeamish about love scenes or are 12 years old or have a need for Jane Austen's exact sensibilities to be expressed in the pages. Do read them if you, like me, love Darcy and Elizabeth and sometimes need to tuck your own husband and children into their beds at 10:00, pour yourself a glass of wine, and read until you finish the novel at 3:00. Think of it as a little mini-vacation. You already know something about the characters, you don't have to think that hard, and it's an entertaining escape.Now, about this specific book. I think this the only one of the Abigail Reynolds books I've read recently that I'll give only 3 stars to. It's fine, but I didn't love it. If you've read others and you'd prefer more sex to less, then this one has it. I'm not offended by the sex but I'm not drawn in by the story, which seems to actually revolve around their bedroom lives more so than their lives beyond it. I liked the Mr. Covington storyline and I loved the way Elizabeth (true to herself in this particular case, and equal to every situation) was able to end the book on respectable terms with both Covington and his mother. The Jane and Bingley story was fine. Georgiana got on my nerves sometime with her emotional frailty but I liked her relationship with Elizabeth and her happy ending. I didn't really think that Mrs. Bennet, so concerned with the welfare of her daughters, would really have been quite that hard on Lizzy after the Mr. Covington bit. It's one thing to be mad at her after refusing Mr. Collins and it's another thing to actually engineer her a lower place in society than she might have had without her mother's passionate disapproval. Her mother's overarching concern in the original is, after all, the futures of her daughters. Finally, the Darcy/Elizabeth PDA was just a little much for me. Elizabeth's pretty confidence and equanimity and Darcy's aloofness and pride just don't allow, to me, for all the public affection they let others witness in this book. It just stretched the idea a little farther than my imagination could go with it.

Sulla scia delle altre variazioni di orgoglio e pregiudizio.. Lettura piacevole e scorrevole, sulla falsariga degli altri libri già letti

As usual, P&P adaptations from Abigail Reynolds are well written, describe a story with the expected characters of Darcy and Lizzy, having difficulties in reaching an understanding. As usual in Abigail's stories, Lizzy and Darcy are prone to broke society's rules, which leads to description of intimate scenes which may be unwanted by most P&P fans. But having read a huge amount of JAFFs I am really always happy to find A REAL STORY in Abigail's books as compared to others, it's not just a story about uncontrollable passion, there is much more, including a real involvement of other characters (Georgina, Richard, Bingley, Jane ...) in the story.

Abigail Reynolds versteht es die Fäden immer wieder neu zusammen zu spielen, wenn neue Personen mit "rein gewürfelt" werden.Hier wird ein Verlobter von Elizabeth Bennet mit in die Geschichte hinein genommen. Dieser Verlobte (Mr. Covington) hat auch eine Mutter. Ansonsten sind die aus "Pride & Prejudice" bekannten Personen und Vorkommnisse allen Fans bekannt.Damals (so sagt es jedenfalls das Buch) war es unmöglich, sich aus einer Verlobung zu lösen, nur schwerwiegende Gründe zählen. Aber selbst dann gilt die Frau als "nicht vermittelbar", ihr Ruf ist dahin.Die erste Hälfte des Buches finde ich absolut genial.Lizzy verlobt sich kurz nach ihrer Rückkehr aus Kent (der Besuch bei Charlotte Lukas) mit dem mittelständigen, attraktiven und netten Mr Covington. Mr. Darcy weiß um ihre Verlobung, aber küsst sie dennoch zur Verabschiedung. Lizzy bemerkt den "Zauber" dieses Kusses und kann ihn nicht vergessen. Sie ist hin- und hergerissen, denn wenn sie Mr. Covington heiratet, rettet sie ihre Familie vor dem Ruin (Mr. Darcy hat zu diesem Zeitpunkt Mr. Bingley noch nicht zu Jane zurück gebracht), sie selbst kann in der Nähe ihres Vaters bleiben und wird angesehen und geachtet sein. Außerdem mag sie ihren Verlobten und achtet seine Mutter sehr.Mr. Darcy hingegen ist deprimiert abgereist.Elizabeth Bennet muss nun alleine entscheiden...In der zweiten Hälfte dominiert der Austausch von Zärtlichkeiten bis hin zum Sex vor der Ehe. Dies beschreibt Abigail Reynolds in jedem ihrer Bücher hervorragend. Man kann das Kribbeln richtig spüren. Für meinen Geschmack ist hier aber zu wenig Handlung. Es geht überwiegend um Blicke, Berührungen und Leidenschaft. Schade, dass hier die Geschichte zu kurz kommt!Alles in allem (insbesondere durch die hervorragende erste Hälfte) ist das Buch recht gut gelungen. Spannend, kribbelnd und romantisch.Fazit: Wer ein leidenschaftlicher P&P-Fan ist UND nichts einzuwenden hat gegen Zärtlichkeiten, die eher ins heutige Zeitalter gehören, wird bei diesem Buch gute Unterhaltung finden.

One of Reynolds's masterpieces: character growth, check; relationship building, check; romantic tension and drama, check; passion, check.Gotta love tiger Darcy (read it and you will understand). Physical expressions of love are explicit and very important in the story as well, therefore do not read if you do not care for these things.

Une variation totale de P&P ...Elisabeth se fiance mais Darcy ne peut pas plus lâcher prise que poursuivre une femme promise à un autre ...Les dialogues sont toujours aussi incisifs même si très modernes dans le ton ...Les pensées intimes d'Elisabeth et Darcy sont justes ce que j'imagine de leur personnalités ...Les variations d'Abigail Reynolds sont top ...