In the Arms of Mr. Darcy

Author: Sharon Lathan

If only everyone could be as happy as they are...

Darcy and Elizabeth are as much in love as ever-even more so as their relationship matures. Their passion inspires everyone around them, and as winter turns to spring, romance blossoms around them.

Confirmed bachelor Richard Fitzwilliam sets his sights on a seemingly unattainable, beautiful widow; Georgiana Darcy learns to flirt outrageously; the very flighty Kitty Bennet develops her first crush, and Caroline Bingley meets her match.

But the path of true love never does run smooth, and Elizabeth and Darcy are kept busy navigating their friends and loved ones through the inevitable separations, misunderstandings, misgivings, and lovers' quarrels to reach their own happily ever afters...

So, if anyone has been paying my Twitter any attention, you'll know that I've been looking forward to it ever since I realized that it didn't come out when I thought it did. I kind of have mixed emotions about it. I liked it, but it wasn't as awesome as I was expecting, which was disappointing...

The reason it probably didn't reach my expectations is because, surprisingly, despite the book having Darcy in the title, I didn't think that it focused on Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy as much as it should have. Instead, it changed perspectives quite a bit. Sharon Lathan has done this before in her other novels, but not to the extent that she did in this one. I mean, I love Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Lathan's Darcy Saga mostly because I love Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. So it just seemed that they were ignored way too much in favor of other characters, especially Lizzy. I just feel like she didn't have a huge part in this book, which is a shame.

However, I did like that we got to see the characters in their own mindset more. I just think it was a tad too much. The fact that we got into other characters' perspectives, like Colonel Richard and Mrs. Smyth along with others, definitely helped me know them better. I was able to make connections with some of them and developed some very strong feelings for others. For example, I've decided I hate Mrs. Smyth. She's a jerk. =D Also, it was a better way to depict some scenes, like Caroline's engagement than just having Lizzy and Mr. Darcy summarize it later. But like I said, it was just used way too often for my liking. I miss Lizzy and Darcy!

Also, I thought a lot of the events were way too rushed! It was very strange and I definitely wasn't expecting it, since usually Lathan is very detailed. But some scenes had a huge buildup and then were resolved in two paragraphs! I thought it made it kind of anti-climatic. There were also a lot of skipped events that I was really expecting to see in this book, since they were such a big part of the last book. For example, Mary's wedding to Mr. Daniels, as well as Anne's to Raul Penaflor. Mr. Darcy and Lizzy discussed them for about five seconds, each getting maybe five sentences as a summary. However, I do see reason for shortening them (just not to this extent). I mean, there were two weddings in one month, so it would have been repetitive. I just wish they had gotten a little more mention. Another example would be the Darcy's second anniversary/ Alexander's birthday! They got no mention other than saying they were two days away. The book was 355 pages and covered a whole year, while the previous three each covered a few months each, if that gives you any idea how rushed it was.

Also, a few of the events seemed a little pointless, especially in the beginning of the book. Things would happen and then it would go away and make no difference to the story. For example, the whole murder thing in the beginning. It happened and had a big build up, then was pretty anticlimactic (although I may just think this because I do read quite a few of murder mystery books and I'm used to the big ending), and then Darcy went home, summarized it in a paragraph or so and then it was never mentioned again. I just wasn't very impressed with that.

Now, the other problem I had has all to do with my OCD. In the beginning Cast of Characters, it said Darcy was 29, but he's 30, as he had his 30th birthday in the 3rd book. And then there were several spelling errors. So I just think a little more perusal by the proofreader would have been nice. =D

One last thing, I don't really care how old your kid is, whether they're only a few weeks old or much older, having sex while your kid is in the room is just nasty. I'm sorry.

Overall, I liked it, it just didn't reach my expectations. The third is still my favorite, but this one wasn't bad. I'm looking forward to the next one, which I just realized is called A Darcy Christmas, which is a collection of three stories by three different authors. Maybe that one fills in some of the blanks from this novel about Lizzy and Mr. Darcy's doings at Christmas... So I might read that one, but I can't promise anything since I have a thing about more than one author in one book. I think it's kind of awkward. But then again, I'm a strange, weird person as my roommate likes to say.

So up next is Carolly Erickson's To the Scaffold, which is, of course, a biography about Marie Antoinette. I'm really excited to see how Erickson's novel and biography compare, since the novel isn't exactly the closest thing to historical accuracy ever, but whatever. =D I'm excited! I'll definitely review it. I'd also like to point out that this is my first post since I got into college! I feel totally accomplished now. =D So, as always, please comment about anything. I love talking, so I'll respond to anything you say, unless it's just dumb. Then you're on your own. =D

Anyways, thanks for reading!

Love,

Kristi