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

My NEW Bookshelf

So I don't know if anyone remembers my post I did about my bookcase, back in May, but I just realized that I have a new bookshelf now since I'm in college and such. So, I decided to write a post all about it since I haven't written in forever and I'm a major bum of a blogger.

There it is! It's definitely a lot smaller than I'm used to, but I manage. I didn't bring all of my books with me to college! I only brought 48! But I did buy a lot more, so I guess that kind of cancels it out.... But whatever. =D

It's organized in pretty much the same way as the old one. My books are up top in alphabetical order by author's last name, then first name, then book title, or volume. And my DVDs are organized alphabetically too! You can't see it, but they're double stacked on the two shelves to the left and continue onto the shelf on the top right. I can't really stand it, since I can't see all of my movies at the same time, but I deal with it. Also, my books are way too high for me to reach, so I had to buy a stepladder. Yeah, I'm short, but who cares?

The gap you see is where the book I'm currently reading, Loving Mr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan and the future home of her new book, In the Arms of Mr. Darcy, which I should hopefully be getting on Friday if the post office doesn't get everything all messed up! So, you know what I'm reading, but I should add I still have the third book in the series to read, My Dearest Mr. Darcy, before I can move on to the new one. But once I finish the fourth one, I PROMISE to write a review! I can't believe I haven't posted anything since August! But, then again, I have been super busy, adjusting to college and studying, plus I've only read two new books recently. One I didn't have a lot to say about and the other I probably could've written a very strongly opinionated review about, but I had a ton of homework, so never got to it.... And I always review stuff right after I finish it, so it didn't work very well. The book was Nanny Returns, which is a sequel to The Nanny Diaries, which I wasn't the biggest fan of.... But whatever, it's my own fault for reading it. And excuses are over now. =D

As always, please feel free to comment! I love getting those and they make me really want to write more posts and such. Also, if you want to know what my opinions are on the books I mentioned, just let me know, and I'll gladly tell you. =D You can always talk about others too! Like the top of the page says, anything book related is fair game. However, I am a pretty talkative person (if you haven't realized) so if you want to say something else, go for it! =D

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Kristi

Little Bits of Wisdom- March 2010

Hey everyone! So, it's the last day of March, so it's time for me to post the quotes that I found and liked this month! I really, really love a few of them. =D I swear, I just need to do one of those cool wall murals with a whole bunch of quotes overlapping each other. That'd be pretty cool. So, anyways, let's get started!

"Life is about growing wiser... A true student should never bypass a ready chance to learn." -Sharon Lathan, My Dearest Mr. Darcy

"Your job... is not to screen me from life so that I do not mature in wisdom." -Sharon Lathan, My Dearest Mr. Darcy

"Oh bother! Simplicity is overrated. Spirit and passion are preferential." -Sharon Lathan, My Dearest Mr. Darcy

"I suppose when one is young, one imagines that all events are etched permanently upon the mind, but time has a way of eroding some memories, or perhaps the brain can only hold a finite amount of information." -Sharon Lathan, My Dearest Mr. Darcy

"Someday's better. It's always in the future, and it's always possible." -Luanne Rice, Safe Harbor

"Kids can see inside a person better than anyone." -Luanne Rice, Safe Harbor

"No matter what mysteries we're facing, we still have to live our lives." -Luanne Rice, Safe Harbor

"It's a simple thing for a man to forget his nature, to get lost in the present and forget how he was and how he will be." -Anna Godbersen, Rumors

"I don't want to hid from danger- that's not what it means to be a man. I don't think so anyway. To look in the face of hard things and keep moving forward-that's what one has to do." -Anna Godbersen, Envy

"Life was a short window, and there was no sense in doing the wrong thing over and over even if it was so difficult to stop." -Anna Godbersen, Envy

So, there you go. I love quotes, don't you? =D Anyways, I'm still working on Evelyn Lever's Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen of France. I've got some definite opinions about it right now, so I'm pretty sure that I will do the review. However, when that'll actually be up might be a very good question. I'm not quite halfway through, yet, so it may be another week or so? Possibly. I make no promises right now. =D Anyways, I hope everyone is having a nice week! Doing anything exciting? Feel free to leave comments and such! Oh, you should also follow the blog on Twitter! I'm getting better at actually tweeting now! =D There's a link somewhere on the right side of the page! --->

So, thanks for reading!

Love,

Kristi

My Dearest Mr. Darcy

Author: Sharon Lathan

So, hello everyone! I finished this book ahead of schedule! A whole TWO DAYS. =D 

In case you haven't read the previous posts, what I decided to do was a "reading project" as I call them, meaning that I pretty much read a whole series from beginning to end. I was trying to get to the ultimate point of My Dearest Mr. Darcy, the third novel in Sharon Lathan's Darcy Saga. So, naturally, I started at the VERY beginning, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and then went on to Lathan's series, which continues the story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. 

I must say, the newest book in the series absolutely blew me away! I completely loved it, especially in comparison to the first two. 

The very first page drew me in. It started differently from the rest of the books, in the form of a diary entry, from Dr. George Darcy, Mr. Darcy's uncle that we met in the previous book, Loving Mr. Darcy. This was a huge surprise to me, because he wasn't a huge character in the book. However, it was a good opportunity to become more intimately acquainted with Dr. Darcy, as he does play a larger part in the third novel. It also gave a new viewpoint on the events that happened in the second novel, and gave details to events that were mentioned quickly in passing, but not really given much attention, such as the Darcy's invitation to the Countess von Lieven's salon. I thought it was altogether a wonderful beginning to a great book!

I thought that Lathan's writing was enchanting, as always. She always uses such vivid descriptions and makes it extremely for me to get lost in Mr. and Mrs. Darcy's world full of love and happiness. However, in her previous two books, I thought that many things were unrealistic and cliche. 

I also don't want to sound like a prude, because, really, what kind of a teenager is a prude nowadays? I don't mind books that have sex in them. I've been reading those books for years. I mean, sex sells, right? That's got to translate into books, as well as everything else in life. However, my motto for a great book is "More plot, less sex". Not meaning none, just not enough that it overpowers everything else in the novel. That was my biggest problem with the first two books in Lathan's Darcy Saga. While it did have plot, it seemed like that wasn't the priority of the story. The plot is THE most important thing in a book, which is why someone reads it.

This third novel was a huge improvement on both of these counts. The plot was engaging, with little dramas along the way, instead of one BIG drama at the end. This approach to storytelling definitely keeps me more absorbed in the book, and I literally never wanted to put it down, only doing it when I absolutely had to. And while Lizzy and William never stopped "physically consummating their love", and we did hear about it, Lathan didn't think it was necessary to tell her readers every single time it happened, or to go into as much detail every time she added in an intimate scene. I thought she perfectly balanced the sex with the story, and I highly applaud her on that!

I also thought that she improved with her characters. I think that she expanded on them more, and made them more complex, and therefore, more human and believable! George Darcy is probably the best example of this. In the second book, he just seemed like a carefree guy who happened to be an excellent doctor in India. However, in the third book, we learned more about his life in India, and his childhood with Darcy's father, and the real emotions hiding underneath his lively spirit. We also get to see the relationship budding between George and his entire family, who had barely known anyone due to their distance apart. Sharon Lathan also expanded on various other characters, such as Anne de Bourgh and Col. Fitzwilliam. She even helped Lizzy and Darcy become more human by showing more of their flaws, instead of the near perfection that I gathered from the other books. 

I also have to say that I love the historical bits that Lathan includes in the novel, such as the bathing machines, which I had never heard of before, and the Magic Lantern show, and the launching of the hot air balloons.  I think that she did a wonderful job by not putting in so many details, as to make it not appealing to people who don't like history, while putting in just enough to appeal to those people, like me, who happen to love history. This is yet another example of her amazing balancing act in My Dearest Mr. Darcy.

So, I think that was all I was going to talk about. I highly recommend everyone to read this book. It was stunning and absolutely amazing! And I also recommend everyone reading it to visit Sharon Lathan's website (http://www.sharonlathan.net/) while you're doing it. I stumbled upon it just before writing this review and I really wish I had thought to look at it before, especially the Portrait Gallery part. It helps you visualize a lot of the places that she's talking about and how great a setting she chose. So, I've decided that you should all read My Dearest Mr. Darcy. Ok? Good. Yay!

And, as is my customary sign off, feel free to email me at Kristi_Reads@yahoo.com or comment this post for discussions, suggestions, comments, etc. The next book I think I'm reading is The Queen's Dollmaker by Christine Trent, which I've been very excited to start. So, I'll get that review up as soon as I'm done! 

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Kristi

Book Quotes-2009

So, during the summer of 2009 I started writing down quotes that I found in books that I liked, and I figured that since I'm taking an abnormally long time to finish my book, I might as well post the some of the ones I found last year, and then I'll start posting new ones at the end of every month (I'll put January's with February's). 

And, just for reference, they're in the order that I found them, and quite a few of them are quotes from real people that I just read in a book. I liked them all at some point, for some reason, even if I don't remember why now. And I write the quotes down whether I liked the whole book or I didn't, so just because I have a quote down, doesn't mean I liked the book (although most of them I did like. =D).  I hope that you'll read some of these and hopefully share your thoughts with me at ihs_colorguard@yahoo.com! Enjoy!

"You don't want the best of times to be just one thing, forever. You have to have lots of bests of times, each one topping the last." -Sarah Dessen, Along for the Ride

"It's the things you fight for and struggle with before earning that have the greatest worth. When something's difficult to come by, you'll do that much more to make sure it's even harder- if not impossible- to lose." -Sarah Dessen, Along for the Ride

"It didn't make you noble to step away from something that wasn't working, even if you thought you were the reason for the malfunction. Especially then. It just made you a quitter. Because if you were the problem, chances were you could also be the solution. The only way to find out was to take another shot." -Sarah Dessen, Along for the Ride

"It was so easy to disown what you couldn't recognize, to keep yourself apart from things that were foreign and unsettling. The only person you can be sure to control, always, is yourself." -Sarah Dessen, Along for the Ride

"Perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages." -George Washington

"You can't be trapped by other people, you can only be trapped by your own fear. Defy and win." -Michael Grant, Hunger

"There are few certainties in life. Chin up!" -Sharon Lathan, Loving Mr. Darcy

"I wished to be as happy as I was at that moment. Fool that I was, I had no concept of the greater happiness in store for me." -Sharon Lathan, Loving Mr. Darcy

"Life is not flawless, no matter how close one may obtain excellence." -Sharon Lathan, Loving Mr. Darcy

"We learned our lessons via grievous methods, but we did learn them." -Sharon Lathan, Loving Mr. Darcy

"It is time- more than time- to reflect and construct a better way of life. You are getting older and you no longer have the excuse of youth." -Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II

"I've seen everything, known everything, and forgotten everything." -Marie Antoinette

"Prudence, patience are my lot. Above all, courage." -Marie Antoinette

"It is in misfortune that you realize your true nature." -Marie Antoinette

"I had friends; the idea of being separated from them forever, and their sufferings as a result, are one of the greatest regrets I take with me to my death; they should know that at the last moment I think of them." -Marie Antoinette

"It's vital to keep a sense of humor when the world seems to have suddenly become a very strange place." -Michael Grant, Gone

"No man knows til he suffered from the night how sweet and how dear to his heart and eye the morning can be." -Bram Stoker, Dracula

"I've given lots of people chances.... But there's only so much faith you can have in people." -Sarah Dessen, Someone Like You

"I wondered again why the right thing always seemed to be met with so much resistance, when you'd think it would be the easier path. You had to fight to be virtuous..." -Sarah Dessen, Someone Like You

"You can't just plan a moment when things get back on track, just as you can't plan the moment you lose your way in the first place." -Sarah Dessen, Someone Like You

"I was beginning to see, though, that the unknown wasn't always the greatest thing to fear. The people who know you best can be riskier, because the words they say and the things they think have the potential to be not only scary but true, as well." -Sarah Dessen, Just Listen

"I mean, when you really thing about it, music is the great uniter. An incredible force. Something that people who differ on everything and anything else can have in common." -Sarah Dessen, Just Listen

"And as to our destinies, yours and mine, we must simply do the best we can from day to day, and not think too much about tragedies." -Carolly Erickson, The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette

"A lot of people mistook ignorance for stupidity, and knowingness for intelligence." -Michael Lewis, The Blind Side

"...He actually believed that to be light of heart is the same as being light of head." -Kathryn Davis, Versailles

So, I definitely didn't realize that there were so many Marie Antoinette quotes, because I didn't really read that many books about her recently (besides the one I'm reading right now). I guess I managed to lose my notebook and forgot about it as well, (and therefore didn't write in it) because I'm smart like that. =D So, again, feel free to email me with comments, book suggestions, ect. at Kristi_Reads@yahoo.com. Next time I post quotes, there definitely won't be as many, because this is around 6 or 7 months worth of them, and I'll only be doing two month's worth from now on.

Anyways, thanks for reading!

Love,

Kristi