My Share in the Conversation...A Pemberley Medley

A Pemberley Medley by Abigail Reynolds

There are times that I simply do not have the time to read a novel. When a book is really good I have this tendency (or obsession with the plot) to read all day and to keep reading into the wee hours of the morning. That is not always the best thing, especially when I have deadlines to meet. Therefore, an anthology of short stories is fantastic to have on hand. Abigail Reynolds’, A Pemberley Medley filled my desire to read about my favorite hero and heroine without spending the whole day and night (or more) doing it.

The five stories in this medley are all well written and left me feeling completely satisfied at the end. I have read several books by Ms. Reynolds and she does an excellent job of storytelling. She makes me feel and see what she is writing. These short stories are no different as they did not disappoint. 

I have to agree with the author about the first story, “Intermezzo”. She says in the preface that it is one of her favorites.  The others are excellent, but this one was my favorite. It is filled with romance and tension, conflict and resolution…a very beautiful love story between Darcy and Elizabeth.

The letter from Darcy to Elizabeth in “Such Differing Reports” was swoon-worthy! Loved it! This was another very pleasing story.

In “Reason’s Rule” Mr. Bennet loves to give Darcy a difficult time and oh, he accomplishes it so well! Elizabeth tries to do what she thinks is best for those she loves and frustrated me to no end! All is well that ends well and this one surely did!

After the death of Mr. Bennet, Elizabeth makes a tough decision for the sake of her family in “The Most Natural Thing”.  This story is lovely and shows the depth of emotion felt by Darcy and Elizabeth. It does have one intimate scene.  Although my preference is for novels without explicit sex between Darcy and Elizabeth, I realize there are many readers that prefer it.  I love to read about the passion, the romance and the sexual tension between them, but would rather leave the rest to my imagination. That being said, this scene is tender and well written, not crudely done. That is one thing I have also discovered about the novels I have read by Ms. Reynolds that are for mature audiences. There are few explicit scenes, or none at all, and she does not use them to pad her books. Her novels are about the story not the sex.

Rain, rain and more rain kept our favorite couple from having much time together in "A Succession of Rain". They very much needed to be able to talk through their thoughts and previous misunderstandings. Darcy had been paid the visit from his aunt and now had hope, if only the rain would stop. His suspense was almost unbearable. When he does ‘make’ the opportunity to speak to Elizabeth, the meeting was intensely romantic!

This anthology of short stories was very rewarding and was a delight to read.  I was ‘most agreeably engaged’!

5 out of 5 stars

This is my fourth selection for the P&P Bicentenary Challenge of 2013.

Other books I will be reviewing soon:

            All the Appearance of Goodness by Maria Grace

            Pride Revisited by Tess Quinn

A Fair Prospect by Cassandra Grafton

The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy by Regina Jeffers

Celebrating Pride and Prejudice: 200 Years of Jane Austen’s Darling Child by Hazel Jones and    Maggie Lane

Watch for these book reviews as well as two movie reviews, one for the 1995 BBC miniseries of P&P and one for the 2005 movie, both of which I cheerfully re-watched for this challenge!