Mr. Darcy's Perfect Match...Kelly Miller

Happy February to everyone. I can't believe that January is already gone for 2020! It was a busy month for me. How about you?

*****
I guess everything is going too fast for me. I'm a day behind this week. I had it in my mind that tomorrow was the 3rd of February and was getting my post ready to go. Then I got an email from Kelly asking me if all is okay and when might my post go live? UGH! I organized the blog tour and missed my own stop! That's pretty bad! I apologize to you, Kelly Miller, and to all of you readers! 

Now on with the post below!

*****
I'm taking part in Kelly Miller's blog tour for her newest release, Mr. Darcy's Perfect Match. Sophia Rose is giving us her "First Impressions" of Kelly's book, with a full review to follow at another time. Before posting her thoughts on what she has read to date, I'll give you the book description.

Book Description:

When secrets are revealed and a family agenda works against him, can Fitzwilliam Darcy recover his damaged spirits and find happiness?

Following his disastrous proposal to Elizabeth Bennet, Fitzwilliam Darcy returns to London from Kent broken-hearted and dejected. One bright spot penetrates his sea of despair: his sister, Georgiana, has finally recovered her spirits from the grievous events at Ramsgate the previous summer. She has forged a new friendship with Miss Hester Drake, a lady who appears to be an ideal friend. In fact, Lady Matlock believes Miss Drake is Darcy’s perfect match.

Upon Elizabeth Bennet’s arrival at the Gardiners’ home from Kent, she finds that her sister Jane remains despondent over her abandonment by Mr. Bingley. But Elizabeth has information that might bring them together. She convinces her Uncle Gardiner to write a letter to Mr. Bingley providing key facts supplied to her by Mr. Darcy.

When Mr. Bingley discovers that his friend and sisters colluded to keep Jane’s presence in London from him, how will he respond? Given the chance, will Darcy and Elizabeth overcome their past misunderstandings? What will Darcy do when his beloved sister becomes a hindrance towards winning the lady he loves?

Early Impressions Post by Sophia Rose:

Mr. Darcy’s Perfect Match by Kelly Miller

Without glimpse of cover or blurb, I eagerly accepted Janet’s invitation to share my impressions at the start of Kelly Miller’s latest, a Pride and Prejudice variation story.  This will be one that depends on the reader to already be familiar with Austen’s Pride and Prejudice to some extent because it assumes the reader knows what has come before the point when Mr. Darcy approaches a hostile Miss Lizzy in Rosings’ grounds to deliver his fateful letter.

The title told me to anticipate a luscious amount of time with Mr. Darcy and, from the first sentence, I saw this to be true.  Darcy is narrating and the reader feels his sorrow and bit of anger at being rejected and the shame for his own previous conduct.  He must win back the good opinion of his lady even if he can never hold her heart.  So he is prepared to deliver his defense in a letter.

And, this is where the story blazes a new trail. 

Right when I anticipated Darcy getting comfort from his cousin, his friend, Colonel Fitzwilliam and Darcy have a falling out over Darcy’s unilateral decision to share Georgiana’s secret with a woman who is the barest of acquaintances to the Colonel. 

Next, Georgiana takes the narration in their London home as she excitedly tells her brother about a new friend, Miss Drake, and at the same time notices her brother’s melancholic state. 

Miss Drake’s name comes up again when Darcy wisely checks out her credentials with Georgiana’s companion and his aunt, Lady Matlock, who introduced the girls.  He does not notice the gleam in Lady Matlock’s eye over his interest quite like the reader does.  Look out Darcy, she’s matchmaking.

But, just as the reader believes Georgiana has made a lovely new friend who isn’t cozying up to get to her brother, Miss Drake gets to narrate and we learn that this fresh-faced, pretty mannered lady is no better than Caroline Bingley- merely more cunning and clever.  What will she get up to in order to bag her prey?  Stay tuned, gentle reader!

Meanwhile, the readers rejoice when Lizzy arrives in London and lands upon a fantastic scheme to bring about her sister, Jane, and Bingley’s happiness.  Darcy gave her the intel for what action was needed in his letter.  Ouch!  Every time she recalls the letter and the letter writer, she feels shame and remorse for her behavior and words.  She doesn’t love him and can’t because he was arrogant, but she is well aware that she was no better and possibly worse.

Charles might have come across as wishy-washy in the original, but when he gets all the facts, boy howdy, did the man leap into action to gain his lady love.  And, wasn’t that a brazen encounter when he crossed swords with his sisters and came out the winner of that skirmish.

What is this?  Oh no, Georgie… spilling secrets and trusting the wrong party!!!!

And, that was where I left it off.  Twenty five percent in and I was captivated.  My mind is racing over where this story will take me.  Such fantastic foreshadowing of the conflict that is to come.  Such engaging characters!  And, I love getting all those perspectives and changes of scenes so I could get inside the heads of so many.

My early impression leads me to predict that Ms. Miller’s latest will be a ‘perfect match’ for many readers who adore Austenesque historical romance.  And, with that last bit, I’m off to finish the rest of Mr. Darcy’s Perfect Match.

Thanks for letting me stop by today, Janet!

Author Bio:

Kelly Miller is a native Californian and Anglophile, who made her first visit to England in 2019. When not pondering a plot point or a turn of phrase, she can be found playing the piano (although like Elizabeth Bennet, she is errant when it comes to practicing), singing, and walking her dogs. Kelly Miller resides in Silicon Valley with her husband, daughter, and their many pets.

Mr. Darcy’s Perfect Match is her second novel published by Meryton Press. Her first was the Regency novel Death Takes a Holiday at Pemberley, a Pride and Prejudice romantic sequel with a touch of fantasy. Her third novel, Accusing Mr. Darcy, will be released later in 2020.

Contact Info:

Amazon Author Page

Goodreads Author Page

Facebook

Twitter

Blog

Buy Info:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Mr. Darcy’s Perfect Match Blog Schedule             

January 27 Austenesque Reviews

January 28 My Jane Austen Book Club

January 29 Austenprose

January 30 So Little Time…

January 31 Babblings of a Bookworm

February 3 More Agreeably Engaged

February 4 Savvy Verse & Wit

February 6 Donadee’s Corner

February 7 Diary of an Eccentric

February 10 From Pemberley to Milton

February 11 My Vices and Weaknesses

Giveaway:

Meryton Press is giving away 8 eBooks of Mr. Darcy’s Perfect Match. Use the Rafflecopter below to enter the giveaway. Good luck to all.

Thank you for sharing your first impressions with us, Sophia Rose. I'm glad to read your thoughts. I felt the same way about the entire book. It grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go until I finished it. I hope everyone gets a chance to read it soon. 

If you have missed any of the stops, be sure to go back and read the excerpts, interesting guest posts, and vignette that Kelly has written for us.

Best wishes to you, Kelly, with this new release. I look forward to your next book! I'll try to keep my days straight next time around! :)

Rafflecopter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway