OYENTE

David Dunham

  • 5
  • opiniones
  • 0
  • votos útiles
  • 5
  • calificaciones
Mr. Darcy's Complex Courtship Audiolibro Por Kelly Miller arte de portada

Scandals & Secrets Arise When Elizabeth Says Yes

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 03-20-25

While staying with her friend Charlotte and Mr Collins in Kent, Elizabeth Bennett visits the home of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. She meets Mr Darcy and his cousin, who are staying with their strong-minded aunt. Elizabeth disliked Darcy in Hertfordshire and has no reason to think highly of him now.



Elizabeth receives a letter from her sister and learns that Charles Bingley broke off his engagement on Mr Darcy's advice. Then Mr Darcy visits her at the parsonage. After disparaging her family, Fitzwilliam proposes to her. Will Elizabeth politely decline his offer? Or will she give him the sharp edge of her tongue? Let's leap into Mr Darcy’s Complex Courtship: A Darcy & Elizabeth Pride & Prejudice Variation and find out!

Story

As in Jane Austen's classic tale, Elizabeth rejects Darcy's proposal. But his fervent desire to marry her touches her. Elizabeth sets invective aside and tells him she could never marry someone who separated her sister from the man she loved. After assuring Darcy that Jane’s affection for his friend wasn't motivated by greed or social elevation, Darcy promises to speak with Bingley and rescind his earlier advice. He also explains how Mr Wickham tried to elope with his younger sister to benefit from Georgiana's wealth. Darcy begs Elizabeth for another chance to demonstrate his character and prove his devotion to her.



In Kelly Miller's story, Elizabeth visits her aunt and uncle in London. After convincing Bingley to marry Jane, Mr Darcy woos Elizabeth. Unlike many gentlemen of his social standing, Mr Darcy shows no reluctance to visit a tradesman's house. When the Gardiners notice Mr Darcy’s interest, they approve of the match. Elizabeth also forges a friendship with Georgiana. Then Lady Catherine de Bourgh learns of her nephew's pursuit in Mr Darcy's Complex Courtship: A Darcy & Elizabeth Pride & Prejudice Variation. Unless Darcy severs his interest in Elizabeth Bennett, his aunt will ruin him.



Lady Catherine isn’t alone in her desire to prune the budding romance. Unlike his daughter, Mr Bennett cannot forget Mr Darcy's actions when he stayed with Mr Bingley at Netherfield. The young man's aloof manner, strict views, and rudeness set Mr Bennett against Darcy. Mr Bennett worries that Darcy would be a domineering husband who would repress Elizabeth’s spirits, dictate her actions, and extinguish her creativity and imagination.

Art

While keeping our focus on Elizabeth Bennett, Kelly Miller also takes us into Mr Darcy's world. Elizabeth’s anger turns to curiosity as Mr Darcy presses his suit. Darcy's earnest desire to reform his character and impeccable manners impress Elizabeth. Elizabeth also values his determination to discover the truth when Lady Catherine unveils her plan to destroy Darcy's life. Stevie Zimmerman’s voice and delivery evoke Keira Knightley’s portrayal of Elizabeth in Joe Wright’s 2005 adaptation of Pride & Prejudice.

Like Jane Austen, Kelly Miller focuses on the etiquette and social standards in Regency England. Unlike today, Mr Darcy risks a scandal if he accepts someone who works for a living into his household. Elizabeth does not excel at music like Georgiana. But when she discovers an outlet for her creativity, Elizabeth gives critics ammunition to attack Darcy should she become his wife. Both situations recall Sir Thomas Bertram's outrage when he discovers his family preparing a theatrical production in Mansfield Park.



Finally, a lack of communication and an inability to readily discover facts reveal people's fears in Regency England. Kelly Miller shows how the poorer classes' lack of education could harm the aristocracy in Mr Darcy's Complex Courtship: A Darcy & Elizabeth Pride & Prejudice Variation. Mr Bennett's fears also reflect the society of the period. Elizabeth's father loves reading and encourages his daughter's thirst for knowledge and reasoning ability. Yet many members of The Ton strictly control their wives, sisters, and daughters' access to entertainment and education.

Final Thoughts

While some characters ascend, others embrace their darker sides in Mr Darcy’s Complex Courtship: A Darcy & Elizabeth Pride And Prejudice Variation by Kelly Miller. When circumstances separate them, Darcy risks his status in society to uncover the truth about his family, and Elizabeth discovers a new interest that could provide financial independence.

Denunciar

Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

The Mysterious Disappearance of Mr. Darcy Audiolibro Por Kelly Miller arte de portada

An Enchanting Step Back In Time

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 12-16-24

Rory enjoys playing along the beach in Ramsgate. When her Collie brings the ball to a young blonde woman, Elizabeth chats with her. Then, a dark-haired man accuses Elizabeth of using Rory to meet them. Elizabeth hopes to avoid meeting the rude stranger again during her seaside holiday. But how might her life change should her path intersect with the dark-haired Adonis? Let's put on our finery, pack our revolvers, leap into The Mysterious Disappearance of Mr Darcy, and find out!

Story
When Elizabeth Bennett meets the man and his sister again at Mrs Stapleton's house, Georgiana greets her happily. Her brother, Fitzwilliam Darcy, apologizes for mistaking Elizabeth's intentions. Elizabeth's admission that she initially thought him incapable of understanding the importance of kindness and respect leaves him humbled. So when Darcy notices Elizabeth has been reading An Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke, he asks her opinion of Book IV. Elizabeth appreciates his receptiveness to her interpretations. Darcy likes how Elizabeth has thought through her opinions and can discuss the merits of their differing views without arguing.

In The Mysterious Disappearance of Mr Darcy, Elizabeth begins meeting Darcy on her morning walks. Despite her aunt's request that Elizabeth not meet with him privately, the wide-ranging conversations help them appreciate each other better. While Darcy and his sister enjoy the summer in Ramsgate, Mrs Rebecca Stapleton invited Modesty Gardiner and her niece to spend August with her. As Elizabeth's month in Ramsgate nears its end, neither she nor Darcy wishes to part from the other. So, after a short engagement, Elizabeth becomes Mrs Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Despite Georgiana’s approval of Elizabeth, not everyone in Darcy’s family believes he made the correct choice. Some, like Lady Matlock, insist Darcy should have married someone from a titled or wealthier family. Nor do all his relatives accept Elizabeth's ability to oversee his correspondence and finances. These factors become important considerations when he goes missing after a shooting in The Mysterious Disappearance of Mr Darcy.

Art
Firstly, Kelly Miller differentiates her novel by setting it in Ramsgate and London instead of more familiar locales like Longbourn and Pemberly. While Elizabeth braves the disdain of Darcy’s family, she also faces the dangers of England’s bustling capital. Darcy trained her to use a gun. Elizabeth believes the staff, overseen by their butler Slade, can protect her on their house and grounds. Still, someone shot the man who accompanied Darcy to the house in Camberwell. So when she leaves the house, Elizabeth takes a gun with her.

Given the influx of foreigners following the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte's rise to power, Mr Ellis from the Alien Office investigates Darcy's disappearance. Joshua Webb, who attended Cambridge with Darcy, stays in the house and helps Elizabeth question anyone claiming to have seen him. Still, none of Darcy's close friends know him. In The Mysterious Disappearance of Mr Darcy, Elizabeth finds herself a stranger in a strange land, intent on protecting Georgiana, discovering what happened to her beloved husband, and not knowing who she can rely on.

In addition to placing Elizabeth in different locations, Kelly Miller also isolates Elizabeth from her family. By meeting Elizabeth while she and her aunt stay at Mrs Stapleton's house, Darcy doesn't view her in terms of her family's societal stumbles. Nor does he feel obliged to protect Charles Bingley's interests or observe propriety around Bingley's sisters and brother-in-law when they lease Netherfield Park near the Bennetts' home.

Lastly, by shortening the period between their first meeting and marriage to six weeks, Kelly Miller gives the couple sufficient time for love to bloom but not for Elizabeth to know Darcy well. Nor did Darcy have a year to think through what life with Elizabeth would be like. Perhaps, as Lady Catherine de Bourgh suggests, her nephew had second thoughts about his union with Elizabeth and "disappeared" to get his life back on track.

Final Thoughts
Kelly Miller's prose captures the elegance and romance of England's Regency period. Her story allows Elizabeth, Darcy, and Georgiana to shine in this new variation of Jane Austen's immortal novel. Enhanced by Vicky-Jo Eva’s cultured voice, the audiobook spirits you back to Regency England, portraying Miller's narrative and Jane Austen's characters with captivating realism in The Mysterious Disappearance of Mr Darcy.



Denunciar

Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Blunt Force Trauma Audiolibro Por Jeff Kerr arte de portada

A veteran and favorite son gets a rough homecoming

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 10-25-24

Adam Cash is a man deeply in love. He wants to rekindle his relationship with Edie James, the High School sweetheart he left behind to join the Army. He hopes to capitalize on his bachelor’s degree in criminology and his Police Academy training by gaining a job in law enforcement. Adam yearns to spend more time with his infant daughter Emma, even if Bernadette Fenster keeps pushing him away after burdening her with responsibility from their drunken one-night stand. But most of all, he loves his hometown of Pinyon, Texas. Adam wants to spend the rest of his life there and safeguard the small town's future. So why does Adam feel like he is on the outside looking in? Let's leap into Blunt Force Trauma and find out!

Story
Adam Cash returned home after serving two tours in Afghanistan and getting a degree at Sam Houston State University. At least, he returned to the house he grew up in. But his parents have traded Pinyon for a better life in Austin. Adam managed to talk them out of selling the house that generations of his family called home. He hopes to restore the surrounding acreage to encourage native wildlife. But all that takes money. And after a year in Pinyon, he's still stringing barbed wire for a pittance.

Opportunity beckons when the Pinyon Police advertise a vacancy on their website. Adam’s hopes rise when he gets an interview. But Sheriff Griff Turner harbors ill will toward Cash from their High School days. The interview escalates into a confrontation, with neither man believing he can work with the other. With his hopes in ruins, Adam sees little hope of remaining in Pinyon and pursuing his desired career. As he discusses his dilemma with his childhood friend Steve Jenkins, who runs Saddleback Brewing, Adam gets an idea. The local elections are approaching. If he can't serve Pinyon as a police deputy, perhaps he could protect it as the town's Sheriff?

Taking the spotlight doesn’t come easy for Adam. While he made it through college, he wishes his organizational skills were better. He knows someone who can help him. But will Edie James agree to organize his electoral campaign?

While Adam seeks to establish a foothold on his future, forces align against him. They bear him no malice. It's just business. And it's a dirty business, one the foulest ever conceived by man. Adam Cash makes an easy target. After fighting to win his dream job, Adam flees his home. Sure, Adam could run to his parents' house in Austin. They would doubtless hire lawyers to protect him. His father's HVAC business could fund his defense. But someone murdered Griff Turner, and the acting Sheriff of the Pinyon Police, Clovis Ward, is eager to arrest him. Adam has friends like Steve and Edie, who can help him. But there is only one person sufficiently driven to clear his name before the good people of Pinyon: Adam Cash.

As Adam investigates Sheriff Turner’s murder, he uncovers other reasons why Griff wouldn't want to hire him. Adam learns why a local frozen yogurt shop only opens two days each week. He discovers public servants who abuse their positions for personal gain. He even uncovers skeletons in his own family's closet. After his novel Refuge, Jeff Kerr once again shines a spotlight on the dangers facing those who hope for a better life by immigrating illegally to the United States. Jeff Kerr enhances Adam Cash's story by showing how Human Traffickers seize upon their prey and bend them to their will. It's a despicable business made possible by good people who, like Adam, need a little extra income and those who refuse to report the evildoers for fear of retaliation.

While Blunt Force Trauma makes for an enjoyable read, Ric Chetter’s narration advances the audiobook to the next level. Ric Chetter’s hard-bitten bass voice evokes an old cowboy sitting around a campfire, spinning a yarn for his fellow Texans after a long, hot day in the saddle. His voice handles male and female voices equally well and enthralled me from beginning to end. While I prefer music, I occasionally listen to audiobooks or podcasts when I walk. I must admit that when I faced high temperatures, low energy, or a bad mood, I had to trade Chetter's narration for music to power through my walk. But when temperatures fell, and I felt happy and energetic, I returned to Blunt Force Trauma.

Final Thoughts
Jeff Kerr discusses weighty issues as he spins an entertaining story and brings all his storylines to a satisfying conclusion, leaving me happy that I listened to the audiobook of Blunt Force Trauma.

Denunciar

Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

The Darcy Secret Audiolibro Por Kelly Miller arte de portada

"An unhappy alternative is before you."

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 03-10-24

Kelly Miller’s novel The Darcy Secret begins where Pride And Prejudice ends, with Darcy proposing marriage to Elizabeth Bennet at the Longbourn family estate. After Fitzwilliam Darcy leaves Elizabeth Bennett’s company, he realizes she never told him she loves him. Does she return his affections? Or did Elizabeth agree to marry him out of gratitude? After all, he saved her family’s reputation by arranging her sister Lydia’s marriage to George Wickham.

After Elizabeth assures Darcy of her love, past indiscretions return to haunt him. A chance meeting with Lady Marchant in Vauxhall Gardens reminds Elizabeth that societal expectations of acceptable conduct differ between men and women. She wonders how many former lovers might return to sway his affections. Can Elizabeth be assured of his steadfastness? Or might Darcy follow the conventions of the age and take lovers when his infatuation fades?

While battling the doubts and fears that afflict any engaged couple, Darcy’s family questions Elizabeth’s motives. Lady Catherine might have declared Elizabeth’s unsuitability, yet a far more agreeable relative questions Elizabeth's motives. After all, their courtship—if one can use that term—occurred after the Gardeners brought Elizabeth to his impressive Pemberley estate.

Darcy’s sister Georgiana is reluctant to accept Elizabeth. But Elizabeth soon wins her over, and after Elizabeth and Darcy marry, the two women regard each other as sisters. Zounds! The Gardeners receive a disturbing report about Georgiana from a former teacher. Her aunt and uncle send Elizabeth the letter that implicates Georgiana in another student’s death. While the couple ponders Georgiana's involvement, the report awakens an earlier concern. A final letter from Darcy’s late father claimed a streak of madness afflicted women in his family. Did Georgiana kill her schoolmate? And if madness runs through their family, what evils might their children perpetrate upon an unsuspecting world?

Kelly Miller’s novel The Darcy Secret: A Pride & Prejudice Variation tackles alcoholism and drug use in Regency England, the perils of ignoring the class structure, attitudes toward sport, and the rise of modern psychiatry. While faithful to the characters and spirit of Jane Austen’s beloved classic, events force Elizabeth and Darcy to investigate a tragic event. Having listened to the audiobook version, I confess that Scott Fleming's female voices initially made me titter with laughter. Yet I felt his deep voice lent gravity and authenticity to Kelly Miller's family drama during my second listen.

Warning: Contains a scene of animal cruelty.

Denunciar

Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

The Trouble with Friends Audiolibro Por Kelly Miller arte de portada

Darcy faces some stiff competition!

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 01-20-24

When Simon Lockhart accompanied his friends Charles Bingley and Fitzwilliam Darcy to the Netherfield estate, he never guessed how Elizabeth Bennett would impact his future. Yet a few days later, she comes to his aid after a riding accident. The way Elizabeth cares for him—at the risk of her reputation—impresses him. Despite her lack of romantic inclinations, he fixates on her and insists on wooing her. Then he meets her sister Jane, and all thoughts of marrying Elizabeth take flight.

Pet ownership agrees with Elizabeth Bennett. After caring for her Cocker Spaniel Robbie, she takes a greater interest in her sister Mary and tempers her mother's outrageous schemes. Seeing Mr. Lockhart in distress, Elizabeth places his needs first and her safety second. Despite his wealth and pleasant manner, his features don’t call to her. While she finds Charles Bingley attractive, his disinterest in literature limits the scope of any possible relationship. Yet both potential suitors seem superior choices to their sullen friend Fitzwilliam Darcy. Why does she feel so drawn to Darcy?

Elizabeth’s looks and manners take Darcy’s breath away. He cannot stop thinking about her. Yet fate continually draws them together. After Lockhart declares his interest in Jane, Darcy misinterprets Elizabeth's actions as despair. While seeking to protect and befriend her, his sister arrives at Netherfield. Georgiana was bored at Pemberley and still pines for George Wickham. Darcy realizes she needs a friend and knows he can trust Elizabeth to look after his sister’s interests.

So begins The Trouble With Friends: A Pride And Prejudice Variation. Author Kelly Miller compresses Jane Austen’s original timeline and limits the settings to Hertfordshire and London. She sidelines some of Austen’s characters while adding new ones, allowing readers to glimpse her beloved protagonists in a new light. While channeling Austen’s voice, she concentrates less on outdated matters, such as entailed properties and arranged marriages, while giving readers what they most desire: more time spent in the delightful company of Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy.

In this altered timeline, some events remain fixed, and others change considerably. I missed some of Austen's longer set pieces, such as Elizabeth's visit with Charlotte and her tour of Derbyshire with her aunt and uncle. Yet amid this classic tale of love and family, Simon Lockhart's friendship, loyalty, and sacrifice make him an outstanding addition to Jane Austen's cast. The Trouble With Friends: A Pride And Prejudice Variation honors Austen’s classic tale and will keep readers involved until the end.

Deborah Balm's cultured voice adds authenticity to Kelly Miller's audiobook. Balm distinguishes characters well, and her narration immerses you in Elizabeth, Darcy, and Lockhart's world. As my first experience listening to a book on Audible, I found it hugely enjoyable. The next time I attend an assembly in Meryton or a ball at Netherfield, I shall recommend this novel to all my friends, no matter how amiable or troublesome they may be!

Denunciar

Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_webcro805_stickypopup