An Affectionate Heart by Heather Moll (Book Tour)

 

What two favorite stories would you like to see blended together?

An Affectionate Heart is a perfect blend of two of my favorite novels, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery.  Elizabeth Bennet is one of two unmarried daughters left to Mrs. Bennet.  Eldest daughter Jane married at 15 and is a happy wife with four sons.  After Mr. Bennet’s untimely death of a heart ailment, Mr. Collins arrived and married the third daughter, Mary, while Elizabeth was in London with Jane.  As Elizabeth is shuffled between Jane and Mary’s household, she is constantly put down for being the spinster sister at twenty-one.  After she discovers that she has a heart ailment and will not live through the summer, she decides to take matters into her own hands by proposing to Mr. Darcy. The aloof gentleman lives with his sister at Longbourn Lodge.  As rumors swirl through the neighborhood, Elizabeth decides that being an independent married woman who can take care of the sick Miss Darcy would be better than ending her days as the spinster sister with no independence.  Will this marriage of convenience end in love?

The blending of Pride and Prejudice and The Blue Castle is an inspired choice by author Heather Moll.  I greatly enjoyed this Pride and Prejudice variation.  The characters were true to the original Jane Austen novel, but the plot had enough change to go in a different direction and keep me glued to the page to the end of the story.  I love marriage of convenience and slow burn romance tropes, and this was perfect for me.  Reading the story of Elizabeth and Darcy as they fall in love was heartwarming.  I also wondered how the “train” scene from The Blue Castle would work in the regency time and author Heather Moll did not disappoint in bringing about an exciting climax to the story.  I also enjoyed that Darcy finally really understood Mrs. Bennet and gave Mr. and Mrs. Collins the ending that they deserved.

As this is a slow burn romance, it is a clean read until the end where there is mature content.

Overall, An Affectionate Heart is a Pride and Prejudice variation that is not to be missed.  I could not stop reading this story when I started, and it is going on my list of favorite Pride & Prejudice variations.

Book Source:  A Review Copy from Excessively Diverted Press and author Heather Moll as part of the Book Tour.  Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I apologize for my late book tour posting.  I ended up getting sick right when I needed to be posting this!  My daughter and I are feeling better this week.