Book Review - The Strange Marriage of Anne de Bourgh

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Today, I have yet another book review for you all from my Indie Fever 2014 reading list. There's still time to join in the fun of the challenge. Just go here, add your name to the linky thing with your pledge level, grab the badge, and read on! I always choose my books in December (and some are added along the way I find on my own) so I know about how many I can promise to read over the next year. I've already hit my goal for 2014, but I'm gonna keep going until the end. *grin*

Here's a recap of my review list:

Skylar Hamilton Burris The Strange Marriage of Anne de Bourgh REVIEW BELOW
Tamar Hela Feast Island REVIEW HERE
Rebecca Trogner The Last Keeper's Daughter REVIEW HERE
Scott Marlowe The Five Elements REVIEW HERE
L.K. Evans Keepers of Arden: The Brothers Volume 1 REVIEW HERE
Sarah Mäkelä The Witch Who Cried Wolf REVIEW HERE
Felicia Tatum Masked Encounters REVIEW HERE
David T Griffith The Bestiarum Vocabulum REVIEW HERE
Thaddeus White Sir Edric's Temple REVIEW HERE
Heather Topham Wood The Memory Witch REVIEW HERE
N. L. Greene Illusions Begin REVIEW HERE
J. A. Huss Tragic REVIEW HERE
Pauline Creeden Sanctuary REVIEW HERE
Casey Bond Reap REVIEW HERE 
Casey Bond Devil Creek REVIEW HERE
S. G. Daniels The Druid's Doorway REVIEW HERE
Misty Provencher The Fly House Amazon Kindle $3.99
Peprah Boasiako The Hitman Amazon Kindle $0.99
C. S. Janey Surrender To You Amazon Kindle $2.99
Gloria Piper Finnegan's Quest Amazon Kindle $4.99
Elle Todd The Elect Amazon Kindle $3.99 
Morgan Wylie Silent Orchids Amazon Kindle **FREE**
Laura Howard The Forgotten Ones Amazon Kindle $0.99
Christina Marie Morales Ambience Amazon Kindle $2.99
Molly Taggart Off Target Amazon Kindle $2.99

Title: The Strange Marriage of Anne de Bourgh
Author: Skylar Hamilton Burris
Genre: Historical Romance
Length (print): ~ 106 Pages
Buy Link: Amazon Kindle $2.99

Synopsis:
When Mr. Collins leaves his living at Rosings for a higher (or at least more lucrative) calling, a lascivious new rector takes his place. Mr. Darcy fears this handsome man of the cloth may have designs on his sickly cousin Anne, and he races to rescue her from a fate worse than death: marriage. In addition to the title novelette, this collection also includes three Pride and Prejudice inspired short stories that offer playful glimpses into the future life of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy.  These short Regency romance selections will provide you with an enjoyable introduction to the writing style of Skylar Hamilton Burris, who has also authored two popular, novel-length sequels to Pride and Prejudice.

**Will not appear in review elsewhere. I think the newest version of the cover does the most justice to the book inside. It depicts Anne looking sheepishly over her shoulder. How awesome is that? You can check it out by clicking on the Amazon link above.**

Review time!

I read P&P about once a year. I love the characters, and always wanted to know what happened to poor Anne after Mr. Darcy chose Elizabeth.When Skylar Burris appeared on my blog to pitch The Strange Marriage of Anne de Bourgh to me, I snapped up the sample right away, and I enjoyed it so much I bought the book. Without further dawdling...

From a Reader's Perspective:
What I love most about Pride and Prejudice is the language. I get caught up in the flow and rhythm of Austin's words on the page. While this is a collection of short stories based on the P&P characters, it doesn't have the same cadence (which I firmly believe is one of the major reasons so many of us love the root story). Even so, I enjoyed the easy banter between Lizzy and Mr. Darcy, further rooting their odd relationship as one that works. Both were overly witty in P&P, and that was both a blessing and a curse. My favorite short was the letters the couple exchanged, as it displayed a lot of their nature and gift with words. There was no backstory, so if you aren't familiar with the original, you probably won't enjoy these short tales. Writing was well done and flowed smoothly, but was missing that je ne sais quoi I was looking forward to.

From an Editor's Perspective:
There was one instance where the author lost her character's name (Jonson became Johsnon), but there were only three or four other errors.

Rating:
1 Star for giving me laughs with some of my favorite P&P characters
1 Star for the letters short (which was very well done)
1 Star for giving Anne a happily ever after
1 Star for writing that had few errors
- 1 Star for not capturing me with prose that had cadence
Overall 4 out of 5 stars. Enjoyable read with fun shorts that'll keep you entertained.

Do you love the original? Ever read a spinoff? What did you think?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo