Delightfully written + best narrator

This story is deep, complex, moving, sweet and entirely believable. One of the best JAFFs I’ve ever read. Harry Frost’s narration is undeniably the best I’ve heard yet: not only does he successfully create different voices for each of the characters (including believable ones for the female characters), but doing so doesn’t prevent him from the inflections and delivery the author describes. I personally hate when the a narrator’s voices always sound the same, regardless of what is happening in the scene or how the author has written the dialogue.

With Harry Frost, when a character is described as rushing through their speech, he does just that; when another’s emotions are supposed to be evident in their speaking, he brings those emotions forth in his voicing of the character. It truly feels as if the characters and the scenes have come to life with all the depth and nuance the author wrote in the original story.

I will gladly seek out more of Lucy Marin’s and Harry Frost’s works, and hope to see them collaborate more in the future.

5 people found this helpful

Wonderful!

I read this novel in its fanfiction form and loved it then - its complexity & ultimately likability of character, innovative plot, and Lucy Marin”s fabulous prose.

So so glad that the audiobook delivers on that promise with deft editing and an ideal narrator. I listened in a single sitting despite its length.

I truly hope the author is working on the edit of her modern P&P classic - that would be an audiobook preorder for me!

4 people found this helpful

An excellent "what if?" P&P variation

This is a favorite "forced marriage" version of P&P. In this variation, Elizabeth, Mr Bennet, and Jane are in Ramsgate for Jane's health. By chance, Elizabeth sees Wickham trying to elope with Georgiana and sees the distress and fear in Georgiana. While she detains them long enough for Darcy to arrive, the resulting scandal forces a marriage between Darcy and Elizabeth. The book is about them learning how to deal with each other, as well as a petulant, spoiled Georgiana.

There are several things I like about this.

1. Georgiana is a sneaky, spoiled teenager. In Austen's book, she is not talked about much. You hardly see her and she is shown as very shy. However, there had to have been too high a level of indulgence from her guardians for her to think it fun to elope with Wickham. When you study her and Lydia in Pride & Prejudice, you see that the two girls are much the same. The difference is their station in life. In this, we get to see more of that spoiled nature.

2. Mr Bennett is much more harsh than usual. He is angry at Elizabeth for helping Georgiana and lashes out at her because this makes his life harder. He, like Georgiana in this story, shows a selfish petulance to his character that uncovers his indolence. In the P&P novel, Mr Bennett is an extremely flawed character who is not interested in exerting himself for the betterment of his family. In this book, he exerts himself because he must but he punishes Elizabeth in the process because HIS life has to change.

3. The personal changes take a while. Too many "forced marriage" P&P variations have them in love with each other in a matter of weeks, if not days, and everything is peachy. This one shows that it would take months for those changes to be made. In Austen's novel, the changes Darcy makes to his own character happen between Hunsford and the reopening of Netherfield. While we don't get to see these changes happen, they still happen over a few months. In this book, we see them as they happen. We hear Darcy and Elizabeth's own thoughts as time goes on. We even occasionally hear Georgiana's thoughts. For them to adjust to this marriage and to learn to fall in love would take a lot of time. They come from very different backgrounds and have much to learn about compromise.

4. Jane's story is different. I am so happy about this! I always want her to have someone stronger than Bingley. He is too easily influenced in Austen's novel and I always want him to either be written with more strength or for Jane to have someone better. Her story is delightful.

5. Harry Frost's narration is wonderful. I've owned the book on Kindle for quite a while and have read it numerous times. I had hoped for an Audible version with either Mary Jane Wells or Harry Frost and am very happy. He does not disappoint.

2 people found this helpful

Enjoyable

Thought provoking. Harry Frost never disappoints. A few times Darcy was too verbose while examining his behavior
and story dragged a little

2 people found this helpful

To long

The story line really didn't go anywhere, it's long and just repeated it's self over and over in different words. Nothing other than Darcy didn't like her than realized he did her not trusting him than did. Not much of a story for the length of the book. I found my mind drifting while listening. Maybe it would be better to read than listen too.

2 people found this helpful

Average

The story drags out with no climax. There is just a lot of angst in the story. Which is good in some parts but overall a little too much. I wouldn’t read again.

It’s broken, don’t buy it.

I missed huge chunks of the story because it kept skipping oddly and suddenly picking up again. This was a waste of money. Good story, well narrated, but the problems with the recording make me wish I had spent my money on something else.

Love The Story

I really like this story. Elizabeth shines brightly as, true to Jane Austen, she demonstrates her kindness, and fortitude in the difficult circumstances she finds herself in. FD is his arrogant self, Georgiana is a spoiled, lying, manipulative brat who is finally caught and dealt with. This story is well written, the characters very well developed, and at last we have our happy ending.
Harry Frost has been my favorite male narrator, and I have to say that this narration is off - it's as though his director told him to slow the narration down, and the cadence of his speech is ponderous with odd pauses in almost every sentence he utters, and it just is disapppointingly unnatural and un-Harry. He's much better than this. If this had been the first narration I'd heard Harry perform, I'm not sure I'd seek his narrated books just to listen to him as I have done. I say this honestly because I really want him not to do this again!

Great Audiobook

Just finished this audiobook and really enjoyed it! First off- 5+ stars to this narrator!!! I have listened to other audiobooks narrated by Harry Frost and he makes every book better! He has the perfect reading voice IMO!

The story- There were so many great things about this book. The author did a great job of capturing Darcy & Elizabeth’s characters and developing their relationship that began in such a rough way. There was such an emotional connection to the story & characters that drew me in right from the start. It was heart wrenching at times and the HEA was a hard fought battle that made it that much sweeter once it was realized. My only complaint was that there was way too much introspection. It made the book drag out a little too long and I tired of reading the same subject of reflection time and again from the same characters as well as other characters. If a good chunk of self reflection and self degradation could be cut out, it would go from being a great book to a really excellent book in my opinion. (less)

Too much

The book could have been much better, if not as repetitive and overly long. (My taste, of course, others obviously differ.) How often the same ideas were ruminated upon, how often the same conversations and developments repeated... just too much for me.