Month: February 2023

Longbourn: Dragon Entail by Maria Grace

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT

Longbourn: Dragon Entail is the second in the Jane Austen Dragons series by Maria Grace. The first was Pemberley: Mr Darcy’s Dragon. This novel is as enjoyable as the first one.

Plot

It takes up the story where it left off in the first novel. Pemberley, the baby dragon, has been carted off to Rosings at the insistence of Longbourn the estate dragon. He’s jealous of the bond between Elizabeth and Pemberley. Elizabeth doesn’t know it’s Longbourn’s fault and blames Darcy.

Mr Bennet and Longbourn the estate dragon, are still insisting that Elizabeth marries Mr Collins who is dragon deaf, and she tries to go along with it until she thinks they are trying to mentally manipulate her into marrying him. This is totally against the Dragon code, and she decides to leave Longbourn and go to London. I really disliked this version of Mr Bennet and my dislike of Longbourn, the estate dragon, only increased in this sequel.

She then goes to the Blue Order where her notebooks on the care of dragons is of great interest and bumps into Mr Darcy who’s been about to go to Longbourn because Pemberley is pining for her. Georgiana Darcy has been sending her letters but Mr Bennet has been hiding them. Elizabeth goes to Rosings and is reunited with Pemberley who is just as cute as in the first book.

Lady Catherine tries to order her to marry Mr Collins – they have the scene that happens in the original when Lady Catherine visits Longbourn. Then Elizabeth leaves the house and bumps into Mr Collins, He then gives her Mr Darcy’s original marriage proposal from the original. Elizabeth is no more impressed with Mr Collins giving it than she was with Mr Darcy. Unfortunately, Mr Collins persists in following her and comes across the dragons. This is a big NO NO as humans who can’t hear dragons are not meant to know about them.

The Blue Order assesses Pemberley to see whether she is feral or not and decide what to do about the “dragon deaf” Mr Collins. He ends up engaged to Mary who will become the Longbourn dragon keeper after Mr Bennet.

By the end of the novel, Elizabeth and Darcy are getting to know and appreciate each other. Elizabeth becomes engaged to Darcy, but Lydia has run away possibly with a rogue dragon which is VERY BAD NEWS. Cue the next novel.

Things I liked about Longbourn: Dragon Entail

The author uses some of the dialogue from the original, which I like. In the original, Mr Darcy proposes to Elizabeth at Rosings. In this novel, it’s Mr Collins who proposes to Elizabeth using Darcy’s words. It sounds even worse with Mr Collins saying it and unsurprisingly, Elizabeth refuses him.

We learn more fascinating details about the dragons living at Rosings.

Things I didn’t like about Longbourn: Dragon Entail

I can’t understand why Elizabeth blames herself for the way Longbourn behaves when it’s clearly the fault of her father for not being a very good Dragon Keeper.

Darcy Bites: Pride and Prejudice with Fangs by Amy Elizabeth Davis

Warning: Spoiler Alert

Darcy Bites Book Cover

In this post, I’ll be reviewing Darcy Bites: Pride And Prejudice With Fangs by Amy Elizabeth Davis. I almost didn’t read this Pride and Prejudice inspired paranormal novel because I thought the cover looked amateurish. However, I’m glad I gave it a chance because it was well written and entertaining.

There’s a few Pride and Prejudice inspired vampire novels around but only one other one I can think of where he’s a dhampir. Vampire Darcy’s Desire: A Pride and Prejudice Paranormal Vagary by Regina Jeffers.

It’s very nearly a mashup novel (where 80% of the text comes from a classic novel and 20% is original like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies). There’s lots of the original text in the novel. For example, Darcy does indeed say to Bingley that Elizabeth “is tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me”. 

However, the author also often slightly changes the text.

For example, Elizabeth says to Darcy. “Did you not think, Mr. Darcy, that I expressed myself uncommonly well just now, when I was teasing Colonel Foster to spar with me?”

“With great energy, but it could hardly be a fair match.”

‘You are severe on Colonel Foster.”

Plot

The plot is as follows: Darcy is a dhampir (half vampire/half human). His mother was a vampire, and his father was human. He accompanies Mr Bingley to Netherfield Hall because it was attacked by vampires eighteen years ago. He wants to make sure that there are no vampires still lurking in the area. As per the original, he only becomes interested in Elizabeth after the assembly. Wickham makes an appearance. he’s also a dhampir and abuses his powers. 

Elizabeth has been trained in martial arts (reminded me of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) and volunteers as bait. Lady Catherine does come to visit Elizabeth, but she demands that Elizabeth promise not to marry Darcy and tries to kill her when she refuses. Darcy saves Elizabeth, and he stakes his aunt. This doesn’t kill her, but it does leave her comatose. She winds up imprisoned in his cellar for several years.

There are several discoveries about different characters: Wickham is a dhampir who abuses his ability to mesmerise people. Bingley is a werewolf and Mr Bennet is also a dhampir which is why Elizabeth has super hearing and is good at fighting. Jane, it turns out is the adopted daughter of Mr and Mrs Bennet. They had a son, Edmund, who was killed when he was young because he became feral. Mr Bennet makes his wife forget about Edmund (this reminded me of Abigail Reynold’s Mr Darcy’s Enchantment where a similar thing occurs).

Things I liked in Darcy Bites

Darcy is a dhampir not a vampire, which made a refreshing change.

Mr Darcy is aloof at the assembly because he‘s thirsty and wants to avoid the temptation of biting a human. 

Elizabeth has a sense of humour and says witty things.

Bingley has a secret of his own although it’s pretty obvious early on what it is.

How the author changed the plot to fit in with the paranormal theme. For example, Wickham spreads rumours that Mr Darcy killed his own mother and brother.

Things I didn’t like about Darcy Bites

The cover. It really doesn’t do the novel justice.

For me, the epilogue went on too long. I could see the point of including Anna as a child as it related to Mr Darcy’s fears about going feral. However, I wasn’t that interested in the lives of Mr Darcy and Elizabeth’s children. I’m probably the odd woman out there though.