Review: :What a wicked web we weave when first we practice to deceive"
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 15, 2014
This book was loaned to me by friend and author, J Dawn King.  I found it to be a page-turner which kept me up later than I would have desired.  It never fails to amaze me that author after author finds a new way of presenting a twist or twists to the P&P; story.  And this one had more than one twist.Although errors with the historical time line were pointed out several times, I don't read a historical romance or JAFF and expect complete historical accuracy.  Just don't make any error too blaring.  I'm in it for the romance.  Give me angst, sexual tension, some misunderstanding, longing looks and a few sigh-worthy moments and I am happy. We had that here.I was not (*spoiler*) expecting Elizabeth to also show up in Paris with the Gardiners during Darcy's trip there at Col. Fitzwilliam's insistence to help forget his "troubles".  But what an adventure that trip turned out to be.  Meeting at a ball and both wishing to make apologies started things off on a different foot.  Then the time ODC spent exploring, Darcy's rival in Lord Lennox, the failure of the truce between England and France, the frantic need for all English citizens to leave the country, the lack of a chaperone and Lizzie's near death experience give us one thrill after another.I did find Col. Fitzwilliam's abandoning Darcy as he left Paris a little out of character but understanding that he was a military figure with war having been again a reality put that in a better understanding.  The couple's facing down irate Frenchmen out to "hang" any Englishman they might come across and Lizzie's rescuing of Darcy there gave us some suspence.  Darcy's bedside vigil despite his friend's tsk-tsk-ing about the improprieties was truly heartwarming.  Then when they did finally decide to get married in France I was not expecting so many problems with that fact upon their return to Britain.Boy, did I forget just who their families and/or acquaintances subsisted of: Lydia, Wickham, Aunt and Uncle Gardner, Mr. Bennet and family, Lord Matlock and his wife, their older son, Aunt Catherine, and Georgiana.  Two family scandals!!!  Everyone had their finger in the pie asking questions, making suggestions, forcing actions, and somehow making it impossible for ODC to just say, "Hey, we're married.  Be happy for us."Wickham and Aunt Catherine came up with the most diabolical of all the scheming but even they did not have the real score.  I was very happy to learn of how they were handled in this story.  Totally satisfying Epilogue.  Good story.  Enjoy.