"The Second Chance: A 'Pride and Prejudice' - 

'Sense and Sensibility' Variation"

by Joana Starnes

I just finished reading this book last night. It was one of those books where I knew it was coming to an end but I didn't want it to end. The author was kind enough to show what happened to the characters years down the road, but it was too brief. I wish I could have followed the story in as much detail as the actual story.

As you can likely gather, I truly enjoyed this book. It had me giggling. It had me crying. It had me angry and mostly I read it with a smile on my face. I enjoy alternatives to Jane Austen's work, but I have read some ill-written stories and it saddens me. This is NOT one of those books. I loved the way the author has taken the characters and done, at the beginning of the book, what it took Jane Austen until the end of the book to come around to. It satisfied that part of me that has always said, "They should be together now. I want to see what happens after they are together, not what happens until they get together." For I knew they would be together in the end. And the eloquent way in which she weaves the two novels together and intertwines the characters into one story...It is beautiful and makes perfect sense! 

OK - so from here on out I may be revealing a little of the actual story and you may not want to read this if you don't like to know what happens in the book beforehand.

The story is about Fitzwilliam Darcy and how he realizes that his callous and rude behavior and words have affected the one person he cannot stop thinking about - Elizabeth Bennet. He learns that no matter how hard he attempts to push her out of his life with tradition, opinions of family, and manipulation of circumstances, his heart longs for her, knowing that she brings out the best in him. I absolutely love this concept! I mean, how many of us would find the best "match" for us if we looked beyond what society told us was acceptable and appropriate for us? 

Anyway, I love the way jealousy is introduced and how it quickens the heart for another. Darcy hears of Elizabeth and Colonel Brandon (see how the stories mingle?) and assumes they are together. He is furious, not with them, but with himself for not having declared his feelings for her sooner and not "knowing" her feelings. He realizes that he never cared to know what Elizabeth was feeling and was only concerned with his own affection for her. His love for her begins to blossom, I believe, at this point because he begins wanting what was best for Elizabeth, ready to put his feelings aside to honor her wishes.

That is just one instance in this book that I felt completely drawn to because the author does such a fine job in conveying the beautiful love story between Darcy and Elizabeth in the style and fashion of the original Jane Austen novels. I hope that you have gained a little insight into this book and will decide to pick it up for yourself and delve into the serene life of purity of "The Second Chance: A 'Pride and Prejudice" - 'Sense and Sensibility" Variation and come away with a sense of hope in this ever-changing world of ours.

Until I find the next book to read,

Petra