Elizabeth Bennet is visiting her relatives in London. Because of her uncle’s success in bringing on a trade agreement, she and her relations are invited to a glamorous soiree at the Earl of Matlock’s house. Unfortunately her curiosity and wit leads to a misunderstanding which causes an international incident and leaves Elizabeth on the mercy of the Earl of Matlock.
And the Earl of Matlock has his own plans. His nephew Fitzwilliam Darcy is, on his insistence, about to stand up for Parliament as a MP for Derbyshire. Brooding by nature, Darcy has no interest in becoming a political pawn but his uncle gives him no choice and even presents him with a fake engagement to Elizabeth.
Soon Darcy realizes that with Elizabeth at his side winning over votes is much easier because she charms all his conversation partners. But Elizabeth does not only charm the others, she is also charming him and leaving him unsettled and their fake engagement suddenly starts to feel like a very real one.
Will Darcy and Elizabeth find happiness together despite Lord Matlock’s schemes? Or will the Earl intervene as soon as the election is over? And what about the international incident Elizabeth had caused and that brought her in this situation in the first place?
The book was very well written by the author Alix James. I expected nothing else from her, her books are always delightful to read but I’m nevertheless amazed how she manages it each time to deliver a book that is even better than the previous one (which was, in my opinion, also an excellent one).
The story has much page time for Darcy and Elizabeth because they are forced to “work” together as a supposedly engaged couple to win the votes over for Darcy. I always enjoy stories with closed/forced proximity because in such a setting neither Darcy nor Elizabeth can escape the meetings and they are also forced to become better acquainted or solve misunderstandings in a relatively short time. This is also the case here. Due to Lord Matlock's scheme they are constantly thrown in company together and spend a great deal of time together. They come to know each other better and eventually enjoy the other's company. I very much like the ease both of them, and especially Darcy, show while being together. They can even read the other's body language and support each other in trying situations. And they turn to each other in situations of distress. They truly experience all the feelings and activities an engaged couple should experience.
The story was captivating, mostly because of the approaching elections. I, for my part, shared the excitement and was trembling along with them for every potential vote Darcy may get.
At the end the story becomes a bit angsty and thrilling, but not too much, only so much that I was not able to put the book down. I will not say too much but Elizabeth's international incident caught up with her. Fortunately everything went well in the end and even this incident was finally put aside.
The one person I wanted to throw something at during the entire story was Lord Matlock. He orchestrated his intrigues and his charade with the fake engagement but he does not bother to acquaint those who are involved with the facts they need to know or shows any consideration for their feelings. This leads to uncomfortable and even dangerous situations. And the Earl all shrugs it off because he deems it necessary for his plans. I'm not sure if he has some sympathy for his “pawns”at all. I also was quite put off by his idea of how to end the fake engagement when those involved already had stated other plans. No, he is definitely not my man of the book.
My “man of the book” is Darcy. He is everything caring and protective and exactly the man Elizabeth needs in her life. I like that, with Elizabeth by his side, he is so much more approachable. I like that she does not need to deal with his prejudices or his disdain for her family. By the time Darcy comes to know them he and Elizabeth are already deeply in love.
Elizabeth is very brave in this variation and she definitely isn't one to mince her words. Sometimes I thought her rather forward and there were situations in which being quiet could have been the more sensible solution. But fortunately she managed everything well.
Besides a well known villain there are more in this book. They all try to gain as much as possible throughout the book but fortunately in the end all their strategies are for nothing.
If you would like to know if Darcy, with the help of Elizabeth, will be able to win the election and what will become of their fake engagement you should definitely read this excellent book.
I highly recommend it.
I received a free copy of the book from the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.