From This Day Forward - The Darcys of Pemberley

I like several things about this book - almost loved them, in fact. I loved the depth of historical detail Ms. Starnes goes to. The household account book by Darcy's grandmother was a delight to read - talk about an early micro-manager! That woman should have been Quartermaster General in the Army; she would have whipped those supply lines into efficient shape and KEPT them that way, LOL.The description of Elizabeth's masque ball is another example. Despite not using names, it's clear who is wearing what costume. Considering the number of new characters added, this is no small feat. Brava, Ms. Starnes!Darcy and Elizabeth make their way through the perilous pathways of Society, despite most of his relatives not supporting their marriage (hmm....that does remind me of my own in-laws...). A major angst point occurs as a romantic triangle is brought out into the open. It borders on tragic, and the repercussions continue when Darcy's obsessive need to control and protect overwhelms his own marriage.Unfortunately, the story then veers from the interesting characters to those I find much less so - namely, Georgiana. She is in full wishy-washy wimp mode here. Is it realistic? Yes, probably; she has been much protected and coddled, after all. But the valid excuse doesn't make her any more interesting to me. She also falls into a romantic triangle, and I was rooting hard for The Other Guy. Her "safe, sane choice" rang of cowardice, which is her trademark characteristic. She's like Jane, only without the serene grace and sense of fairness. With Georgiana it's all 'me, me, me, me'....and more 'me'.I was tempted to give this just a three star rating, but that wouldn't have been fair. It is a very well-crafted P&P sequel, so even though I'm not a GD fan, it deserves that fourth star. If as much attention had been paid to their cousin's marital decision, I would have happily given it a full five star rating - but it didn't. Sigh.

A lovely sequel and a heartwarming tribute to Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. From This Day Forward explored the ups and downs of married life for Darcy and Elizabeth and the ongoing stories of courtship, disappointment and love for many others. Moving along gently and thoughtfully, this was a worthy tale of the first few years following the end of P&P.The story follows Darcy, Elizabeth, Georgiana, and their relations through the early days of the Darcy marriage- daily life, adjustments, lessons learned, and family. Conflict comes from without as Elizabeth knows she must learn her new duties and step into a big role, but also that she must put her own stamp on the Darcy family heritage as mistress and wife of the master. Darcy has come a long way and is prepared to trust and support the woman he loves even as he too must learn what it means for there to be a new mistress and a new lady on his arm entering society. Their daily life is about setting a routine and adjusting to change. Meanwhile, Georgiana is coming of age and must learn to trust herself and decide her own path.Family events and holidays, society happenings, triumphs, sorrows, love and courtship all make up their ongoing lives over the course of a few years. Will tragedy or interference bring down the Darcy's? Will Georgiana be able to make a nearly impossible decision regarding her own future happiness? What does the future hold for them all?This was a book that does well tying into the original P&P story and continuing on from there. The author had a strong grasp on historical authenticity and the tone of story and characters. Conflict was organic and not contrived. The new characters that were introduced were interesting and welcome.Though, I will say that I could have used a chart to figure out all of Darcy's extended family of relations that passed through this book. I eventually got them sorted, but there were many times that I had no idea the connection certain characters had to the Darcys though I vaguely understood them as some relation. It was neat to see that Darcy and Georgiana had more relations than just the Fitzwilliams and that there were more Fitzwilliams as well.While I absolutely loved seeing the inner workings of the marriage and ongoing love affair for Darcy and Lizzy, it was also fun to see Georgiana emerge as the third main character to get her coming of age and romance. And she was not the only one because the fate of Lizzy's younger sisters is told.From This Day Forward has some slow spots and is a gentle story, but that doesn't mean that it was boring. There were intense moments and many emotional changes from laughter to tears to fear to hope.All in all, I loved this first encounter I had with the author and it will definitely not be my last as I work through her backlist. I definitely recommend it for those who enjoy sweet historical romance and Austenesque sequels.

This is one of those books, where at the final words, you close your eyes, hug the words to your chest and wish it could have never ended.

A well done sequel which continues the story of Darcy and Elizabeth. My only criticism is that there is not enough input from the other characters. They would be mentioned and then there would be nothing of them again for chapters and chapters.

How Lizzy, Fitzwilliam and Georgiana make their future a bright and happy place after seeing each other through the trails of everyday living...I loved it.

this was a very good read sweeping and deep.Enjoyed it very much Joana has a nack to telling a good story.

Simply one of the best extensions of the P&P story that I have read. I read it virtually non-stop and my wife even mentioned that it must be good since I was smiling so often. I could wish for even more - and extension of the extension if you like.

This is completely different to the other books by this author. I've read all the others so I thought I'd be expecting the same from this as Joana Starnes other books.... anxiety, angst, misunderstanding, misery then humour and romance. It couldn't have been more different. This story follows Darcy and Elizabeth after they marry and the years that follow. It's a gentle story with no significant obstacles or difficulties. There is a lot about Georgiana and her subsequent marriage which was all dealt with rather gently.I enjoyed this book... but I didn't love it. However, that may well be my fault because I was expecting something completely different to this. As a sequel rather than retelling, it is a good book and perhaps more in keeping with the style and tempo of the original. It's gentle and the happily ever after (almost consistently) that we all enjoy.