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Review – Too Gentlemanly

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Too Gentlemanly: An Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy Story

by Timothy Underwood

Too GentlemanlyGenres: Historical Romance, Regency, Classical Re-write
Release Date: November 29, 2017
Pages: 288
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Fitzwilliam Darcy had grown unused to female society during his five years of seclusion since Georgiana had her illegitimate child. That was why he accidentally insulted Mrs. Bingley’s sister. And why he kept thinking about her.

When Georgiana became pregnant with Wickham’s child, Darcy had not made her marry the man Colonel Fitzwilliam found to preserve her reputation. She had begged him not to, and Darcy would do anything for his sister. He would even attend the Hertfordshire assembly with Mr. Bingley, because Georgiana wanted him to enjoy society. Bingley’s neighbors had refused to let a fallen woman like Georgiana amongst them. Darcy would not pretend to be pleased to meet them.

Elizabeth thought Mr. Darcy was a grand philanthropist: His rudeness provided everyone with a handsome and rich man to hate. But why, if he was actively determined to sneer at all the company, had he bothered to attend their assembly? Still, he was a very handsome man.

Darcy needed to overcome his bad first impression if he wanted Elizabeth. But he was rich, handsome and clever.


Review

Have you ever read a book where the story was fantastic, but the writing was only so-so, or not to your particular liking? Too Gentlemanly is one of those.

I ADORE Pride and Prejudice re-writes, variations, etc. It’s fun seeing different interpretations of the characters. Mr. Underwood did an excellent job of interpreting the characters. Mrs. Bennet’s understanding of Lizzy, now that she doesn’t have to worry about the family finances, is a great change. Lizzy’s attitude seems like an understandable progression from the original.

I don’t like Colonel Fitzwilliam’s attitude despite it making more sense, than the original character, of a soldier likely suffering from PTSD. I also feel as though Regency standards of behavior get ignored at several points of the book.

I don’t particularly care for the way Mr. Underwood writes some of his dialogue. His use of incomplete sentences seem odd to me. I don’t know anyone who speaks that way. I can understand some stuttering, but it seems as though incomplete (and somewhat incoherent) sentences are used too often.

The slang used throughout the book also seems rather forced at times. If Miss Austen didn’t feel it was necessary to include slang regularly in her books, then perhaps “deuced” and “by jove” can be left out.

But, despite the negatives, I still powered through “Too Gentlemanly” in a day, because the story was that good. If you can put the story before the writing, then you’ll like this one.


About the Author

Timothy UnderwoodI am from California and have been reading Pride and Prejudice fan fiction for a while. I first discovered Pride and Prejudice on a long day of travel out of Mexico as a teenager. I was very impressed with myself for getting the jokes. I constantly read nineteenth century literature that year, of which Austen and Charlotte Bronte, of course, were my favorites. It was years later that I discovered and repeatedly binge read Pride and Prejudice fan fiction. Now I am adding to the collection available for future binge readers to binge upon.

I’d also like to mention that once I remove books from Kindle Unlimited I post them at fanfiction.net.

Author links: Facebook | Goodreads | BookBub | Amazon Author Page


Disclaimer: This review is based on an eBook I purchased from Amazon on September 13, 2018.

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