Sophia Rose is here to share her review of Unfounded by Jessie Lewis. Fans of Pride & Prejudice will want to check out her thoughts on this historical romance adaptation.
by Jessie Lewis
Genres: Historical Romance
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
Heat Level:
Nobody was fortunate enough to be loved in such a way twice in one lifetime.
Elizabeth Bennet dreads encountering Mr Darcy when she visits Pemberley, for surely, after she spurned his offer of marriage, he must despise her. Yet they do meet, and to her astonishment, he holds no resentment towards her. Regrettably, someone else does. Unbeknownst to Elizabeth, her reintroduction to the master of Pemberley is far from universally welcomed. There are others for whom prejudice is stirred up by the familiarity between Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy.
Darcy is amazed to find Miss Bennet at his house, her opinion of him altered materially for the better. He is busy making plans to renew his attentions to her when other impediments arise that threaten to undermine his hopes of happiness. Will problems with house and household crumble the tender foundation between them before they can build a life together?
UNFOUNDED is a second chance romance at Pemberley and is a novel length Pride and Prejudice variation.
Sophia Rose’s Review
A betrayal from someone near and dear and an estate house crumbling down around them shakes the foundation of one of the most famous classical romances. Talented Pride and Prejudice variation author, Jessie Lewis wrote a sweeping, emotional tale that gripped the heart from start to finish.
Unfounded begins with an ending or so it seems at first glance. Based on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Unfounded picks up late in that story and diverges from the original at the point when Elizabeth arrives in Lambton, not five miles from Darcy’s estate, on a pleasure tour. Darcy and Elizabeth are seemingly getting a second chance to get it right after they both disastrously read each other wrong in the past. She is visiting his Derbyshire estate on a tour when he comes home suddenly with a house party.
Unfounded is well titled because it is at this point in the story when someone decides that Elizabeth is a gold-digging hussy and sets out to sabotage any chance that Darcy and Elizabeth will get together. And, it is not one of the usual suspects. If Elizabeth could have stayed on, things might have gone differently, but her own wild youngest sister and a rake who fooled many worked from a distance and unknowingly wreck her chances. Meanwhile, Darcy isn’t sure what happened when Elizabeth disappears out of his life and then he’s dealing with his beloved home, Pemberley suddenly starting to crack and crumble as well.
My heart was hurting for the romance pair, but I was all agog at how cleverly the author showed how Darcy and Lizzy’s own actions and words could be misconstrued by an independent observer. And, of course some badly timed gossip on top of that had a perfectly good and loyal person make a grievous mistake and sabotage the couple’s chances. The reader gets this third perspective so sees the train wreck happening in Technicolor. Austen herself used some lucky coincidences to make P&P work out with a happily ever after and here was what happened when the opposite takes place.
But… never fear romance lovers, what is undone can be fixed. I was all in and cheering hard to see how it came about and was on tenterhooks with Darcy over his beautiful home being saved.
There is angst, but it never goes overboard and suits the situation. The angst is balanced with some well-timed tart humor from the letters Lizzy receives from her godmother. I cracked up a few times and the nicknames were a hoot. I liked that the romance pair had learned the lessons from their past and were ready to support each other and believe the best of each other even when their hope was dying. The late story twists were fab and I was glad for the longer denouement after all the conflict was resolved to revel in the hard-earned happy times.
All in all, this was satisfying and has still been lingering strongly in my thoughts days after. Sweet historical romance lovers and most definitely Austen fans will want to slip this one into the ‘to read’ pile.
*kindleumlimited
About Jessie Lewis
Serious word junkie, steadfast purveyor of silliness, and author of historical romances in the Austenesque and Regency genres. Does all her writing in the garden shed, which is nicknamed 'The Hermitage' and boasts a vintage chaise-longue, a view of the Hertfordshire countryside, and a wooden parrot.
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About Sophia Rose
Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, and gardening. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.
About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature)
Ooh, this twist/re-take on the Pride and Prejudice story sounds really interesting! Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Great review!
Sophia Rose
My pleasure, Lisa! Hope you enjoy it if you get a shot at it.
Barbara Strickland
You had me at pride and prejudice.
Sophia Rose
Those are definitely the magic words, Barbara. 🙂
Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
It sounds interesting, but I’m not sure if I could bear yet more complications before Darcy and Elizabeth get their HEA! On the other hand, you and I have some pretty similar tastes, so if you liked it, I might also.
Sophia Rose
Maybe b/c of where the variation takes off with the story being at a point late in the original where things are seeming to draw to a neat finish, this additional complication didn’t feel that bit too much. That is subjective, of course. LOL
Yes, we do have strong shared tastes and I get good recs from your reading lists, too. 🙂
Katherine
Oh this sounds wonderful! I love Elizabeth and Darcy and this version sounds wonderful.
Sophia Rose
Yay, glad to put you onto it, Katherine. I love what she did with this variation. 🙂
sherry fundin
A powerful phrase ‘my heart was hurting’ in your review makes me reconsider Unfounded, which is not a book I would normally read. A respected reviewer’s opinion can sway me and I have found some hidden gems that way. 🙂
sherry @ fundinmental
Sophia Rose
Yes, this one really got to me, Sherry. I’m glad I could pique your interest. 🙂 Oh yeah, many of my fellow blogging book pals have swayed me by their reviews.
Mary Kirkland
Any book that makes you think of it days after you finish it is usually a good one.
Sophia Rose
Exactly, Mary! I read plenty of good, but forgettable stories, but this was one that didn’t pass too quickly.
Anne - Books of My Heart
I love the cover too.
Sophia Rose
It captivated me, too. And, it really suits the mood of the story.
sherry fundin
From your review, it sounds like this was a ‘hoot’. 🙂
Sophia Rose
Elizabeth’s godmother stole the show a few times. Haha!