Book 675: Mr. Darcy Forever (Austen Addicts #3) – Victoria Connelly

I think what I like about this series more than most of the others is that it pays as much homage to the cult of Austen as it does to the original Austen works. Each of the books in this trilogy (maybe the series?) take a lead from one of Austen’s original novels, but then move away from it diving into the fantastical world of the Janeites. Connelly once again dropped a tidbit of Austen-dom knowledge I wasn’t aware of in the Austen Authors website, which was a neat discovery, but seems to have undergone a major change since it was originally mentioned in this book. [Edit 10.24.2022 and apparently no longer exists, leaving the link in case it comes back up.]

As I read the third book in this series/trilogy, I felt echoes of Shannon Hale’s Austenland and Midnight in Austenland and Beth Pantillo’s Adventures with Jane Austen and her Legacy series (Jane Austen Ruined My Life, Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart, and The Dashwood Sisters Tell All). It’s interesting these were all released in a 3-5 year span leading up to the 200th publication dates of Austen’s original works and the most recent ramping up of the fervor around Austen in general.

“You’ve only to go into a bookshop to be stunned by the number of stories out there. It’s truly baffling sometimes to know what to choose, but the magic of Jane Austen is that you can return to her six books any number of times and always find something new to enjoy. If you read them when you’re young, it’s the love stories you’re interested in—the ‘will they, won’t they?’ But later you become fascinated by other things too. There’s the humor, for a start, and the intricacies of the relationships. It’s a whole world, and I can’t tell you what a joy it is to escape into that world.” (114)

This book serves as sort of a book end to the first trilogy of the series and I’m not sure I’ll read past it, as mentioned previously. We get some closure through brief cameos that Robyn and Dan from A Weekend with Mr. Darcy a baby and Warwick and Katherine are engaged; and there are multiple references to the Persuasion film adaptation from Dreaming of Mr. Darcy and a mention that Oli Wade Owen and the director have finally married (no word on Kay, unless I completely missed it).

The story in this book was a little meh. It was engaging enough for me to read it quickly, but not engaging enough for me to even remember the main characters names roughly a week after finishing it. It’s a story of sisters Mia and Sarah and the fallout from an idyllic vacation to the Sense and Sensibility cabin from the Emma Thompson film adaptation. Some of the fallout was predictable, but the big reveal actually sort of caught me off guard. I think by the time that reveal happened (like 60% of the way through the book), I was much more invested in the other sister’s story.

“‘I just think you should slow down with all this. You know you have the naïveté of Catherine Morland and the recklessness of Marianne Dashwood, and that’s a lethal combination.’. . . Mia’s mouth dropped open at the Austensian insult. ‘Yes, well you have the conservatism of Elinor and the prudishness of Fanny Price, and that’s a pain in the arse!’” (181)

“It will happen. You just have to keep the faith, like Elizabeth Bennet. She knew it would be wrong to settle for life as Mrs Collins, didn’t she? We mustn’t settle, either. We must wait for our own Mr Darcy to come along, because Mr. Darcy is forever.” (274)

We once again get a two-for-one love story in this novel, but I feel that Connelly missed the mark a bit. She really teed up the Sense and Sensibility parallel/modernization and pretty much nailed it on one side and then just let it meander off on the other side. I say this, not having read Sense and Sensibility religiously close, but again see previous comment about being engaged in one sister’s romance and story, but not the other (oddly enough, it wasn’t the one I thought I’d be interested in).

I appreciated Connelly’s continuing efforts of mentioning the Brontë’s works or name checking them in each of her books,

“It turned Pie into a sort of Heathcliff-type character, where one could imagine all sorts about his background. Maybe he was a prince from a faraway country—or maybe not. She couldn’t imagine it, herself.” (67)

“Well, you shouldn’t miss out on Thomas Hardy, although you rarely get a happy ending. And then there are the Brontë sisters. You really shouldn’t go through life without reading Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights.” (136)

and felt these mentions/references were better than the past. It’s funny how many Brontë/Austen fans pit them against each other (thanks for that, Charlotte), but Connelly takes a more laissez-faire approach to it.

What really carries this novel is the location of Bath and the Jane Austen Festival. This may be because I was there so recently and thoroughly enjoyed wandering around the city center and could easily imagine most of the places they were talking about, but who knows? It also could’ve just been grasping for straws as the main characters were both constantly talking about how great Bath was while trying to avoid each other that it sort of was a de facto character within the story and not just a setting.

Recommendation: This one felt better written than the second in the trilogy, Dreaming of Mr. Darcy, but wasn’t as engaging as the first, A Weekend with Mr. Darcy. You do get your happily ever after and find out what happened to most of the main characters from the first two books in the trilogy. Overall, it’s a quick fun read, but in general I felt it was a bit underwhelming.

Opening Line: “Sarah Castle wasn’t in the habit of blindfolding people, but her sister’s twenty-first birthday was a delightful exception.”

Closing Line: “‘Yes,’ Mia said with a huge smile. ‘Jane Austen couldn’t have written it better herself.'” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)

Additional Quotes from Mr. Darcy Forever
“One of the reasons Sarah had become an accountant was so that she could work from home. Home was an environment she could control. She didn’t have to worry about co-workers and the mess they made, and there was a certain calmness that came from knowing exactly where everything was at a given time. Imagine trying to work in an open-plan office with other people—the thought was just preposterous. She would have to share her space with total strangers, who might pick up her things. No, working from home was a much safer option.” (13)

“That was one of the privileges of the Jane Austen Festival—one could make believe that one was in the very heart of an Austen novel or, at the very least, a film adaptation. The streets of Bath were among the most beautiful in the world and were certainly the most romantic to walk around in costume.” (51)

“She was always fascinated by what people were reading and couldn’t help wanting to know what appealed to the handsome stranger. Would it be a historical biography or the latest bestselling thriller?” (58)

“‘Maybe he’s a secret cross-dresser with a fetish for Austensian bonnets,’ Mia said, and they both giggled.” (63)

“‘Bath isn’t immune from trouble,’ Shelly said. ‘Fine architecture and a Jane Austen connection can’t cancel out your problems, I’m afraid.'” (259)

“Never give up. If you have a dream—no matter what the dream is, whether it be to become a great actress or to open your very own sweet shop—never stop dreaming it, because if you do, life becomes one long nightmare.” (293)