Customer Reviews

Mercy's Embrace: So Rough a Course

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I just finished reading this fun sequel to Persuasion--incomplete, though, as it's book 1 of an intended trilogy--so don't hope for any closure at this point.


I first read this story years ago, when author Laura Hile, was posting it a tantalizing chapter at a time. She's done a lot of rewriting since then, but it is still fresh and funny, well-written, and reflects Hile's respect for the original.

I say it's a sequel to Persuasion, but it isn't really, as it's the story of what I like to call The Other Elliot girl, Anne's older sister, Elizabeth. You might think of her as The Other Elizabeth :)

We all know that Elizabeth is one of the wicked sisters in the fairy tale that is Austen's Persuasion, devaluing the saintly Anne, wallowing in vanity and pretension, and sitting on the shelf while the years of eligibility slip by. There is virtually nothing to like about Austen's Elizabeth Elliot. She's even beautiful, not having lost her bloom due to heartbreak at a tender age.

Laura Hile has found a kernal in Elizabeth that isn't despicable and within the first couple of chapters has worked it so that Elizabeth is a fully realized, likeable in a snarky sort of way, plucky heroine. I ended up fearing and cheering for Elizabeth as she dealt with the financial morass that her feckless father, the uber vain Sir Walter Elliot, has gotten the family into while she attempts to find love and security and an actual life for herself.

Elizabeth is not perfect--believe me, she is no Anne Elliot--but she has spunk, and unlike Lou Grant from the Mary Tyler Moore show, I like spunk. Like the other Elizabeth (aka Elizabeth Bennet), Hile's Elizabeth Elliot has pluck, wit, beauty, and, she cultivates a sense of humility and loyalty you would never have thought possible without hearing Hile's version of her story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this romp through Austenland with Hile and Elizabeth Elliot and the very attractive Adm Patrick McGillvary, and look forward to reading books 2 and 3 when they come out. This is summer reading at its best.

In the world of Austen-based fiction, it is usually the heroes and heroines who get all the attention. Not so in Laura Hile's Mercy's Embrace. This book will appeal to Austen lovers and fans of the Regency genre equally.

Mercy's Embrace has a few Austen main characters making appearances, but really shines as the story of the still-handsome and discontent Elizabeth Elliot. Miss Elliot is the older, more beautiful sister of Anne Elliot in Jane Austen's Persuasion, and she is facing the utter collapse of everything she knows to be true about her life.

Her father, Sir Walter Elliot, uses an illness to hide from his creditors and she is forced to live with Anne and brother-in-law, Captain Frederick Wentworth. Living in a household with so little distinction is unbearable, particularly when all your social connections are quickly forgetting who you are. The only solution is to find a suitable husband. Men with money enough to tempt her are thin on the ground around Bath, and the ones available are either repellent, or more repellent.

Although, there is the very eligible, very handsome, and very smug Admiral Patrick McGillvary who seems move in all the right circles.

Laura Hile loves Regency and it shows in her writing. This novel is a fun read and has all the customary elements of the genre, but they are handled with skillful writing, genuine humor, and insights into authentic love.

The beautiful, haughty, and expensive Elizabeth Elliot is determined to be married before her rapidly approaching thirtieth birthday. The family's dire financial situation and the fact that both her younger sisters are no longer single increases Elizabeth's desire to be wed. For Elizabeth, "a man needs three qualities in order to be considered a matrimonial prize...good breeding, good looks, and a good income." While on the lookout for this "matrimonial prize" Elizabeth encounters a wide variety suitors, some more eligible than others.

Unfortunately, in one way or another, all these marriageable prospects are disagreeable choices for Elizabeth. First there is the lecherous Sir Henry Farley, who is old enough to be her grandfather and has a invalid wife still living. Then there is Mr. Rushworth, a wealthy young man, albeit a bit doltish, who will soon be in the market for a new bride as soon as his divorce is final. (sound familiar? I love that a Mansfield Park character is appearing in the pages of a Persuasion sequel!) Although Rushworth seems quite smitten with her, Elizabeth fears she will be unable to marry such a foolish man, no matter how wealthy he is. Lastly, Mr. Elliot has returned to Bath, and seems to be intently pursuing Elizabeth, but she loathes the sight of him.

Elizabeth escapes the attentions of all these men by forming a friendship with a gentlemen who appears to be the least likely to fit her description of a "matrimonial prize;" yet, ironically, he fulfills all three of her requirements. Enter Admiral Patrick McGillvary (a.k.a. Patrick Gill). Admiral McGillvary is daring, strong-willed, quick-witted, and devastatingly sexy. In addition to all this he is wealthier than Mr. Rushworth and from a noble Irish family. However, this is not the man whom Elizabeth befriends, she befriends a humble and common clerk by the name of Patrick Gill. Elizabeth is completely unaware that Admiral McGillvary and Mr. Gill are one in the same. Will Elizabeth break her vow to remain immune to romance and fall in love with an ineligible man? Will Admiral McGillvary ever escape from his tangled web of lies? And will Elizabeth be able to forgive him for deceiving her? (Hopefully these questions will be answered in book two or three of this series!)

Under the pen of the talented Laura Hile, Elizabeth Elliot, one of the least liked of all Austen women, is becoming an appealing and captivating heroine. Remaining true to her nature, Elizabeth is still horribly pretentious and self-absorbed. But the reader will be able to see the stirrings of a sympathetic heart and a humbled disposition, and know that Elizabeth's character is in the midst of an admirable transformation.

I am exceedingly impressed and pleased with Mercy's Embrace: So Rough Course! I am greatly enjoying Ms. Hile's respectful renderings of these beloved Austen characters and I relish her fast-paced and thrilling style. I find Mercy's Embrace to be a simply magnificent series, and I can hardly wait to get my hands on the second installment, Mercy's Embrace: So Lively a Chase!

(Potential readers should be made aware that this is the first book in the Mercy's Embrace series, and that it will be necessary to read all three books to attain the story's conclusion).

Austenesque Reviews

If you're tired of the stuffy and stilted behaviour of Regency society,then you'll be delighted with Elizabeth Elliot's gallop (literally, in one scene) through Bath. Becase of her feckless father, she finds herself doing what she's never done before, with people she doesn't know. It's a hoot. Give yourself a gift. Order the book, and join Elizabeth as she begins her voyage into the real world. You'll enjoy the trip! I'm sure we'll be delighted to see Hile's next offering. Hurry up, Laura. I'm not getting any younger.

This book does for Elizabeth Elliot's character what Monica F. did for Caroline Bingley in the Other Mr. Darcy, giving her a humanizing and likable personality. The author does a wonderful job of introducing us to Elizabeth, taking her from a proud unfeeling woman to one much deeper. She shows us her inexperience with the world (like how she doesn't know how to get a hack or how the business world operates) and ends with a woman who is begining to see the world without the blinders of status and position. The author develops Elizabeth's insecurities of her position in the world and the idiocy of her father. Lady Russell doesn't seem to be very likable either.
I can't wait to order the next one and wait unpatiently for the 3rd one!

I love Jane Austen fan fiction, and Ms. Hile's books may be the best yet. She has taken a completely dislikable character and given her redemption. Hile humanizes Elizbeth by showing us the pain, suffering and resilience that went into the making of this Jane Austen character. On the surface, Elizbeth is so unlikeable, yet knowing how she came to be gives us sympathy. She takes Elizabeth through life-changing scenarios, and broadens her worldview, which has been so limited. Elizabeth really is a survivor, and in Hile's hands, is offered the chance to learn compassion. Further, Hile does an excellent job of keeping Elizabeth realistic - she still has her flaws, only now they seem... adorable!! My beloved Jane Austen aside, Laura Hile is a wonderful writer in her own right. Do yourself a great favor and BUY THESE BOOKS!!

A wonderful sequel to Persuasion! It is a quick read the first time through, that you'll want to come back to a second and third time. This is book one of three, As you read you'll be disappointed only that books 2 & 3 aren't out yet. Highly recommended for fellow Austen fans.

I was very pleased to find that there was a person inside that vain individual -- Elizabeth Elliott. She is as good a person as Anne, inspite of her father's influence. This series was funny and fun to read. I only bought the first two to begin with and had to wait for the third to be delivered. I read each one of them in about 24 hours. The Admiral is a wonderful character and certainly takes Elizabeth's measure.

I'm always eager to read sequels based on Jane Austen's classic originals, and this one is definitely worth the read! Laura Hile has struck gold with her characterization of Elizabeth. Having been a huge fan of Anne (her sister, from the original "Persuasion"), I was surprised and eventually delighted to find myself enjoying Elizabeth more and more. Books 1 and 2 are fantastic, and I can't wait to read Book 3! Enjoy!

I never thought of Elizabeth Elliot as heroine material; she was an interesting (and annoying) minor character in Persuasion, but I couldn't imagine anyone creating a whole novel around her character, let alone a trilogy. However, Laura Hile has proven me wrong, and I am delighted! In her hands, Elizabeth becomes a sympathetic character even as she continues to be arrogant and wilfull. Her chance at love makes for wonderful reading! I can't wait for the next two volumes!