Customer Reviews

A World of Expectations, Book 1: The Alliance

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This isn't your usual romantic story about Darcy and Elizabeth; although, there is romance and our favorite couple do eventually end up together. It takes a lot before that happens, however.

This is primarily a story about five men who form a business alliance. There are three Gentlemen and two Tradesmen in this alliance, which was unheard of in Regency England in the early 1800s. There is also a series of games with high competition between the men. Romantic competition between Darcy and Lord Blake over Elizabeth Bennet comes into play, primarily, while the men are still at Netherfield Park.

There are also enemies working behind the scenes who try to make certain this alliance isn't successful.

If you're a reader who loves sexual scenes/situations, especially between Darcy and Elizabeth, don't look for it in this story. I usually like a few spicy scenes, but here I didn't miss them at all. They weren't necessary and would have been completely out of place, even distracting. Ms. Messick writes a tale that stands on its own without sex being involved. Make no mistake, there is romance, just not sex.

This is a book that will interest both men and women. Book 2 takes place primarily in London, and I would urge readers to buy both books as a set.

There is tension, angst and lots of mystery. I can usually guess "who done it," but not in this one. I was completely surprised by the "bad guys," and I think you will be too.

Ms. Messick's writing is excellent, the story is well plotted and, thankfully, she had a good editor.

If you are a true lover of Pride and Prejudice variations, this isn't the book for you. The story is about a business deal among an unlikely set of gentlemen that share names with the characters some of us hold near and dear. The book is full of intrigue and suspense but there is little mention of Elizabeth Bennet. And, when she is present she is paired with a new male character to which she has developed feelings. Elizabeth comes off as bitter when dealing with Darcy instead of playful and defiant. More story is dedicated to Lydia Bennet than Elizabeth and Darcy even has scenes with Lydia. I honestly felt like the author doesn't like Elizabeth Bennet. It was an odd read and did not hold my attention. The levels of intrigue that are attempted are too complicated and the book ends before any type of resolution can occur but honestly, I'm not really interested in the story enough to buy the continuation.

I found this story to drag on and hard to keep my attention. It also finishes to continue to book 2 "The Confrontation" which it seems so far you only can get in a Kindle version but not the book form. I can deal with buying the book but to have it continued and not be able to buy it in book form was a waste of my money. Very disatisfied customer.

It was a little difficult to get into all the new characters at first, but I was hooked by chapter 4. Great storyline with backdrop of industrial revolution. Seen from Darcy's viewpoint, it's quite intriguing, not since Pam Aiden's triology have I enjoyed one following Darcy so closely. I'm reading the second book now and can't wait for more.

The author obviously loves history and the description of the tensions between the newly rich trade people and the old line aristocracy is riveting.
The story is true to the times and true to Jane Austen's original. It is told from Darcy's viewpoint in the context of his relationship with his friends as they are organizing a major business arrangement. All of the characters are well drawn out. So often in these stories, it is only the major characters that are fully formed. This book has a wealth of characters, each one with an interesting story.
Book I introduces all the characters and examines Darcy's feelings as he gradually realizes his attraction to Lizzy while she is drawn to another. Book II chronicles the progress of the Alliance and closely examines Darcy's transformation into a better person. I am looking forward to Book III!!!

I really wanted to like these books (Alliance and its sequel Confrontation), but unfortunately they fell flat. I had enjoyed Pamela Aidan's Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman books and had hoped to read more in that vein in Ms. Messick's books, but the writing was ponderous and needs maturing. I felt like I was always being told something but never shown it, so I was never convinced by any of the characters. The characters were not well developed, and through the whole book I never cared whether Darcy and Elizabeth ever became a couple. I never bought into any of the couples. Why do any of them like each other? Why are any of the men friends? They all seem hateful. The business intrigue seemed contrived and melodramatic. On the other hand, I did like hearing about the changing world during the Regency: the tensions between the land-owning gentlemen and the newly rich tradesmen as well as the new experiments and inventions being developed. I particularly liked the mentions of the Royal Society and the Lunar Society.

In addition, the books were horribly edited. I don't mind an occasional typo or two in a book since it's impossible to completely eliminate human error; however, these books contained one major error after another. I'm talking about miscapitalization, missing words, and double periods all over the place. At times the wrong part of speech was used, as if the sentence had been rewritten but no one bothered to check to see whether the entire sentence made sense. Sometimes there were extraneous words -- again, as if the sentence had been rewritten but not checked. These are glaring errors that any professional editor would have caught. I suspect that these books were self-published (I see no publisher mentioned on the title pages) and that Ms. Messick tried to save money by editing it herself. Big mistake. A good editor is worth his or her weight in gold and is worth the expense. As a result, Ms. Messick's books appear very unprofessional and lessened my enjoyment of her books.