Snowbound at Hartfield is a crossover of books and characters that I never thought possible, but maybe the issue is with my imagination because Maria Grace made these characters interactions completely plausible and interesting.
Pride & Prejudice will meet Persuasion and Emma when both Mr.Darcy’s party and Sir Walter Elliot’s are trapped in an inn during a snowstorm without any rooms vacant. Luckily this inn is close to Hartfield, and Mr Knightley, who is Mr. Darcy’s old friend, invites them all to stay with him and his family until the storm abates.
It is due to these circumstances that we will have in the same house Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth, Mr. Bennet, Col. Fitzwilliam, Sir Walter Elliot, Miss Elizabeth Elliot, Mr. Knightley, Mrs Emma Knightley and Mr. Woodhouse. I’m sure you’re starting to imagine how much fun it will be to have Mr. Bennet and Sir Walter Elliot in close proximity! But Sir Walter will not even be the only person who will contribute to the amusement of Mr. Bennet, the Knightley’s neighbours are, after all, perfect to make sport of, and Mrs. Elton will always be a source of amusement for some and chagrin to others wherever she goes.
The originality of bringing all these characters together and developing a very different and unexpected couple has to be praised! The romantic couple in Snowbound at Hartfield is one I had never seen portrayed and would never think of, but Maria Grace made it work by showing us a deeper and darker side of these characters, one that is not often shown to us and will make us think of what is beneath the character’s usual façade. In fact, she picked up one of my least favourite secondary characters from Austen, and made her the love interest of one of my favourite characters succeeding to make me wish they would find happiness together.That wasn’t an easy task, and I still can not say Miss Elliot is a favourite of mine, but she deed redeem herself in this book, and Maria Grace’s approach to this character was remarkable.
The love story between Col. Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Elliot will be very different from what we are used to, but they will be presented to us as two broken souls who can mend each other, and we can not stop thinking that they will do very well together.
Elizabeth Darcy and Emma Knightley are secondary characters in this story but it was very amusing and fun to see them described as matrons!
Snowbound at Hartfield is a creative, fun and romantic novella which will fill our hearts with the hope that it is never too late to find happiness. I recommend this book to any Austen fan who is looking for a secondary character story to read. This story is a quick read that will bring several of Austen’s characters into a new light, it is perfect to be read between two Darcy and Elizabeth centered books, and I’m sure any Austen aficionado will enjoy it.
You can find Snowbound at Hartfield at :
Maria Grace has offered a giveaway of an ebook of “Snowbound at Hartfield for my From Pemberley to Milton readers. To enter it please leave a comment on this post until the 1st of March, and if you want to double your chances of winning, comment the interview with Maria Grace posted on the 20th of February.
The winners will be announced in the beginning of March. To make sure you receive the winners announcement notification please follow From Pemberley to Milton to make sure you receive an e-mails every time a new post is published. I would hate to see someone didn’t win the book because they missed the announcement.
Good luck everyone!
From Pemberley to Milton 
What a fun story! Wonderful review. Thank you for the giveaway
LikeLike
Loved this book (and the Colonel), a very different Elizabeth Elliott
LikeLike
I too so enjoyed this story! Lovely review Rita! Don’t enter me in the giveaway as I already own it!
LikeLike
Great review. Thanks for the giveaway.
LikeLike
It sounds like when one gets an all-star cast in a movie with all these wonderful Austen characters together in one book. 🙂
LikeLike
Rita,I agree with you wholeheartedly in what you said about Maria’s ability to make us,if not love Ms Elliott,then at least care enough about her to want a HEA for her.
The fact that she presented us with two older,wiser and somewhat tired and broken people who see in each other a way to mend past hurts and offset a lonely and isolated future,makes this a most compelling tale.
I followed this online and must admit to being quite intrigued!
Great review,Rita! ☺️
LikeLike
This crossover sounds really fun. Thanks for featuring Maria Grace. Jen Red
LikeLike
I have been reading along with this as a WIP but also bought the book. So far I am holding my breath to see if the Colonel gets a good and loving wife.
LikeLike
Your sentence, “The love story between Col. Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Elliot will be very different from what we are used to,” makes me really want to read this story!
LikeLike
I love the premise of the mashup of the characters from different books.
denise
LikeLike
After reading this review I want to see for myself, even more now, what this story can bring about for these characters 🙂
LikeLike
Great review! I really enjoyed this one, too, as it merged my favorite Austen novels. No need to enter me, as I already have the book.
LikeLike
Love snow and lovestories 🙂
LikeLike
Sounds like a good read 🙂
LikeLike
Ohhhhhh! Sounds good!
LikeLike
I was lucky enough to read this during the writing process and can wholeheartedly endorse everything you’ve said, Rita. Maria Grace is so adept at taking previously unsympathetic characters and turning them into people you just have to root for. The mashup of character from three books was fantastic and I loved Mr. Bennet’s reactions to Sir Walter. The latter has an interesting outcome, too. Won’t say any more – spoilers!
Don’t put my name in the hat for the giveaway as I already have a copy.
LikeLike
Pingback: Snowbound at Hartfield – Giveaway Winners’s announcement | From Pemberley to Milton