All That This Entails by Noell Chesney

All That This Entails picks up the Pride and Prejudice storyline a few months before Elizabeth’s visit to Derbyshire with the Gardiners, and it has a very unique and appealing plot twist.

In this book, Mr. Bennet is a relation to Duke Everard, with whom there was breach in the past which prevented people from knowing of the connection. When the Duke and his heirs die in a ship wreck, Mr. Bennet is the only heir alive and becomes a Duke himself. This means that Mrs. Bennet becomes a duchess and the Bennet girls will all be Lady’s, way above Darcy’s station. I’ve read a few books where Elizabeth is above Darcy’s station in society and I confess this is a trope I don’t particularly like. I believe the changes it causes in the characters personalities, and in the storyline, are so big it hardly resembles Pride and Prejudice. Noell Chesney was able to use this trope without doing that because Elizabeth only becomes Lady Elizabeth after the Hunsford proposal, and this was certainly one of the aspects I enjoyed the most in the book. It was interesting to see how each of the Bennet’s adapted and reacted to their new reality.

Another aspect I enjoyed immensely in this book where the Darcy/Elizabeth moments due to their flirtatious dialogues and courtship games. If you usually love no angst books with a long and tender courtship filled with romantic moments, this one is for you! Once Elizabeth and Darcy reconnected, the story became filled of memorable romantic moments 🙂

My main quibble with this book was the lack of conflict that would push the story forward. At moments, everything seemed too perfect and easy for our characters as we go through dinner parties, walks in the park and theatre plays surrounded by caring, accepting and loving family members. I believe the pace of the story would have been more compelling if some scenes, descriptions or dialogues were reduced, and if the actual conflict that appeared in the very end of the book would have come sooner.

Nevertheless, the writing style in All That This Entails is very easy to follow and invites the reader to keep reading, which was another of aspect I appreciated in this book.

I would recommend All That This Entails to readers who enjoy slow-paced stories with little to no angst. It is a romantic tale, and Darcy is a true gentleman on this one. I am sure he will conquer many readers’ hearts 🙂

You can find All That This Entails at:

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

and on Kindle Unlimited