A Very Austen Valentine (2018) — A Celebrate Lit Tour: A Guest Post,My Thoughts, and a Giveaway

About the Book

Book: A Very Austen Valentine

Author: Robin Helm

Genre: Historical Romance (Regency), Religious and Inspirational

Release Date: December 29, 2018

Six beloved authors deliver romantic Valentine novellas set in Jane Austen’s Regency world. Robin Helm, Laura Hile, Wendi Sotis, and Barbara Cornthwaite, together with Susan Kaye and Mandy Cook, share variations of Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, and Sense and Sensibility, featuring your favorite characters in sequels, adaptations, and spinoffs of Austen’s adored novels.

Experience uplifting romance, laugh-out-loud humor, and poignant regret as these authors deftly tug on your heartstrings this Valentine’s Day.

I Dream of You by Robin Helm

Newly-married Elizabeth Darcy has a plan: to charm her too-busy husband into desiring her company as much as he did when he was courting her. A series of romantic dreams gives her just the push she needs to put that plan into action.

Sir Walter Takes a Wife by Laura Hile

Faced with a lonely future and finding himself strapped for cash, Persuasion’s Sir Walter Elliot manfully decides to marry again. But his careful plans go sadly awry! A lighthearted Valentine mash-up featuring two of Jane Austen’s worst snobs.

My Forever Valentine by Wendi Sotis

Jane and Charles Bingley have married, even though Miss Elizabeth Bennet remains certain Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy gave his best effort to keep them apart. After Mr. Darcy refused to stand up with Bingley and did not attend the wedding, she despises the gentleman more than ever and finds his company intolerable. How will she endure her visit to Kent if Mr. Darcy turns up everywhere she goes?

Pretence and Prejudice by Barbara Cornthwaite

A chance encounter with a handsome stranger forces Elizabeth to resort to subterfuge in order to discover his true intentions.

My Valentine by Mandy H. Cook

Little Charlotte was always determined and independent, traits which served her well as she battled a serious childhood illness and later as she took on Polite Society. Will those traits now deprive her of true love? Or would her lifelong Valentine win her heart?

The Lovers’ Ruse by Susan Kaye

In this Persuasion alteration, Anne is so altered by Wentworth’s love in the summer of 1806, she refuses to give him up when both her godmother and father try to persuade her. “The Lovers’ Ruse”follows Frederick and Anne through their whirlwind courtship and their secret engagement. When Wentworth returns for his Annie girl, the cat comes out of the bag.

Click HERE to purchase your copy.

About the Author

Robin Helm’s books reflect her love of music, as well as her fascination with the paranormal and science fiction.

Previously published works include The Guardian Trilogy: Guardian, SoulFire, and Legacy (a guardian angel protects a supernaturally gifted girl), the Yours by Design series: Accidentally Yours, Sincerely Yours, and Forever Yours(Fitzwilliam Darcy switches places in time with his descendant, Will Darcy), and Understanding Elizabeth (Regency sweet romance).

She contributed to A Very Austen Christmas: Austen Anthologies, Book 1, an anthology featuring like-minded authors, in 2017, and A Very Austen Valentine: Austen Anthologies, Book 2which was released on December 29, 2018.

New releases for 2019 include More to Love, a standalone historical sweet romance dealing with body image; Lawfully Innocent, a historical U.S. Marshal romance book in the Lawkeepers series; Maestro, a historical sweet romance featuring a brilliant musician and his student; and A Very Austen Romance: Austen Anthologies, Book 3.

She lives in sunny South Carolina where she teaches piano and adores her one husband, two married daughters, and three grandchildren.

More from Robin

Do you love Historical romance, but avoid “those” covers like the plague?

Would you enjoy an anthology featuring six Valentine-themed novellas set in the Regency period written by Christian authors?

In A Very Austen Valentine, stories range from a young wife searching for a way to bring her marriage back to the way it was, to a laugh-out-loud courtship between Jane Austen’s worst snobs.

Misunderstandings, concealed identities, and romance abound.

There is even a sequel featuring the children of the Darcys and the Brandons.

Every reader will find something to love in this wonderful collection.

My Thoughts

“Dream of You” by Robin Helm

An Elizabeth and Darcy continuation story that gives a glimpse into their married life, “I Dream of You” illustrates that a solid marriage is one where the couple puts their individual selves aside and pays attention to their spouse’s needs. I appreciate that Elizabeth and Darcy keep their unique personalities intact in this story. Serving a spouse selflessly does not mean losing one self in the process. It simply means loving your spouse as God intended, happily, wholeheartedly, and with true devotion.

“Sir Walter Takes a Wife” by Laura Hile

I am an ardent Pride and Prejudice fan. In the novel, Lady Catherine de Bourgh is a foil to Elizabeth Bennet, and she satirically represents cruel and unfounded superiority as illustrated by many in the upper caste during the Regency period. She’s not my favorite character. BUT, I absolutely loved her in this short story. I loved seeing things from her perspective, and I really enjoyed watching as everything she “knows” is turned on its head at almost every turn. And, Sir Walter is hilarious and arrogant and endearing. I laughed out loud with this wonderfully comedic short story.

“My Former Valentine” by Wendi Sotis

“My Former Valentine” is a fantastic short story filled with depth. This story beautifully blends the plot line from Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Sotis’s fresh take on the beloved classic. I had fun seeing Charles and Jane as a sweet married couple, and very much loved watching Anne and Richard play matchmaker. Sotis did a superb job of capturing Darcy and Elizabeth’s unique voices, but still crafted characters all her own. Overall, “My Former Valentine” is an outstanding Pride and Prejudice variant that I very much enjoyed reading.

“Pretense and Prejudice” by Barbara Cornthwaite

“Pretense and Prejudice” is a unique take on Pride and Prejudice. I will admit that I struggled with this story. I had a difficult time suspending my disbelief enough to believe that Darcy would behave, think, and talk as he does in this story. As written in this story, I don’t get the Darcy vibe. He really feels like a completely different character named Darcy. With that said, I did enjoy the friendship between Elizabeth and Millie. I like seeing Elizabeth interact with such a motherly figure. If you’ve read Pride and Prejudice then you know Elizabeth’s mom is a handful.

“My Valentine” by Mandy Cook

I adore this story! Of the six short stories in this collection, “My Valentine” is my favorite. It is so well-written, highly engaging, and SO sweet. It is a joy to read about Darcy and Elizabeth’s precocious child, Charlotte. Charlotte is a wonderful character full of vivacity. And, what a fun treat to see characters from Sense and Sensibility make an appearance in this short story. I loved the blending of these two stories. My most favorite aspect to this short story is the interaction between Henry and Charlotte. They are so sweet and endearing that I cheered for them the whole time.

“The Lover’s Ruse” by Susan Kaye

The final story in this collection is a variant on Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Persuasion happens to be the one Austen novel I’ve not read so I was behind the eight ball with this one, but I still very much enjoyed this story. The plot is highly engaging and the characters are very well done.

Overall, I found A Very Austen Valentine to be a lovely collection of short stories. Each story is generally well-crafted and includes endearing and unique characters. If you are a fan of Austen novels, or you just love a good collection of Regency-era romance novellas, then I highly recommend A Very Austen Valentine.

I received a review copy of this novel in eBook form from the author via Celebrate Lit. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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GIVEAWAY

To celebrate her tour, Robin is giving away:

Grand Prize: a $50 Amazon gift card
1st Place: An autographed paperback of A Very Austen Valentine: Austen Anthologies, Book 1
2nd Place: An autographed paperback of A Very Austen Christmas: Austen Anthologies, Book 2
3rd Place: A set of three ebooks – Reader’s Choice of any three of my books and
4th Place: a $5 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway!

Click the link below to enter.

 https://promosimple.com/ps/ddfa/a-very-austen-valentine-celebration-tour-giveaway

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BLOG STOPS

Blossoms and Blessings, March 25

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Godly Book Reviews, March 28

Jeanette’s Thoughts, March 28

Emily Yager, March 29

Connect in Fiction, March 29

The Christian Fiction Girl, March 30

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, March 30

Moments, March 31

Mary Hake, March 31

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 1

Pause for Tales, April 1

Creating Romance, April 2

Book by Book, April 2

Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, April 3

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Library Lady’s Kid Lit, April 4

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Just the Write Escape, April 6

Inklings and notions, April 7

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