Something More Substantial

De: Jann Rowland

Narrado por: Mary Sarah

A must-listen historical romance from Jann Rowland, author of An Agreeable Compromise.

©2022 Jann Rowland (P)2023 Tantor

Enjoyed the book!!!

I loved how Elizabeth and Darcy met at Rosings Park. No insult . How their romance developed. Mrs Bennet improves. How Col Fitzwilliam and Darcy are together. Wickham gets his due. Lydia is sent back from Brighton and eventually improves. It may sound like heresy, but I liked Caroline Bingley! Character was not awful over the top, a more humble Caroline...after being pursued for her fortune in town. More so I liked the difference between Col Fitzwilliam and Bingley as suitors to Jane. A very impressive Jane. I also loved the ending where, we know what happens to all the main characters. So often poor Mary is forgotten!

Good book

I liked low angst and a progression of Darcy and Elizabeth‘a relationship. Villains were quickly dealt with and not many misunderstandings between ODC. The narrator’s voice suited the story well.

Great book.

The narrator did a great job as usual. It was an interesting story. Jann Rowland did a great story as he is won’t to do. Great Jaff.

Enjoyable but imperfect

Enjoyable P&P variation where the characters have been modified to be a little too perfect and things work out for everyone with no real struggle. Narrator was not my favorite but I liked her better at a slightly faster speed. Overall, it was nice enough but not something I'd listen to again or will think about much after.

Narrator is intolerable

Enjoyed variation in story but narrator made it a difficult listen. I don’t care for Virtual Voice but you can ignore it after you get in the story. This lady is too affected in her speech.

Slow Burn Romance

When J Rowland sets out to make romance the centerpiece of his book there’s almost no one who does it better. In this story there is no awkward insult as Darcy and Elizabeth meet in Kent for the first time. Instead it’s a matter of Darcy learning his own mind and what’s most important to him…love vs expectations. Once he reaches the correct conclusion he lets nothing stop him from achieving his heart’s desire.

Also interesting in this version is a Caroline much altered in behavior, a less serious Bingley, a more circumspect Jane and a more mature Kitty. Lydia is slow in learning her insignificance in the world and Mrs Bennet is finally schooled by Mr Bennet which brings her under nominal control. Colonel Fitzwilliam has a more significant role as well. The only real villains are efficiently dispatched. Yay!

This is a really good read with low angst and high romance. I loved it!

Very slow burn romance; Elizabeth waits on Darcy

I thought this variation was okay.
Here Darcy meets Elizabeth in Kent and is attracted and intrigued by her. He wants to get to know her better and tells her he may see her again soon. 4 months go by and she is hopeful with low expectations. They spend so much time away from each other hoping to see each other again. Then they meet at Pemberley and the continue the very slow romance. Elizabeth has to leave and go back home and Darcy tells Elizabeth he needs more time to get to know her. He tells her that they already spent 4 months apart so 6 more weeks in nothing. The Darcy variations I love is where 6 weeks apart is agonizing for Darcy. I'm not sure why he cannot even tell her he wants to call on her or court her and give her some assurance.

The slow burn romance was a bit too slow for me.
Also Caroline Bingley's behavior is weird. I like the low angst books, but no angst is a bit boring.
Finally, I prefer more dialogue. There is more narrative speak than dialogue.
I want a romance love story, but I want a bit more passion for each other. Here it more seems like Darcy can take Elizabeth or leave her. A bit disappointing.

Yawn

Jann Rowland is an excellent writer, sadly this story was slow and boring. The villians; Lady Catherine and Wickham were removed from the story fairly early, taking what little tension there was in the story away.

Bingley and Jane do not get together. Which is a real disappointment for me.

Although it was good to see Mrs. Bennett develop some sense.

Slow and the narration is not good at all

Nothing much happens. Thankfully Darcy and Elizabeth never have misunderstandings. Mr. Bennett tries to take Mrs. Bennett and Lydia in hand. Bingley is not as charming as usual. Caroline is not quite as bad as usual. Wickham is disposed of fairly quickly. Mainly the book is just boring and the reader is certainly NOT for me. I have listened to her performances in several books and she simply grates on my nerves. Her voice is affected and sign songy. The way she announces each chapter is beyond irritating. Sometimes she will go on fairly well for a stretch and then revert back to her irritating habits - which leads me to believe she purposely tries to be aggravating. I do not understand why anyone chooses her to perform. I really don't mean to hurt her feelings, But I really do think that Mary Sarah could do much better if she wanted wished to do so.