Constant as the Sun

The Courtship of Mr. Darcy

By: Diana Oaks

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Elizabeth Bennet’s father imposed a six-month delay to her taking the name of Darcy, requiring a London season in the interim. Unknown to her, a secondary clause could spoil it all: If she is unhappy among the elite, he will rescind his consent to the marriage. Faced with the expectations of Darcy’s relations and the standards of the ton, Elizabeth is immersed in a whirlwind of change, intrigue, and betrayal that not only threatens to ruin her hopes, but puts the lives of those she loves at risk. Constant as the Sun is the second book in the One Thread Pulled series.

Lots of great dialogue

I prefer dialogue to narrated stories and this one has it, but unfortunately there is much useless dialogue and a confusing last few chapters that is just too much. I would much rather have had an epilogue of what happened to everyone beyond an abrupt ending leaving all of the characters old and new out there in space somewhere. This was extremely disappointing since this is such a long book it seems that more time could have been spent on winding up all the loose threads. This Elizabeth never passes up a chance to take Darcy to task while giving everyone else a pass on the most egregious behavior. Only Darcy must be disparaged for the slightest infraction or just being human. In real life unless a confirmed masochist, no one would put up with a daily argument. Meanwhile, she’s a shrew with nothing to recommend her to his horrid circle of society. Must authors make Elizabeth so unappealing? I have read over 100 varieties of P and P and very few portray her as likable.

I realize that Georgette Heyer ended her books abruptly but after reading several hundred pages of her books I found this irritating and am sorry that some authors do the same. The devoted reader deserves a satisfying windup of all the characters for their investment of time and money. IMO, that whole Mrs. Younge ordeal could have easily been edited out. There is not enough known about her to really care about her. She is a desperate woman who keeps making the same mistakes. It didn’t make sense to me why she would turn murderous especially while pregnant. .,,,,And do we really need more reasons to loathe Lydia and Mrs. Bennet? They are ridiculous.

I did like the book and the author definitely has talent. It’s very well written and she keeps a whole cast of characters straight. I especially enjoyed her descriptions of places and events they attended. It’s almost like you are there enjoying them yourself.

The VV wasn’t horrible as this is one of the better ones but a talented voice actor may have made some of the complicated exchanges easier to follow.

Too long

Nice story, but took too long to tell it. Virtual voice is not good. Confusing at times when groups of people talking.