Longbourn: Dragon Entail (A Pride and Prejudice Variation)

Jane Austen's Dragons, Book 2

By: Maria Grace

Narrated by: Benjamin Fife

Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's Summary

Darcy thought his problems were over when Pemberley hatched and successfully imprinted on humans. But baby dragons prove far more difficult than any dragon lore prepared him for. Only Elizabeth Bennet's notes offer him any help. When his imperious Aunt Catherine takes matters into her own hands, things take a turn for the worse and Pemberley’s life hangs in the balance. He desperately needs more of Elizabeth’s help, but she ignores all of his requests. 

Elizabeth, though, has problems of her own. After the Bennet family dragon sent Pemberley away, life at Longbourn was supposed to return to normal and Elizabeth get on with the all-important business of marrying the heir to her father’s estate. Except that he is the last man in the world whom she could ever be prevailed on to marry - a bumbling, addle-pated dragon-hater who demands she gives up the dragons she lives for. 

Can she, with the help of her dragon friends, find her way back to Pemberley before they both suffer their fate from the Dragon Entail? 

Jane Austen meets Anne McCaffrey's Dragon Riders of Pern. A must-listen for Pern fans.

©2017 Maria Grace (P)2019 Maria Grace

VERY POPULAR SERIES

Firstly, l had to giggle after reading other people's reviews, it seems l am not the only reader/listener to listen to this series multiple times. This series is fantastic, l can't recommend it enough. I have the audio book and the narrator does an amazing job.

4.5/5 Stars Longbourn: Dragon Entail by Maria Grac

Summary:
Pemberley hatched successfully, but after Darcy had to take her home to the estate bearing her name (because he was ordered out by Longbourn), the baby dragon starts pining for Elizabeth. Darcy’s an experienced dragon keeper, surely he’ll know how to handle it. Not so much. Elizabeth has her own problems, partly from idiotic people and partly from idiotic dragons. And some of her own making.

Additional Comments:
• These stories are enjoyable overall, but some sections do yammer on and on about nothing, which I think is the heavy influence of the Pride and Prejudice. There’s no getting around it. The last portion of the book was better than the first part. There are a LOT of extra words, which is true to the style but also apt to drag at times.
• Honestly, the whole book seems skippable in the grand scheme of things, but there are a few setup things throughout the first 7 or so hours. Then, it gets good once they go to the conclave.
• I enjoyed Darcy’s exasperation with Anne.
• Aunt Catherine facing off against Elizabeth was excellent too.
• The performance was stellar as usual. Fife has a great handle on each of the characters, especially Longbourn, Darcy, and Elizabeth.
• Pemberley’s a minor character in this book. Truth be told, so’s the title character, Longbourn. I missed her. She’s adorable.
• The worldbuilding in the series as a whole is quite impressive.

Conclusion:
If you like dragon stories and Pride and Prejudice, you should check out this series. This portion is likely better in order, but each stands on its own well enough.
*I received a free copy of the audiobook. I have freely chosen to leave the review. All thoughts are my own.

Love it

The continuation of The Jane Austen Dragon series continues in book two with the issue of a baby dragon missing Elizabeth dearly. Pemberly is so heartbroken he is stressed out and is in poor health. Elizabeth continues to be trapped by her duties as Longburn's keeper and his determination that she must marry Collins. Collins being dragon deaf offends the dragons that he doesn't know are dragons.
All of this sets us up for a few plot lines that are all solved mainly by the time we get to the end of this book but fear not, their more story to be told. Mrs. Grace mingles the fantasy world of dragons with the classic pride and prejudice that it is hard to believe this isn't how the original went.
I especially enjoy listening to this as an audiobook as the narrator does a great job of having unique tones and ways of sharing each dragon in the tale.

Better and Better

If you saw my review of Book 1, you’d know I passed this up several times because I never considered myself a “dragon-fan”. I have nothing against them, have read stories with them before, just not my favorite genre. I’m not sure this series has converted me, but it stands an excellent chance.

It is so well written, with dragons walking amongst us, hiding in plain sight as other animals using a “persuasion”. Those unaware of dragons might be persuaded they are seeing a cat or dog, granted perhaps a huge dog or cat, or even a hummingbird or falcon, hawk or raven.

Okay, that out of the way, the JAFF portions of this stories still manages to stay very close to what you’d expect. In Book 1, Darcy goes to Rosings, In this one, without giving much away, Elizabeth has to follow. Aunt Catherine is not happy about it, more drama ensues, etc. (don’t want to give any spoilers, but it’s all good!)

Mr. Fife is either getting even better in this one, or I’m getting more acclimated to his way of depicting feminine voices. Whatever the reason, he is fantastic.

Well worth a credit all around. Enjoy!

pride and dragons excellent combo

absolutely loved it. as good as the first book and I'm already starting the next one while writing this review.

Loved Longbourn

The Kindle copies of these books are included in Kindle Unlimited, and with Whispersync, the audio is at a discounted rate! This narrator is very animated with unique voices. I'd listened to book one and started reading this one my own (before the audio came out) and still had the narrator's voices in my head. I was glad when the audio was available, as it's easier for me to listen than to read on my own (multitasking!)

I don't know that I really liked this book over the first installment (which I rated four stars). Here, I think I was already involved in this twist on the classic P&P tale, so I just went with it more this time. Five stars. Absolutely enjoyed it. ... of course, in addition to the dragons, there were a few changes to the original P&P story.

SOME SPOILERS: I struggled a little with Mr. Bennett, as he doesn't seem nearly as kind. Jane and Bingley never really have any misunderstanding, going happily into marriage. Mary has a much larger role, and in fact I'd wanted her to marry Collins in the original ... I was rather happy to have that work out in this version.

Elizabeth Bennet falls in love with a baby dragon!

Elizabeth Bennet falls in love with baby dragon Pemberly, but the baby is suddenly taken away. No matter where she turns, everyone is trying to control her – even her own estate dragon. Can she take back her life and find her own happiness? When baby Pemberly’s life is threatened, the only person that can save her is Elizabeth, but Darcy cannot find her.

This book pulls you deeper into the dragon world. Trust me. You won’t want to leave! Pemberly is adorable. Why can’t we have dragons in real life?

Jane Austen’s Dragons is a delightful series by Maria Grace. Dragons and humans live side by side throughout the world. As dragons have the ability to influence what people think they are seeing, most people have no idea that dragons even exist. Only a special few humans have the ability to talk with dragons and see them for what they truly are. This is a magnificent retelling of Jane Austen’s amazing stories.

The narrator, Benjamin Fife, is perfect for this series. I got lost in Jane Austen’s world and didn’t want to come up for air. Easter Egg – Click here to read an interview between Maria Grace and Benjamin Fife. You must read the paragraph above the Longbourn blooper real link and then listen to the 30-second clip. I laughed out loud!

Source - I was given a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Michele, AudiobookLife.com

Excellent Dragon Tale! Worth your credit and time!

I have to say- if you are like a squirrel on coffee;
“Keep Listening” past the 1st chapter!
Excellent book!
Elizabeth is betrothed to Mr. Collins. He kicked one of the dragons. It sent me through the roof and anger for the poor dragon and Elizabeth.
No one should ever abuse ANY animals no matter what!
Take a walk the other way if you have a foul tempter!
Can you tell I am a little pulled into the story? I had to remind myself it’s a story! What a fantastic story it is! I missed the first book but will be rectifying that!
Elizabeth is am amazing is everything! She has a better handle on her temper than most people.
She isn’t snarky but her little dragon companion April is!
Her dragon doesn’t pull punches!
I was laughing at her antics! .
I try hard not to give away the book when reviewing it.
Things aren’t as they seem.
“It’s definitely a Fantastic book!!”
“I highly recommend it!!”

Amazing story! (Spoilers in this review!)

I absolutely loved this story just as the second one~!! I hope the third will be just as amazing as this one~! So many twists to this story that were unexpected and surprising but all in all great. There were so many things that made me laugh and in also in near tears in some parts too. The part of Rosings wanting to bite Anne made me laugh like crazy! Poor little Pemberley, I just want to hug her so much. She’s so adorable. I am so sad when she’s sad in this story. And I really, really wanted April to attack Wickham. And little Pemberley missing and wanting to see Elizabeth sounds kinda like a baby/child wanting their mother. And Walker is my favorite for acting like Darcy’s voice of reason, which let’s be honest, he sometimes needs. Collins’s, big, long awaited introduction to the dragons was a surprise really then how I thought would happen but I found it kinda hilarious. After the court hearing, is my favorite with Pemberley being allowed two keepers and also with Darcy and Elizabeth being engaged in front of a full room of people and dragons (much to his very proud aunt’s dismay).

Oh the dragons!

So now to Longbourn. I love this book. I won’t lie though I really wanted to slap Elizabeth around at the beginning, but then she grew some balls… you know what I mean! Once she got a backbone towards a few characters, I couldn’t help but root for her. Now Mr. Darcy also annoyed me a bit. He was always putting things off. When he finally came around, I just wanted to scream that it was about Damn time! Ugh! Honestly though the story wouldn’t have been as good as it was without their hesitant behaviors.

Now as far as the writing itself, Maria Grace is absolutely amazing! Seriously, not a bad thing to say. She does an amazing job at bringing the characters to life. The characters have so much palpable emotion which I know could not have been portrayed properly without the help of our amazing narrator, Benjamin Fife! This dynamic duo makes this book absolutely perfect!

The production is was perfect, no hiccups throughout that I can recall. I honestly just cannot wait to read the next installment. If you love the classics and have a love of all things paranormal then you won’t want to miss out on this enchanting series. It’s absolutely amazing! Oh, and can’t forget our dragon friends! This story wouldn’t be the same without them. I love the dragons… well most of them.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Benjamin Fife. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Enthralling variation and awesome narration

This second instalment of Maria Grace’s variation on Pride and Prejudice, ‘Longbourn: Dragon Entail’, is just as enthralling as the first book. The descriptions of the dragons’ characters, their individual quirks and their behaviour towards each other as well as towards the various humans are so delightfully vivid. I particularly had a strong urge to hug Pemberley as much as possible and to wish that something very nasty would befall Longbourn, the selfish, self-centred, overbearing and bullying brute.

Whilst the loose framework of Pride & Prejudice is there, as are the various characters, Grace embellishes it so fantastically with the additions of the dragons and dragon lore that she creates her own masterpiece. Various original characters take on larger roles in this alternative universe and we see a lot more interaction between Elizabeth and Darcy because of the need for both of them to care for Pemberley. Some of the P&P dialogue I love so well is reassigned to other characters but it makes total sense because of the way that the alternative plot develops.

Once again, Benjamin Fife does an awesome job with the narration of the Audible book. His vocal repertoire is superb and brings all the characters to life – dragons and humans alike. I’ve listened to this and the first book twice over already, they are so entertaining. I am eager to hear the third and final instalment, ‘Netherfield: Rogue Dragon’.

Fantastic Second Installment

I loved the first book in this series so much that I had to immediately purchase the second one, and I was not disappointed. The standard of writing and narration are as close to perfection as the first installment. Maria Grace continues her treatise on dragons and dragon lore, using Elizabeth and Darcy's relationship as the backdrop and the Bennet family as her foil for the dragons.

As with the first novel it is a written with style and a definite sense of respect for the original work, following the story without compromising on either the dragons or the interplay between Elizabeth, Darcy and Wickham. The introduction of Pemberley was a key aspect in bringing Elizabeth and Darcy together for long enough to allow their characters the opportunity to bite and snap at each other as they do in the original novel, but also to add a twist in the tale.

I do not want to give anything away about the plots of either this story or its predecessor as I believe a reader/listener should be able to make an informed decision on their own without thinking when is that going to happen.

All I can say is the narration is once again a lovely thing, the dragon voices are so distinctive that I know who is talking as soon as I hear the voice he uses. It is not easy to provide different voices for so many characters and it is not always done perfectly, but it is close to that for me.

I am looking forward to listening to the third book in the series, which I have sitting in my library. I hope it is as good as the previous two.

A wonderful second instalment

This is book two of Maria Grace's Jane Austen's Dragons series and follows directly on from book one Pemberley: Mr Darcy's Dragon. If you chose to listen to the entire series, the reading order should be book four, A Proper Introduction to Dragons, then books one, two and three. You need to read books one, two and three to get the entire story.
This combines a Pride and Prejudice variation, with fantasy about dragons. It will appeal to both JAFF readers and fans of fantasy.

Set in a Regency England with a large population of dragons. This book continues directly on from Pemberley: Mr Darcy's Dragon. At the end of the first book, the stolen firedrake egg is recovered. The baby dragon, Pemberley has benefited from the care of both Elizabeth and Darcy. Elizabeth is devoted to Pemberley and is devastated when Mr Darcy takes her away to the care of an adult firedrake, at Lady Catherine De Bourgh estate, Rosings.

Her distress is made worse by the presence of Mr Collins, the heir to Longbourn. Not only is her mother pushing her to marry him, her father and the dragon Longbourn are also pressuring her. Collins is dragon deaf and cannot be left in charge of the estate, without a dragon hearing keeper as his wife. It is the law, that the estate dragon has the right to arrange the marriages of keepers. Elizabeth has heard that the law may soon be changed, which gives her hope. The local dragons hate Collins because although he cannot hear dragons, he seems to have a prejudice against them and is cruel to the animals they are pretending to be. Eventually it becomes too much for Elizabeth and she flees to her aunt in London.

Meanwhile, Darcy is at Rosings, trying to look after baby Pemberley and fend off Lady Catherine and her machinations. When Pemberley becomes unwell and the De Bourghs only make things worse, Darcy has letters sent to Elizabeth to ask for help. he receives no answer, unaware that she has left Longbourn.

The main characters are Elizabeth Bennet, Fitzwilliam Darcy and Pemberley the dragon. Elizabeth and Darcy come to a closer understanding. Mr Collins is even more unpleasant than usual. Mr Wickham is typically self-serving, seeking a way to obtain money and power from knowledge about dragons. Mr Bennet continues to be an exceedingly disappointing father and Longbourn the dragon is grumpy, selfish and devious.

This is an excellent story. Complex and involved plot, with a surprising conclusion. You will be keen to move on to book three. I would recommend it to all fans of JAFF and fantasy.

This whole series is narrated by Benjamin Fife. His narration is very good, his voice warm and pleasing to listen to. His female voices are convincing and his dragon voices are excellent.

I look forward to more stories by Maria Grace.

I received a free copy of this audiobook via StoryOrigin and am voluntarily leaving a review. All views expressed are my own.

The contrariness of dragons doth rile relations

An overbearing dragon's contrariness and a stifling suiter send dragon keeper, Elizabeth dashing away in fright. But where there is one overbearing dragon there are others more willing to cherish the keeper, including a smitten Mr. Darcy. This interweaving of Pride and Prejudice and dragons is truly amazing. I've gone from the first directly into the second and can't wait to continue with the third in this tale.

A wonderful novel

Another superb book by this author, this novel carries on this wonderful series directly after the previous book. Again the author has done a brilliant job of capturing Jane Austen's style with the seamless addition of the dragons. This book has a slightly darker feel especially in Longbourn's and her father's treatment of Elizabeth. Narration is again perfect with some excellent new voices both for dragons and humans
I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review

Longbourn the dragon is such a grumpy old Dragon.

I definitely enjoy dragon stories, where the dragons actually have character rather than just being a bunch of evil, magical creatures with foul tempers and not much else to them.

I have enjoyed listening to little Pemberley so much. She is so cute, granted I think she may have picked up a bit of Longbourn's petulence and entitled attitude while in his liar just after she hatched, but then again it could have been picked up from a variety of characters including Lady Cathrine and her daughter Ann.
At least she is not as prone to temper tantrums as either of the afore mentioned characters; and if she were, she is still just a baby.

I can wait to find out what happens in the next book with the Rogue dragon, and if Mr. Darcy and his cousin can find Lydia before something terrible happens.

More Mr Darcy and dragons

Review of audible version of this book. I love to read any Pride and Prejudice variation, so I thought I'd give this series a listen. I really enjoyed book one (Pemberley: Mr Darcy's Dragon) and wanted to listen to book two. Whilst book one loosely follows the original story, book two moves away from the standard P&P plot whilst maintaining its essence.
The tension is higher in book two, but there were still parts that had me laughing and cheering the characters on. Overall, I really enjoyed book two. The next book I will be listening to is book three to find out what happens in the finale of this series.

Heartmelting & vibrantly enticing dragon fun!!

I am really enjoying this mash-up of Pride and Prejudice with all it's fascinating intrigue, intricate imaginings, engaging plotline and endearing draconic shenanigans.
A lingering air of mischief, threat and scheming soaks the air, while secrets, misunderstandings, revelations and betrayals emerge as each new and familiar scaly-feathered beasty burrows deeper into my affection, touches a chord and - dare I say - comes alive to such a personified degree they seem believable, easy to relate to and effective at pulling at my emotions, like beloved family pets, with all their whims, antics and distinctive characteristics and mannerisms. I found my self chuckling, smiling, harumphing (yes, harumphing) in frustration and indignation and even shedding tears!

Following on directly from where book 1 (Pemberley: Mr Darcy's Dragon) left off, Elizabeth is moving ever closer to sacrificing her future happiness for the good of Longbourn by marrying the 'dragon-deaf' Collins. I'm delighted to say Grace deliciously sashays further away from the distinctive framework of P&P in this book, while still retaining it's spirit, with unpredictable and compelling results. I must admit I loved each added surprise and subtle change especially the major one pertaining to Mary. Hearing the many recognisable quotes really put a smile on my face. I just loved how Grace played with their deliverance and took delightful liberty with who says them and when.
The second half of the book was the most enjoyable for me as the pace quickens, emotions heighten and rollercoaster and tensions charge the air as Darcy and Elizabeth are finally reunitied.
As Elizabeth struggles with the confusing enigma that is Darcy, the musings, reflections and wit infused banter entwined in their shared journey, and her desire to free herself of her prideful blindnesses and prejudices, delightfully becomes more highly addictive in it's hearing and emotionally ensnaring to experience. Especially as Darcy increasingly becomes more and more enamored and admiring of Elizabeth to the point of ardent yearning.

Truly heart warming read that effortlessly sweeps you along and hooks it's talons into you until you become wholeheartedly invested. Helped further by Fife's consistency as a narrator and ability to make the words leap and swirl into life. Loved it - now straight onto it's conclusion in book 3, can't wait!!

More dragony Austen

This book continnues the first one in a delightful way, While I was shouting at both Elizabeth and Darcy several times during the book they do shape up, and the drama was necessary for the plot. I like that the characters are both true to the original book and so totally different at the same time, it's really a variation that's true sense. And there are dragons! Wonderful dragons!

Like in the first book Benjamin Fife's narration is great and I expecially love the dragons' voices.

fantastic

I admit to having never liked the classic Pride And Prejudice but throw dragons into it and Maria Grace has a totally fantastic series.

it is so well written with fantastic characters and with Benjamin Fife narration it brings it all to life, although I hope Benjamin doesn't get a sore throat with doing all the dragon voices.

thank you and I really do look forward to more in the series xxx