A Very Austen Valentine

A Celebrate Lit Book Tour

Join us as we delve into the land of Jane Austen through A Very Austen Valentine.

 My Thoughts:

I first read the works of Austen when I was in fourth grade and I was hooked.  Her writing style may have been old fashioned but Austen spoke to me and my young romantic heart.  A Very Austen Valentine is not written by Austen herself but it does employ some of her most unforgettable characters.

I think my favorite novella in the book is about the characters we love to hate the most!  Enter Lady Catherine, Sir Walter, and that annoying man Collins.  Oh yes.  I’ve loved to hate them for years and got great laughs at them all being thrown together in one book.  Poor Sir Walter has decided he must marry.  It’s the only thing to do since he obviously must not give up his way of living and heaven forbid he go out of style.  When he accidentally writes the wrong Lady Catherine(because he refuses to believe he needs those glasses) comedy ensues!

Mr Collins is still rector for Lady Catherine, he’s still a sniveling fool of course.  He’d do anything for her it seems except refuse to learn how to waltz.  Which in and of itself is a big laugh for me.  Elizabeth also happens to be visiting her friend Mrs. Collins while Darcy and Fitz are visiting their aunt.  All around good fun to be had.  I really also appreciate how Anne is set out in this book.  For Anne really does have quite the character of her own once she’s away from her overbearing mother.

If you have enjoyed the characters of Austen’s novels you are going to love this collection of the characters having new adventures.  It’s not written in her exact style but it is quite appealing and laughable.  I encourage you to read these novellas in this book and enjoy your laughs.  It really is nice to develop some of the characters more and revisit others.  Dare I say I love the idea of Jane and Elizabeth having young children of their own.

My only down side is that the books don’t follow a time line.  So in the first book Elizabeth is married but in later books she is still at odds with Darcy.  I would have liked it a bit more if the married book was the last so they followed more of an order.  However, they are not in a series together and don’t follow the same plot lines so it’s not a deal breaker.  

About the Book A Very Austin Valentine

Book: A Very Austen Valentine

Author: Robin Helm

Genre: Historical Romance (Regency), Religious and Inspirational

Release Date: December 29, 2018

Let us return to the land of Jane Austen in A Very Austin Valentine.  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 2 which 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.

Blog Stops

Blossoms and Blessings, March 25

Christian Bookaholic, March 25

Blogging With Carol, March 26

Britt Reads Fiction, March 26

Reflections from My Bookshelves, March 27

For Him and My Family, March 27

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

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 3

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, April 4

Texas Book-aholic, April 4

janicesbookreviews, April 5

A Reader’s Brain, April 5

Just the Write Escape, April 6

Inklings and notions, April 7

The Becca Files, April 7

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