Dangerous Magic (Mr. Darcy's Magic, #1)

by Monica Fairview

[Berls]

4.5 stars
I am like a moth to the flame where Pride and Prejudice retellings / continuations is concerned. However, most are just okay. Some are truly terrible. Fewer still are actually great. Dangerous Magic is in the minority as was fantastic and I very much look forward to continuing the story.

I think what's truly great about Dangerous Magic is that the characters are all there and fully recognizable. Monica Fairview is clearly a fan who really understood the characters, because there's no denying that they are who Lizzy or Darcy or even Catherine De Burg WOULD be in this new world and yet they do very little that's the same as in the original book because the world is SO DIFFERENT.

And the world is fantastic! It is still Regency Britain but the Napoleonic Wars have a whole new impact because this is magical world. The magic culture and abilities that Monica Fairview created are fascinating and well thought out. I loved learning about this new world and somehow managed to never feel lost or confused or info-dumped. She's able to build some of the same status that existed in Regency England (and thus, the original Pride and Prejudice), while shaping it around the magical world. For example, being someone who can wield magic definitely has an impact on status -- it's what makes you, we'll say, a gentleman's family, for example. But it alone is not enough. Belonging to the Royal Mages (which the Bingley do, but the Bennett's do not) increases status. But lineage is everything - Darcy has it when the others do not. So the levels are there, but in the magical world she's created. It's comes through in so many ways.

She's turned the plot on it's head in a lot of ways - Darcy and Elizabeth are to be married almost immediately, for example -- and I was surprised to not be bothered by these massive changes. Instead, it just let me get lost in a new plot with familiar hints. In this new plot was a mystery which I found incredibly obvious and is the ONLY reason I give this book 4.5 stars instead of 5. I would have liked to have it be more of a mystery OR for Darcy and Elizabeth have clued in much faster. But that is my only complaint.

I listened to Dangerous Magic, narrated by Jennifer M. Dixon. I think this is the first book I've ever read narrated by her and I enjoyed her performance. The voices were solid and I was able to listen at 2x speed without any trouble (my normal speed). I wouldn't hesitate to listen to her again.