Death Takes a Holiday at Pemberley

<b>5+ stars!!</b><br /><br />Wow! <br /><br />This is an excellent <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> sequel whose author was inspired by the classic fantasy movies <i>Death Takes a Holiday, The Bishop's Wife,</i> and <i>Heaven Can Wait.</i> It presents a unique paranormal approach to <i>P&amp;P.</i><br /><br /><a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/46254986.Death_Takes_a_Holiday_at_Pemberley" title="Death Takes a Holiday at Pemberley by Kelly Miller" rel="noopener">Death Takes a Holiday at Pemberley</a> starts with Fitzwilliam Darcy on his horse Regal reflecting on how blissfully happy he's been since marrying Elizabeth and his joy in his almost-two-year-old son Bennet. When Regal is spooked and abruptly rears, Darcy has a near-death experience, slipping from the saddle and falling toward the edge of a cliff. He's not sure exactly how, but he finds himself safely standing on solid ground. <br /><br />The day after, a Mr. Graham suddenly appears in Darcy's office. He's an incredibly handsome gentleman with an even more incredible claim: he's the angel of death. Dispelling Darcy's doubts with indisputable proof, Graham explains the purpose of his visit. His ability to read the final thoughts of those about to perish allowed him to sense Darcy's happiness the previous day. He wants to learn more about Darcy's unusually high level of contentment, and he wishes to spend a week with the Master of Pemberley in exchange for delaying his death. Although Darcy doesn't really trust Graham or want him near his wife and child, he has no choice but to agree.<br /><br />It's an eventful week, with plans already underway to surprise Elizabeth and Bennet with a joint birthday party. Darcy introduces Graham to everyone as an old Cambridge schoolmate. Other uninvited guests show up early in the week, creating additional stress. Increasingly, Graham seems more interested in spending time with Elizabeth than with Darcy, who is helpless to prevent it.<br /><br />Darcy also suspects that his death is only delayed for the single week and not indefinitely, but he's too afraid of the answer to ask Graham directly. It gives him an even greater appreciation for his many blessings.<br /><br />Graham is as much the central character as Darcy and Elizabeth in this fascinating story. I was impressed at the number of subplots involving other characters effectively woven into the book. The happy ending is a whopper of a surprise - I thought I'd correctly figured out how things would be fixed for the Darcys, but I was completely wrong and pleased to be so!<br /><br />This is flawlessly edited, and the writing flows nicely. I literally could not put it down until I finished it. Highly recommend!

Book Reviewed on <a href="https://www.whisperingstories.com" rel="nofollow noopener">www.whisperingstories.com</a><br /><br />‘Death Takes a Holiday at Pemberley’ is an historical novel by American author, Kelly Miller. It is written in the third person and the past tense, with the main characters being well known to Jane Austen fans.<br /><br />We meet Darcy and Elizabeth after they have been blissfully married for three years and have a small son, Bennet. Their happiness would have come to an abrupt end had it not been for an apparent chance encounter with the enigmatic Mr Graham who saves Darcy from certain death. All this supernatural Samaritan asks in return is to spend a week with the family in their home. What could possibly go wrong? I felt the author had cleverly laid the groundwork for all manner of possibilities.<br /><br />Darcy is already uneasy about this bizarre arrangement but then his sour, controlling and snobbish aunt, Lady Catherine, arrives with a beautiful companion in tow. As the book develops, more characters join the cast but each have their place in the lives of Darcy and Elizabeth and for anyone unfamiliar with Pride and Prejudice, the author takes care not to overwhelm the reader with names without explanations.<br /><br />The characterisations are strong and we see the action from the perspectives of several people and I am pleased to note that Kelly Miller hasn’t fallen into the head-hopping trap. Her dialogue is believable for the time in which the book is set and she has created a delightfully pleasant backdrop to her story.<br /><br />I was anticipating that Graham would spread malevolence and mayhem but in that respect, he proved a bit of a disappointment. Where I’d hoped for discord and havoc, he initiated self-discovery and healing; I wanted more jealousy, more fear, more passion and more confrontation. The closest we came to any of this, was Lady Catherine’s hapless plot but I found her motive a bit thin.<br /><br />On the other hand, for lovers of a cosy warm romance, albeit with some fantasy thrown in, this book will definitely be a winner. There is no graphic content to offend anyone and if readers have engaged sufficiently with the story, the twist at the end will come as a huge relief.<br /><br />Whilst I appreciate the work that went into this book and enjoyed its gentle development in parts, I confess to a certain amount of sympathy for those who are uneasy with the concept of pastiche. Kelly Miller is by no means the first author to pen a follow up adventure for the residents of Pemberley and I cannot get away from the fact that Darcy and Elizabeth are synonymous with Jane Austen.<br /><br />This story gives them a sympathetic outing and devotees of Austen will be better placed than me to judge whether or not it adds anything to their place in historical fiction.

<b>No one can confidently say that he will still be living tomorrow. ~ Euripides</b><br /><br />Fitzwilliam Darcy, a happy man with a young wife and toddler son, has a narrow escape from death when his horse spooks at a snake. He is unsure how he managed not to fall down a steep ravine but is thankful to be alive.<br /><br />A meeting with a stranger explains his escape. The stranger, Graham, introduces himself as an Angel of Death and explains how he saved Darcy from the ravine. Graham invites himself to be a guest at Pemberley to learn what makes Darcy such a happy man and how he aids others – his family, tenants, servants and neighbors – to also lead happy lives.<br /><br /><b>The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time. ~ Author unknown</b><br /><br />Hollywood has made variations of this story several times: “Death Takes a Holiday”, “The Bishop’s Wife”, “Heaven Can Wait”, and more recently “Meet Joe Black”.<br /><br />Here, Graham is described as a handsome, muscular blond man … could he be Brad Pitt who portrayed Joe Black? He was my picture as I read this story. <br /><br />Graham is not the only guest at Pemberley. Darcy plans a surprise gathering to celebrate the birthdays of Elizabeth and Bennet, their nearly 2-year-old son. Invited guests are Jane and Charles Bingley who arrive with Mr. Bennet as a welcome surprise. Georgiana and our favorite Colonel are married and also arrive as invited guests. Uninvited is Lady Catherine who carries an ulterior motive and brings a young woman she hopes will destroy the Darcy marriage. Still another uninvited guest surprises the Pemberley party later. <br /><br />Graham is the Angel of Death but is also knowledgeable about details of Life. He enjoys his venture into Life – especially the dining experience and a close friendship with a neighbor. He weaves his way through the Pemberley household, knowing all and sharing all.<br /><br />“Death Takes a Holiday at Pemberley” is well-written and proofread. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys JAFF.<br /><br />I received this book in a promotional drawing. Many thanks to the author and publisher.<br /><br /><b>When some men die it is as if you had lost your pen-knife, and were subject to perpetual inconvenience until you could get another. Other men's going is like the vanishing of a great mountain from the landscape, and the outlook of life is changed forever. ~ Phillips Brooks</b>

In this delightful Pride and Prejudice variation, Darcy is happily married to Elizabeth and father to two-year-old son, Bennett, when his horse is spooked by a snake on his ride home and threatens to throw him into a deadly ravine. Darcy opens his eyes and finds himself standing on the path beside his horse, miraculously alive, and an angel of death stands beside him. They strike a bargain (not that Darcy has much of a choice.) Graham (the angel) is to be allowed to accompany Darcy in his activities for the following week, and he will not take his life that very moment. But of course we learn later, there is always a catch…<br /><br />In addition to the interesting supernatural twist of Darcy’s avoided death and Graham’s complicating the story by his presence in their household, Lady Catherine De Bourgh shows up, causing trouble. I’ve very much enjoyed several other of author Kelly Miller’s wonderful P&amp;P variations and I always enjoy seeing which characters will be featured and what ways the story will be played with. In this one, I enjoyed the way she and her daughter Anne were brought to the forefront. Anne De Bourgh is not a character I can say I am usually fond of in the book, but some good gray areas were illustrated, along with some juicy drama to go with it, and I found myself eagerly flipping pages. (And oh, doesn’t Mr. Collins tire us all?) One thing I enjoy in all Miller’s P&amp;P variations is the way secondary characters are fleshed out and given a second chance to shine. I rather loved the version of Anne we had here. Other favorite moments: Darcy’s trusty horse. All the cute moments with Bennett. All the puppies. (You can never have too many puppies.) Darcy and Elizabeth. They were absolutely in love in every scene here, especially the looks across the room in the musical scenes, and I ate it up! <br />

4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars<br /><br />I borrowed this book from a friend.<br /><br />This author certainly has an unique premise in the variation. The death angel shows up just as Darcy is suffering a fall from his horse which will send him over the side of a steep ravine with no branches or bushes for him to grab onto and save himself. After some discussion the angel informs Darcy that the purpose in "delaying" his death is so that he (Graham) may have a chance to observe Darcy's life and understand mortals better...what makes for a contented, even happy life vs. those whose lives are full of sorrow or evil. <br /><br />So it is that Darcy makes sure his life is in order...not telling Elizabeth that it will soon end.<br /><br />On the other hand, Graham seems to have many of the abilities which humans may assign to GOD. He is more than a seer in that he can, by touching a human, foretell their life span and important facts about the future. He can also look back and see how that person's life events have molded them. Plus...no surprise...he can sometimes cause changes.<br /><br />Graham becomes more than just an observer; he makes alliances and even speculates what would happen if he decided to "stick around" after Darcy's departure. <br /><br />Elizabeth's family and some friends arrive in a surprise birthday celebration and several other uninvited people also show up...with agendas. Jane and Georgiana have discussions with Elizabeth and we find all is not well in their universe.<br /><br />This book kept my attention; it does have a bit of angst. Expect the unexpected and definitely read this book.

"Someday I hope you get the chance<br />To live like you were dying" Tim McGraw<br /><br />I will admit I didn't start this book with a good attitude towards JAFF having recently read some no so good books, but the book and the author won me over. <br /><br />This is a P&amp;P sequel set approximately 3 years after the Darcy's married and they are the happiest most perfect couple who ever lived. Darcy takes a short cut home returning from an errand to get birthday presents for his wife and son and has an accident which could have killed him... but he survives utterly unharmed. <br /><br />The next morning he is visited by an angel but it isn't his guardian angel but the Angel of Death ... who is in human form and has a deal for Darcy he will live if he allows the Angel, Graham, to observe and interact with his family. Of course Darcy is not enthusiastic to agree until Graham, in a Michael Corleone moment, points out I can kill you. So Graham and his exotic chaos come to Pemberley.<br /><br />Since it is both Lizzy's and Bennet's, the Darcy scion, birthdays Pemberley is expecting a crowd of visitors. And Graham, who can see the future, becomes a bit of an agony aunt solving dilemmas right and left. Throughout all of this Darcy is terrified that at any moment Graham is going to end his life.<br /><br />This is a story that paints some characters in a less than flattering light while redeeming others. While it is clean it does contain mature themes.

I came for the fantasy side of the story and even though it was not exactly what I was expecting, I stayed because of the great quality!<br /><br />I did read Pride &amp; Prejudice back in the school days (such a masterpiece) and this stunning book by Kelly Miller has gotten me back to that awesome story but giving it an another original and fresh variation. This fresh story starts years after the happy marriage of the main characters of Jane Austen's famous book takes place. What happens if you add a little bit of super natural powers to this story? But don't get me wrong, give it a try, you will see that it makes complete sense and all that thank you again to the imagination of this very good writter.<br /><br />I only would improve the cheap cover that really does not make justice to the quality of the book that is inside. That little improvement will for sure get more readers that will for sure enjoy this story the same as I did.

<strong>I Believe in Angels</strong><br />Reviewed in Canada on October 5, 2019 (Kindle version)<br />Lady Catherine is like a gnat that won’t leave you alone. Thank goodness for angels. Very enjoyable story reminiscent of other stories influenced by an angel. Well written fantasy. Recommend.<br /><br />October 29, 2019 - Audiobook <br />Excellent narration and performance by Christopher Jarvis. This presentation includes sound effects.

Reminiscent of old movie classics like Death Takes a Holiday or The Bishop's Wife, this heartwarming sequel explores both the ongoing story of Jane Austen's Darcy and Lizzy from Pride &amp; Prejudice and what happens when Death gets curious about the source of Darcy's happiness and contentment in life and his response to near death.<br /><br />The story is a blend of the supernatural and historical romantic sequel. A few years into his marriage and just before Elizabeth's birthday, Darcy has a near death experience that brought on his thoughts about how ready he has prepared things in the event of his death for his wife, child, and Pemberley, but now he has been informed that he was spared and the angel of death who spared him wants fair trade- a chance to observe Darcy's life closely. Naturally, Darcy finds this a bit hair-raising and is troubled to have Death close to his loved ones, but agrees to keep from dying when he did and wanting more time with his loved ones.<br /><br />Death wants a holiday among the living. He is curious about Darcy and especially when he meets the sparkling Elizabeth Darcy. Observing their life and love gives him much to ponder. But, then additional unwelcome guests arrive and he gets to see how the Darcys handle another person's bitterness and plot for revenge, their renewed feelings of inadequacy, jealousy, and the strain to do the right thing has on them. Oh, but there's more when more arrivals come. Death gets to watch and interact with more of the Darcy's circle. <br /><br />Meanwhile, the reader gets a peek in to see what came after the happily after for Darcy, Lizzy, and other characters from Jane Austen's classic tale.<br /><br />Including Death as a character, but also as an element of thought in the story was an interesting twist and I enjoyed-okay maybe not the right word there since we're speaking of mortality- seeing how it stirred matters for the mortal characters and ratcheted up the suspense of what would happen in the end even as Death got some surprises about human behavior and thinking that kept him pondering and also very busy meddling. <br /><br />I liked how the story started off slowly and built up momentum with each new arrival on the stage. There was both external conflict because of the expectation of what was coming for Darcy with Death looming and because of the acrimonious new arrivals. But, it was perhaps more fascinating to me to explore the internal conflicts for Darcy and Elizabeth separately as they worked through lingering past issues that reared up once again. I appreciated that the author portrayed a happy, stable marriage, but also that this required work and due diligence. The author showed that they both had to work and put the time in to have a prosperous and strong estate as well as a happy, well-developed child. This book was full of romance, but the practical daily sort as well as the feely-sensual kind.<br /><br />Speaking of the practical, I could tell the author did her homework on Regency era setting, customs, and speech. There were romance and paranormal elements, but the modern didn’t poke out and distract like can happen when these genres are blended with historical.<br /><br />There turned out to be a few side stories in the background and lots of secondary characters popping in. This was all well developed and wove well with the ongoing main plot threads.<br /><br />It was a quick read and thoroughly engaging. I thought it was a creative way to do a P&amp;P sequel that I can recommend to other Austen fans who like to explore the world of her characters a little longer beyond 'The End'.<br /><br />My thanks to the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Published on: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://myvicesandweaknesses.wordpress.com/2019/06/24/death-takes-a-holiday-at-pemberley-by-kelly-miller-review-excerpt-giveaway/">https://myvicesandweaknesses.wordpres...</a> <br /><br />What would you do if you faced death but in the last second “something” or “someone” saves you? What would you say? Mr Fiztwilliam Darcy does not know what to say either. Therefore, when the following day to a dangerous accident, a handsome man arrives to his home saying that he was the one saving him, Darcy cannot believe his fate but recognises that he was saved. Although he is not very happy with the deal… This “someone”, Graham, wants to spend a whole week with Darcy in order to know what makes Darcy happy. And as JAFF readers that most of you are, what makes Darcy happier than life? Elizabeth Darcy, née Bennet and their two year old son in this case.<br /><br />Therefore, Darcy is not really glad of having a very handsome man at his home, Pemberley. Kelly Miller has created the perfect anti-Darcy for Darcy (but not like Wickham): he is handsome (I know I said it before), he is well-mannered and outgoing, everyone simply likes him but he is not a scoundrel.<br /><br />Before getting into a few more details, I would like to write that Kelly combines a lot of different plots within the main story. I believe you would enjoy reading about Anne de Bourgh, one of my favourite subplots, or even reading about Georgiana and Colonel Fitzwilliam, Jane and Charles Bingley, etc. All these plots have two parts in common, on one hand, Darcy and Elizabeth; on the other hand, Graham. How beautiful is everything that Graham does, when he is not annoying Darcy! Is it Darcy’s opinion or is Graham really annoying him? Read the book ?<br /><br />Back to Darcy and Elizabeth for a bit… Darcy is actually preparing a surprise birthday party for Elizabeth. She believes that her family and Georgiana cannot come to her birthday, maybe all of them will not be able to come, or maybe yes, or maybe we will even have more uninvited “guests”. Are those guests welcome? What do you think? Perhaps they are not welcome but there may be a turning point for them or even a redemption. I will just say on this respect: LC.<br /><br />For a short part of the book we “lose” Graham but he is there, somewhere, do not forget about him!<br /><br />I think Kelly has a really good way of writing stories where the subplots make the main plot be even better as they fill it with more love, more surprises, more to think about.