“The Last House in Lambton” by Grace Gibson, excerpt, review + giveaway

Dear all,

I hope I find you all well and enjoying this lovely season. I adore the colours of fall and I imagine them on the book that I am happy to show you todays: The Last House in Lambton by Grace Gibson.

There is a lot to read today, so I will start sharing the blurb.

Does it ever stop raining in Lambton?

Darcy and Bingley depart Netherfield Park, leaving Elizabeth Bennet acutely aware of the monotony of her life. Seeking a reprieve, she volunteers to serve as temporary companion to Mrs. Gardiner’s elderly aunt who lives in Lambton. Nothing turns out as Elizabeth expects, and she is forced to dig deep into her reserves of common sense, humor, and stubborn persistence to prove herself equal to the dreary circumstances. 

Initially unaware that Pemberley is only five miles away, Elizabeth crosses paths with Darcy annoyingly often. When the gentleman rescues her from a shocking situation, Elizabeth faces some hard choices, at the same time struggling against the smoldering attraction that can neither be repressed nor fulfilled.

Mr. Darcy, meanwhile, in whose heart a fire has also been lit, is shocked by the lady’s stubborn refusal to accept his help. Alternating between alarm and begrudging admiration, he stands helplessly on the sidelines while she struggles to retain her independence. He, too, must make some hard choices in the end. Will he let her go?

Yes, the situation from where he rescues her it is pretty schocking but I think Elizabeth tries to manage it quite well…

Anyone is surprised that she is stubborn? 😀

Look at the mosaics on Grace´s picture!

In addition to mosaic art, which she creates at Studio Luminaria (her home-based glass shop in El Paso, Texas), Grace enjoys writing Regency romance and Pride and Prejudice variations.

Follow her on Facebook.

It is lovely to visit My Vices and Weaknesses today, Ana. Thank you so much for having me!

We all adore Mr. Darcy, otherwise we would not be here today talking about him! But don’t you also enjoy seeing his confidence shaken for once? Perhaps, as I do, you also chuckle with satisfaction when his perfect manners slip, his storied composure breaks, and he is made more than a little uncomfortable by a pert young lady with a rather sharp tongue.

Here is an excerpt told from Mr. Darcy’s point of view in which just this sort of humbling takes place:

“What do you hear from Mr. Bingley, sir?” she asked.

Bingley! I did not want to talk about Bingley. I mumbled a vague reply that I had left him in London, to which she mused aloud that she had thought he might have since left town. To my horror, she then related to me in the most knowing manner that her sister had been in London, had tried to reestablish a connection with that family, and had been rebuffed!

I formulated a pathetic explanation that I thought he might indeed have left for Scarborough, only to be exposed by my artless sister who blurted out unhelpfully, “But I saw Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst very lately, and they made no mention of leaving London.”

As my face flushed at having been caught out, I was then treated to a verbal mauling the likes of which took my breath away.

Oh lord. Elizabeth is about to unleash her wit on poor Mr. Darcy! If you would like to find out just what she said to him on this and many other occasions in this retelling, sign up to win a free copy of The Last House in Lambton. I hope you will discover that an imperfect Darcy is more loveable than ever.

I have really enjoyed having both Elizabeth and Darcy´s point of view. I always like how Darcy reacts with Elizabeth, and example that you can find on the excerpt that Grace Gibson has shared with us.

As you have read in the blurb, Elizabeth is pretty empty and bored, however, perhaps she was to hasty to help her aunt´s relative. It is not even closed to what she had in mind, she actually has to work (gasp!). Although it is Elizabeth and we know she is strong and all but she is up for a scare at the beginning. Hopefully, she also gets Mrs. Reynolds’ help even before she sees Darcy. I will not tell you about their meeting at Mrs. Reynolds’ office but I can say I find it funny and a bit endearing (and it won´t be the last time Elizabeth has to ask for her help).

Elizabeth has to learn so much about managing a household that she realises how deficient her education in that aspect it. However, without knowing it, this will be very useful to help her with her relationship with her mother and will aslo be useful for her sisters.

When Elizabeth starts seeing that Darcy is actually caring, she is quite stubborn to accept help, as it can be read on the blurb, however, she knows she has to accept the offer from Darcy to protect also her “aunty”, but this may be seen as something that it is not. Yes, you are reading it well, it could be mistaken. Fortunately, Georgiana is there and Elizabeth is able to rest because she is not the only one helping her aunty.

There is a point when Elizabeth returns home that I do not like. She is the one making the decision for others, or another, when she used to dislike Darcy doing that.

Anyway, I have really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend you. It is a nice read, it is not angsty per se but many things happen around this couple.

Moreover, you will then meet the neighbour in the second to last house in Lambton ;D

Follow the blog tour, you will get so much more from this book!

November 7   Babblings of a Bookworm

November 8   My Jane Austen Book Club

November 9   Austenesque Reviews

November 10 From Pemberley to Milton

November 11 My Vices and Weaknesses

November 12 Interests of a Jane Austen Girl

What about buying the book? Here you have a link:

Amazon Universal Link

Meryton Press is giving away an ebook copy of The Last House in Lambton to one person commenting on this post. Let me know what you think of the book so far, or my review. The contest is open until 23:59 (CEST) on the 17th of November 2022. Good luck!

What a beautiful and amazing cover, Janet!!