Eyes tightly shut against the horrifying future, Darcy dug his fingers in his hair, his temples pressed hard between cold palms as though to force out thoughts that tore and slashed and hounded him into a world so dark that, by comparison, insanity seemed a generous blessing. Yet, as he knew full well, there was worse to come.
(from The Unthinkable Triangle)
Quick summary: Joana Starnes’ latest novel, The Unthinkable Triangle, is a variation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice that imagines what could have happened if Colonel Fitzwilliam, Mr. Darcy’s beloved cousin, proposed to Elizabeth Bennet first and was accepted. Can Darcy put aside his feelings for her for his cousin’s sake, especially when events conspire to ensure they frequently cross paths?
Why I wanted to read it: I’ve been a fan of Starnes’ writing since The Subsequent Proposal, her clever mashup of Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion.
What I liked: I loved The Unthinkable Triangle from start to finish. Starnes is not afraid to shake things up, and she certainly isn’t afraid to torture poor Darcy! She infuses so much emotion into these pages, yet it never feels overdone. She makes the premise completely believable and made me truly worried about how it was all going to play out. But most of all, I loved getting into the heads of these characters, feeling their joys and their sorrows. Starnes puts Darcy and Elizabeth through new trials, lets readers get to know secondary characters like Colonel Fitzwilliam and Georgiana better, and introduces intriguing original characters, some sweet and some filled with malice.
What I disliked: Absolutely nothing! It has the perfect mixture of passion and despair.
Final thoughts: The Unthinkable Triangle is another winner for Starnes, and again she made me believe that another outcome could be possible. Her writing is beautiful, seemingly effortlessly moving from hope to regret to despondency and back again and taking readers along for the tumultuous ride. The Unthinkable Triangle is a contender for my Best of 2015 list and easily makes my list of all-time favorite Pride and Prejudice variations.
Disclosure: I received The Unthinkable Triangle from the author for review.
© 2015 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
Wow! Best of 2015 and the list of all-time favorite Pride and Prejudice variations. That’s high praise.
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Yes, you MUST read it!
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Sounds perfect for you!
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It was! 🙂
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High praise indeed! That paragraph you quoted at the beginning, Anna, doesn’t it just tear your heart out?
I’m a big fan of Joana’s, as she well knows, and The Falmouth Connection made it into my Desert Island Five earlier this year. If this is anywhere near as good, and reports suggest it is, then we’re in for a real treat.
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Yes, I could really feel his pain. I’m glad you really enjoyed The Falmouth Connection because that’s in my to-read pile!
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I am so very curious
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I think you’d enjoy it!
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what a great review, everything that I have read about makes me want to read it more
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Thanks! I hope you get a chance to read it!
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Anna, your review is wonderful. It sounds like a very engaging Darcy book!
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Thanks! I really could feel poor Darcy’s pain.
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Oh, this is a new to me author. I’ll have to check out her books.
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Great! Hope you love them as much as I did!
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Your review is great! I loved the rollercoaster ride this book took me on.,Another winner from Joana Stanes
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Thanks! Glad to hear you loved it, too!
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[…] The Unthinkable Triangle by Joana Starnes […]
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[…] in which she brilliantly blended Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion, and The Unthinkable Triangle, in which she seriously (and again, brilliantly) had me worried about Mr. Darcy and […]
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[…] by Starnes, and it’s another winner. (Check out my reviews of The Subsequent Proposal and The Unthinkable Triangle.) Starnes has quickly become one of my favorite authors of Austen-inspired fiction. She never lets […]
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[…] loved all of the novels by Starnes I’ve read so far (The Subsequent Proposal, The Unthinkable Triangle, and Miss Darcy’s Companion — all 5-star reads!), and her stories and her writing get […]
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