Trust and Honesty

A Pride and Prejudice Variation

By: Leah Page

Narrated by: Harrie Dobby

Where trust is woven in words and proven in actions, there lies the path to true love.

Inspired by his friend's unconventional romance, Darcy is determined to win back the only woman who's ever captured his heart. Yet, finding the right words proves challenging for him. Will he manage to push past his reticence and prove that he is her perfect match?

In an act of courage that defies the strictures of decorum, Elizabeth Bennet pens a letter to Mr. Darcy, hoping to heal the wounds of a proposal gone awry and her own hasty rejection. But will her nerve falter in the face of her family's disgrace?

Trust and Honesty weaves a captivating retelling of the timeless romance between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, proving that sometimes, love's truest expression is found in the words we dare to share. This novella-length book delivers a heartfelt journey of love and redemption.

©2024 Leah Page (P)2024 Tantor Media

She finally says yes!

I really enjoyed Leah Page’s debut novel, Trust and Honesty. The ‘What if Elizabeth answered Darcy’s letter?’ premise is a good one. I was glad when he finally read it! In fact, all the letters between Darcy and Elizabeth were a highlight—full of feeling and lovely, believable prose. I also thought the scenes at Pemberley were really well done, with just the right balance of tension and hope.

The only thing that didn’t quite sit right with me was Elizabeth’s reaction after Lydia’s elopement. She’d already accepted him, and he’d been nothing but patient and steady. At that point, I wanted to see her trust him a little more. I understood why she got scared—she didn’t want a marriage like her parents’ and worried Darcy might come to regret her—but her ‘why’ still felt a little weak. Her reasons made sense on ‘paper’, but emotionally they didn’t quite convince me. Darcy, on the other hand, showed strength in his resolve to woo and convince her to finally say yes.

Harrie Dobby is a new-to-me narrator, and I really enjoyed her performance. I found her accent articulate and engaging—velvety and polished. Pronunciations were mostly good—I had one tiny quibble with the French madame rather than the English madam for the Regency setting—I’m not sure how it was spelled in the book itself. While I never doubted who was speaking at any given time, I’d like to see Dobby try to perform the male voices with a bit more resonance and power where the dialogue commands it.

I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase this narrator again, and I also look forward to reading or listening to Leah Page in the future.

Great story

This was a great Jaff. Jane encouraged Elizabeth to write back to mr Darcy. She waits and waits. He is watching Bingley with another angel. Great stuff.

Letters written & returned

I read this story in May of 2024 and this was my review, below I have additional comments specifically about the audiobook.

Congratulations to Leah Page on her first P&P story and I can imagine that it takes courage to do something like this. Courage is a theme that is addressed in this story as Elizabeth struggles with throughout the book. Others around her see what is the best thing for her (like many of us, we are blind when we are in the midst of things but those outside can see clearly) and they encourage her to do what she knows she wants - she just has to admit it to herself and see through her fears.

This is a post Huntsford story where we pick up with Elizabeth and Jane as Jane is the one who is consoling Elizabeth (a role reversal now). Elizabeth is filled with regret for her actions and her misjudgments of people and characters which Darcy's letter clarified for her. I was amazed that it was Jane who suggested a return letter but it worked, it just took time as Darcy was gone to one of his childhood friends (Lord Ashford). Lord Ashford reminded me of a cross between Darcy and Col F, I had to chuckle when Lord Ashford shared his story of how he married his wife. Darcy has the courage to stand up and fight for Elizabeth (again the courage theme) and this courage serves him well. Letters play an important role in this story as we have found that Darcy does not say the right things always when he is moody and that she does not always respond correctly too. These letters help clear the air and gives each other the strength to do what needs to be done. There were several parts that I enjoyed including Darcy telling Elizabeth about his parents relationship and what his father did for his mother - it was very touching. I thought it was sweet when Darcy told Elizabeth that he will keep trying and then with this it helps Elizabeth process her fears.

For the audiobook: this is a new to me narrator and she was not bad but I was able to still listen but it was a bit hard to accustom myself to the new voice. Listening, I think she struggled in some spots for the Regency and JAFF world. I am thankful to this author for taking the chance to bring her story to the audiobook world & look forward to what she will bring in the future.