This latest Pemberly Variation was simply delightful, rife with humor and drama. I alternated between laughing, sighing and tearing my hair out in exasperation.Poor Darcy and Elizabeth are trapped at the Hunsford parsonage when the river overflows after being interrupted in the midst of Darcy's dreadful proposal. Once the hullabaloo dies down a little, Darcy is under the misapprehension that Elizabeth had been on the verge of saying yes, which makes things a little awkward. When she sets him straight, things get a little tense...and that's before it gets really interesting.

I love how you see a great deal more of Col. Fitzwilliam in this story that usual. Caught between Elizabeth and Darcy, then Darcy and Mr. Bennet...as well as between some other people I won't mention for fear of spoilers, you feel rather sorry for the poor man. Other favorites of mine were Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, both of whom managed to be quite devious and lovable. You get to see a harsher side to Mr. Bennet and, surprisingly, to Mr. Bingley, which I found quite interesting.

My only very small complaint is that this book should have been longer. The beginning was just a trifle rushed, but mostly I just didn't want it to end so soon. I would have been very happy with another 200-300 pages so I could just wallow in the delicious romance.

Anyone who loves Austenesque re-tellings will love Mr. Darcy's Refuge. Sweet, funny, and absolutely lovely, I can foresee reading this again and again, just as I do most of Abigail Reynolds' books. This is not to be missed.