In her latest and much anticipated Pride and Prejudice variation, author Jan Hahn has boldly and daringly done the unthinkable…she has engaged Elizabeth Bennet to George Wickham! And she’s not just engaged – but secretly engaged! *gasp* Can you believe it? What on earth is Elizabeth thinking!?! 😉

I must admit I didn’t find Elizabeth’s behavior all that unfathomable. This is partly because Jan Hahn did an excellent job creating a believable sequence of events that gradually lead Lizzy into such a predicament. Lizzy doesn’t immediately accept Wickham’s proposals or request for secrecy, but she does eventually consent due to her compassion for Wickham and her inexperience with men (master manipulators like Wickham are definitely beyond her ken!). I think Elizabeth’s sympathetic nature, sense of justice (Lizzy champions the wronged!) and her belief that she may one day have a love match like her aunt and uncle (who she just discovered weren’t in love when they wed) also steer Lizzy on this unlikely path. Keeping secrets from her sister and engaging in a deception is definitely not a part of Lizzy’s character…but women everywhere often make mistakes for the men in their lives.

Read the rest of the review at The Secret Betrothal – Jan Hahn – Austenesque Reviews.