Reflections of a book addict posted a review of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The last man in the known world by Abigail Reynolds. Here is a brief summary from the blog:

We find ourselves following Elizabeth and Darcy immediately after his initial proposal of marriage to her at Rosings Park. We all know of her famous rejection, perhaps the most stinging line in the entire novel, “”I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.” It carried all the bubbling resentment that Elizabeth held against Mr. Darcy once she learned of his involvement with Bingley’s abrupt separation from Jane. However, what if she never got to utter those famous words? What if mistaking Elizabeth’s silence for acceptance, Darcy kissed her? What if this kiss was witnessed by Colonel Fitzwilliam? How would their marriage work with a complacent Elizabeth and a deeply in love Darcy? Thanks to the imaginative prose of Ms. Reynolds, we can see just that.

Bookpeople’s Blog posted a review of Jennifer Dubois’s A Partial History of Lost Causes. Again, from the blog:

Aleksandr’s story begins in Leningrad in 1979, where he dreams of becoming a chess champion. Irina initially knows of Aleksandr because her father, an avid chess player, was a fan. We’re with Aleksandr as he moves into the world of Cold War era chess matches, and beyond into underground politics and the dangerous world of Russian politics under the reign of Vladimir Putin.