In this review, I share my 20-year journey to finally completing The Fellowship of the Ring. I reflect on my personal connection to the book, the impact of my grandfather's gift, and how my understanding of literature has evolved over the years. I discuss the influence of the Rings of Power series for my renewed passion for Middle-earth and offer insights into Tolkien's writing style, the importance of pacing in reading, and the challenges faced by autistic readers. This conversation is a blend of personal narrative and literary analysis, celebrating the enduring legacy of Tolkien's work.

Catherine, the heroine of her own story, sets off to Bath with friends. There she is to be a companion to Mrs. Allen and enjoy herself at the dances and theater. That is, until she meets a new friend, whose brother locks his sights on Catherine. However, he has no chance when Henry and his sister grace the scene. Catherine is taken by him, trying everything to stop her new friends from sabotaging the relationship. All seems well. She even gets invited to Northanger Abbey, but her friends’ reach goes further than she knows.  

Three sisters, each married into different circumstances, live lives from the very poor to the very rich. One sister, Mrs. Norris, devises a plan to adopt her poorer sister’s daughter Fanny, but not at her own expense. The child is sent to grow and learn at the third sister’s house, Lady Bertram’s estate. There Fanny lives around her cousins. Instead of obtaining their follies, Fanny watches quietly from the sidelines as Lady Bertram’s household name falls into ruin.

The month of February was a little different. I read two amazing classics instead of one. The first, a Regency England romance between two people that hate one another, and the second, an American classic about sisters and loving one another. Both books were the same and different in many ways.

After the death of their father, three sisters and their mother establish themselves in a new home at the insistence of a distant relation. Elinor, the sensible one, is forced to not only leave her childhood home to her half-brother but to also leave the man that has stolen her heart. Marianne, yet to see the world past her 17 years, falls into a man one rainy day while exploring her new home. Together the sisters must discern who deserves their love in the twists and turns of 19th century English society.