Most helpful customer reviews
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2.0 out of 5 stars
A serious work?, Oct 17 2009
I was kind of expecting a serious novel from this great author, but I guess I was mistaken. Even as a stand-alone, this book would have been ludicrous from start to finish. I don't know why people insist upon writing books linked to famous characters when they have no intention of doing it with even a modicum of seriousness. The conversations, actions, and plot were all disjointed and far removed from anything an 18th century person would have done or said, let alone well-known upper class characters. The focus on the Children of Jesus was stultifying and weird, and during key moments of their lives such as death or birth, people tended to go on breezy soliloquys about completely unrelated (and uninteresting) subjects. I don't care if their lives turned out differently than we would have expected, so long as it was written with a degree of realism, which it wasn't. Altogether dissapointing, it's going in the slush pile. Glad I didn't spring for the hardcover.
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1.0 out of 5 stars
Good idea, terrible execution, Sep 4 2009
I picked this book up while on a austenesque reading streak. I loved Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and was excited to read something about Mary. However, I only got to the second chapter before I realised that this was a bad idea.
Darcy is back to being a pompus jerk, Elizabeth seems weak, and Mary was making comments about her sisters that even Caroline Bingley would never think. This book is an insult to the original characters and to its beloved readers.
I'm willing to except that time changes everything, but the character development is completely against what transpired in Pride and Prejudice. It makes no sense to passionate readers (like myself) that have read this book a hundred times.
I'm also willing to say, I applaud her idea and creativity, but to alieante your perfect audience by painting such beloved characters so poorly is definately a poor choice on the author's part.
I'm not finishing this book nor reading anything by this author because she is being so disrespectful to Austen, Pride and Prejudice and readers. (I'm only giving a star because it doesn't go lower than that)
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fun read even if not for everyone, Feb 4 2009
I loved this book. I devoured it within 24 hours. And yet, I cannot recommend it to every Jane Austen lover out there. Too many of her fans seem to think of that world and time period as perfection. Indeed, one of the reasons why I've hated the sequels out there is because they try to be gritty while maintaining the perfection that Jane Austen wrote about. You can't do both. This book accepts that fact and writes gritty.
So, only read this book if:
1. You don't care that Darcy and Lizzie don't have a perfect marriage.
2. that people have mistresses, sex, and more sex. Sometimes, with non-white people.
3. People swear. Harshly.
4. Darcy is not perfect. Neither is Lizzie.
5. Mary Bennet is allowed the fortune to get better looking with age (as does happen with some women).
If those things do not bother you, you will love this book. If they bother you, go buy one of the other sequels out on the market.
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