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claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Colonisation
Minor: War, Medical content, Sexism, Misogyny, and Transphobia
mckenna_la's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Minor: War
booksjessreads's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have never debated the stars that I've needed to give to a book more than I have this one.
Austen's writing was *chef's kiss* and in comparison with P&P, her writing was much more mature and entrenched in emotion and feeling. I said in my review of P&P that I felt so wowed by her writing that I felt every one of Elizabeth's emotions - well times that by 10 and that's how deep the emotional quality of Austen's work is here. Not only this, Austen entwined intelligent wit throughout her work, with particular relation to pompous social practice and certain characters temperaments. Her subtle humour is always delectable.
I found it harder to like the character of Anne at first, but as I went through the novel I realised how much I have loved her. She's the eldest of Austen's heroines and her family imply (as this was the general notion at the time) that she has lost her 'bloom' from her youth. Her character was more reserved and quieter than the likes of Elizabeth or Emma, but I loved that. Whilst easily persuaded as a nineteen-year old in love, she clearly develops a strong mind through her age.
Captain Wentworth was in the novel in spouts, but not as much as I would have wanted. Their rekindling of love happened in the last 30 or so pages and despite the letter making my heart violently burst, I just wish it would have happened a little earlier. Although I think that's all part of the suspense. More to add here that this novel isn't about youthful romance as the other books are - this is mature love and the passion and strength of love between the characters when they finally come together is what is really moving about the novel.
I had initially given it 4 1/2 stars simply because I wanted Wentworth to be in it more, but after writing this review I changed my mind because the emotional quality and intensity of the prose has just pushed me that little more.
Austen's writing was *chef's kiss* and in comparison with P&P, her writing was much more mature and entrenched in emotion and feeling. I said in my review of P&P that I felt so wowed by her writing that I felt every one of Elizabeth's emotions - well times that by 10 and that's how deep the emotional quality of Austen's work is here. Not only this, Austen entwined intelligent wit throughout her work, with particular relation to pompous social practice and certain characters temperaments. Her subtle humour is always delectable.
I found it harder to like the character of Anne at first, but as I went through the novel I realised how much I have loved her. She's the eldest of Austen's heroines and her family imply (as this was the general notion at the time) that she has lost her 'bloom' from her youth. Her character was more reserved and quieter than the likes of Elizabeth or Emma, but I loved that. Whilst easily persuaded as a nineteen-year old in love, she clearly develops a strong mind through her age.
Captain Wentworth was in the novel in spouts, but not as much as I would have wanted. Their rekindling of love happened in the last 30 or so pages and despite the letter making my heart violently burst, I just wish it would have happened a little earlier. Although I think that's all part of the suspense. More to add here that this novel isn't about youthful romance as the other books are - this is mature love and the passion and strength of love between the characters when they finally come together is what is really moving about the novel.
I had initially given it 4 1/2 stars simply because I wanted Wentworth to be in it more, but after writing this review I changed my mind because the emotional quality and intensity of the prose has just pushed me that little more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny
nehanaomi's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death of parent, and Misogyny
jjjreads's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
If I could give this book a rating higher than 5 stars I would. Absolute favorite. Seven years ago the main character (Anne Elliot, my beloved) dumped her then-fiance. Now he's back, and he is unquestionably winning the breakup. Everyone around her bar the family friend who pressured her into dumping him in the first place and the ex himself either doesn't know they were engaged or cared so little they have since forgotten, so there are a lot of unkind, unfortunate, and uncomfortable things said right in front of her. It's so awkward.
The writing is quite clever (Anne fades into the background of any room she's in, everyone in her life ignores her unless they want something from her - and though the beginning of the story is engaging, she's nowhere in it. She doesn't even speak aloud until the third chapter. The reader is led to her the same way the other characters are). However, a note on the writing: to us, reading more than two hundred years after this was written, the viewpoint can be jarring. It's somewhere between omniscient and head-jumping. Normally I cannot bear head-jumping (it's one of the few things that can make me put down a story I otherwise enjoy), but this story is so delightful that I don't even care.
Questions regarding character development and character flaws are complicated to answer, as the Anne of seven years ago had some major flaws and has since done a lot of work to fix them, so there is a lot of character growth and development but a lot of it happened prior to the start of the book.And this is Austen, so we know there's going to be a "happy" ending, so the real question is: will the ending be satisfactory? The answer is a resounding yes. The only problem is that (like the overwhelming majority of romance stories, in my opinion) it ends too soon.
The writing is quite clever (Anne fades into the background of any room she's in, everyone in her life ignores her unless they want something from her - and though the beginning of the story is engaging, she's nowhere in it. She doesn't even speak aloud until the third chapter. The reader is led to her the same way the other characters are). However, a note on the writing: to us, reading more than two hundred years after this was written, the viewpoint can be jarring. It's somewhere between omniscient and head-jumping. Normally I cannot bear head-jumping (it's one of the few things that can make me put down a story I otherwise enjoy), but this story is so delightful that I don't even care.
Questions regarding character development and character flaws are complicated to answer, as the Anne of seven years ago had some major flaws and has since done a lot of work to fix them, so there is a lot of character growth and development but a lot of it happened prior to the start of the book.
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny
As this is written by a lower-middle-class woman in Georgian England, there are instances of misogyny and classism.
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