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diana_raquel's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a brilliant idea, conceived and executed by a clever young woman, must be claimed by a man.”
Unsurprisingly, Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors of all time. And although I love the Regency Era, I'm always a little reticent regarding retellings/inspired books of Jane Austen's work. More times than not, I find that they lack something. And, unfortunately, this retelling is no exception.
As a mystery crime story, this book is really good. The story is well-structured, the characters are well-written, and although I was able to predict some plot points, I never found the identity of the killer and their motivations, so that revelation was interesting to me. As a mystery crime story, this is a 4.5 to me.
However, I was expecting more. I was expecting more sarcasm and irony. The thing about Austen was that she was able to write stories that poked fun and criticized society's rules in a subtle way. And I don't think that this was achieved here. Yes, we see Elizabeth struggle to overcome society's rules, although, I wasn't amused by it. Where is the subtle irony? Where's the poking fun? Other writers of the Regency Era have criticized society's rules and the position of women in said society, but the thing about Austen is that this criticism is very subtle and amusing. And we don't have this in this book.
At the same time, we also have very little interaction between Elizabeth and Darcy. The message of the original book is that first impressions aren't everything. And throughout the interactions between Elizabeth and Darcy, we learn that Darcy is proud because he's a product of society and Elizabeth can be quite judgemental because, again, she is also a product of a society that excluded women. We love the book because of the interactions between Elizabeth and Darcy. In this book, there is more interaction between Elizabeth and Wickham than with Darcy. I know that this is supposed to be a mystery crime story and not a romance, but, I think that the book would benefit from a little more interaction between Darcy and Elizabeth.
So, I would prefer that this was marketed to me as an "inspired book" than a "retelling", but I cannot deny that this is a good narrative. Just don't try to sell it to me as a retelling.
Unsurprisingly, Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors of all time. And although I love the Regency Era, I'm always a little reticent regarding retellings/inspired books of Jane Austen's work. More times than not, I find that they lack something. And, unfortunately, this retelling is no exception.
As a mystery crime story, this book is really good. The story is well-structured, the characters are well-written, and although I was able to predict some plot points, I never found the identity of the killer and their motivations, so that revelation was interesting to me. As a mystery crime story, this is a 4.5 to me.
However, I was expecting more. I was expecting more sarcasm and irony. The thing about Austen was that she was able to write stories that poked fun and criticized society's rules in a subtle way. And I don't think that this was achieved here. Yes, we see Elizabeth struggle to overcome society's rules, although, I wasn't amused by it. Where is the subtle irony? Where's the poking fun? Other writers of the Regency Era have criticized society's rules and the position of women in said society, but the thing about Austen is that this criticism is very subtle and amusing. And we don't have this in this book.
At the same time, we also have very little interaction between Elizabeth and Darcy. The message of the original book is that first impressions aren't everything. And throughout the interactions between Elizabeth and Darcy, we learn that Darcy is proud because he's a product of society and Elizabeth can be quite judgemental because, again, she is also a product of a society that excluded women. We love the book because of the interactions between Elizabeth and Darcy. In this book, there is more interaction between Elizabeth and Wickham than with Darcy. I know that this is supposed to be a mystery crime story and not a romance, but, I think that the book would benefit from a little more interaction between Darcy and Elizabeth.
So, I would prefer that this was marketed to me as an "inspired book" than a "retelling", but I cannot deny that this is a good narrative. Just don't try to sell it to me as a retelling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Gore and Torture
Minor: Stalking
zoepagereader's review
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Now this was a good murder mystery novel. The ending had a perfect measure of not expecting the murderer and not having the murderer connected in some extraordinary way. I’ve never read Pride and Prejudice, so I have no idea how it compares to that, but it was a great mystery and romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Gore, and Racism
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
anniereads221's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual assault
ehmannky's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is just...fun. I had so much fun reading this. Like, I don't think it's particularly a shocker who the villains are in this book, though there is a bit of a twist towards the end that I found really fun. This is just a fun read. Like, I don't think it's like a deep or earth shattering retelling of P&P, but it doesn't need to be, because it's bonkers and silly and I loved it.
I will definitely be picking up the rest in this series because it's just a hoot.
I will definitely be picking up the rest in this series because it's just a hoot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, Kidnapping, and Gun violence
Minor: Sexual assault
kendallreadsbooks's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Minor: Sexual assault
ballgownsandbooks's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Kidnapping, Blood, Gun violence, Violence, and Misogyny
Minor: Racism and Sexual assault
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