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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
really enjoyed this variation, one of my favourite authors for this genre.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
⭐️ poor, ⭐️ ⭐️ ok, ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ good, ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ very good, ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ something special
[***The following rambling notes are for me. They may contain spoilers or no information at all.***]
Elizabeth was a bitch to Darcy for quite a bit of the book. Not teasing, not impertinent, just mean. Brought in characters from other Jane Austen novels I haven’t read and I spent the latter part of the book trying to figure out who was good and who was bad to an annoying degree.
Elizabeth was a bitch to Darcy for quite a bit of the book. Not teasing, not impertinent, just mean. Brought in characters from other Jane Austen novels I haven’t read and I spent the latter part of the book trying to figure out who was good and who was bad to an annoying degree.
I do like a fun PP variation, and here I soon realised this would be quite different.
Lady Catherine the Burgh was nice! Yes, I know I was shocked. She had suffered losses and now wanted to take the poor Bennett sisters under her protection as they also had suffered losses.
Mr Collins was still an asshat by the way.
But that is not what was different, no, there is to be a houseparty and suddenly a lot of other Austen men shows up. Mr Ferrars, Henry Tilney, Colonel Brandon among others. And even though this was pride and prejudice so manages to mix in Persuasion, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey for some Gothic mystery, and Mansfield Park. Very well done.
Lots of drama, new love interests, a Darcy that is really shy, a Georgiana who is writing a book, and a mystery.
A fun story since I never knew where it would lead me with all these new people in it. But at least one thing is constant. Lizzy will always get her Darcy in the end.
Stevie Zimmerman was a great narrator. Considering the cast of character she did well with different voices. You always knew where you had everyone. She was a really good fit for this book and made it truly enjoyable.
Lady Catherine the Burgh was nice! Yes, I know I was shocked. She had suffered losses and now wanted to take the poor Bennett sisters under her protection as they also had suffered losses.
Mr Collins was still an asshat by the way.
But that is not what was different, no, there is to be a houseparty and suddenly a lot of other Austen men shows up. Mr Ferrars, Henry Tilney, Colonel Brandon among others. And even though this was pride and prejudice so manages to mix in Persuasion, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey for some Gothic mystery, and Mansfield Park. Very well done.
Lots of drama, new love interests, a Darcy that is really shy, a Georgiana who is writing a book, and a mystery.
A fun story since I never knew where it would lead me with all these new people in it. But at least one thing is constant. Lizzy will always get her Darcy in the end.
Stevie Zimmerman was a great narrator. Considering the cast of character she did well with different voices. You always knew where you had everyone. She was a really good fit for this book and made it truly enjoyable.
medium-paced
So much more epic than I had anticipated. In fact I almost didn't bother reading it, as I am not a fan of Lady C, she is usually written so flatly, as an easy villain.
Kudos the the author for piecing together a puzzle so complex and keeping it straight, all the way to the end. I am not a fan of Emma, S&S or Mansfield Park, so a few of the scenes had me rolling my eyes.
That being said- I had tears in my eyes for the whole beginning of this book. The author wove the back story and emotions of all the ladies who suffered and lost due to fires that destroyed their lives as they knew it. It draws the reader in and invests them in the continuing story and what will happen next.
After 2 years of mourning and altered living these are not the same Bennet girls of canon and each of them are prime to fall in love with their life's choices. Even Jane who is very altered from canon. TBH, I can't keep straight all the various pairings. Suffice it to say, each one gets what they wants/deserves.
LOVED the Charlotte/Col. F thread, it was well written (Persuasion is my favorite.)
My only caveat is, not enough Darcy and Elizabeth. Due to this being an ensemble story, we don't get more detail on how they misunderstand each other and then fall in love.
I read this in fits and starts, not being drama driven until near the end, it had a slower flow to it. Yet reaching the end of the book is quite satisfying.
Kudos the the author for piecing together a puzzle so complex and keeping it straight, all the way to the end. I am not a fan of Emma, S&S or Mansfield Park, so a few of the scenes had me rolling my eyes.
That being said- I had tears in my eyes for the whole beginning of this book. The author wove the back story and emotions of all the ladies who suffered and lost due to fires that destroyed their lives as they knew it. It draws the reader in and invests them in the continuing story and what will happen next.
After 2 years of mourning and altered living these are not the same Bennet girls of canon and each of them are prime to fall in love with their life's choices. Even Jane who is very altered from canon. TBH, I can't keep straight all the various pairings. Suffice it to say, each one gets what they wants/deserves.
LOVED the Charlotte/Col. F thread, it was well written (Persuasion is my favorite.)
My only caveat is, not enough Darcy and Elizabeth. Due to this being an ensemble story, we don't get more detail on how they misunderstand each other and then fall in love.
I read this in fits and starts, not being drama driven until near the end, it had a slower flow to it. Yet reaching the end of the book is quite satisfying.
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I typically don’t enjoy Jane Austen FF where the author brings characters from her other books into the story. I decided to give this one a try because I was intrigued by the premise of Lady Catherine adopting the Bennet sisters. It wasn’t my cup of tea though. Each Bennet sister ends up taking on the role of another Jane Austen heroine. Jane is Marianne from S&S, Lizzy is herself but also Emma, Mary doesn’t have a romantic attachment or role, Kitty is Elinor from S&S, and Lydia is Catherine from Northanger Abbey. I didn’t like that the sisters didn’t have more creative plot lines. It seemed really cut and paste and lazy to me. Bamber writes well, but I don’t enjoy her plots. I probably won’t read another by her.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
A fabulous mix of Jane Austen's story lines
The author does a great job of intertwining and slightly changing the events of the major story lines for Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, and Mansfield Park. The leading ladies for those stories are switched out with the Bennet sisters and the major plot points preserved with some adaptations to make the story lines work together in one book while also interacting with each other in one house party.
The author does a great job of intertwining and slightly changing the events of the major story lines for Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, and Mansfield Park. The leading ladies for those stories are switched out with the Bennet sisters and the major plot points preserved with some adaptations to make the story lines work together in one book while also interacting with each other in one house party.
adventurous
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
Jayne Bamber is one of my favorite JAFF authors. Even if I don't particularly happen to care about the story line or tropes, I can still trust her works to be very well written and enjoyable to read.
This particular one did not make it into my favorites - too many story lines and none of them really felt central. There are full threads for ALL 5 Bennet sisters plus Charlotte Lucas plus the past tragedies (more than one).
There were so many protagonists it kind of felt like there was NO protagonist.
That said, Bamber has managed to give all the characters clear and distinctive personalities, despite very dark back stories there a bright shots of humour and banter and wit. It is also one of the very few JAFF works that investigates a bit on how E.-s sharp with can, with a bit of a push, become a wit for wit's sake - a bit mean and even toxic.
And how she catches on to that herself and does NOT like what she is becoming.
Also, once she gets something into her head, it is very hard to get her see things in a different light.
Darcy being a grumpy bastard to her in the beginning does not help of course.
But this D. is more self-aware and cops on to how he has erred and is working VERY hard for most of the novel to get back into Eliazabeth's good graces.
All the other story lines were charming as well as long as you don't think too long about the fact that Bamber essentially voids the plots of most other Jane Austen works but handing all the best guys across the board to the Bennet sisters and playing out the Persuasion plot with colonel Fitzwilliam and Charlotte Lucas.
So you might be, you know, a bit sad about that bit. On the bright side, if you only ever really cared about the Bennet gang, you'll be fine and can cheerfully carry on with your life. Serves them Dashwoods and Fanny Price and Catherine Morland right, they didn't deserve the happy ending anyway!!
Jayne Bamber is one of my favorite JAFF authors. Even if I don't particularly happen to care about the story line or tropes, I can still trust her works to be very well written and enjoyable to read.
This particular one did not make it into my favorites - too many story lines and none of them really felt central. There are full threads for ALL 5 Bennet sisters plus Charlotte Lucas plus the past tragedies (more than one).
There were so many protagonists it kind of felt like there was NO protagonist.
That said, Bamber has managed to give all the characters clear and distinctive personalities, despite very dark back stories there a bright shots of humour and banter and wit. It is also one of the very few JAFF works that investigates a bit on how E.-s sharp with can, with a bit of a push, become a wit for wit's sake - a bit mean and even toxic.
And how she catches on to that herself and does NOT like what she is becoming.
Also, once she gets something into her head, it is very hard to get her see things in a different light.
Darcy being a grumpy bastard to her in the beginning does not help of course.
But this D. is more self-aware and cops on to how he has erred and is working VERY hard for most of the novel to get back into Eliazabeth's good graces.
All the other story lines were charming as well as long as you don't think too long about the fact that Bamber essentially voids the plots of most other Jane Austen works but handing all the best guys across the board to the Bennet sisters and playing out the Persuasion plot with colonel Fitzwilliam and Charlotte Lucas.
So you might be, you know, a bit sad about that bit. On the bright side, if you only ever really cared about the Bennet gang, you'll be fine and can cheerfully carry on with your life. Serves them Dashwoods and Fanny Price and Catherine Morland right, they didn't deserve the happy ending anyway!!