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4.11 AVERAGE


I always felt a little bad for Mary Bennet - ignored and lonely, awkward in a way that I could relate to. This novel really rounds out her character and revisits many scenes from Pride and Prejudice that I would have like to have heard Mary’s take on. The whole thing was very true to the original novel and characters while creating a believable new world with Mary at the center.
emotional hopeful 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: Complicated
emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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hopeful reflective 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

What a charming Pride and Prejudice retelling! Parts of this book made me shed actual tears, and I found myself laughing out loud more than I expected as well! A thoroughly enjoyable read, and an interesting dive into fleshing out who Mary Bennet is. 
medium-paced
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No

*4.5
emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

4 stars. I consider myself to be a bit of a Jane Austen snob so I stay far away from retellings and reimagining of her work. To say that I was hesitant going into this would be an extreme understatement. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this.

The writing was absolutely gorgeous and I liked that part one was Pride & Prejudice from Mary’s point of view and then in part two everything changes as we see what happens after the end of that story. I loved Mary’s character and thought she was the perfect character to follow as she is the one Bennett sister that was just always there in the background. I think Hadlow did a great job with her character and the subtle development she goes through. I was so happy that Mary got her own romance in the end but the story is really about self discovery and growth.

My main complaints were that I feel like a lot of the middle section was incredibly dry. Nothing of significance happens for a big chunk so it was chore to get through. Also, I didn’t like the way Hadlow wrote Mrs. Bennett. She made her the villain pretty much and it was very out of character. Mrs. Bennett is an extremely over dramatic character but she loves her girls dearly. She treated Mary like an outsider and that was disheartening.

Other than those two things, this was a really lovely read and I did enjoy myself while reading it. I would read more from this author and I’m glad that Mary Bennett got her happily ever after.
emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Para ser una historia basada en el universo y personajes de otro autor, está muy bien logrado. Es fiel a la obra original (Orgullo y Prejuicio) de una manera muy creativa pues logra desarrollar a los personajes sin abandonar su esencia original. Te da una perspectiva diferente de los mismos personajes y logra que empatices con aquellos a los que podías ser indiferente y encuentres defectos en aquellos que podías idolatrar. 
La autora (Janice) parece tener conocimiento y buen dominio del estilo de la literatura de la época correspondiente a la novela original, además de las costumbres y prácticas de la sociedad de entonces. En ningún momento te saca de la inmersión (como sí lo hacen otras obras actuales ambientadas en esa época) pero aun así, logra integrar conflictos y opiniones más propias de nuestra era como el papel de la mujer en la sociedad y sus limitaciones. 
En general, es un gran libro y para aquellos aficionados de Orgullo y Prejuicio o de Jane Austen, será una lectura muy placentera. 
reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes