A review by elizabaum
Just to Hear 'I Love You': An Alternate Tale of Jane Austen's 'Pride & Prejudice by Sarah Johnson

3.0

I feel like this book tried really hard but ultimately struggled to deliver what it promises. There are so many storylines that all but Mary and Fitzwilliam's felt shallow and excessive. I would have been fine if the sole focus had been on that couple, but it diverted too often to the other characters with their own plots. Elizabeth, Mary, and Georgiana, and even Fitzwilliam's backstory were so different from their canon selves that this might as well have not been a Pride and Prejudice story at all--which makes it feel like this is only JAFF so that the characters don't need as much developing. I'm sure that wasn't the intent, but rather the way the result felt.

Some things seemed to come out of nowhere (

the way Meryton society blamed Mary

) or were forced upon me in a way that I couldn't really enjoy how they came about (

Bingley and Maria Lucas

). Lots of telling rather than showing, and the plot felt jumpy and inconsistently paced. And now that I think about it, there weren't really obstacles that the characters had to overcome to achieve their happily ever after. Sure, there was disapproval from multiple fronts, but none of it really ever threatened to stop the characters from getting what they wanted. That took a lot of the thrill out of it.

I did really like the concept behind the changes to Mary, and it's always nice to see a story where she gets her time to shine. Colonel Fitzwilliam was very well done, too. Darcy's sneaky way of helping Fitzwilliam

by giving Mary a dowry that would allow them to marry

was a fun twist. Darcy and Elizabeth's story was sort of meh, but it was fine. I liked getting to see Bingley when there's no Jane to keep his attention, and the story did a good job of showing that fickle sort of love that Darcy claims Bingley often feels but that we never get to see in the original.

I didn't hate it, and I wasn't bored, but I felt like it lacked some essentials that could have made it a truly good story. Solid 3 stars.