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susieliston 's review for:
The Other Bennet Sister
by Janice Hadlow
3.5 I am not usually drawn to story continuations or retellings, but I was curious to read a novel by Janice Hadlow. I read her bio of George III and thought it was terrific. Contrary to a lot of reviewers, I liked the first half of this book the best...the retelling of P & P from Mary's point of view, followed by her round of visiting. Mary is played in the film versions as comic , indifferent to her own ridiculousness. Experiencing her actual thoughts was most interesting, as was new light shed on other characters. Although it was odd to feel hostility towards characters like Elizabeth and Charlotte that I always of course, liked before. After Mary arrives in London, though, and begins to "blossom", the book for me became quite predictable. Of course she's going to met a perfect man, of course there will be a complication, of course it will end happily ever after, because it would be a bummer if Mary ended up a sad old maid. Those were the only options, so it wasn't a surprise. The last half was also way too long, it could have lost 100 pages and been none the worst for it, as you know what is going to happen, there is no actual suspense.