And I beat Diablo III..... so there's that.
Anywho, I DID manage to read and finish a P&P JAFF book: Pride and Prescience: Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged by Carrie Bebris.
At the wedding breakfast celebrating the nuptials of Mr. & Mrs. Darcy-- and of course the Bingleys-Caroline Bingley does her damnedest to steal Elizabeth's thunder by announcing her engagement to a rich, friendly American. Keeping in line with Caroline's theme of "whirlwind romance," they plan to be married in a week, resulting in both the Bingleys and Darcys delaying their honeymoons in order to attend the event. Unfortunately Caroline's marital happiness is short-lived after several incidents of bizarre behavior frighten her betrothed, family, and the Darcys. Is Caroline Bingley really going insane, or are far sinister motives at work? It's a mystery only Mr. & Mrs. Darcy can solve.
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I enjoyed Bebris's writing, capturing both Elizabeth's wit as well as the newlywed dynamic between her and Darcy. And by that I should clarify that I don't mean sex though there's some cute flirting; it's the feeling out of each other's personalities and learning to work as a husband/wife team. The story itself was a fun, easy read with a few eerie moments and a couple intense scenes... not to mention a bit of murder and intrigue! Putting the Darcys in a mystery is a clever idea and worked well.
However, it was predictable which is a problem I run into a lot with JAFF. There was one supernatural twist at the end that threw me because the book doesn't have a supernatural tone, and I'm curious to see if Bebris carries that over into the rest of the series. That's right: SERIES. There are 6 total books in this mystery series, each one involving characters from every Austen novel. I've begun Suspense and Sensibility and so far I'm enjoying the direction of the plot. I'm hoping Bebris's storytelling matures as the I continue through each book.
Oh my goodness! I'm reading "The Intrigue at Highbury" for my October read! Too funny. I'm happy to know you enjoyed this, because I wasn't too sure, but thought it'd be a fun change up from regular JAFF. I look forward to hearing what you think of her next book and I'll keep you posted on "Intrigue"...
ReplyDeleteBy the way, congrats on the job! Hopefully you're enjoying it.
Thanks! I'm also reading The Phantom of Pemberly Manor for Halloween!
DeleteI just finished this book, actually. For me it was one of the better P&P sequels because I felt the plot was more interesting (the whole putting the Darcys in a mystery, I suppose). It is not the most surprising mystery perhaps, but good fun. I was a little let down with the Suspense and Sensiblity because there was a much strong element of the supernatural than in this first book (I liked the vague maybe supernatural/Mr. Darcy has plausibly deniability thing), but still fun. I'm interested to read some more of hers to see how they are.
ReplyDeleteNice! I didn't actually continue with the series as I got busy at the bakery and had to return the books. I re-read A Match for Mary Bennett for the 7th or 8th time recently, but I think I'm ready to move away from JAFF for a while and read other stuff. But I like your assessment and totally agree :)
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