P&P Bicentenary Challenge: The Unexpected Miss Bennet by Patrice Sarath

Thanks for the photo Goodreads

This might upset the Darcyholics, but I'm drawn more to a Mary Bennet love story than a Darcy and Elizabeth sequel. As much as every woman wants to be Lizzy, I have to be honest and admit that I relate to Mary more than any other Bennet daughter. Sure, she's awkward, pious, and overly serious, but I've always felt that underneath it all, Mary loves her sisters even though she doesn't understand them and they mock her. Not to mention the difficulty growing up as the third behind the otherworldly beauty that is Jane and the intelligence, wit, and beauty that is Elizabeth, then have the unbelievably silly Kitty and Lydia as younger sisters. Poor Mary has been invisible her whole life, in part because of her family, but also because of her own choices. 

Patrice Sarath explores those choices in The Unexpected Miss Bennet, a wonderfully written Pride and Prejudice sequel taking place one year after the Bingley/Darcy double wedding. Kitty is off to visit Jane, and consequently London, while Mary remains with her parents. Now alone, Mary begins to take walks, reanalyze her previously coveted Fordyce's Sermons, and stops playing piano. Concerned Mrs. Bennet has given up the search to find Mary a match, Lizzie brings Mary to Pemberly to help with the husband hunt. Like every fun P&P continuation, all our favorite characters must show up in one form or another, so the Darcy household eventually travels to Rosings where Mary begins an unusual connection with Anne de Bourgh and is given a tough life choice. Will Mary Bennet ever find love or will she remain the quiet girl in the corner with the serious countenance? 

~

In three words: I loved it.

Sarath did an excellent job diving into the motivation and backstory of Mary Bennet, allowing us readers to watch her evolution and realize misgivings as well as strengths. Though the story lacked much drama (despite a small reference to the infamous Wickhams) and held few surprises, it's truly a character piece and kept me turning page after page to witness Mary Bennet go from girl to woman. In addition, Sarath gives Mr. Bennet a supporting role, I believe, as a chance to redeem himself from his P&P reputation as an indifferent father favoring only Lizzy. I also enjoyed the dynamic between Anne de Bourgh and Mary. However, the rest of the characters felt underdeveloped.

In addition, the romance didn't quite make sense and was rather sudden, though the book is a fast read and could've benefited from even more content. Yet the themes and lessons throughout made me think and I even earmarked several pages with excellent quotations. The story overall was sweet and enjoyable, but if you're one who loves lots of action in your Regency reads, this isn't the book for you. And while I mentioned the Wickham cameo above, it did feel a bit contrived, as if Sarath's editor wanted her to add more conflict so she threw Lydia in at the last minute.

All in all, this is the second Mary Bennet romance I've had the pleasure of reading and I'm thrilled I stumbled upon it in Barnes & Noble. It's a great addition to any JAFF library and is on my re-read list.... in fact, I almost started it over when I finished!

Rating

4 out of 5 ribbons

Go to Amazon and get your copy here

Click here to see my full list of P&P challenge books and find out more info about it.

Come back in May for my review of Pride and Precience: Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged.

Booking for Looks

As I pondered about the idea that Heaven is a Bookstore, I remained quite aware that I was on earth in a REAL bookstore full of scrumptious new reads I was DYING to take home. Walking into a Barnes & Noble with a credit card is extremely dangerous for me. There are so many books I want to read, so much I want to know, so many stories that need to be told!

Hence why I'm the weird chick taking pictures: I want to remember all the books that catch my eye so down the road I can look for them when I return with someone else's money gift cards (or search for them on Amazon... shhhh don't tell).  Though I have a Kindle and highly recommend the convenience and ease that comes with an eReader, it's still comforting to hold a book in your hands.

It's hard to resist a gorgeous hardcover with a colorful illustration...

... or a newly printed version of a Jane Austen classic. If I was a billionaire I'd continuously buy copies of all Austen novels and dedicate an entire floor of my 3-story mahogany library to her and her fan fiction. Don't judge.

 

I really wish bookstores had a designated "Jane Austen Fan Fiction" section since new books are constantly being published. It's a chore trying to find JAFF amidst the hundreds of other books in the Fiction/Literature section. But it's worth my frustrating persistence when I find a good one.

I also love books set in Ireland (like The Last Storyteller): I have a thing for Irish fiction. That's why I love Maeve Binchy-- all her books take place there since she's, you know, IRISH. So if you're weird like me and enjoy books set in the Land of Blarney, read her.

When I'm not dumping all the Fiction/Lit books on the floor trying to find the next JAFF book for my collection or an Irish love story, you can find me scouring the Young Adult Lit section as I'm also a YA junkie. These books have the BEST covers and I'm a sucker for beautiful cover art. That's what attracts my attention in the first place-- take heed book publishers!

This Kingdom Keepers series combines YA with Disneyworld, making me giddy with geeky delight! The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict is the fourth in an installment of books about children with high intelligence and gifts that very bad people want to exploit. They're being protected by the Benedict Society as puzzle-filled adventures ensue. For a YA book, it's a pretty intelligent read... or I'm really dumb... either way, check it out!

Naturally, I progressed from children's books and wandered into the Romance section (why are they next to each other?!). I usually avoid Romance... which is so judgmental and wrong of me because I'd probably LOVE these books too.

I found this little beauty about a man who wakes up after a Halloween party to find he's been turned into a vampire by the beautiful woman he thought was wearing a vampire costume. 

The real question is... how do you NOT want to read that book?!

Finally, these were sitting on the Best Selling Paperbacks table and I ALMOST bought them:

Have you read the 50 Shades trilogy?! Most of my friends are and I'm overcome with curiosity. However, I was also overcome with the same curiosity about the Twilight series and those books were a big fat fail (except Eclipse). But the trilogy is $30 on the Kindle... maybe a birthday present to myself??? I think so.

Heaven is a Bookstore

While wandering through Barnes & Noble at the Americana the other day, it suddenly occurred to me that I would be perfectly happy if Heaven is a giant bookstore. And of course by "bookstore" I mean "bookpalace."

This never-ending store holds every book to ever exist (or is still being published) in every language, alive or dead, while constantly smelling like coffee and old books without the dust. Books are never out of stock or out of print, they're all free, and each one has that slightly worn, slightly "loved" charm of a book from a used bookstore. Although time is irrelevant in the Afterlife, there would be periods of daytime with rich natural sunlight flowing in through huge windows, as well as a nighttime of cozy, warm, soft lighting that never strains the eyes.

And you will always find a chair. Not just any chair, though, a big comfy chair with a blanket that could have been knitted only by your grandma, a cushy ottoman for your feet, and a little table with a lamp next to each one. Some are gathered together for book clubs or socializing in the cafe, others are next to fireplaces and windows, and still others are tucked away in hidden corners only you know about. Whatever seating you want you'll find.  For those that love reading outside, the store has beautiful grounds with any number of outdoor lounge chairs or trees for you to lay under, and the weather is always exactly what it should be.

Like any decent bookstore worth its salt, there's an excellent cafe serving the finest coffee, espresso, tea, etc. you could ever want at no charge. In my case, all the Seattle's Best caramel lattes and Starbucks iced white mochas I can drink. You can even get a glass of red wine to sip while enjoying a sexy romance novel (yes, those will be allowed: Heaven doesn't censor). The food menu ranges from homemade fresh-baked pain au chocolat to organic soups and salads to free range organic chicken or vegetable paninis. Since it's Heaven, you can order whatever you want and it'll be just the way you like it. And everything is calorie/fat/sodium/cholesterol/preservative/cruelty free.

No one actually works at the bookstore but anyone will be able to help you find a book. And the book signings... every author imaginable, from Plato to the Apostle Paul to Chaucer to Austen to Tolkien to Rowling, will have regular meet & greets. But conversations will never rise above a gentle hum, despite unending conversations and group discussions. Music will play as well-- whatever music you need to enjoy a good book or relax and sip coffee or discuss esoteric poetic themes and philosophical questions.

Our cats and dogs and other furry friends will wander around, ready to curl up in our laps and have us absentmindedly scratch their ears while we read.

Yes. Heaven is a bookstore.