Rating:  Summary: A Good, Worthy, Entertaining Sequel!! Review: I have just finished reading "Desire& Duty." It is one of the best sequels to Jane Austins "Pride & Prejudice" that I have read. "Desire & Duty" is a continuation of the life of Elizabeth & Darcy after their marriage. Also, we get to read about some of our old favorites and what has become of them. I found the characters believable, interesting and entertaining. Therefore making you feel involved in their stories. So many other sequels that I have read (and I have read them all) focused to much on Georgiana Darcy's affairs instead of what happened with Elizabeth & Darcy. Which was after all why I really wanted to read a sequel. Their love story was so strong and intriguing. In "Desire & Duty" the plot does include them as well as Georgiana. As some people here have critizied "Desire & Duty" for the language as not being perfect for the era, get a life!! The authors themselves do not claim to have perfectly imitated Jane Austin's syntax. While there will never be another Jane Austin, "Desire & Duty" is well worth reading!!!!
Rating:  Summary: Drab and Dreary Review: Ick! I've bought every P&P sequel I could get my hands on, and this is the flattest and lamest of them all. Preachy, shallow, cardboard characters inhabit a drab world written for a second-grader. Drearily heavy emphasis on religion and morality with leaden dialogue leaves the characters as stick figures moving through stilted lines. The first couple of chapters are not so bad when viewed as window-dressing to Austen's masterpiece, but the authors should have ended the book there. It gets steadily worse and worse, to the point of being downright unreadable by the mid-way point. If you buy it, good luck getting through it.Instead, I'd highly recommend "Letters from Pemberley," or "The Diary of Henry Fitzwilliam Darcy," both of which are quick reads, but very sweet, satisfying, and well-done. I also enjoyed "Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman," which was a bit Harlequin Romance-ish, but still very entertaining.
Rating:  Summary: Disappointing at best... Review: Some novels try to mimic the same writing style as Austen, and some novels try to remain true to her plot or characters. This book does neither. The writing is "hokey" - I'm sorry I can't come up with a better word for it! While the authors go to great length to explain how they were true to the language of Jane Austen, they miss the mark entirely. Then you have the characters - while the names and places were the same (Mr. Darcy, Lizzy, Pemberley, etc.) there was very little likeness in how they were portrayed, not to mention a see-through plot. If you go into this book with the expectation that it is a stand alone historical romance, then you might not be let down by the final result, but if you are looking for a good follow-up to Janes Austen then don't bother, there are much better books out there!
Rating:  Summary: Disappointing at best... Review: Some novels try to mimic the same writing style as Austen, and some novels try to remain true to her plot or characters. This book does neither. The writing is "hokey" - I'm sorry I can't come up with a better word for it! While the authors go to great length to explain how they were true to the language of Jane Austen, they miss the mark entirely. Then you have the characters - while the names and places were the same (Mr. Darcy, Lizzy, Pemberley, etc.) there was very little likeness in how they were portrayed, not to mention a see-through plot. If you go into this book with the expectation that it is a stand alone historical romance, then you might not be let down by the final result, but if you are looking for a good follow-up to Janes Austen then don't bother, there are much better books out there!
Rating:  Summary: A worthy sequel to a classic! Review: The authors of Desire and Duty attempted a formidable task in writing a sequel to the beloved Jane Austen book Pride and Prejudice. While no one will ever duplicate Jane Austen's masterpiece, this book is a worthy sequel. It is true to the characters and the time of Pride and Prejudice. While there were some faux pas, the book was a very enjoyable read for those of us who do not necessarily keep an Oxford English Dictionary by our sides when reading a novel. The plot held my interest, and I became involved in the characters. For anyone wanting to enjoy a novel and continue the story of the much loved Pride and Prejudice cast, this book is a winner. For those who are simply looking for a good story, Pride and Prejudice is not prerequisite.
Rating:  Summary: An Easy Read! Review: This is not the best P&P sequel since it does not further develop the relationship of Eliza and Darcy. However, it is a pleasant read.
Rating:  Summary: Drab and Dreary Review: Ick! I've bought every P&P sequel I could get my hands on, and this is the flattest and lamest of them all. Preachy, shallow, cardboard characters inhabit a drab world written for a second-grader. Drearily heavy emphasis on religion and morality with leaden dialogue leaves the characters as stick figures moving through stilted lines. The first couple of chapters are not so bad when viewed as window-dressing to Austen's masterpiece, but the authors should have ended the book there. It gets steadily worse and worse, to the point of being downright unreadable by the mid-way point. If you buy it, good luck getting through it. Instead, I'd highly recommend "Letters from Pemberley," or "The Diary of Henry Fitzwilliam Darcy," both of which are quick reads, but very sweet, satisfying, and well-done. I also enjoyed "Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman," which was a bit Harlequin Romance-ish, but still very entertaining.
Rating:  Summary: This book was awful Review: This book was absolutely awful! There were way too many undeveloped characters. Both the newly introduced characters and the characters from Pride and Prejudice have no personality whatsoever. There isn't a single plot worth reading until the end, and everything is so predictable. The sentences are extremely awkward, including Mr. Darcy telling Lizzy, "I was fearful of losing the light of my life..." and Lizzy telling Mr. Darcy, "...you are my tower of strength." Way too sappy, and and there was no purpose to include all this sickening nostalgia. i almost didn't finish it, this book was simply terrible. don't read it!!
Rating:  Summary: wonderful sequel to Pride and Prejudice Review: This sequel is by far the best I have read. I am a Pride and Prejudice fan and enjoy the lives of Lizzy and Darcy. This book continues with their life and the life of his devoted sister. It stays true to the characters as no other. I suggest any fan of Pride and Prejudice read this novel. I am sure you will not be disappointed.
Rating:  Summary: Very disappointing Review: While the authors have made created an fairly interesting plot, following well the epilouge at the end of Pride and Prejudice (as they point out, excessively thoroughly, in their Historical Notes), and they have researched the period that the book takes place marvelously (also documented in their Historical Notes), they lack the playful writing that makes Pride and Prejudice so fun to read. The dialogue in this book makes the characters seem more like androids than the people we know and love from the world Jane Austen has created. The drama seems forced, and lacks humor that is necessary to make the somewhat predictable plot flow ahead. Also, not in keeping with Jane Austen's text, too much emphasis is placed on religion. The preponderance of religious conversations, and the emphasis on the beliefs of the characters, is not in keeping with the original story's disregard for the more weighty matters in the world. All in all, I was very disappointed in this book. It was a chore to read to the end, and I was not at all satisfied with it.
|