Rating: 
Summary: Skip the sequel, go for the change in point of view
Review: I purchased this book with the idea that continuing the read of Pride and Prejudice would be lovely. The problem with this novel is that it is written in an entirely different style than its predessor. In addition, the introduction to the story and characters by way of what occurred in the original work lasts well into the novel. (This becomes extremely tiresome for those of us who already know the story.) I'd instead suggest reading "An Assembly Such as This" by Pamela Aidan. This retells the story of Pride and Prejudice from the point of view of Mr. Darcy. The style of writing is well matched, and you can feel the same sense of wit Jane Austen provided.
Rating: 
Summary: Excessively Diverted-A Must Have for all Jane Austen Lovers
Review: I truly enjoyed the book Excessively Diverted. I could hardly put it down. I have read many sequels to Pride and Prejudice and Excessively Diverted is by far the best and most enjoyable. I think Ms. Austen would have been proud. I have been a fan of Jane Austen for many years now and have done a lot of research into her writing as well as her life. Ms. Shapiro must be an heir to Jane Austen as her style is much the same.
Rating:
Summary: Unduly Disappointed
Review: I'm very fond of Jane Austen and read her novels repeatedly. I have also read and collected a number of the various sequels published by diverse authors. I was very curious, then, to read "Excessively Diverted" despite the many divergent opinions expressed in the reviews. I would have done well to listen to the more moderate ones. While the author does appear quite familiar with "Pride and Prejudice", she seemed determined to demonstrate her knowledge broadly through repeating in various arrangments Austen's own words. This was only mildly irritating. I expected her to indulge her imagination and to create her own explanations and elucidations of events in the original book, but she did so at a tedious pace. Instead of moving along with the plot, she chose to loop backwards and repeat what she had already said, then raise reference once again as if she feared the reader did not understand. If anyone who had read the original book could be in doubt as to the nature of Mrs. Bennet, they would certainly be confirmed in it after reading this thing. We are first shown and then TOLD of Mrs. Bennet's character flaws, not once but repeatedly, and not in pieces as in the original work, but in the same way and with nearly the same words. That is a single example. Almost all the characters are drawn in this heavy, cartoonish style. The author -- or perhaps her editor. if there was one -- has interpreted Jane Austen's fine writing style in long constructions of run-on sentences. Perhaps this is where all her commas were used, for there are certainly a lack of them elsewhere, when they would be properly employed. This isn't just a grammatical quibble. I was often greatly confused by the lack of information provided by simple rules of punctuation. I would suspect this might be a vanity press book or some manner of print-on-demand, judging by the evident lack of editing oversight. I do plan to persevere to the end because Ms. Shapiro has brought up some interesting plot ideas, however hard it is to pick them out or to tolerate the mish-mash in which they are couched. Then it will certainly go to the used bookstore. I would not loan it or attempt to sell it used here. As Lady Catherine might say "It deserves no such attention."
Rating: 
Summary: Uneven but worth reading
Review: In my opinion, Pamela Aiden's An Assembly Such As This is the best Austen spinoff. However, its imaginative story runs parallel to Pride & Prejudice, told from Darcy's perspective. Among the continuations of the P&P story, Excessively Diverted is probably the best. Juliette Shapiro is largely faithful to the plot continuation that Miss Austen intended, as well as in style and values.
Bringing the story to life, though, proved a bit more elusive. Shapiro captures the vocabulary of Regency England well enough. The book's early part relies primarily on the characters discussing events from P&P, which became increasingly tedious to read. Once past that and into the meat of the story, it seemed rushed as she used narrative more than dialogue to reveal in staccato fashion further developments that involved many of the characters.
Had she edited the first part more severely and fleshed out the rest, it might have been a novel worthy of Austen herself. As is, it is superior to most of the others of its genre and well worth the read for those who were so delighted with P&P that they crave more.
Rating: 
Summary: Excessively Messed Up
Review: It started out well enough with a touch of wit and irony. Everything else went downhill from there. The author mentioned at the end that she tried to stay faithful to Jane Austen's ending. I respect her for that, but some of the other ideas did not come together to make a good novel. 1. Lady Catherine accepts Mary Bennet as companion to Anne while still estranged with her nephew.
2. Mr. Collins loses Lady Catherine as his patroness. How the Lucases were able to support the whole Collins family and the rest of the Lucas brood I know not.
3. Mrs. Bennet proposes that Mrs. Darcy take in Lydia's child as her own and Lizzy agrees.
4. All these rushed weddings at the end - Col. Fitzwilliam married Maria Lucas. How is that possible when he couldn't make an offer to similarly fortune-less Lizzy?
5. Lydia and Lizzy go into labor almost at the same time.
6. Wickham actually shows up at Pemberley when Jane Austen mentioned that he was never welcomed there.
7. Wickham cries, Darcy forgives and Lizzy is in doubt. The book is in need of a good editor, too. In an effort to write like Jane Austen the author ends up writing things like "the scandals that were germinating within the Bennet family." It's an easy read, but not a diverting one.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous
Review: Ms Shapiro has performed a literary hat-trick. With a noteworthy grasp of Austen's language, she has written us a story of impressive warmth and sophisticated wit. Be not afraid. The characters we have come to love provide us with further fodder for the soul, with an occasional knee-slap along the way. Not one to ruin a good tale for those who have not yet read the book, I will hint that all ends well (well, one person dies, but in that his wife really didn't mind we shouldn't either). I encourage anyone who can't get enough of the Darcys to take this one up, no doubt they will be, a-hem, excessively diverted.
Rating:
Summary: Well Done!
Review: Ms. Shapiro has taken a generous helping of Jane Austen's original characters, added new blood here, a dash of humor there, and stirred them together gently to create a wonderful concoction for the reader. Her believable plot and her knowledge of the characters leaves the reader completely satisfied. A wonderful book!
Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing.
Review: Spoilers warning. Yet another in a line of recent "sequels" to Pride and Prejudice where the author is overly familiar with the Firth/Ehle made for tv miniseries, and apparently not familiar enough with the original novel.
Aside from the utterly ridiculous plot twists and total breaks in character throughout this novel (Lady Catherine bribing Wickham to run off with a Bennet daughter in order to ruin the family in Darcy's eyes??!!), one of my main problems is with the utter lack of proper editing. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes abound. (And I am sorry, but continually spelling "choose" as "chuse" or "show" and "shew" does not turn a modern novel into something of the Regency period.)
If you are looking for a more-Austenesque novel to read, try Janet Aylmer's Darcy's Story or Julia Barrett's Presumption.
(Of course, this book is head and shoulders superior to the utterly vile "Bar Sinister".)
Rating:
Summary: Read the original
Review: The author has a weird habit of quoting the original directly as though a new thought, and a great deal more research into manners and morals would have made a great improvement. She copies that Mrs. Bennett called her husband Mr. Bennett, but has Elizabeth call her husband "Fitzwilliam" and discuss his personal habits with her sister... There are many such lapses that I found less than diverting. The storyline is next to impossible in the morals of the day, but not enough to make it some form of comedy. The grammar is poor as well as modern, and the vocabulary is limited. I'd leave it off the reading list.
Rating:
Summary: Read the original
Review: The author has a weird habit of quoting the original directly as though a new thought, and a great deal more research into manners and morals would have made a great improvement. She copies that Mrs. Bennett called her husband Mr. Bennett, but has Elizabeth call her husband "Fitzwilliam" and discuss his personal habits with her sister... There are many such lapses that I found less than diverting. The storyline is next to impossible in the morals of the day, but not enough to make it some form of comedy. The grammar is poor as well as modern, and the vocabulary is limited. I'd leave it off the reading list.
| 
