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Don't get me wrong--I didn't hate this book. The editing in the e-version was all kinds of cattywumpus, but that is not the author's fault. I guess that I just love the original so much that this started to piss me off. The parts that were directly taken from Austen's novel were lovingly recreated and stayed true to the feel of the original.
This was a mashup work so I expected to have a bit of a giggle at the bizarre mix of Regency manners and fantasy. There were some great parts--I loved that she incorporated some LGBT characters and had one of the romantic heroes come from African descent.
That being said, the magic portion of the novel is what made me want to smack the author with a hardback copy of a grimoire. There was a scene in the library at Darcy/Archer's manse that was frigging endless. She was obviously trying to set up some kind of belated world building, but it seemed a bit late as more than half the book had already transpired at this point. I also thought the ending was fairly lame; Elizabeth/Elsabeth is trying to start some kind of feminist/LGBT rights/magic user acceptance in the strictured society of Regency England. Oh, and everybody is mostly just fine with that. Really?! Cause we don't even have that now in 2016, if the furor over the Target bathroom incident is any indicator.
My biggest pet peeve with this book is I felt it didn't deliver on its promise. As a Jane Austen tribute novel, it worked fairly well. As a mashup fantasy novel it fell woefully short. The author is a solid writer and I enjoyed parts of the book a great deal. Yet the book does leave much to be desired as a literary mashup. For that reason, I must give it a reluctant 3 stars.
This was a mashup work so I expected to have a bit of a giggle at the bizarre mix of Regency manners and fantasy. There were some great parts--I loved that she incorporated some LGBT characters and had one of the romantic heroes come from African descent.
That being said, the magic portion of the novel is what made me want to smack the author with a hardback copy of a grimoire. There was a scene in the library at Darcy/Archer's manse that was frigging endless. She was obviously trying to set up some kind of belated world building, but it seemed a bit late as more than half the book had already transpired at this point. I also thought the ending was fairly lame; Elizabeth/Elsabeth is trying to start some kind of feminist/LGBT rights/magic user acceptance in the strictured society of Regency England. Oh, and everybody is mostly just fine with that. Really?! Cause we don't even have that now in 2016, if the furor over the Target bathroom incident is any indicator.
My biggest pet peeve with this book is I felt it didn't deliver on its promise. As a Jane Austen tribute novel, it worked fairly well. As a mashup fantasy novel it fell woefully short. The author is a solid writer and I enjoyed parts of the book a great deal. Yet the book does leave much to be desired as a literary mashup. For that reason, I must give it a reluctant 3 stars.
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