Mary Bennet Finally Gets Her Due

Expected Publication:  November 26th, 2013

The Pursuit of Mary Bennet: A Pride & Prejudice Novel

By: Pamela Mingle

William Morrow Paperbacks

ISBN-13:  9780062274250

A tale of love and marriage, society balls and courtship, class and a touch of scandal, Pamela Mingle's The Pursuit of Mary Bennet is a fresh take on one of the most beloved novels of all time, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Growing up with four extraordinary sisters—beautiful and confident Jane and Elizabeth, and flirtatious and lighthearted Lydia and Kitty—wasn't easy for an awkward bookworm like Mary Bennet. But with nearly all of her sisters married and gone from the household, the unrefined Mary has transformed into an attractive and eligible young woman in her own right.

When another scandal involving Lydia and Wickham threatens the Bennet house, Mary and Kitty are packed off to visit Jane and her husband, Charles Bingley, where they meet the dashing Henry Walsh. Eager and naïve, Mary is confused by Henry's attentions, even as she finds herself drawing closer to him. Could this really be love—or the notions of a foolish girl unschooled in the art of romance and flirtation?

Review

     Mary Bennet has always been the black sheep in her family.  As the middle sister, she's on the outside of things while Elizabeth and Jane stick together and Lydia shares everything with Kitty.  Now with three of her sisters married and Kitty on her way to being engaged, Mary is feeling more on the outs than ever.  She has improved very much in the past three years, overcoming many of her youthful faults but everyone still thinks Mary is destined for spinsterhood and only good for attending Lydia while she's confined before childbirth; in general Mary is expected to cater to everyone else's conveniences and lives.  But when Mary begins to feel the start of something between herself and Mr. Henry Walsh (Bingley's friend, whom Kitty has set her cap for), things begin to go into a tailspin.  Is she able to genuinely understand what Henry's true feelings towards her are?  And can Mary bring herself to act upon them, even if it means stepping out from the shadows and fighting one of her sisters for something that is rightfully hers?

     Pamela Mingle impressed me with her young adult novel, Kissing Shakespeare.  So when she messaged me to ask if I was interested in reading her new novel, I took a peek at what it was about.  Imagine my surprise when I found out it's an Austen sequel!  I have an extreme addiction to them, always searching for one that has the quality of the original novel.  I have read good sequels and bad ones, but only two others that centered around the often neglected middle sister, Mary.  I was immediately intrigued, and agreed to review the book if Pamela had the publisher send me a copy.  Always having wondered what was actually going on in Mary's mind throughout Pride and Prejudice, this was definitely an interesting take on her personality and feelings.

     This novel is told in first person perspective, which as such gives us more insight into Mary's slightly bitter feelings toward her family and her realizations about her own character/personality.  I liked knowing that Mary has purposely improved her appearance, become better read and taken piano lessons.  The best thing in the world is when an obnoxious (even if they are pathetic because of it) character realizes it and changes things for the better.  I do agree with some other readers that the change to first person from Austen's original third person omniscience did sacrifice the insights into the other characters, and quite a bit of their depth.  In that respect this novel was pretty contemporary, as classics tend to get you into everyone's head versus individuals (yes, there are exceptions) and vice versa about contemporaries.  There was some truly interesting subplot regarding Lydia and Mary, who become counterpoints for one another when Lydia returns home pregnant and unsure who the Father is.  Mary becomes her keeper for the duration and when the baby is born (Felicity), Mary pretty much takes over as her Mother in the face of Lydia's selfish immaturity.  But as a reader, you do see the flip side in Mary dominating Felicity to the point where Lydia can't even attempt motherhood anymore.  

     Henry Walsh's attentions to Mary were pretty straightforward, but as we only have Mary's perspective there are misunderstandings as to whether or not he prefers her or Kitty.  I have to say that Kitty reminded me of Louisa Musgrave in Persuasion - so caught up in the idea of marriage that she really didn't care who it was with.  She fancied herself in love with Henry, even though she barely knew him.  Mary and Henry have some interesting interactions, but I did feel that a revelation about Henry's past (a secret he's been keeping) was like something from a gothic novel, rather than an Austen novel.  That said, as much as I liked the sweet naivety of the first romance Mary has ever had, it was her development as a character through her love and devotion to Felicity that made this book for me.  Even when Mary is no longer part of her life, she's been changed by the unconditional love and forced to think about her own wants and needs.  It takes away a little of her bitterness.  There are a couple unsettling moments, but overall this is fairly high up on the list of Austen sequels that I've read.  The prose is beautiful without being overwrought and the plot is enjoyable.  If you don't mind Austen reboots, revisions or sequels I'd recommend it.  Interested to see where Pamela goes next in her writing! :)

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

*I received an ARC  from the author.  No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book's expected publication is November 26th, 2013.  Also, thanks to William Morrow Paperbacks for my ARC in conjunction with the author.*

You Ain't Got No Alibi

 

Published:  July 29th, 2013

Friday Night Alibi

By: Cassie Mae

Flirt

ISBN-13:  9780345548818

 

 

Rising star Cassie Mae introduces New Adult readers to a practical soon-to-be college freshman who seems to have everything—until a special guy shows her what she’s been missing.

In the wealthy town of Sundale, Kelli Pinkins has hatched the perfect plan to capitalize on her sweet reputation. For a generous fee, she will be every trust-fund baby’s dream: a Friday-night alibi, the “girlfriend” or “BFF” that parents dream about. With college approaching in the fall, Kelli’s services are in demand more than ever, which means that her social life is nonexistent. But Kelli is A-okay with that. She’s raking in cash for school. Besides, relationships are tricky, and sometimes very messy. She’d rather be at home on Xbox LIVE, anyway. Then the unexpected happens: She meets college stud Chase Maroney.

Chase isn’t like the preppy, privileged guys Kelli usually meets in Sundale. For starters, he’s twentysomething, always wears black., and he shoots back one-liners as fast as she can dish them out. But Kelli’s attempts to drive Chase away falter when she realizes that he treats her like he really knows her, like he cares about knowing her. When Kelli finally gives in to the delicious kiss she’s been fighting for so long, she faces a tough decision: make Chase a real-life boyfriend and risk her heart . . . or keep her clients and lose her first true love.

 

Review

 

     Kelli Pinkins is the stereotypical good girl and in a town full of rich, uptight, religious families it pays off to be good.  At least for Kelli, who has started her own 'alibi' business to help out her classmates and make cash for college.  In exchange for a set fee, Kelli gives an alibi packet that the person memorizes and keeps them from losing their trust funds, etc.  But when she meets Chase Maroney at the bowling alley bar one night when she's supposed to be home as someone's alibi, things come crashing down.  He's completely different from anyone she knows, obnoxious and is suddenly everywhere that Kelli is!  But the more she gets to know Chase, the more she realizes that he's not what she thought he was.  Chase is something more important and could be worth diving into a relationship for.  Kelli would have to give up her alibi business to have a real chance and make Chase her boyfriend.  Can she do it, or will Kelli stick with her safety net instead of taking a risk?

     I was interested to read this, mostly because it sounded a lot different than the normal angsty fare that New Adult has offered up so far to me as a reader.  It was about a girl who hires her services as an alibi for chrissakes!  But with that said, Kelli had some major issues with her parents and Chase had some with his family as well.  The romance between the two of them started off in a way that reminded me of twelve year olds harassing each other with rude comments and juvenile pranks/actions.  He calls her 'Stinky' and she tricks him into a full body wax after he causes her to lose her hair in a gum incident.  They are constantly antagonizing each other and it didn't really make me swoon or want them together.  Mostly I started to feel annoyed.  Kelli as a narrator was kind of condescending and I feel like she used her alibi business as a way to feel like she was so much better than everyone else.  She wasn't your average girl, but I feel like the whole inexperienced, good girl trope is used in every New Adult book under the Sun (unless she happens to be the complete and extreme opposite of good).

     I was okay with the majority of this book, but I knew pretty much everything that was going to happen before it actually did.  There were some cute scenes, especially when Chase takes care of Kelli when she's sick and their bonding over oranges.  For the most part I can take or leave this novel though.  I didn't love any of the characters and they tended to get on my nerves.  I did appreciate the author not resorting to sex scenes to carry the plot and it was a fun, fluffy read.  I think that as long as you can deal with the major immaturity of both the leads, this is a good beach read/time waster.  Not something I would really recommend all that effusively though.

 

VERDICT:  2.75/5  Stars

 

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley.  No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book was published on July 29th, 2013.*



The Year of Secret Assignments (Ashbury/Brookfield # 2)

Published:  April 1st, 2005

The Year of Secret Assignments (Ashbury/Brookfield # 2)

By: Jaclyn Moriarty

Scholastic

ISBN-13:  9780439498821

(Originally published November 30th, 2003 as Finding Cassie Crazy in Australia)

Told entirely through letters, diary entries, emails, and other writing, Moriarty's novel introduces us to Emily, Lydia, and Cassie -- all students at Ashbury High -- who begin writing to their Brookfield High counterparts through the schools' organized pen pal project. Readers learn quickly that each girl has her own writing style and that at two of the Brookfield boys (Seb and Charlie) seem to be smitten with Lydia and Emily. The only trouble is Cassie's pen pal, Matthew, a shady character who first sends her short, threatening letters and then becomes strangely sweet toward her. Nobody can figure out why Cassie keeps writing to him, but after she has a crushing meet-up with Matthew, Cassie discovers -- with the help of her friends and the Brookfield guys -- that he hasn't been honest about his identity. All could be ended there, but when Charlie helps take revenge and Brookfield High gets mysteriously vandalized, the group comes together to deliver justice and save the endangered pen pal project.

Review

     Cassie, Emily and Lydia are best friends who go to Ashbury High.  Their somewhat crazy English teacher Mr. Botherit has decided to start a pen pal program with their rival school, Brookfield, and the girls are forced to take part in it.  Told entirely in letters, e-mails, diary entries and other scribblings, this book follows the girls through the year charting their relationships with the boys from Brookfield.  Lydia and Emily both begin to form friendships or more with their pen pals, Seb and Charlie.  On the other hand, Cassie's pen pal "Matthew" starts off threatening and then leads he on, lying about who he is and what he wants from her.  But when Brookfield begins getting vandalized, the pen pal project might be destroyed for good.  It's up to the guys and girls to pool together and find out who's responsible for the trouble and fix things for good.  I read this book earlier in the year and I really enjoyed it.  Cassie, Lydia, Emily, Seb and Charlie all have distinctive voices and they develop as characters over the course of the book so much.  I also liked "Matthew" even though he wasn't the best person in the world.  The guest appearances by Bindy McKenzie were absolutely hilarious, she is such an interesting character.  I loved how different all the girls are from each other and how their friendship is strong because of it, not in spite of it.  The whole secret assignments thing made me laugh so hard and it was absolutely adorable! :)  I liked the Matthew Dunlop situation, if only because it brought this book to a whole other level.  My only real complaint is that Cassie was kind of stiffed on a love interest.  This was one of the better books I read this year and the epistolary form is a charming thing in this one.

VERDICT:  3.90/5  Stars

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.*

Beauty In the Firelight

Published: January 31st, 2012
Firelight (Darkest London # 1)
By: Kristin Callihan
Forever
ISBN-13: 9781455508594

Once the flames are ignited . . .

Miranda Ellis is a woman tormented. Plagued since birth by a strange and powerful gift, she has spent her entire life struggling to control her exceptional abilities. Yet one innocent but irreversible mistake has left her family's fortune decimated and forced her to wed London's most nefarious nobleman.

They will burn for eternity . . .

Lord Benjamin Archer is no ordinary man. Doomed to hide his disfigured face behind masks, Archer knows it's selfish to take Miranda as his bride. Yet he can't help being drawn to the flame-haired beauty whose touch sparks a passion he hasn't felt in a lifetime. When Archer is accused of a series of gruesome murders, he gives in to the beastly nature he has fought so hard to hide from the world. But the curse that haunts him cannot be denied. Now, to save his soul, Miranda will enter a world of dark magic and darker intrigue. For only she can see the man hiding behind the mask.

Review

   Miranda Ellis has been dealing with a strange gift since she was a child.  It allows her to call forth fire with her mind.  It resulted in the accidental and tragic destruction of the warehouse that was her family's livelihood.  Now her Father is bitter and plans to wed her to the infamous Lord Benjamin Archer so he can pay off the family debts.  Lord Archer is trying to break a curse that has left him disfigured, almost completely alone and on the fringe of polite society.  He has been drawn to Miranda's beauty and spirit since he met her three years before while she was disguised a boy and a street urchin.  Upon their marriage, Miranda and Archer manage to find passion and are swiftly headed towards being completely in love with each other.  She sees beyond the mask he wears, to the man within and he doesn't revile her for her fiery ability.  But when people begin to turn up dead, Archer is called into suspicion as the possible murderer.  It's up to Miranda to clear his name, help him figure out who the murderer is and break his curse before he's lost to her forever.  Will Miranda and Archer be able to have their happily ever after?  I enjoyed the Victorian era with a hint of supernatural thrown into it.  I was a big fan of Archer from the very beginning of the novel and greatly admired Miranda for her spirit and independence.  The slow-build of their romance into something lasting and true was something wondrous to find in a historical romance.  That said, the mystery seemed very convoluted for most of the novel, throwing the reader directly into the thick of it with no prior knowledge of the secret club that Archer belonged to, what their goal was or why he was cursed.  With absolutely NO backstory, that plotline became somewhat frustrating very quickly.  I did appreciate the resolution's creativity and the freshness of Callihan's take on a mashup of Beauty and the Beast and The Phantom of the Opera.  One of my favorite side characters was Miranda's sister Daisy, who is totally encouragable.  I am looking forward to the rest of the series and recommend this to fans of historical romance and supernatural fiction.

VERDICT:  4.25/5  Stars

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores and online.*