D. A. Bonavia-Hunt

I enjoyed the beginning of this novel immensely - much verbal interaction between Darcy and Elizabeth and there was the makings of a mystery forming not to forget the interaction with their former parson's daughters for comic relief as such.

Unfortunately - nothing came of anything for me. There really was very little personal situations with D & E. Elizabeth's personality from P&P was missing. It was obvious from the beginning that their interim parson was not what he seemed.

Added to this - I had the nagging feeling that I had read this book before. Not this exact book (as I catalog and would have remembered) but another book with the exact same plot and as I read I was constantly overlapping my thoughts and rememberances from the other novel. I never was able to place what book I had read but I am sure that it was almost identical. Going thru all of this while reading Pemberley Shades I was unable to fully immerse myself and enjoy the novel even with it's short comings.… (mere)

This got off to a promising start, but I began to have the sneaking suspicion that this book was not going to have a lot of Darcy/Lizzy wedded bliss type of action in it. The Darcy's have already been married for 3 years and have a young son, Richard, who is an active toddler with the tendency to put everything in sight into his mouth, as toddlers are want to do at his age. Georgiana is living with them at Pemberley, unmarried, and before long Lizzy's father, sister Kitty, an injured old friend of Darcy's, Colonel Wakeford who has lost an arm in the Peninsular Wars decend upon them.

The main part of this book is a mystery. For in addition to the above guests I've mentioned, a new vicar for Pemberley, a Stephen Acworth is in attendance. He is the mystery that is central to the plot. The entire book revolves around him and his visit to Pemberley. Throughout the whole book, we know there is some secret about him, but don't know what it is until the final 100 pages fo the book, roughly the last 1/3. I can't say the book wasn't good, but it was a bit dull. I did want to keep reading to find out what the truth was about the new curate, but it was no page turner.

Lizzy and Darcy are the height of respectability - no hidden kisses in closets and running off to their bedroom in this book. It's all very tame, not unlike the way Jane Austen would have written it herself - but without that unmistakable light and witty tone that Austen has. There was no archness or making fun of society that you see in Austen, it was just a story. Lady Catherine and Anne are in the book as well, and actually Lady Catherine is kind of entertaining, esp. when she takes a fancy to the new vicar and thinks he'd make a good match for her Anne. Georgiana has her usual foibles and heartache, nothing new, and Kitty finds romance, but it's all very hum drum. Lizzy doesn't really show any sparkle, though she is acknowledged to be the most attractive and greatest wit in the county of Derbyshire as the beautiful Mrs. Darcy.

One of my problems with the book is it seems that whenever it looked like something was going to get interesting, maybe some drama or romance, it just fizzled out. Lizzy is always bursting into tears or swooning, but we find out why at the end, but for the most part, she doesn't come across so much as the sparkling, strong and witty Elizabeth Bennett as much as Mrs. Darcy, the mistress of Pemberley who only gets a chance to speak to her husband at length at night before bed (and all they do is talk) and whose duty it is to make sure all her houseguests are comfortable and happy (when she's not fainting or feeling ill.) There were a few instances of excitement, but not much. Jane and Bingley and their children are visiting, as well as Mrs. Gardiner, so we get to see a lot familiar faces, it's like seeing some old friends and catching up with them, you catch up what's going on in their lives, but no real good gossip!

I can't really recommend going out and buying this book, but for the real P&P fans who can't get enough of it and want more, this book may satisfy them, but it's not really a Darcy/Lizzy book, it's more a mystery that happens to take place at Pemberley and Darcy and Elizabeth are the central figures around it. I've read much more entertaining fanfiction online than in this book. I can't really say this book was as good as the hype about having it published again, it was just...nice, but this was just lacking somewhere, although I have to add the last 100 pages were the best since that is when we find out everything and the plots gets more interesting.
… (mere)