At first glance, this book is charming as it reunites the cast of Pride and Prejudice. The main plot of the novel is Mary's growth and maturity. Her falling in love and getting married is more of a subplot in this novel, and I'm okay with that. The new characters also add a freshness to this story. That said, it never raises to the heights that Austen's novel does. On its own merits, the plot is overdrawn, and the characters that Ward didn't create are shadows of their former glory.

The novel's crown jewel is the characterization of Mary Bennet. She starts out very similarly to her character in Austen's novel: obtuse and prejudiced. Over time, as she is introduced to new scenes and characters, she learns to be more observant and more forgiving. She makes friends at Lambeth, and she sympathizes with Lydia. She's not necessarily a character I admire, but she is one I understand. At the end of the day, that's all that matters when reading.

Every other character that came from Austen were so watered down that there was nothing left from Austen except the names. Darcy can't think of anything except love, even when threatened with losing Rosings to a fortune hunter. Elizabeth turns into her mother. Catherine de Bourgh becomes helpless to the point where I feel sorry for her. There's no wit, no humor. Just sappy from beginning to end.

The plot is also twice as long as it needs to be. Everything is drawn out, and there are some scenes that have no bearing on the plot whatsoever. This being my second time reading it, I kept yelling at the book to hurry along! They also focus on the most mundane things like a Christmas play and Mary's teaching the town choir. I almost couldn't finish it, it was so dull.

If you just like historical fiction that's light and fluffy with some inspirational themes mixed in, this is a good book for you. However, if you're looking for a book that will remind you of Austen's incisive charm, you will be disappointed. ( )

A Pride and Prejudice sequel which concentrates on Mary Bennet, though the lives of other Bennets are included. I admit that Mary, with the Colonel, are my two favourite characters. This story is where Mary learns of her mistakes concerning her family and spends her time mainly with her two older sisters at their estates. I enjoyed reading about these, and the new characters added to the story. I found the style of writing very easy to read.
This is a re-read of the book and on the whole I enjoyed the story again. Was there anything I didn't like - the sub-plot concerning the Colonel and who he married. I always hope that he and Mary will marry. But also at times the religious overtones, which is probably not surprising as it is written by a Franciscan nun. ( )

Mary Bennet is probably the sister I most sympathize with in "Pride and Prejudice," especially her character in the 2005 film version. However, I didn't find her characterization in this spin-off novel to be quite as appealing (probably due to the playing up of her religious inclinations), but I enjoyed the fact that she and Georgiana bonded over their love of music (and how the musical theme ran through the story). And although I saw the romance coming, I felt that it wrapped up way too quickly and neatly in the last few chapters. ( )

Apparently written by a Franciscan nun - though I can find no real evidence to support this - I would recommend this easy read wholeheartedly. Far from the usual Austen sequel industry output, Euchrista Ward has given life to the young middle Bennet daughter Mary. Euchrista Ward is kind and sincere in her portrayal of Mary as a prim and social inadequate young woman with fixed ideas on what the future holds for her. From a bookish miss interested only in music and service to the community through Godly works, we see Mary’s character develop and her perspective on life change dramatically. She is courted by the sophisticated and raffish James Stilton and, more quietly and gently by the young clergyman Charles Oliver. The friendship and understanding of the latter wins through over the worldly charm of the former, and the experience Mary gains in her acquaintance forms the core of this book.

Set firmly in the Regency period Jane Austen’s wonderful characters people and pepper the story. Mr and Mrs Bennet, her sisters Elizabeth and Jane, together with their new husbands Darcy and Bingley: Kitty and Lydia, and Darcy’s sister Georgiana make their appearance as does Lady Catherine de Bourgh and even the unfortunate Charlotte Lucas and her husband the awful Mr Collins to name but a few.

Light and completely entertaining from beginning to end I would recommend this book whether your are an Austen fan or merely searching out a really good read. ( )

Elizabeth Bennet Darcy's younger sister, Mary, is quite a serious girl. She has seen a younger sister run off with a many who is not her husband and has sworn not to even mention her name again and she has seen two sisters marry respectably, but did they really love their husbands or did they marry simply to provide for their younger sisters down the road? While all the world(read Mrs. Bennet) seems to be pushing her toward the altar, she'd like nothing better than to read, play the pianoforte, and spend time with her family. She will not lower herself to do the frivolous things that her sister Kitty does to catch a man's attention and she is much too modest to wear the latest fashion. She is convinced that marriage - say nothing of childbirth - is not for her and she sets about making herself a welcome guest in her sisters' homes in order to thank them for the sacrifices they made for her. Will she ever see that her black and white and sometimes wrong view of life may not be serving her well?

It has been such a long time since I've read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, but I know that it has quite a following. There are Darcy sequels galore and, until recently, I've not been very interested. When Danielle from Sourcebooks sent information about A Match for Mary Bennet, I could not pass it up. What fascinated me about it was that it was an inspirational sequel written by Eucharista Ward, O.S.F., a Roman Catholic nun. The Regency era is not a Roman Catholic one and I had to find out more. I'm glad that I took the chance. Her writing was crisp and clean and paced in such a way as to remind me of Austen's novels. It is full of humor, too. The first lines of the prologue made me laugh and reminded me immediately of Mrs. Bennet's character:

One might say that using the divine gift of human memory for the recitation of three-month-old annoyances represents talent misspent. Mary Bennet thought, as she sat with her hand poised over the silver tea urn, that not even all four evangelists together had documented Jesus's public life as thoroughly as her mother insisted on recounting Mary's social life.

As soon as I finished those lines I was pretty certain that this was going to be a novel I would enjoy.

In 2007, I reviewed a memoir called Without a Map. In it, Meredith Hall remembers her life as a pregnant teenager who ultimately places her first born son for adoption. As a mother of two daughters and an adoptive mother, reading that memoir infuriated me. The 1960s weren't that long ago, but I could not get over how cold and cruel Hall's parents and physicians were. A reader left a comment asking me if Without a Map changed my opinion about Pride and Prejudice and how Georgiana and Lydia were portrayed. I remembered that comment when I first picked this book up. That aspect was actually the most inspirational aspects of this novel. Upon the advice of Mr. Collins, Mary has refused to even speak her sister Lydia's name because of the disgrace she caused herself. She believed that doing so would cause her to realize the error of her ways and repent. Not long after she meets Mr. Oliver, the new vicar at Kympton, brought up her quite obvious attitude toward Lydia. As gently as was his nature, he prompted her to think further about her stance and question its validity.

A Match for Mary Bennet explores the young adulthood of a woman who didn't find marriage desirable in a world where marrying off one's daughters was the highest priority. It is a charming novel that also updates the reader on the entire extended Bennet clan. There was nothing rushed about this novel, but it wasn't drawn out either. If you've read Pride and Prejudice, you'll be comfortable with the characters and it was interesting to see how forgiveness and misconceptions come into play. Eucharista Ward has written a novel that is as entertaining as it is inspirational. I wish I could have relaxed and read it at a much lazier pace. It would make a great book to read in the backyard underneath a shady tree. ( )