It helps if you read The Darcys and the Bingleys first (besides, it was a great book, after all). Leave the majority of your assumptions of each character at the door. This book takes all the Pride and Prejudice characters and spins it around so they act different than what you thought they would be. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, although it may take some time getting used to. Especially in the case of Mary Bennet. Whoever thought she’d be the one to mess things up this time?

The comedy in this book is increased, much more than the first one. I love how Darcy picks on Bingley (he has a knack for it) and all Bingley can do is just sputter about trying to think of a come back (you can actually picture this easily in your head too). There is also some new characters being introduced. They’re pretty good, Gregoire Darcy is entertaining and an interesting addition. It took a while to get used to him but he proved to be likable - and humorous. I’m curious as to his background story, but am also curious as to what the future books have in store for him as well.

The plot was well done! it was interesting, funny, and had several story arcs within to keep you interested in the handful of characters mentioned in the book. Each plot also ties up nicely in the end so you’re not left with open questions or unfinished business. The only complaint I have, is Mary’s situation ends up getting cheesy and corny at the end - but otherwise, the entire premise of the book made up for that small little mishap. The ending did have a little surprise (OMG really??!!! Wickham!!?? gahhh!!!) which I was not expecting. It was great to read though!

Another great Austen spinoff by Marsha Altman, and I’m going to read further. I absolutely love this series so far. Readers who want to see their beloved Pride and Prejudice characters go through ups and downs, but filled with laugh out loud scenes are welcome to try this. ( )

How does a tale of romance and intrigue sound? Marsha Altman has taken Jane Austen’s characters and created an emotional story that actually left me on the edge of my seat in THE PLIGHT OF THE DARCY BROTHERS: A TALE OF THE DARCYS & THE BINGLEYS. I expected romance, which we definitely received throughout the story and I expected a fair amount of drama as always follows the Bennet daughters. What I didn’t expect was to actually be flipping the pages as quickly as I did in an attempt to figure out what little disaster would befall our beloved characters next.

THE PLIGHT OF THE DARCY BROTHERS begins emotionally and ends emotionally. Suffering a saddening loss, Elizabeth jumps at the opportunity to escape with her sister Jane for a bit to discover what has her sister Mary so wound up. Just returned from her schooling, Mary divulges a secret that gets the sisters riled up and off in search of answers. While on their hunt for the truth, Darcy ends up making some discoveries of his own and eventually finds himself face to face with the despicable Mr. Wickham.

THE PLIGHT OF THE DARCY BROTHERS is actually the second book in Altman’s Pride & Prejudice Continues series. Although I had not read the first book, I didn’t find myself too hung up on the details. Altman created a story that was easy to become engaged with and developed the plot in a way that this book could stand alone relatively well if need be.

I was surprised to find the amount of humor that I did in THE PLIGHT OF THE DARCY BROTHERS. The beginning of the book, as I mentioned, was full of wonderfully written emotion. I was sure that the story was going to get dark and remain dark throughout. Surprisingly, the emotional toll on the reader rarely let up, but the story definitely did not keep a dark edge to it. There were quite a few chuckle moments and other moments where I had read the section again just to witness the scene one more time.

I loved how Altman developed her characters and brought each one to life. Instead of just focusing on a couple of characters and revolving the story around them, Altman really gave us a good look into a handful of characters and showed us how they impact the overall story. I love that we got the story of both the Bennet sisters and the Darcy brothers, each trying to solve a puzzle. On top of that, I think Altman did great justice to the characters. I felt like she preserved the feel of the Austen books while still adding her own edge to it.

Altman did a wonderful job of creating a story that the reader could really get drawn down into. It was very easy to visualize the scenes and I wouldn’t have been surprised in the least to see the characters pop off the page and begin reenacting the book in front of me. This was another book where I lost track of the time while reading. Coming from me, that’s a good thing. It means that the book was so engaging that I quickly lost myself in it. I have a feeling that any of Altman’s readers have a hard time not losing themselves in her words.

THE PLIGHT OF THE DARCY BROTHERS definitely earns top marks. This was a wonderful sequel (to a sequel) and I would be more than pleased to read this one again. Fans of Romance or Historical fiction will find something to love in Altman’s book. The love between Darcy and Elizabeth seems to be timeless, regardless of the author, and the action as well as the suspense in this book definitely helped to make it a winner.

Marsha Altman did another wonderful job in her second sequel to Pride and Prejudice. The story was once again filled with humor and I loved the direction she took the characters in. Watching the mischief that Lizzie and Darcy’s son, Geoffrey, got into was hilarious and it seems so just to see the serious Mr. Darcy have to deal with his sons antics.

The title of this book had me intrigued because at the close of The Darcys and the Bingleys Darcy and Lizzie only had one son so I was not sure if this book would have a second son and they would be grown up. Not to ruin the surprise but the story does take place not long after The Darcys and the Bingleys so Altman soon reveals some darker secrets into Darcy’s father’s background. The story she spun was believable and fit so nicely with the characteristics of the original Pride and Prejudice cast that you wonder if Austen wrote a sequel would she have revealed the same secrets?

The reader sees a softer side of Caroline Maddox (once Caroline Bingley) that makes her much more likeable and despite all of her preaching we also see that Mary Bennett is human and makes mistakes despite her piousness.

If you enjoyed The Darcys and the Bingleys you will also enjoy this sequel. ( )

Fiction A4686pb 2009