Customer Reviews

Pemberley's Promise

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This story is not a sequel but a retelling of Pride and Prejudice with the some of the action takes place on a boat. It really is a great way to interpret Jane Austen's beloved novel "Pride and Prejudice." What if the events of both Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet took them down different paths. Would they still end up together? Would they still fall in love? We wonder about our own lives and how if we took a different path and life would we end up at the same spot?

So you see the author is not attempting to rewrite Pride and Prejudice or give it a sequel. Even if you are critical when it comes to fiction about Jane Austen or Pride and Prejudice, I think you will enjoy this book emensely. I will issue a warning that some of the language and the style are not like that of Jane Austen. I enjoyed how even though the two main characters met on a ship, certain events or converstations took place that also took place in Pride and Prejudice. For example, the discussion of an "accomplished lady," or Charles Bingley's letting of Netherfield Park.

If you are unfamiliar with Pride and Prejudice and don't understand what is written above here is the scenario:

Elizabeth Bennet is sailing to America to see her aunt and uncle who are in New York on business. This is not in modern times, so a unmarried woman travelling on a ship for a month unattended is a little dangerous. Another person travelling to America is Fitzwilliam Darcy, he owns the ship they are travelling on and does not want anyone to know it. In fact he wants little to do with anyone on the ship. He just wants to go to America to retrieve his sister rather than have her come back unattended. Mr. Darcy is of course ver wealthy and the target of many matching making mother aboard the ship. Elizabeth is in the steerage which is the lowest and poorest part of the ship. These two characters keep bumping into each other, Darcy is concerened when Elizabeth is ill and will not get any better because of the poor living conditions she is in on the ship. Mr. Darcy makes her an extraordinary offer. . .

I will not tell you any more, hopefully this haas whetted your appetite. I highly recommend the book to anyone with an open-mind, a love for anything to do with Pride and Prejudice, or someone who enjoys period romances.

I thought the book was a tad pricey for a paperback, but I had a coupon so I bought it. I was so very pleased with the book and would have gladly spent the full price to have had the opportunity to read this story. Kara Louise is really clever - twisting and tying the original characters, lines from the book (and/or mini-series), and plot lines into her own plots with seamless results. I finished the book yesterday and am feeling a little lost today without the opportunity to open it and find out what happens next. I hope the author considers writing more!

I loved this "what if" romance between Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. Ms. Louise does a wonderful job inserting dialogue from the original "P&P" into her story without overdoing it. This story begins two years prior to the ill-fated Meryton ball. Elizabeth and Darcy meet in a carriage ride transporting each of them back to their respective homes from London. You can imagine what ensues therein: he all pride, she all prejudice. Two years later they meet again while on a voyage to America on, unbeknowst to Elizabeth, Darcy's ship named "Pemberly's Promise." She is on her way to visit with the Gardiners who have built a business in New York, he is on his way to retrieve Georgiana post-Wyckham scandal. They meet and vaguely remember each other. But, as the trip continues, they recollect that they had met during the carriage ride but do not admit it to each other until much later. Darcy makes an offer to an ill-stricken Elizabeth which she, in her literal feversh state, cannot refuse! The story continues to delight thereafter: Elizabeth's visit to Pemberly, Elizabeth's vigil over Jane at Netherfield, Lydia's "elopement" with Wyckham, just to name a few, are cleverly woven into this story. Darcy is less "prideful" in this rendition and very charming: he actually teases Elizabeth mercilessly and has a sense of humor! But just like the original Darcy he is passionately in love with Elizabeth and vows to prove it to her. For fans of "Pride & Prejudice", "Pemberly's Promise" delivers on its promise... to delight!

I really liked this P&P variation. I found it romantic, creative and witty. Yes it was historically inaccurate and some of the twists implausable but I didnt care one bit.

The ship part was sweet and I loved watching Darcy and Lizzy interact with each other and discovering who the other person was underneath all of the layers (something they were unable to do in the original for quite some time). The way the author used dialogue, events and characters from the original was completely creative. The way she revealed who Mr Wright was to Darcy so very clever.

If you enjoyed the characters in P&P and want to see them in a different light, you will like this book. If you have never read P&P (and shame on you if you havent!) you will still enjoy this book imensely, although you may not find it as crafty. If you are a diehard Jane enthusiast you may not be interested in the way the characters and events were altered. In which case, you probably shouldnt read any P&P variation.

I have read a lot of P&P variations and this is by far my favorite.

A terrible book. Totally unrealistic, unbelievable. . . This poorly written book has small snatches of Austen's dialogs, condensed summaries of key events directly from P&P which made me sick, and the ideas in this book are ridiculous. No character development - I'd really like to know why Mr. Darcy even cared for her! There is just NO WAY anyone is going to believe that Mr. Darcy would propose and coerce his ship captain to marry Elizabeth and himself just so women wouldn't bug him crossing the Atlantic. REALLY, would Elizabeth have crossed the ocean without a chaperone, maid, etc.??? Would her family have her cross the ocean in steerage with the middle to lower classes? when her father is a gentleman?? Wow, I read tons of these sequels some good some bad and have a collection of over 300. This rates as the worst I've read besides the Baxter's books which I avoid. Please stop writing such poor novels and trying to make money off of them just because they have an Austen 'theme'.

This was a bad example of a pretty good genre. Try an Aiken instead!!

I was happy I purchased this book for my P&P library. I found myself not wanting to put his book down. The reason for 4 stars instead of 5, well I found it to be a bit corny how the author used lines from not only both, the Hollywood version and the A&E version, but took some names of characters from spin offs of other books.

This story was beautfully told. If I would of read this book before reading the orginal P&P, I would of been a little upset for I love happy endings. I love the way this book deals with Wickham. This story shows you how and why Lizzy cares more for her Aunt and Uncle Gardner for more than her own family. This book shows both thought processes of our beloved characters, how they came to fall in love on thier way to America.

Mr. Darcy and Miss Bingley. Lizzy and Mr. Wright. They come to meet each other and things explode. It's fantastic!!!! It's a pleasant quick read.

This was certainly a new twist to how Darcy and Elizabeth became acquainted with each other. You don't have to read the original P & P to enjoy this book. Darcy and Elizabeth met on the Pemberly Promise (aka the Love Boat) on the way to America and ended up marrying each other on the ship. But there was a twist to this marriage, and the lovers ended up being separated for months before finding each other again in England. In terms of character development, the Darcy portrayed in this book behaved in a manner less conventional in comparison to Austen's Darcy. The two main characters tended to be a bit too "lovey-dovey"...Miss Bingley was portrayed as extremely haughty and malicious (true to Austen's character!)... In this book, there was a bit more character development to Miss Darcy (Darcy's sister)... I liked this book but I have enjoyed other works by this author, e.g. "Assumed Engagement", much more.

Kara Louise has written a very entertaining P&P variation in which Darcy and Elizabeth meet but not exactly in the same way as the original. There are some slightly unbelievable events that occur but they are written in such an appealing manner that I found myself wanting to accept them as possible. Darcy and Elizabeth are married in name only on board a ship on the way to visit America so that she can use the extra bed in his cabin (she's ill and has given up her bed to some children who are also ill). During the crossing, they fall in love but neither will admit it and when they part on uncomfortable terms, Elizabeth believes that he will be annulling the marriage as soon as he returns to England (per their original agreement). They are both miserable and Darcy vows to find her again and win her over. He finally learns where she lives and conveniently, finds that his closest friend, Bingley, has leased a house near Elizabeth's home. He goes to visit Netherfield hoping that their paths will cross again and he'll get a second chance. After quite a few ups and downs and misunderstandings -- of course -- they finally confess their love for each other and decide not to annul the marriage. While the language in this book is more modern than Austen's original, there aren't the kind of gross linguistic errors that occur in so many of the P&P variations and sequels in which the authors make the mistake of using modern expressions as if they were common in the early 1800's. All-in-all, this is a well-written and enjoyable diversion for those who can't get enough of Darcy, Elizabeth and the other P&P characters.

I couldn't get enough and read through it in no time. I think the author did a marvelous job. She told the classic story with a new twist, but still managed to get some key scenes (although with a little variation as well) of the original in there with some of the original dialogue and it works great. I've read several sequences and so far this is the best... but I still have my eye on some others (just can't get enough of P&P!!!)
I can only recommend this book!!!

I am always annoyed with books that portray Darcy as this aggressive lover without any restraint or self-control when close to Elizabeth. Of course Darcy desired our heroine but first of all he fell in love with her mind. And he was a true gentleman. What I love about Kara Louise's books is that her Darcy is absolutely in keeping with his original persona. He's not some young buck who can't control his urges, but a strong personality with impeccable moral standards and high respect for Elizabeth - which means he would never push her for intimacies. In "Pemberleys Promise" they share a beautiful kiss at the end of their journey - a real "true love kiss". After that, Elizabeth leaves the ship without saying goodbye and our hero only knows her name and that she's from Hertfordshire. I am touched by Darcy's determination to find and win the woman he fell in love with. A very fun story with great dialogue, real depth to the characters and to the plot. After the thousands of Pride and Prejudice related stories I have read in the past years, I can honestly say this one ranks among my top five. Thank you Kara Louise for a wonderful gift!