Another book featuring "The Formidibles"! I adored the first two books in this series and this one is just not up to scratch. Weak writing, transparent plotting and the characters are mere sketches. But having complained about this book now let me say that flaws apart, it is also just plain fun! This is both a pastiche and a homage to Jane Austen. And if you decide you are just going to enjoy it as a small piece of Jane Austen fluff, quickly read, I think you will. I would love to think that there are "Formidibles" out there protecting all that is Jane!
I loved this book. And I think the reason I rated it so high - I would have gone with a four but upped it to a five just because it was a clean romance. I could have used a little more filling out of the characters but as the other reviewer stated it was relatively easy to read this way. It wasn't overly complex. it was engaging. I loved seing how the siblings Ellen and Mimi interacted and comparing that to Elinor and Marianne as well as Jane and Cassandra Austen. It made me examine my own daughters' relationship. I enjoyed that the male counterparts from Sense and Sensibility did have similar characters in this modern version and that it was well enough defined to tell who was who but at first it wasn't a dead giveaway. I also appreciated that it took to the very end to discover some unique links to "the formidables" and who was included. I wish it had been a little more in depth but I'm burned out from Pride and Prejudice and so glad this was available as an alternative. It's nice to have someone putting effort into a different Austen novel for a change.
