Getting married was the “easier” part, now it’s to live up to the name…

Synopsis

A gorgeous Regency novel from Eliza Austin perfect for fans of Bridgerton!

Pemberley Presents…

Aware that some people consider her unworthy of the title Mrs Darcy, Lizzy is determined to prove her detractors wrong by throwing a magnificent house party at her new home, Pemberley. Nothing can possibly go wrong…can it?

Miss Caroline Bingley is quite determined to rescue Darcy from his reckless marriage. Convinced he must now regret his choice, she finds an unlikely ally in George Wickham who also wishes to avenge Lizzy, albeit for a very different reason. If Darcy were to find his ‘fine-eyed’ wife in a compromising position with Wickham of all people, he would surely never forgive her.

Lizzy finds herself in a desperate fight to save her marriage to Darcy, but can she ever compete with Miss Bingley and Wickham’s evil machinations? And what damage will this do to her own sisters’ happiness?

A sparkling continuation of Pride and Prejudice perfect for fans of Bridgerton!

Please note: this is a reissue of Miss Bingley’s Revenge

My review

Lizzy Bennett is happily married to Mr. Darcy, and tries to fulfil the shoes that is attached to being Mrs. Darcy. And when she throws a house party in the magnificent Pemberley estate, she knows the stakes are high, no matter how much support she receives from her husband and sister – in – law. Because not everyone is happy with the title Lizzy carries now, and Miss Caroline Bingley is one of them. Caroline Bingley is sure that Lizzy is not worthy of standing next to Mr. Darcy, and she just knows that Mr. Darcy already regrets his marriage. So it’s up to her to save him from his mistake, even if that means to find an ally in Mr. Darcy sworn enemy, Mr. Wickham.

But Lizzy isn’t going down that easy and is ready to fight for her marriage, even if it may be the most difficult fight ever…

Pride & Prejudice is my absolute favourite book of all times. I can read that book over and over again, and still discover new insights and it still makes me swoon time after time. So a book that is about my favourite couple in a sequel? Of course I have to read it!

Obviously, it wouldn’t be fair to compare the classic masterpiece with this book, as the story in this book keeps the essence of the classic, but the author has her own vision of where the book should go, and has added her own uniqueness in it.

Lizzy and Mr. Darcy are still deeply in love after their marriage. It was great to see that even if they are different in many ways, they have found the perfect balance.

Lizzy’s outspokenness has made sure that Mr. Darcy (I am sorry, I know that in the book he is called Will, but for me, he will always be Mr. Darcy 😊) is more opening up. And seeing Mr. Darcy also being more outspoken at Pemberley was just great!

Although I must admit, I was a bit shocked seeing the proper Mr. Darcy talking the way he does behind closed doors! Still waters for sure run deep! 😊

It was lovely to see how Lizzy was adapting to her life at Pemberley. She has always been a confident character, so in a way it was funny to see how suddenly she feels like she has something to prove that she is worthy to be called Mrs. Darcy. She doesn’t only have to prove that to others, but also to herself. Yet Lizzy has so many people rooting for her, people knowing that she is up to the challenge!

And despite her self-doubts, she still remains the Lizzy we all know and love. She still cares deeply about her family and friends, she supports them but she also isn’t afraid to reprimand them when necessary (oh yes, Lydia still is Lydia…)

It was sad and angering to see how despite Lizzy’s efforts, there are still a few people questioning her. And I was surprised to see Miss Caroline Bingley seeing things and ready to scheme to have Mr. Darcy for herself…

Now, Caroline Bingley has never been my favourite character, but in this book, I truly despised her. I know it is not the best feeling seeing how the man of your affections marries someone else, even someone else beneath him.

But it worried me seeing how Miss Bingley sees things that aren’t actually there. And if she truly knew Mr. Darcy as she claims she does, she would know that Mr. Darcy isn’t the kind of person that speaks out about his feelings or shows affection in public.

In one way I could understand Miss Bingley, as she is in a way heartbroken, but trying to win over the man of your dreams by breaking up his marriage and even using his enemy, how could that ever be a good plan?

While I had all the trust in Lizzy and Mr. Darcy seeing right through Miss Bingley’s plans and schemes, it saddened me how Miss Bingley’s schemes seem to be working, and causing a rift between them…

Especially when they have so many things to look forward to!

It angered me to read how people are willing to break up a happy marriage, for their own gains. But we also see the strength of a well – matched marriage. We see how a happy ever after in one book can be the start of a whole new journey. And what a journey that was! A journey with characters that I love and even with someone else writing the ‘sequel’, the characters never once lost the bits that made me love them in the ‘original’! I cannot wait to read the next books of this series!