Jessica

As a general rule, I am usually quite fond of any Jane Austen fan-fiction (especially Pride & Prejudice!). However, I found this book incredibly slow and caught up in characters us Janeites are unfamiliar with and trial details that no one wanted to read about in such detail. I was really hoping for more interaction amongst the characters, and on the whole I found this book rather dull. Carrie Bebris' “Pride & Prescience” is a much better alternative than than “Death Comes to Pemberley”!

I received this book from the Goodreads First Reads program

I feel really bad that I didn't pick this book up sooner (stupid grad school), seeing as this is an incredibly quick read and draws you into the story right from the get go. I've always had an interest in non-mainstream religions (I mean this very neutrally, no offense intended). I believe, on the whole, that Markovits did a splendid job painting a picture of Satmar homes across generations, intimate details about Satmar family life, and the trials and tribulations that every human being has to go through, regardless of age, gender, religion, race, etc. I would have given this five stars, but I feel like I got lost in the plot line once or twice and that Markovits strayed, unintentionally, away from the plot. Overall though, I'm very glad to have read this!

I'm a huge fan of Downton Abbey, so I was really excited to read this book. Powell has tons of incredible insights into life in domestic service, but it seems like the manuscript was never edited, and because of this the writing in the book is rather dodgy. I still learned a lot, though, and I'm glad I read it!