Again, why do I do this to myself? Any book with such a title should trust its audience not to need the clarification of its subtitle, "The Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice." First, not "the," since there are several; most importantly, Jane Austen's rather than whose else?
Among its dreadfulnesses is this gem: Someone--well, fine, Wickham--says, "Before coming into Derbyshire today I ventured first to Rosings Park." Possibly the author meant that Wickham journeyed to Kent during recent days before today's arrival at Pemberley, but that wording implies that Wickham has one hell of a fast horse. How Wickham could think to be received at Rosings, lowlife that he is, is a mystery to me equalled only by Mrs. Bennet's also making a casual visit thither, there and back in a day, some weeks before.
Darcy would not honor Wickham with an audience. As Elizabeth restrained herself from asking Lydia about Darcy's presence at Lydia's wedding but then pumped her aunt for details, so Darcy would restrain himself ever from conversing with Wickham again, let alone allowing him such a power over himself as disclosing secrets against his family--and he would thus restrain himself even if he didn't have someone to fill him in later.
Other plot wrongnesss and character betrayals: No mention of Mrs. Collins's young olive branch. Lady Catherine dismissing Mr. Collins for his being related to the Bennets but accepting Mary Bennet as intermediary and then as companion to Anne. Mr. Darcy's agreeing to mediate in a business transaction for a perfect stranger. Colonel Fitzwilliam matched with Mariah Lucas, who lacks the personal charms that made him regret Elizabeth's similar poverty. Caroline Bingley at Pemberley after the Darcys' marriage. Caroline Bingley sympathizing with Lady Catherine over Darcy's not marrying Anne. Georgiana Darcy matched with someone who is not Col. Fitzwilliam and corresponding with him before they are engaged. Mary married before Kitty. Mr. Bennet caving to and then Darcy agreeing, even for a moment, to Mrs. Bennet's stupid plans. Wickham reformed, at all and when no other more deserving character improves a jot. Naming a son Fitzwilliam--not Bennet, nor for his father or hers? A ball at Netherfield "a year ago [this November] and Elizabeth's first seeing Pemberley "the previous August," even though she has borne a child between the August and November. Darcy about five years older than he ought to be. Any conspiring between Lady Catherine and Wickham, and the idea of her hiring Wickham to ruin Lydia in order to distance Darcy from Elizabeth, when Lady Catherine didn't suspect their attachment until months after Lydia's fall. The idea that Darcy would have told his aunt about his love for Elizabeth before being accepted.
Among the stylistic faults: botched "former" and "latter" parallelisms. "Effect" for "affect." Hundreds of comma splices but a lack, OMFB, of setting-off commas, such as these that I illustrate in this sentence. Quotation marks curling next to the dialog tag rather than next to the dialog. "Collins's" as a plural possessive. "De Bourgh's" as a plural. "You have achieved perfection to some degree."
Affecting obsolete spellings in an Austen way, but considering eleven o'clock as "afternoon," even though the Austen "morning" stretched to our late afternoon, is pathe. No contemporary house would allow "chuse" and "shew" (I doubt), but this book didn't come from a house. It emerged from VirtualBookworm.com, an on-demand vanity press. And it looks it: though the cover doesn't look shoddy, the interior print looks like primitive inkjet, in a reasonable font but without anti-aliasing. Widows and orphans abound.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that all sequels suck. But must they suck this hard?
The only thing stupider than this book is me for reading it.