Blended Bennets

A Sweet Pride and Prejudice Variation

By: Victoria Lynn

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Blended whiskey, blended family. Thomas Bennet is a successful second son, a man
who went into trade when his older brother, Harold, inherited Longbourn. When Harold passes,
Thomas and his two children (James and Elizabeth) return to Longbourn to live with Harold’s
widow (Fanny) and four daughters (Jane, Mary, Catherine and Lydia). A full length novel that is
a clean, low angst reimagining of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

Solid low angst book

If you are looking for just good happy vibes with no villains then this is a pretty good choice. It was cute and I enjoyed it. I sped up the VV to sound better.

Good twist

Good storyline and very glade it was fee. I really dislike computer generated voice. Its getting better.

Bennet Family Saga

If you enjoy multi-generational stories, this is a good choice. All our favorite characters are here, with little angst. Elizabeth and Darcy were a touch too perfect for my taste, but Jane and Bingley were stronger than usual and that was good.

I enjoyed the story and revisiting the characters

I did not like the automated voice. Too much emotion was lost in the reading.

Unrecognizable

If I had no idea of the original P&P story and characters this would’ve been an interesting story. But this variation veers so far off the primary characters are unrecognizable. What really killed it for me was the “virtual narrator” the inability to pronounce many of the words sometimes made me wonder what was the actual written word. Nevertheless, nine hours entertainment while driving is the only plus for this variation. So, if you just want it fill the empty void with sound and don’t care much what you listen to this is an option.

A Blended Bennet Family

In this JAFF Elizabeth is the daughter of Thomas Bennet, but not Fanny Bennet. Thomas Bennet, a younger son, partners with Mr Gardener in a whiskey venture blending different varieties to cater to different tastes. He becomes very successful and marries a woman with an estate in Scotland. They have two children, James and Elizabeth. Mr and Mrs Bennet are very involved with their children and give them both an extensive education.

Thomas’s elder brother, Harry, marries Fanny Gardener and they have four daughters, Jane, Mary, Catherine and Lydia. Mr and Mrs Harry Bennet are not very involved and their children have limited educations.

First Thomas’s wife dies and then Harry Bennet dies. Thomas returns to Longbourn with Elizabeth as he has inherited the estate and the guardianship of his nieces and sister-in-law. He finds near chaos and has to bring the family in line. This Thomas Bennet is no slacker and those Bennets who think they can continue to control the family dynamic (Fanny and Lydia) are soon made aware of their error.

This is a wonderful story, low angst but really great characters. The Wickham in this story is admirable and Darcy also has a younger brother to share his burdens. Charles Bingley has a backbone, much to Caroline’s great chagrin.

I’m not a huge fan of virtual voice but it does well enough. And I’m happy to listen for free.

Fantastic

I enjoyed this book more than I expected. The story ranks among the best of the P&P variations I have listened to and the virtual narration was good except for some mispronunciations. The blended family was awesome. I particularly liked Thomas Bennet. He took the obnoxious members of the Bennett family in hand and they definitely paid attention. I especially liked his methods of dealing with Lydia. The author is an excellent writer and storyteller. She reimagined the P&P characters and her story gave me several hours of intense interest and enjoyment.