Secrets, Schemes, Scandals, and Surprises!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Source: Review Copy from Author

TYPE OF NOVEL: Sense and Sensibility/Mansfield Park Variation

THE PREMISE: The Dashwoods are cousins to both the Bertrams and the Rushworths, and not long after the death of Henry Dashwood, a shocking and scandalous secret from Sir Thomas Bertram’s past threatens to become unearthed and ruin the lives of many. So off to Norland everyone goes – for protection, for justice, for control, for explanation, for mayhem, and for love…

MY THOUGHTS:

What a smashing mash-up of these two novels!! Jayne Bamber cleverly ties these families together and creates some unexpected new drama involving secret affairs and rightful heirs. And the result is an enormous house party at Norland where almost everyone is in attendance, almost everyone has a secret or knows of someone else’s secret, and almost everyone winds up being paired differently than in canon. I quite loved all the drama and scheming of this premise. It felt plausible that such amazingly selfish characters would engage in such manipulative and self-preserving endeavors.

What I loved most about this story was seeing all these characters together and witnessing all the new friendships, romances, and conflicts this gathering created. It felt very much like a Shakespearean comedy at times as we observed all these “players” speculating about each other, forming alliances, and overhearing private conversations. I especially enjoyed Ms. Bamber’s original character addition of Mrs. Prudence Rushworth – she has power, she has knowledge, and she has a vendetta against the Bertrams and the John Dashwoods. Mrs. Rushworth is very much the driver in this crazy clown bus, but even she doesn’t always have complete control of the vehicle!

I don’t want to spoil any of the fun of the surprisingly altered romantic pairings, but I will say that I loved how some characters who were previously a little on the duller side became much more dynamic and expressive, and how some characters found a partner that is much more deserving of them than who they end up in canon. In most of the pairings, Ms. Bamber constructs credible and satisfying romances that were a delight to explore. However, there were maybe one or two characters that I couldn’t quite get a good read on – it felt like I was never sure if they were sincere and if their feelings of love were genuine, or if they were merely playacting.

My main quibble for this story is that it sometimes felt a little uneven. In some parts there is a lot of narration with more telling verses showing, and in other parts the action is very swift and almost too brief. The same could be said about some relationships. In addition, it did feel like the promised highly dramatic and climatic reveal – that was looming overhead for almost the entire novel – took an odd and depressing turn very suddenly. It might be the events itself or just that there wasn’t enough page time, but I was hoping for a little more with this story’s conclusion.

However, despite those quibbles I really appreciated the novelty of reading a Sense and Sensibility/Mansfield Park mash-up variation, and I applaud Jayne Bamber for her inventive premise, thoughtful character transformations, and the delicious devilry she employs. Outmatched is an excellent choice for readers who enjoy stories filled with schemers and secrets, matchmaking and mayhem, or who have at one time thought that some of Jane Austen characters would be better off marrying someone else!

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