Will Darcy “Deny Thy Father and Refuse Thy Name?”
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Source: Review Copy from Author
TYPE OF AUSTENESQUE NOVEL: Pride and Prejudice Variation
TIME FRAME: 2 years before the start of Pride and Prejudice
MAIN CHARACTERS: The Bennets, Mr. Darcy, and George Darcy
SYNOPSIS: What if George Darcy was alive? What if he was an immoral, unjust, controlling man and the sworn enemy of Mr. Bennet? What if Darcy and Elizabeth were falling in love, but knew they had no future together because of their fathers’ feud?
WHAT I LOVED:
- Heart-Melting Beginning: Oh, this was just lovely! Darcy and Elizabeth meet at a masquerade ball, wearing masks, and not knowing each other’s names. It was enchanting and oh-so-adorable! I loved seeing their interest in each other begin, how they didn’t want their exchanges to end, and the humorous things they were thinking to themselves!
- Unique Antagonist: Not only is George Darcy alive, he is the villain in this variation! It was interesting to see Darcy have an estranged and conflicted relationship with his father. We are so accustomed to seeing Darcy as master of Pemberley and in control of his own destiny. But in this story, George Darcy keeps Darcy under his thumb and even has some of Darcy’s friends and servants acting as his own personal informants! And wait ’til you find out what happened with Mr. Bennet!
- Consumed: Just like with Pride and Proposals, Victoria Kincaid’s prose held me captive. The impossibility of the situation Darcy and Elizabeth find themselves, their ardent devotion for each other, the risky charade they have to play in front of others – ah! such a terrific blend of conflict, romance, and danger! This story definitely had me playing the “just one chapter more” game!
- Fits In To Canon: I love how this story, event though it began with such a different premise, still followed the same course – Meryton Assembly, Jane at Netherfield, Elizabeth in Kent, Elizabeth in Derbyshire. It was clever how Victoria Kincaid took events like Darcy’s insult at the Meryton Assembly and his unfriendly demeanor to Meryton society and made it plausibly fit in the constructs of her tale.
- Passionate Embraces: Mmm, yes! With so much tension and conflict, the stolen moments alone between Darcy and Elizabeth were deeply satisfying! I love that Darcy was so affectionate with Elizabeth – he definitely embodied the description of a “man violently in love.” And I love how Elizabeth was so warm and receptive of his affection. *sigh* (Note: this story is suitable for audiences over the age of 13).
WHAT I WASN’T TOO FOND OF:
- The Ending: The build up for this story was so magnificent, I was enraptured and gripped by these characters and their conflicts. But I must admit, I felt slightly dissatisfied with the ending – perhaps because I felt it came about too quickly or because the conclusion itself felt a little too brief.
WHAT’S UNIQUE ABOUT THIS STORY: Mr. George Darcy is a domineering villain who has a long-standing feud with Mr. Bennet!
CONCLUSION:
Darcy vs. Bennet is a splendidly romantic and compelling tale! I adore Victoria Kincaid’s expressive prose, passionate characters, and the dramatic obstacles she puts in their way! I can hardly wait to reading Victoria Kincaid’s next Pride and Prejudice variation, Chaos Come to Longbourn, which was just released earlier this month!
Sounds like a great story. I love the premise and how his insults and actions could be seen in a different light. I shall definitely have to read this one! Thank you for sharing.
Me too! I love how some things stayed the same (but with new reason) even though the premise was different! 🙂 I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did, Brenda!
Great review Meredith! I am looking forward to reading this one! I have it on my wishlist as well as her latest one. I just need to move them up to my TBR list! I must admit I enjoy this predicament as opposed to waiting and waiting for books to come out! LOL!
Thanks, Carole! I know what you mean! Much better to find yourself with too many books that you want to read than the opposite! It might be hard to keep up with authors like Victoria Kincaid, but I’m not complaining! 😉
Great premise! I can see how the tensions would be created, and “double game” would keep the reader hooked. Thanks for the great review (and the PG-13 warning).
I agree, Abigail! It was gripping! I wanted to be sure to clarify since I said that there were “passionate” embraces that readers knew the embraces weren’t too intimate. 😉
I enjoyed this story. Excellent review, Meredith
Thank you, Sheila! I appreciate it!
Hi Meredith, Thank you for the lovely review! I’m so glad you enjoyed the book. It means a lot to me when readers feels touched by my work.
I loved it so much, Victoria! Thank you so much for sharing your stories with us! I am so happy I got to read this one!
I really enjoyed this one, so I’m so glad to see you did, too!
Yay! It was so wonderfully unique!
I have this book and yes another great review Meredith. I agree totally about the romance between Darcy and Elizabeth and was shocked by the lengths Darcy’s father went to trying to control him. Another few chapters would indeed have been very welcome but then that is true of most books. I will definitely be reading this again so thanks Victoria.
Yes, Darcy’s father was shocking, wasn’t he! Definitely worse than Lady C! 😉 I agree about wanting some more chapters and I know that not wanting the story to is a sign of wonderful book! 😀
Thanks for the great review, Meredith! Victoria, I love the premise of your stories, all of them & especially the last 2. Keep going, you’re on a roll!!
Thanks for reading and sharing my review, Joana! I really love clever premises like this one – very inventive!
I always heard about Darcy’s parents as an example of a beautiful marriage so when reading your post I realized I never thought of the possibility of Darcy’s father being a villain, it’s so original! . What could be the reason of the bad relationship between Mr Bennet and George Darcy? Umm! I would like to see Mrs Bennet defending her husband LOL!.
And I love the masquerade Ball scene. I know this is a common scene in books but I love it! 🙂
Thanks for the recommendation!
Right, Teresa! This is definitely a twist! I’ve seen some other stories where George Darcy was alive and very insistent on Darcy marrying Anne, but none where he has some confrontations with Bennet family! This is definitely one of my favorite masquerade scenes! 🙂
Great review and I must say that your opinions pretty much match my own. (I read this about two months ago.) I love Victoria Kincaid’s writing, and this story was most compelling, albeit a little sad given the relationship between Darcy and his father. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that after all the fun of the masquerade and all the anguish there is a happily ever after, altho’ yes, a bit of an abrupt ending.
I love this book! I actually stumbled upon this one looking for another one. I’m glad I found this one and enjoyed reading it, but I’m hoping to find the other book I was looking for. Elizabeth and Darcy meet for the first time at a Masquerade Ball and things get a little…”intense”. They both try to forget one another but they can’t. Elizabeth has a friend named Lady Sarah who helps Darcy capture Elizabeth’s heart and also falls in love with Colonel Fitzwilliam. Do you know the novel I’m talking about?
Hmmm. I don’ think I know this book. Sorry! I tried just doing a search on my blog with the word masquerade, but the books that came up didn’t fit your description. Hope you find it!
Thanks for looking! I’ve been looking for a while and I feel like I’m going crazy looking for this book. I know I’ve read it somewhere.
Elizabeth the book you’re looking for is Behind The Mask by Bronwen Chisolm. Enjoy 🙂
Glynis, you are amazing! Thank you! 🙂