What If Mr. Darcy Needed to Care for a Baby?
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Review Copy from Author
TYPE OF NOVEL: Pride and Prejudice Variation
TIME FRAME: Begins at the Netherfield Ball and progresses 3 months following (plus epilogue)
SYNOPSIS: Mr. Darcy’s life takes an abrupt turn when he is given guardianship of a newborn and asked to: protect this child, hide its true identity from others, and treat him as his own. Not knowing how long this very important responsibility is assigned him, Darcy feels his first order of business is to marry. And since his head has already been full of Elizabeth Bennet for weeks, he knows just the lady with whom he wants to share this urgent and intricate assignment. But what happens when Darcy learns his new wife has a decidedly poor opinion of him? What happens when the baby’s identity is discovered? How can Darcy protect his little family when he faces some extreme trials and tribulations?!?
WHAT I LOVED:
- Shocking and Sinister: What a premise! This story starts off like no other with Darcy taking on the protection and care of a child and marrying an unwilling Elizabeth Bennet the very next day! It was a most gripping and consuming adventure! I knew from the very first chapter the course of this journey would be anything but smooth – and I was eagerly anticipating all the bumps and thorny situations we would see play out. I loved the originality and uniqueness of this premise. I don’t think I’ve seen Darcy and his family in a situation quite like this before!
- Baby Jem: Oh my goodness! What a sweet baby and what a lovely opportunity to see Mr. Darcy be adorable, gentle, and unequivocally swoon-worthy! His scenes with little Jem were my favorite up until Jem encountered another relation and they shared some of the most precious and heart-seizing moments together. What a sweet dear this child is, I loved having him be such a prominent character in this tale!
- Heartwarming Relationships: There are some sweetly developed relationships both past and present in this novel. I loved learned about some characters’ loving and devoted marriages, witnessing the emerging relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth, and seeing the friendships between both Elizabeth and Georgiana and Elizabeth and Mrs. Mansfield (who serves as Jem’s wet-nurse). In addition, I particularly enjoyed seeing Mrs. Mansfield and one other character share a special relationship as well. Not all relationships developed at the same speed or with the same ease, but all were heartfelt and satisfying to observe.
- Shocking Twists: Not only does this story begin with shocking twists…it ends that way too! What delicious fun Ms. King must’ve had throwing us some unexpected curve balls at the end! I most definitely did not see any of them coming and was completely entranced by all the high drama, revelations, and surprising developments! What a roller coaster ride! Well done, Ms. King!
WHAT I WASN’T TOO FOND OF:
- Hasty yet Smooth: I LOVE stories that have Darcy and Elizabeth marry before they come to an understanding or in a forced marriage scenario. And this story starts off with them marrying so early and for such unique reasons. I was looking forward to seeing all the steps their relationship would take as they grow and learn to understand each other, and some of the drawbacks to them marrying unexpectedly. But their relationship progressed smoothly and easily. I would have loved to see Darcy and Elizabeth experience a little more of an adjustment period for their new marriage, but I think that the reason we don’t see that is because the tension and drama was already coming from other angles in this story.
- Suspension of Disbelief: There are a lot of steps Ms. King had characters take to set her story and premise in motion and make it work. She capably pulls it off, but there are some moments and actions that can give you pause and raise some questions. It is probably best not to follow those lines of questions and instead just suspend your disbelief for this tale and enjoy the ride.
CONCLUSION:
A Baby for Mr. Darcy is a riveting and touching tale that places sinister schemes, intensifying family drama, and heartwarming relationships all around the existence of a sweet child. I applaud J. Dawn King for her endless creativity in crafting such unique and surprising adventure for Darcy and Elizabeth!!
I love all of her books and am certain I will love this one too! Such a great premise. 🙂
I know you will, Brenda! It does indeed have a fantastic premise!
Oh, I LOVED this story. Thanks for such a fabulous review, Meredith [hello to your Mr. Bingley]. I can not say enough about this story. That cover was the best. OMG! What an adorable baby. Such tragedy, such angst, and such love resonated throughout this story. Wow! Surprises galore and those surprise characters you didn’t mention… heavy sigh. OMG! The Fitzwilliam family… all of them… were absolutely vile. Help us… I am starting to hyperventilate already just thinking about them. I need my salts!! Whew!! Blessings dear girl, stay safe, and healthy.
Thank you for reading my review, Jeanne! The baby on the cover is indeed incredibly sweet!! Yes!! I especially loved the surprises about the characters I didn’t mention!! 😉
So glad you posted this review, Meredith. I had thought to buy it when it as first published and forgot. That problem was corrected as I just purchased it!
Oh yay! Happy reading, Regina! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
What a wonderful review, Meredith. Thank you! I had so many preconceived ideas about inheritance laws in Regency England when I started writing this story. Fortunately, there was plenty of data to straighten me out. Like many, I did not believe females could inherit a title and/or property. There are extensive lists of women who, before, during, and after that time period, did just that. Most shocking to me was learning how easy it was to travel to France during the war. One book I read (which was written in 1815) gave specific details of a wave of British citizens who moved to Paris and other areas in France in 1812. The author named names and gave their backgrounds. I tell you, I was stunned. Then I was thrilled because I could use these facts to move the plot along. So writing this was an education. I am tickled you enjoyed the adventure and little Jem.
Thank YOU, Joy for sharing this story with us all! It is so wonderfully unique and touching!
I love hearing that you learned so many new details about Regency England while researching and writing this story!
(I hope you didn’t think I was questioning any of those aspects of the story when I mentioned suspending some disbelief… I was referring to the quick decisions and actions made by Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bennet, and Colonel Fitzwilliam)
Not at all. Your review is spot on in every way. How you do what you do without revealing spoilers is amazing!
It pleases me greatly to add more layers to my understanding and my stories when I learn something new about the days gone by. And I appreciate the generosity between authors, bloggers, and readers who share research willingly. I LOVE this group.
I love this story despite the angst levels! I always like it when ODC marry early no matter the reason. I loved how the relationship between them improved and how Elizabeth managed to cope on her own when necessary. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read it but I especially loved the ending!
I agree, Glynis! I feel the same way about their marrying early!
Surprisingly enough, I am actually currently reading this book! I am enjoying it as I have every one of Joy’s books. I just double checked my kindle app and I am 60% of the way in and I am definitely in one of the plot twists. I cannot wait to read how it resolves and I just know that there is more to come. Joy makes me fall in love with each and every one of her variations of Darcy. I am already swooning over this one, too.
That is an awesome coincidence! Oh yes, this Darcy is sooooo swoony!! I am sure you will continue to be riveted to the rest of the story!
Surely not all the Fitzwilliams were bad
Nope, not all! 😉
How I loved this one by J. Dawn King, like all her other ones! I just recently listened to the audio version too, and it’s just as amazing. I loved your review, Meredith. So glad to hear you liked it as much as you did. There are so many gems in this P&P variation, including as you said, Jem. I loved the letter that forced Darcy into action. It brought tears to my eyes. And I can’t say anything else without a spoiler, for the same reason you said that the story starts out in such a surprising way. I predict this will be a favorite reread/re-listen one for me, most likely a couple times a year. 😀
So happy to hear that you enjoyed the audio version of this story as well! Oh yes! That letter pulls at your heart strings…. Just fabulous!!
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, Michelle! I’m so glad to hear how much you loved this story!
sounds like an interesting twist
I’m all about those! 😉
Great Review. Love this story and her latest with Tommy Bennet. Joy is so good with children in her stories.
Thank you, Jen! I saw her latest Christie Capps had another adorable baby!! She sure is!! They are incredibly endearing!
I’ve read this recently. I honestly admit that I picked the book because of the baby picture :). It is a unique story that’s for sure, but it is not really a love story as far as I am concerned. It’s all about the baby and since he is a newborn he is not particularly interesting as character…but he is present. That being said…I had no time to get attached to Darcy and Lizzy as a couple…the book is not about them. It is full of useless drama and unnecessary suffering. Everything could have been so easy if Jem’s father acted like a grown up man.
Darcy was a prime father material though and it was really nice to see how sweet he could be ( yes he is nice and sweet and caring there is no pride in this book and not so many prejudices either). I would recommend for people who love drama and unnecessary complicated scenarios…defenately not for Austen’s purists.