Mr. Darcy Learns His Heart’s Desires

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Source: Gift from Author

TYPE OF NOVEL: Pride and Prejudice Variation Novella

THE PREMISE: With his sister’s anger and avoidance of him, Fitzwilliam Darcy is once again experiencing intense loneliness and pain. But when he meets the witty and compassionate Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn he feels some new emotions creeping into his heart. Will he allow those feelings to take purchase and bloom or hold fast the expectations of society and his family?

MY THOUGHTS: While the premise and exposition introduce the theme of Mr. Darcy being a colder and more heartless man, his character isn’t portrayed any differently than it is in Pride and Prejudice. There are many references to his heart be frozen and metaphors to cold coldness and icebergs, but in essentials, I found this Mr. Darcy to be “very much what he ever was.” Instead this story mostly highlights the significant moments of P&P from Mr. Darcy’s point-of-view.

Like all of Christie Capp’s novellas, His Frozen Heart is a light and fast read that brings readers romance and diversion. There are twelve novellas written in all, all of which are charming variations that focus on Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. Some of my favorites include when Darcy and Elizabeth were trapped together at Rosings, when Mr. Darcy believes he is terminally ill, and when an older Mr. and Mrs. Darcy assist their son through his own romantic struggles.

I enjoyed a few elements of this story, like Mr. Darcy I felt enlivened and engaged by the challenging exchanges and banter between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. In addition, I also appreciated being inside Mr. Darcy’s head and witnessing his internal thoughts and the way he analyzed his emotions and reactions to Elizabeth. However, I did think that Mr. Darcy’s feelings were more often told to the readers instead of shown.

Overall, I wasn’t as fond of this story as other Christie Capps novellas. The second half of the book jumped through the pivotal moments in Darcy’s and Elizabeth’s journey with mostly briefly summarized flashbacks and the fractured relationship between Mr. Darcy and his sister was never resolved. For those reasons and because there wasn’t much that made this story unique, this novella isn’t one I’d recommend as highly as other Christie Capps novellas. However, if you are a busy reader who is hankering for a quick Darcy and Elizabeth romance, this uncomplicated and succinct novella might be perfect for satisfying that craving!

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