Darcy & Desire: A Steamy Pride and Prejudice Variation (The Pemberley Letters Book 1)

Cady
West
Genre: 
Historical

Elizabeth Anne Bennet Darcy is blissfully in love with her new husband, Fitzwilliam Henry Darcy, and devastated that he must leave her barely a month into their marriage to go to London. The two begin a delightful correspondence that amuses their family and requires the services of a most unusual courier. Elizabeth pours out her heartache at missing her husband, mixing it with the daily goings on of the household that includes visits from a neighbor. Darcy in return attempts to meet his wife's honesty with his own. Meanwhile, Elizabeth finds herself interacting with a peeress she cannot like, and who appears to have a hidden agenda. As Elizabeth despairs of Darcy ever returning home, matters come to a head with the peeress and Elizabeth proves she is more than capable of being the new mistress of Pemberley.

"Darcy & Desire" serves up a steamy take on Jane Austen's famed Elizabeth and Darcy! Cady West adeptly captures the tone of the correspondence of the time, even including the cross-outs, parentheses and P.S. ad infinitum that prevailed. The story plot, however, is slow to take off. Further, the frank language Elizabeth uses to discuss the sexual side of her marriage and the continuous reference to self-gratification from both parties might give some readers pause. That aside, the relationships among the inhabitants of Pemberley, from Elizabeth's sister Kitty to her maidservant Florrie, easily captivate readers. Another high treat is the sprinkling in of famed literary figures of the time and a risqué French literary work. Overall, "Darcy & Desire" is an entertaining and provocative look inside the marriage of two beloved characters from English literature!

Tricia Hill