Mr. Darcy, Vampyre
Mr. Darcy, Vampyre combines the romantic tale of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice with the dark world of vampyres, giving a new twist to the multitude of Austen sequels available. Being a lover of both Austen and vampires, just the thought of this novel had me smiling. Unfortunately, my anticipation exceeded the execution of the novel’s unique premise.
Things start off well, with Elizabeth and Darcy newly married and on a whirlwind wedding tour of Europe. Elizabeth, however, almost immediately senses that Darcy has had misgivings about their marriage, and the lack of consummation verifies her fears. The tour then begins to meander through France, the Alps, and into Italy, and this is where the story stalls. Irritatingly filled with a myriad of odd friends of Darcy’s, the storyline goes nowhere as Elizabeth cluelessly follows her brooding husband from one arena to the next, wringing her hands in despair over his lack of attention.
There were indeed things I liked about this novel, including the tension between Elizabeth and Darcy, and the continuation of Elizabeth’s letter-writing to express her emotions. But the book lost its focus as it traipsed through Europe, and it left behind the feel of Austen’s world early as it morphed into just another paranormal romance. Perhaps the story would have benefited from being told through Darcy’s viewpoint; as it is, Elizabeth’s wavering and fretting left me cold. By the time I’d limped along to the convoluted climax, I was mostly just glad that these two were finally, finally on their way home to Pemberley.
