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ABOUT THE BOOK
Here I am, surrounded by heiresses without so much as a murmur from my heart.
MR FITZWILLIAM DARCY'S FAMILY has decided it is time for him to select a wife and marry. To that end, Pemberley is suddenly inundated with eligible young ladies vying for his time and attention. Disinterested in the notion, Mr. Darcy’s attention is on his myriad other troubles. He has a London journalist whose attention has suddenly turned towards him with unsavoury and false rumours and lives with a wounded Colonel Fitzwilliam, whose sanity has been called into question. To add to that, he finds himself surprisingly and suddenly captivated by one fine-eyed young lady who is visiting Pemberley.
ELIZABETH BENNET HAS NO INTEREST IN MARRYING—ever. Hard life lessons have taught her that she can only rely on herself. To that end, she earns a tidy sum as the secret author of a popular gossip column in a London paper, Mr. Pennywithers Reports—and Mr. Pennywithers has been tasked with learning the truth about the enigmatic Fitzwilliam Darcy. An unexpected invitation to go to Pemberley provides her with just the opportunity she needs…provided she can keep her true identity concealed.
IT'S NO BED OF ROSES—one bachelor is up against surprising alliances, a bevy of mean girls, rumours, gossip, and a multitude of hidden agendas. Can it all be untangled in time for true love to prevail or will scandal defeat them all?
OPENING LINES
Mr. Edward Gardiner, a respected solicitor to many of the finest names of London’s upper crust- and who dabbled in imports and exports to many of London’s middling ones- opened his paper, skimming past the headlines and rifling through its pages. Finally, finding what he searched for, he smiled at his niece.
“Lizzy, it is published in today’s issue.”
GUEST REVIEW by Sophia Rose
When one picks up an Austen-inspired title from Julie Cooper, one can anticipate a delightful deviation from the original with dramatic and sometimes dark overtones, complex characters, and the sort of relationships, romantic or otherwise that make readers struggle to set the book aside for the mundane matters of life.
The Bachelor Mr. Darcy brings together Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice characters in a wholly new way. A country house party at Pemberley has the Darcys hosting a blend of familiar and new original characters. This is no ordinary house party. Darcy’s sister, Georgiana, and his aunt, Lady Matlock, determined to do some matchmaking for their taciturn relation, so there are far more ladies than gentlemen. This calls for a contest among the ladies in a Bachelor game-style situation.
But wait, there’s more… Darcy is the butt of malicious gossip, so Georgiana is determined to find a way to counteract this. Without realizing the full truth about Elizabeth, thinking she’s a relative of the popular and witty Mr. Pennywithers, the society columnist, Georgie has Elizabeth and Jane come as Mr. Pennywithers’ eyes to see Darcy and share their judgment about his character so the truth can be written. This leads to scheming, tangled secrets, rivalries, and some lovely slow-burn romances.
When will Elizabeth’s secret identity be outed? What ladies stoop to sabotage? There is a beautiful portrayal of a wounded war veteran whose wounds aren’t all visible. Humor balances the drama as the various plot threads get untangled and lead to a strong finish.
The book has shared narration among the principal cast—mostly Darcy and Lizzy, but I felt from the beginning that Elizabeth was the central figure. She is her usual spunky self in many ways, but she weighed down with great sorrow and guilt, and it takes a friendship with Darcy, who shares her caution about relationships, to set her on a better path. I appreciated that the conflict for this pair was their own past demons and exterior troubles, so they were facing it all together.
All in all, The Bachelor Mr. Darcy was absolutely fabulous, touched all the emotions, and had some great blending of character and plot development. Sweet historical romance fans of stories set in Jane Austen’s Regency world must slip this one onto the reading pile.
The Bachelor Mr. Darcy by Julie Cooper
Historical Romance
Publisher: Quills and Quartos
Published: 5.6.24
Pages: 364
Rating: 5 stars
Format: Trade Paperback
Source: Quills and Quartos
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julie Cooper, a California native, lives with her Mr. Darcy (without the arrogance or the Pemberley) for nearly forty years, two dogs (one intelligent, one goofball), and Kevin the Cat (smarter than all of them.) They have four children and three grandchildren, all of whom are brilliant and adorable, with the pictures to prove it. She works as an executive at a gift basket company and her tombstone will read, “Have your Christmas gifts delivered at least four days before the 25th.” Her hobbies are reading, giving other people good advice, and wondering why no one follows it.
ABOUT THE GUEST REVIEWER
Sophia is a quiet, curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants, and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and a loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, baseball, cats, Scooby Doo, and chocolate.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. In 2012, she submitted her first book review and is currently an associate reviewer.
Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener of many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction, particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Sorry, no horror...or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
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