Source: Review copy from Sourcebooks
Rating: ★★★★☆
“Elizabeth, there is no way I can win this argument, so I apologize for any past, present, or future transgressions.”‘
“You are a quick learner, Will Darcy,” Lizzy said smiling, and she kissed him on the cheek.
(from Mr. Darcy’s Bite, page 238 in the ARC; finished version may be different)
Mr. Darcy’s Bite is Mary Lydon Simonsen’s latest take on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and I must admit that it’s one of the best Austenesque novels I’ve read so far (and regular readers of my blog know that I read a lot of them). Most of these variations put an obstacle in Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet’s road to happiness, and Simonsen’s is no different, but what makes Mr. Darcy’s Bite unique is the severity of the challenge the two must overcome.
Simonsen’s novel opens after Bingley and Jane are married and settled at Netherfield, and Darcy and Elizabeth have already acknowledged their attraction to one another. However, their courtship is not normal, and Elizabeth is a little distressed about the fact that Darcy comes and goes for periods of time without asking for her hand. Less than 20 pages into the book, Darcy confides in Elizabeth that he has a secret that she can tell no one: he is a werewolf, scratched by a she wolf as a young boy and forced to endure the transformation from man to wolf and back again for two nights a month beginning with the full moon.
Elizabeth must think long and hard about whether she wants to marry a werewolf, as everything in their lives must be planned around the lunar calendar and Darcy’s secret cannot be shared with her family, not even her closest sister, Jane. Keeping the secret is necessary to protect Darcy, his family, and his pack — which includes Nell, a she wolf with a careless tongue and designs on Darcy.
Simonsen includes little tidbits about werewolves and the Council that oversees them, as Elizabeth learns what it would be like to be Mrs. Darcy. But at its core, Mr. Darcy’s Bite is a love story, with tenderness, playful banter, and even a little spice. Simonsen does a wonderful job creating delightful secondary characters, from the flirty Lord Fitzwilliam who enjoys making Mrs. Gardiner blush to Darcy’s feisty Aunt Marguerite who gives Elizabeth some sneaky advice for handling werewolves. She also has fun with Austen’s supporting cast, with Georgiana fitting in with Elizabeth’s family and Anne de Bourgh standing up to her formidable mother, Lady Catherine.
Mr. Darcy’s Bite stays true to Austen’s characters, with the humor and wit I loved in Pride and Prejudice. Simonsen uses werewolves not to create a haunting atmosphere but to further the love story, showing how nothing can stand in the way of true love…and it helps that one particular wolf has Darcy’s striking eyes and sleek form. My only problem with this book was that it was too short, as I loved the world in which Simonsen placed Austen’s characters and I wasn’t ready to let them go.
Check out my reviews of other books by Mary Lydon Simonsen:
Searching for Pemberley
Anne Elliot, A New Beginning
The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy
A Wife for Mr. Darcy
Disclosure: I received a copy of Mr. Darcy’s Bite from Sourcebooks for review purposes. I am an IndieBound affiliate and an Amazon associate.
© 2011 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
Disclosure: I received Mr. Darcy’s Bite from Sourcebooks for review.
© 2011 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
Decisions, decisions! Elizabeth has a lot to ponder. Oh, this sounds so good! Terrific review, Anna.
Thanks, Suko! I loved it.
I agree this one was too short. I wanted it to be longer to learn more about the council and the werewolves…I think it was fantastic.
I don’t read much about werewolves, so I really enjoyed all the tidbits about their transformation and the Council. And the love story was just so sweet. Glad you loved it, too.
Thanks, Serena. I might very well write a sequel where the Darcys are in real danger, possibly as a result of Wickham.
Oh, I’d love to read a sequel, Mary!
I love this: “Elizabeth must think long and hard about whether she wants to marry a werewolf, as everything in their lives must be planned around the lunar calendar…” funniest line ever!
And it’s so true! The amount of planning that was involved in taking trips and getting back before nightfall was a bigger deal than the fact that she loved a werewolf. 😉
There seems to be no end of variations people can take on Ms. Austen’s books!
And that’s fine by me! 😉
Anna, Thank you so much for the wonderful review. I’m so glad you liked my Mr. Darcy as a werewolf. I really enjoyed writing this b/c it took me places where I had never been JA or otherwise. I’m doing cartwheels here in AZ.
My pleasure! I like the paranormal variations to a certain extent, but I hadn’t found one I loved until now. I think focusing on the love story and less on the paranormal made a big difference. It was sweet, rather than violent and gross like some of the zombie ones…though I did enjoy the humor of those.
It amazes me how they continue to come up with ideas to rewrite Pride & Prejudice.
It just shows you how timeless the story is!
Aye, true loves can conquer everything, even having your loved one turning furry 2 times a month
Exactly!
I’m sure Elizabeth was up to the challenge of a werewolf Darcy 🙂 An interesting Aisten spin off.
Of course! Would you expect less from Elizabeth? 😉
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