Vampire Darcy's Desire: A Pride and Prejudice Adaptation

I found this book to be simply TERRIBLE. I mean, I thought the ideas and plot points in the book had a lot of POTENTIAL to be great, but the authors handling of them just fell flat.

The books worst element is the enormously nauseating romance scenes. Every five pages since Darcy is introduced is a cheesy "I Want You, But Can't Have You" moment for our two protagonists. Every single scene with them is the SAME until Colonel Fitzwilliam pops up in the end, as the author frantically tries to "diversify" the plot by randomly adding a love triangle in the last two chapters. It takes one for the good colonel to fall in love with his cousin's wife and one for him to struggle with his feelings of guilt and jealousy and eventually come to accept that he and Elizabeth just weren't meant to be. And all of this is in the middle of an incredibly fragmented and random climax where they are all facing Wickam and his minions in a Northumberland graveyard, where they repeatedly scream and become bloodied and ripped up but NONE OF THE LOCALS SEEM TO NOTICE.

Th characters were possibly even worst than the nonsensical plot twists. Darcy, Elizabeth, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Wickam were absolutely NOTHING like the Austen characters we all know and love. I mean, I understood when I began to read the book that the characters were going to be different because the plot would have different elements added in, but God, she could've at least TRIED to make the changes BELIEVABLE. Darcy as the tragic hero, I can get, but Elizabeth as a mushy, needy nympho (characeristics the author valiantly tries to disguise behind horse-riding and swashbuckling skills)and Colonel Fitzwilliam as the knee-jerk, last minute "competitor" for Elizabeth's heart are just a little beyond my Austenian comprehension. I mean, seriously, by the end, I hated these caricatures of Austen characters so much that I was actually rooting for Wickam, who, as the rejected suitor whom Darcy's ancestor sacrifices to the evil vampress in order to save her true love, was the only charcter with a shred of complexity and that I felt any sympathy for. Lady Catherine De Burg is nonexistant (doesn't show, no lines, not even mentioned, and consdering that Darcy marries Elizabeth in the first hundred pages, she was probably nonexistant in this adaptation). The rest of the characters who were actually IN character - Miss Bingley, Mr. Bingley, Jane, Geotgiana, etc. - were just foot notes with tiny unresolved subplots who seemed to spend most of the book asking exactly I myself was the entire time: "What the hell is going on?"

Another major point of disappointment came in the added "sexual tension". Taking place in the aforementioned cheesy love scenes, Darcy and Elizabeth ALMOST do it at least three times a chapter. It would've a lot better if the author actually changed up her way of explaining these scenes, but instead the repitition of words like "maleness" and "scandalous" really made you feel like you are reading the same scene over and over and over again. The most stupid part of it is, though the "sexual tension" takes up pages and pages, when they actually have sex, it's a page and a half. The author doesn't even describe it past the usual foreplay, taking away the actual impact of the scene.

This was the first alternate universe Pride & Prejudice book I ever read and hopefully the worst because I hate to think that the rest are as bad as this. I'm not saying that this book isn't for anyone, but it certainly wasn't for me. If you're looking for a Prode & Prejudice adaptation that stays true to the spirit of the original, you're barking up the wrong tree, buddy.

Dreck. Dreckdreckdreckdreck-dreckity-dreck dreck.

I like a good paranormal romance or Austen spin off to give my brain a break between classics or non-fiction. But Darcy's Hunger... or "Vampire Darcy's Desire" (same book, apparently with an alternate title) is just dreadful. The romantic comedy conflict is gone because Darcy & Elizabeth all but jump each other's bones from the first time they meet. By chapter four they're waltzing in the moonlight and having long morning rides and fencing lessons a deux. So, no pride. No prejudice.

But wait! Conflict arises because Darcy is a dhampir (which I can only assume is Darcy+Human+Vampire x weird spelling= a word that sounds foreign and mysterious). But Elizabeth is cool with that for no readily explainable reason. So no conflict there, except that as hot as they are for each other, they can't consummate because Darcy is eeeevil.

But wait! Wickham is a real vampire and the bane of the Darcy family for generations, relating somehow to an old Scottish ballad and Darcy & Elizabeth's ancestors being star-crossed lovers in a way that makes no discernible sense and spells everyone's name slightly oddly.

It takes another 400 pages to get through what we all knew was coming from the Meryton ball, where Darcy & Elizabeth immediately decide they're soulmates. Nobly self-sacrificing gestures are made but the two realize they're stronger together, Wickham is defeated, the curse is broken, Darcy gets over his fear of infecting Lizzy and the two make lots of babies and live happily ever after.

My son bought Vampire Darcy's Desire for me for Christmas and I applaud his attempt at getting the 'perfect' gift, but I was quite disappointed with the book. The story was given to us on a silver platter by page 40, but the book went on for another 240 pages. The editing was horrible, these books are simply cranked out with little respect for the reader.
If you're into internet fanfic or vapid romance you'll like it, otherwise, look elsewhere.

As an avid Austen fan and a person who have loved vampire stories for around 15 years, I was hoping that someone finally had gotten this little twist of a story right. I could really see Darcy as a vampire, brooding, sulky, irresistable and cursed, but... alas, it was not really what I wanted. While I appreciated the romance aspect of the story--and that is what it is, a romance--it was not very Austen-like. If that doesn't bother you, you will probably like this story because it is fun, flirty, and I must say neatly tied together by its mythology. I was hoping for a more true-to-the-novel story, and was distracted at times by the lines that she took directly from movies and/or the novel. I also had a very hard time imaginging Elizabeth attacking vampires. I know she was an avid walker, but ???
Overall, I would say it is a fun read, but it definitely does not have same "feel" as the world Jane Austen created.

If you were among those disappointed in Mr.Darcy, Vampyre you will not be so with this book. I greatly enjoyed it, finding myself unwilling to put it down. I highly recommend this P+P vampire adaptation.

I agree with the person who commented about all the typos. They were very annoying despite the fun beginning and middle of this book. There are more than just a few typos/grammar errors, too much modern language, and the ending (epilogue included) blows. Also I felt mislead by the title. Darcy is not a vampire but a dhampir and while he does desire Elizabeth in a modern-gothic-sexy vampire way, he doesn't bite and is pretty harmless. Austen's Darcy always seemed anything but harmless, if mostly in a verbal capacity.

I like that the author tried to tie this story as much as possible to the source material. The early chemistry between the protagonists is passionate enough for a sexy vampire story and keeps it entertaining. Some of it was a little cliche, such as when Lizzie first met Wickham and just knew that he was evil. The quasi triangle that included Damon was exhaustingly redundant and there was no subtlety in it. I felt like the author kept hitting me on the head with the fact that Damon and Lizzie liked one another and if Darcy didn't exist...blah, blah, blah. They could have cut out a good 20 to 30 pages near the end. All that tedium of walking through the fields and the cemetery and into the house and...oh, it just made me feel like I'd done all that walking, running, and fighting and it wasn't very interesting. I kept reading in hopes that it would get better before the end, since I was pretty hooked up until Wickham went for Lydia. It started to fall apart with Elizabeth turning into a tyrant once she married Darcy. She became annoying and seemed to fall out of character.

I think it's worth a read if your expectations are not as high as they would be for a real Austen novel and if you can get past the errors. It is a nice attempt by the author. In the Forward, Ms. Jeffers states that her primary reason for writing the book was to be involved in a project that would happen with or without her so she could give it some mark of quality. And she did. It could have been a complete train wreck.

While I enjoyed many of the plot points Ms. Jeffers created, I found the writing itself jarring. At several points the dialogue seemed far too contemporary (a minor character says "No problem" for example.) Also, the rendering of lower class regional dialect was confusing. Finally, I was shocked at how many typos this novel contains. I think Ms. Jeffers creates interesting scenes and characters, but I would strongly suggest a different editor. I wanted to like this novel, but I couldn't get past the writing itself.

A friend gave me this book as a gift, so I felt somewhat obligated to see it through to the end, but doing so was not a pleasant task. The story idea is interesting, but could be delivered in a much shorter book. The editing is awful with typos and grammatical errors throughout. I was really disappointed that so much of the original Pride and Prejudice story was thrown out all-together. Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas barely appear, and Darcy's disapproving aunt never surfaces. I found other Austen adaptations interesting for how the original story was kept, but with clever additions that change the motivation of the characters while maintaining the same actions. In this novel, the main characters are retained and little else. The writing was very repetitive and often seemed like a bad harlequin romance. If I read, "she was his Elizabeth" one more time, I was going to scream.

If you love Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Series then by all means pick up this book and enjoy. It has all the romance of Pride and Prejudice mixed with the vampire genre. You can't get better than this one. I have read many "mixed" paranormal-classic mashes. This is the best. It was the first book of Ms. Jeffers that I have read and now I am an avid fan. Her masterful mix of Austin characters, Scottish lore, and a great story is just wonderful. This is my new favorite comfort book (I'm not allowed comfort foods they're fattening). It's the one I travel with and the one you can always find at my bedside. Edward and Vampire Darcy will forever be my favorite lore characters.

I thought "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" could not be outdone for the monster P&P craziness. I was wrong! "Mr. Darcy's Desire" was fantastic! My Darcy is a Vampire who is tempted by the blood of Elizabeth Darcy! After a series of courtship Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth end up getting married! Then the reader gets to journey through the rest of the book as Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth, and Colonel Fitzwilliam bring down Vampire Wickaham who has kidnapped Lydia and made a small army of vampire/undead minions. Ugh... can we say awesome!

With some juicy romance scenes between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy this smutty vampire romance is a perfect pleasure read. I can't understand how many typos made it past the editor, quite disturbing actually, but other than that this one is great. Another monster P&P adaptation is a success. Favorite piece of the book is that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth get married half way through the book and the romance continues to grow on rather then ending with the marriage. Also enjoyed the in depth story line of Elizabeth and Georgiana becoming closer friends. Might actually read this one again some day.