Name: Sarah Sammis's review of Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange
Item: Mr. Darcy, Vampyre
Rating: 4
Author: Sarah Sammis

Amanda Grange

Presents a paranormal sequel to Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice."

Mr. Darcy, Vampyre

Sarah

Mr Darcy, Vampyre introduces a dark family curse so perfectly that the result is a delightfully thrilling, spine-chilling, breathtaking read. A dark, poignant and visionary continuation of Austen's beloved story, full of danger, darkness and immortal love. Elizabeth Darcy is the happiest woman alive when she steps into the carriage that is to take her on her wedding tour - until she sees the look of torment on Mr Darcy¿s face and discovers that he has a deep, dark secret that nearly destroys their love, their marriage and even her very life. Darcy and the rest of his family are vampires that cannot be outside during sunrise or sunset. Lady Catherine is at the source, having turned Georgiana into an undying friend for her vampiric daughter, Anne, and then Darcy as the perfect mate for Anne. Now Lizzy and Darcy must travel across the Continent to the Pyrenees to find a way to break the curse. But Lady Catherine won¿t give up her undead without a fight...The Y in Vampyre is a tribute to the first vampyre story in print in the English language called simply The Vampyre. It was written by John Polidori, a physician in the employ of Lord Byron and who, whilst staying by Lake Geneva with Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary's stepsister Claire Clairmont amused themselves by reading and writing ghost stories. Two of the greatest horror stories came from that night Mary Shelly¿s Frankenstein and The Vampyre.

Sarah Sammis

If you're a diehard Jane Austen fan or an avid reader of vampire novels, step away from this blog. Ignore this review. If you're like me and not really a fan of either, stick around.

Let me say upfront, I loved this book.

Mr. Darcy Vampyre by Amanda Grange begins with the wedding day of the two Bennet sisters. Elizabeth begins her new life as Mrs. Darcy and will be going on a surprise wedding tour our Europe even though things are still unsettled in France. In their journey Elizabeth begins to fear that Darcy isn't the man she thought he was.

Half of the negative reviews I've read focus on Grange's depiction of Austen's most famous couple. Frankly, I've never managed to understand either of them or their supposed mutual attraction at the end. Elizabeth doesn't strike me as all that head strong and Darcy comes off as an arrogant son of a bitch. Nonetheless, they are a literary perfect couple full of "twu wuv."

The other half of the negative reviews comes from the vampire camp. Vampires have evolved (mutated?) since I was in college into moody, moralistic, drop dead gorgeous, angsty, sex gods. Vampires further get divided into those who use humans as their playthings: eat them, bang them, torture them and very rarely turn them; and those who are too tormented by their inner demons to dare touch a human. Think of the Angelus / Angel divide. Mr. Darcy seems to be a hybrid of Angel and Edward (minus the sparkling). I include Edward into the mix only because Mr. Darcy can go out in broad daylight. The hows and whys behind this unusual ability are explained in the book.

The only problem I had with the book was Darcy's ability to go out of doors in daylight. I will put up with this one bit of hand-waving as the book was otherwise for me, a nice modern rendition of a Gothic novel. See the only vampire novel I really like is Dracula and there's a lot homage to it in how Mr. Darcy Vampyre is told even if the vampire himself borrows from more recent tropes.

The best way to describe Mr. Darcy Vampire is to say it's a paranormal sequel written in the style of Bram Stoker but with a happy ending (since it is a romance, after all). Since it's an old style book the vampires do most of their deeds off screen, leaving Elizabeth to comment on odd behavior, or other strange things (like missing mirrors).

I recommend this book wholeheartedly to people who like Jane Austen adaptations (but not necessarily the originals) and people who like Dracula but aren't necessarily into the current vampire craze.

Heather Margaret

Sourcebooks Landmark, the leading publisher of Jane Austen-related fiction, is excited to announce a major release: Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by international bestselling author Amanda Grange. Amanda Grange, bestselling author of Mr. Darcy's Diary, gives us something completely new—a delightfully thrilling, paranormal Pride and Prejudice sequel, full of danger, darkness and deep romantic love… Amanda Grange's style and wit bring readers back to Jane Austen's timeless storytelling, but always from a very unique and unusual perspective, and now Grange is back with an exciting and completely new take on Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. Mr. Darcy, Vampyre starts where Pride and Prejudice ends and introduces a dark family curse so perfectly that the result is a delightfully thrilling, spine-chilling, breathtaking read. A dark, poignant and visionary continuation of Austen's beloved story, this tale is full of danger, darkness and immortal love.

Sarah &
Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange

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Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange