Mr. Darcy and the Girl Next Door

A Sweet Pride and Prejudice Romance

De: Alix James

Narrado por: Benjamin Fife

Darcy's got the wealth and wit, but Elizabeth's heart is already spoken for. Cue the romance and shenanigans, because the game of love is about to get serious.

**Elizabeth Bennet**

It was supposed to be simple: come back to Derbyshire, see childhood friends, maybe fall in love. But that was before I realized George Darcy, the boy I’d set my heart on when I was just thirteen, was engaged to Lady Lucilla.

Things I didn't expect this week:

1. Realizing I still had feelings for George. (Old habits die hard.)

2. Being warned off by his oh-so-serious older brother. (As if I’d listen!)

3. Finding myself in the middle of a love square? Love rhombus? Whatever it’s called.

4. Being oddly drawn to the older Darcy brother. (His eyes... that's all I’m saying.)

5. Being the unintentional wrench in a seemingly perfect engagement.

6. Participating in the wittiest banter battles of my life. (With Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome, no less.)

7. Maybe... just maybe... reconsidering where my heart truly lies.

**Fitzwilliam Darcy**

I pride myself on being the responsible Darcy. But responsibility gets a tad complicated when Elizabeth Bennet storms back into our lives.

This week’s unforeseen complications:

1. Trying to keep my wayward brother, George, on the straight and narrow. (Impossible.)

2. Watching Elizabeth, with her sparkling eyes and razor-sharp wit, aim for George’s heart. (Torture.)

3. Reminding myself I'm trying to keep her away for George’s own good. (A lie I keep telling myself.)

4. Finding it increasingly challenging to keep my distance. (Why does she have to be so... captivating?)

5. Becoming entangled in a mess of love, loyalty, and longing.

6. Wishing, for the first time in my life, that I wasn’t the responsible one.

7. Realizing that perhaps it's my heart that's at stake in this unexpected game of romance.

©2024 Alix James (P)2024 Alix James

Elizabeth grows up with the Darcy brothers

This is an outside of canon story where Elizabeth Smith is the ward of Mr. Darcy Sr and grew up with the two Darcy sons (no Georgiana). She is sent away when she’s about 13 years old and wondered why for so many years. She is raised in those later years with the Bennet family being drawn in as another beloved sister.

She ends up being reunited with her Darcy family when Aunt Gardiner comes to be with her family. The secret of why she was sent away as well as who she is stays a mystery till near the end of the book. There were a few things that felt unbelievable but I could set aside to continue to enjoy the story.

A few things that I did like is it took place away from the Bennet home, so we did not have to deal with Mrs. Bennett or the younger sisters. There is no Wickham, Lady Catherine, or Mr. Collins to deal with.

I got the audiobook to go with and Benjamin Fife did a fantastic job with the narration.

So original and yet quite fits canon P&P

Yet another beautiful, imaginative, creative variation from this extraordinarily skilled writer. What talent. As I said, so very original. I am fond of a P&P variation where the author retells the original with just a few threads pulled. But not every time I read one.

This story has a mystery to be solved. The earliest part of the book sets this up and we the reader have no clue about the why or who. We speculate of course. And fear Elizabeth will be shamed if she ever finds out about herself. There’s angst. In this story Fitzwilliam Darcy has a younger brother named George. No Georgiana here. But George takes the place of the Wickham character, although in a much more likable way. He’s irresponsible but not wicked. He makes an enormous mess of things for nearly everyone involved, and yet we still kind of route for him. Like a great stupidly cute puppy.

In the meantime Fitzwilliam is juggling more responsibilities than any normal man can handle without resorting to some mind numbing habit. Like drinking, riding his horse crazily over the fields, surfing the internet for how to keep everyone from driving him crazy. And in the same meantime as above he’s trying to protect Elizabeth from George’s foolishness and so in love with her himself. Yes, angst. The way things come to a climatic head towards the end is so dramatic and heartbreaking. I cannot say a thing about it except I had to listen to it over again to soak it all in. I never suspected the truth to the mystery until we were quite close to the end. And I questioned myself even then. Brava Ms James.

There’s so much to love about this book. The narrator was awesome as usual. Highly recommended.