Yes - read it.

I honestly wasn't expecting much but was blow away at the different storyline that ran throughout the book. It offered an HEA that I hadn't read before.

Mary is often overlooked or made to look like a complete fool. This offered a different side of Mary. It was very refreshing.

It always fun to read a variation and this was even more.

I received an ARC from Netgalley to help me prepare my honest review.

I usually don't read variations not written by the original author because they usually follow a specific agenda and read like fanfic. This was pretty well done for the subject.

I will say if you're not an Austen fan, you'll probably want to skip it. However, if you want a lazy, rainy, classic lit Sunday read here it is.

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

Alas, Jane Austen is no longer with us, so we have no idea what Mr. Darcy’s side of the story is… until now. This is a creative and well spun tale. Clearly the author has studied Austen’s writing style, and makes a good attempt to write in the same. The book is an enjoyable way to spend a rainy afternoon. My reason for not giving it three stars, is the book does not really give us insight into the real Mr. Darcy as Austen intended. This Mr. Darcy is a somewhat lovesick fool, which I find hard to believe.

Pride and Prejudice is my jam! And I'm all about an Austen inspired novel. Love the concept of this book. Nothing necessarily bad about it, just not as great as I'd hoped.

I usually really like reading retellings or variations on the Pride & Prejudice novel. But to be honest, this was not my cup of tea. I thought it was a bit difficult to understand who's perspective you were reading and that ultimately led to not going through the book as fast as I usually am able to. I didn't really get into the story well because of that and didn't enjoy it as much.

I also didn't really understand the whole Rome-situation. I didn't think it added anything to the rest of the story. Furthermore I think the story lacked somewhat in the relationship of Elizabeth and Darcy. At one point they absolutely despise each other. Than something happens and immediately they both are turned 180 degrees in their opinions and adore each other.

Lastly, I was kind of annoyed by the switching of names for Elizabeth. The writer used three names: Elizabeth, Lizzie and Eliza. As Elizabeth and Lizzie are frequently used in like almost every retelling or variation of Pride & Prejudice, those are the ones that also suit the story. But for me the name 'Eliza', just didn't do it. Besides that it wasn't even that several characters used these names, but only Darcy did. He used all of them, which was maybe kind of weird.

Anyhow, I gave the book 2 stars on Goodreads, but perhaps it can be 2,5 stars. However, I just expected more of it.

I will take a good Pride and Prejudice variation any day of the week! I can never seem to get enough of Elizabeth and Darcy. The author does a nice job in keeping with the original P&P spirit and this variation follows the original storyline pretty closely but puts the spotlight on Darcy, giving readers a chance to see his perspective and get a peek into Darcy's thoughts.
The story was well-written and kept my attention from start to finish. The classic characters were portrayed well and were interesting and I was immediately pulled into the story. With interesting twists and turns to the original tale and plenty of drama and intrigue to keep me engaged and entertained, I really enjoyed this latest variation!
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

I love
retellings. And I love any and all things Jane Austen. I've read all of her books multiple times (aside from Emma, it's coming!).
I feel like I should have been able to love this. I mean it's partly the viewpoint of Mr. Darcy's diary, swoon! We all awaited a decade for the viewpoint of Edward to come out many moons ago for Twilight, so this was right up my alley.
However, it fell flat many times. It also gives you snippets into the lives of the sisters in Mary's diary which I thought was odd? Or should have been her own separate book to begin with? I personally like sticking to a dual POV with the main characters, it would have made more sense to me? Even to of been the diary of Jane vs. Mary would have correlated more for me but maybe I'm a minority in that. I You do get some further insight of what these characters may have experienced and felt through the diary snippets and that is fun. Overall, I enjoyed living in one of my favorite books because most of the plot is the same.

Well written and in keeping with Jane Austen's original novel, with added variations. Overall an engaging read, I liked seeing Darcy's perspective and his character's complexities. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This yet another adaptation of Pride and Prejudice told from the eyes of Darcy. We also get to see Mary trying to win over Mr. Collins. And Darcy is trying to get out of a situation that he made on the continent with a opera singer. I believe she was an opera singer I don't even remember anymore. It was an alright read.

DNFed at 48%.

I wanted to like this book so bad. I have fallen in love with Pride & Prejudice lately and been excited to consume as many iterations of the story as possible. I especially wanted to read a version of the story from Darcy's perspective so thought this was going to be the perfect read. Alas, I was mistaken.

Firstly, I do not understand where the Giuditta subplot came from. It seems wildly misplaced and the idea that Darcy had some prior love doesn't really match up with the way I've understood Pride & Prejudice. To a certain extent the threat of legal action over his supposed proposal to her seems to have been shoehorned in as an excuse for why he was so unpersonable and rude at first. But that misses the whole point!!! He just kinda sucks and that's what makes the fact Lizzy's words makes him change all the more important and meaningful.

I also do not understand why in a retelling called 'Darcy' there were random chapters from Mary's POV and a subplot about her trying to get Mr Collins. It was dull because it was just thrown in randomly (not an even POV split, which just made it feel shoehorned in) and it was obviously going to amount to nothing. Mary can have an interesting story but this was not the place for it.

I also just increasingly grew to dislike the writing style. I feel like as the book went on it drew further and further away from feeling like it belonged and connected to Austen's work. So much of the dialogue and inner thoughts of characters just felt unnatural, forced or slightly out of character. The final straw for me has been when Darcy assumes Lizzy knew he liked him - just the way he worded it didn't match up with any other iteration of this story I've consumed (including Austen's original).

All in all, wish I'd loved this but, unfortunately, I didn't. This feels like wasted potential because the concept of Pride & Prejudice from Darcy's POV is great.

This copy was kindly sent to me via NetGalley.

I have a soft spot for retellings- Classics especially- and Darcy by Alice McVeigh really hit the spot! McViegh has managed to capture the feeling and context of the novel while adding in story arcs and additional explanation and descriptions of the characters. I loved how the Bingley family was expanded upon and how we really got to grips with the characters. I also enjoyed the added flaws to Mr Darcys character which added a more human element to his character.

The story is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice written from the viewpoint of letters and diary entries from Mr Darcy, different POVs and even Mary Bennett’s diary. I think this was a very well done book and I would be keen to read more of the authors work.

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review on NetGalley.

DNF
There was nothing wrong with it, per say, but it really didn't add anything to the Pride & Prejudice story. Mary's addendums, however, are interesting, and it's worth taking a look at if you would like more of her character's voice.

There have been a number of books in the past few years which have reimagined the works of Jane Austen and other classic writers. I confess that none have appealed to me (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies seemed to be just the original Austen text, with the only difference being that the Bennet girls break from their husband-gathering on a regular basis to stave off a zombie apocalypse), but I found Alice McVeigh’s take charming, imaginative and very clever. She tells the story by describing events in the original from other points of view, allowing us to flesh out the Austen text and gain backstory on many of the characters, including minor ones.

My favorite device was the inclusion of Mr Darcy’s diaries. What a wonderful opportunity to see him as a complex, intelligent man rather than simply the handsome but reserved gentleman we are used to. McVeigh also writes convincingly in a blend of classic and contemporary language, making the work accessible to modern audiences without throwing out Austen’s style and wit.

This was a wonderful discovery for me! Many thanks to Warleigh Hall press and NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a fantastic take on the classic. Original and well written.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

The writing was really elegant, just like Austen, it made me smile. The format was refreshing, diaries may be much more intimate, I really enjoyed this. The POVs alternated and this was a bit confusing. You cannot put the book down and take back frequently or you may miss the connection. Otherwise the book was a eonderful surprise for me

I was so thrilled to see a rendition of my favorite book from the hero's viewpoint.
Alice McVeigh has done a wonderful job of giving us Fitzwilliam Darcy's POV from when he first comes to Long bourne, though the first encounter with the barely tolerable Lizzy Bennet, and on to the moment he realizes he is in actual love with her.
There is a Darcy backstory here that you could not have gotten in the original, that tells of a tortured love affair with a foreign actress, which propels him into his taciturn countenance. Also woven into the story is Colonel fitzwilliam's love of Lizzy and how he chooses between his best friend and the woman he has grown to greatly admire.
5 stars for this retelling/retooling from me.
Thank you Netalley for a sneak peek.

Hmm, not sure what to make of this one.

I know not every book needs to have 'a point' but I was just found myself reading this wondering what the point was, or who is was for?

I will buy/read all sorts of Austen-based reimaginings, retellings, reinterpretations etc. Like Longbourne, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, The Jane Austen Mysteries, Lucy Worsley's books, Pride and Premeditation, Miss Austen to name a few, and I really liked the idea of a version from Darcy's point of view, but somehow, despite the title and the cover, this wasn't that.

I have to admit, I DNF'd this at the 25% mark, because I wasn't getting anywhere with it, there was quite a bit from Mary's perspective, and I really like reading what author's come up with when it comes to Mary, but her perspective was very one-note and surface-level and a strange addition to a book called 'Darcy'. All I really learnt about her for a quarter of a book was that she had a high opinion of her nose and of her own literacy.

Darcy, I feel like I know even less about that when reading the original classic novel, except that he was smitten with a singer in Italy once, but his diaries entries are largely a way of recapping scenes that are already in the novel, and both he and Mary manage to quote verbatim from the original book, so the diary-style sections just feel like a forced attempt to lift sections of Pride and Prejudice.

Maybe this is just a gateway novel for people who find Austen's language and style less accessible than modern writing, but I think other books might do that better in ways that still stay true to the nature of the original characters. I just wasn't taken by this.

Although I enjoyed the latter half of this Pride and Prejudice retelling from mostly Darcy's point of view, I will say that I was confused by it. I love the idea of knowing what went through Darcy's mind as the events of Pride and Prejudice unfold, but there were strange liberties taken with an unnecessary subplot of Rome that left a bad taste in my mouth. For a book called Darcy there was also a surprising amount of thoughts from characters like Mary and Mr. Collins that make me think that at one point this was several books forced into one or one book from multiple perspectives marketed poorly. Overall, it was entertaining, but I don't think it set out what it was meant to do.

slow going but a well done variation, Darcy's point of view fit right in and aww even Mary got her own story

Reviewed for NetGalley:

An interesting take on expanding upon Darcy and the whole Pride and Prejudice world. Could easily have fit in with Austen's original work.