Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll (2004, Paperback)

What a disappointment! The Darcy and Elizabeth of this story bear almost no resemblence to the Austen characters. I wanted to imagine their lives after marriage, and got crude, rather unromantic details instead. There is no depth of development of their personalities. I forced myself through the first section of the book, and then skipped to the back just to see if she had made any improvements at the end. The whole thing reads like one of those cheap garage sale books with a Fabio-like character on the cover. While I'm not an Austen purist, I know she must be spinning in her grave over what has been done to her most popular characters. The sad truth is, I actually paid full price for this book. If you really want to read it, I suggest you check it out of your local library. You'll be returning it well before its due date.

I have to say i was really looking forward to seeing the world of Mr and Mrs Darcy after marriage, and yes..i know that newlyweds have sex...lots of it... but it was a bit overdone. Most of the book reads like soft core...well you know. Some parts were entertaining, but overall the characters were not what they've always been, Elizabeth is the most changed, barely like her very strong character in P&P...much more like the dutiful, quiet wife. Overall, besides a few entertaining spots...this book was not what i hoped it would be.

Surprised myself by really enjoying this book!
It often seems to be about to go down the path of a corny romance novel, but it doesn't!

It keeps up with an enhanced version of Jane Austen's original characters while introducing new ones to keep the story progressing. I ended up very impressed and wanting to know more of what happens next. I was so impressed, in fact, that I also picked up the next one, Elizabeth and Darcy. It's not as much fun as this one, but still very good, and I did not regret it at all. Reviews say that it's all sex, but it's not ALL sex. But, the passionate scenes are good!

Darcy is still awesome! Actually, he's even more honorable in these sequels than the original. And at the same time, more flawed, which is refreshing and makes him all the more real to the reader.
Good show!

I've read most of the Jane Austen novels and when a friend told me about Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll I was curious but not excited. After all Jane Austen is very slow and not very exciting but Linda Berdoll has written a page turner and a "bodice ripper" with the same characters. I couldn't put it down. Lydia's discription of the wedding night is just priceless! My only complaint was that the print is very fine.
Find it here on ebay or at your local library, you go girl this one is stimulating!!!

If you love the story of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, I recommend NOT reading “Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife.” This book paints too many images that seem blasphemous to the continuing love story of “Pride and Prejudice.” This is not a sequel; it’s basically badly written erotica with a ridiculous British accent. The characters are unrecognizable and it has too many over the top graphically described sex scenes. Since there didn’t seem to be a real storyline, I didn’t make it past the first 100 pages.

I was hoping it was in line with Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice or even the Elizabeth Aston series. Well....it wasn't. If you like constant sex in your books then this IS the book for you.