What do you think?
Rate this book
Fake Bride for Mr. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
When his wife mysteriously dies, leaving him a widowed father of two, Fitzwilliam Darcy resigns himself to being alone forever.
However, a year later, he discovers that the widowers are almost as irresistible to the single ladies of Derbyshire as the bachelors. Vexed by the unwanted attention and in need of a change of scenery, Darcy joins his friend Bingley at Netherfield Park - only to find single ladies swarming him once more.
When he meets Miss Elizabeth Bennet, a witty yet infuriating young lady under pressure to be married to her distasteful cousin, an idea strikes: He needs respite from the pressures of getting married, and she needs a courtship to save her from becoming Mrs. Collins. They agree on a pretend romance - the perfect solution. Or so they thought. Soon their growing attraction leads to an accidental compromise and Darcy finds he must do the one thing he wanted to escape from: Marry.
Elizabeth and Darcy reluctantly settle at Pemberley where their feelings slowly blossom. Just as Darcy believes fate is smiling on him and his children once more, his past catches up to him. When the circumstances around his first wife’s death come into question, Darcy must wonder:
Will Elizabeth stand by him? Or will his happiness be snatched away once more?
Fake Bride for Mr. Darcy is a sensual romance featuring Our Dear Couple. It is over 60 000 words long and might have you reaching for your smelling salts!
However, a year later, he discovers that the widowers are almost as irresistible to the single ladies of Derbyshire as the bachelors. Vexed by the unwanted attention and in need of a change of scenery, Darcy joins his friend Bingley at Netherfield Park - only to find single ladies swarming him once more.
When he meets Miss Elizabeth Bennet, a witty yet infuriating young lady under pressure to be married to her distasteful cousin, an idea strikes: He needs respite from the pressures of getting married, and she needs a courtship to save her from becoming Mrs. Collins. They agree on a pretend romance - the perfect solution. Or so they thought. Soon their growing attraction leads to an accidental compromise and Darcy finds he must do the one thing he wanted to escape from: Marry.
Elizabeth and Darcy reluctantly settle at Pemberley where their feelings slowly blossom. Just as Darcy believes fate is smiling on him and his children once more, his past catches up to him. When the circumstances around his first wife’s death come into question, Darcy must wonder:
Will Elizabeth stand by him? Or will his happiness be snatched away once more?
Fake Bride for Mr. Darcy is a sensual romance featuring Our Dear Couple. It is over 60 000 words long and might have you reaching for your smelling salts!
251 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 15, 2023
65 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 25, 2023
Quite well done. Mostly, although not entirely fast paced, and a good page turner. Has some real trigger scenes featuring confrontation and violent combat with an accused murderer.
February 5, 2023
A good story, but the "mystery" element was too obvious and a little incomplete.
February 28, 2023
I have now read several stories in which either Darcy or Elizabeth not only marry someone else before they meet each other but also in which one or the other have a child or children from that marriage. However, none (in my memory) have a spouse whose death is under mysterious circumstances.
Darcy's first wife has fallen or jumped from a window following an argument with him about her opinion concerning Wickham. Wickham does not really figure in this story but Margaret (like Jane Bennet) seems to look for the good in everyone.
Darcy feels hounded by single women and although he realizes a step-mother for his two children would be best he is not at that point only a year after his wife's death. His sister-in-law, Elsie, is there to provide some "parenting" although it is obvious by his son's reactions that she is a harsh disciplinarian.
He does "insult" Elizabeth but soon after learns that she, too, is trying to escape her mother's demands that she accept the proposal from Collins. They soon come to an agreement to "pretend" to be attached: with Darcy even going so far as to ask Mr. Bennet for permission to marry Elizabeth.
As the story description tells us a compromise forces them to marry and the marriage is in name only.
However, we find both before and after the wedding ceremony Caroline Bingley and Elsie Carford finding ways over and over again to remark on how unsuitable Elizabeth is to be not only his wife but also the step-mother to his children.
Of course, you know that they fall in love. However the mystery surrounding Margaret's death brings up doubts about Darcy's relationship with his first wife. Was it really an accident or could it have been suicide or even murder?
Read to find out.
As others say in their reviews it was not difficult to guess the answer to the mystery but it did help draw me in to find the answer as to whether I was right or not.
Darcy's first wife has fallen or jumped from a window following an argument with him about her opinion concerning Wickham. Wickham does not really figure in this story but Margaret (like Jane Bennet) seems to look for the good in everyone.
Darcy feels hounded by single women and although he realizes a step-mother for his two children would be best he is not at that point only a year after his wife's death. His sister-in-law, Elsie, is there to provide some "parenting" although it is obvious by his son's reactions that she is a harsh disciplinarian.
He does "insult" Elizabeth but soon after learns that she, too, is trying to escape her mother's demands that she accept the proposal from Collins. They soon come to an agreement to "pretend" to be attached: with Darcy even going so far as to ask Mr. Bennet for permission to marry Elizabeth.
As the story description tells us a compromise forces them to marry and the marriage is in name only.
However, we find both before and after the wedding ceremony Caroline Bingley and Elsie Carford finding ways over and over again to remark on how unsuitable Elizabeth is to be not only his wife but also the step-mother to his children.
Of course, you know that they fall in love. However the mystery surrounding Margaret's death brings up doubts about Darcy's relationship with his first wife. Was it really an accident or could it have been suicide or even murder?
Read to find out.
As others say in their reviews it was not difficult to guess the answer to the mystery but it did help draw me in to find the answer as to whether I was right or not.
January 22, 2023
Not so fake after all!
3.5 stars rounded up.
In this “marry another first” trope, to avoid the unwanted attention of potential marriage mates, Darcy and Elizabeth undertake a ruse to become betrothed and have a long engagement resulting in a mutual separation over time. What can go wrong? Genuine feelings and a passionate kiss force an early marriage to protect reputations.
There’s also a bit of a mystery surrounding the death of Mrs. Darcy number one which wasn’t very difficult to figure out.
A pretty good read, but I did have one major issue of preference with it. I can be fine with Elizabeth being Darcy’s second wife, but I don’t like it when Darcy’s heir comes from his first wife. Nope, can’t like that. Darcy’s heir should be the son of Elizabeth. I did like the children though. They were very sweet.
For Regency I prefer English spelling, not American, and Regency just reads better without the use of contractions. The typos were minimal which is nice, but there was one editing oversight that stuck out. Elizabeth’s dress colour and jewelry for the Netherfield ball are described twice, but differently.
I did enjoy it.
3.5 stars rounded up.
In this “marry another first” trope, to avoid the unwanted attention of potential marriage mates, Darcy and Elizabeth undertake a ruse to become betrothed and have a long engagement resulting in a mutual separation over time. What can go wrong? Genuine feelings and a passionate kiss force an early marriage to protect reputations.
There’s also a bit of a mystery surrounding the death of Mrs. Darcy number one which wasn’t very difficult to figure out.
A pretty good read, but I did have one major issue of preference with it. I can be fine with Elizabeth being Darcy’s second wife, but I don’t like it when Darcy’s heir comes from his first wife. Nope, can’t like that. Darcy’s heir should be the son of Elizabeth. I did like the children though. They were very sweet.
For Regency I prefer English spelling, not American, and Regency just reads better without the use of contractions. The typos were minimal which is nice, but there was one editing oversight that stuck out. Elizabeth’s dress colour and jewelry for the Netherfield ball are described twice, but differently.
I did enjoy it.
March 12, 2023
4 stars on Amazon
3 stars on Goodreads
3 stars on Goodreads
November 6, 2024
This story has everything you need mystery, romance, violent villains, sweet children but the proportion or the sequence is a bit off that the end felt a bit unsatisfactory.
February 1, 2023
It's unremarkable
Unfortunately the plot was fairly weak. Darcy's wife " falls" out of a window and dies, leaving him with 2 small children and his sister in law. Escaping to Netherfield to help Charles and remove himself from the memories of his wife. She was obviously unhappy if she jumped out the window. To escape the matchmaking women he enters a fake betrothal with Elizabeth who is trying to escape from Collins and his affection! Unfortunately this makes Caroline Bingley and his sister in law very unhappy and they try to break it up.
It was obvious what exactly happened to the first Mrs Darcy and there isn't much drama... A mild case but not frightening. It's a decent story but far too mild for me.
Unfortunately the plot was fairly weak. Darcy's wife " falls" out of a window and dies, leaving him with 2 small children and his sister in law. Escaping to Netherfield to help Charles and remove himself from the memories of his wife. She was obviously unhappy if she jumped out the window. To escape the matchmaking women he enters a fake betrothal with Elizabeth who is trying to escape from Collins and his affection! Unfortunately this makes Caroline Bingley and his sister in law very unhappy and they try to break it up.
It was obvious what exactly happened to the first Mrs Darcy and there isn't much drama... A mild case but not frightening. It's a decent story but far too mild for me.
February 22, 2023
Papa Darcy
Darcy is a widower with 2 small children. He's completed his first year of mourning and the ladies are attempting to snap him up. Netherfield! Maybe he'll get a little peace to just be with his best friend and his babies. Miss Bingley and Darcy's sister in law, who has attached herself to him, have set their caps. Darcy just wants to be left alone. Elizabeth is experiencing something similar with her cousin Collins. Ding ding ding! A fake engagement will keep all the unwanted attention at bay. A great plan until...A kiss.
Little Robbie is just too cute. Darcy is an attentive papa. Bingley makes a great horse 😊 . Now what happened to Darcy's first wife? Was it an accident or...
A fast read with a few smiles interspersed.
Darcy is a widower with 2 small children. He's completed his first year of mourning and the ladies are attempting to snap him up. Netherfield! Maybe he'll get a little peace to just be with his best friend and his babies. Miss Bingley and Darcy's sister in law, who has attached herself to him, have set their caps. Darcy just wants to be left alone. Elizabeth is experiencing something similar with her cousin Collins. Ding ding ding! A fake engagement will keep all the unwanted attention at bay. A great plan until...A kiss.
Little Robbie is just too cute. Darcy is an attentive papa. Bingley makes a great horse 😊 . Now what happened to Darcy's first wife? Was it an accident or...
A fast read with a few smiles interspersed.
March 8, 2023
Sad, Conspiratorial, Maddening, Then Great
This was a wonderful variation. Readers get to experience the sorrow of losing a beloved spouse, the guilt of believing that said spouse may have committed suicide, because of an action or inaction, the joy (and guilt) of growing to love another (and the problems associated with concealing it), and the exhilaration of thwarting another death.
I have to say I did correctly guess the truth. There were enough clues even for me!
This was a wonderful variation. Readers get to experience the sorrow of losing a beloved spouse, the guilt of believing that said spouse may have committed suicide, because of an action or inaction, the joy (and guilt) of growing to love another (and the problems associated with concealing it), and the exhilaration of thwarting another death.
I have to say I did correctly guess the truth. There were enough clues even for me!
March 8, 2023
Predictable
A variation on the forced marriage trope, Darcy and Elizabeth first set up a fake engagement, but then end up forced into an early marriage. Echoes of du Maurier's "Rebecca" and several jaff stories lead to few surprises in the plot, which features two sweet children from Darcy's first marriage. A few plot inconsistencies, such as Elizabeth dressing for a ball in light blue muslin (with matching gloves) and the arriving at the same ball in a dark grey silk gown.
A variation on the forced marriage trope, Darcy and Elizabeth first set up a fake engagement, but then end up forced into an early marriage. Echoes of du Maurier's "Rebecca" and several jaff stories lead to few surprises in the plot, which features two sweet children from Darcy's first marriage. A few plot inconsistencies, such as Elizabeth dressing for a ball in light blue muslin (with matching gloves) and the arriving at the same ball in a dark grey silk gown.
March 11, 2023
Fitzwilliam Darcy is a rich widower with 2 children and Elizabeth Bennet is being harassed by her cousin who will not say no to a wedding proposal. They make a pact to use a fake engagement to keep others away! Of course, that never goes the way that you expect it to. The rest was a fun story with a bit of a mystery on its way to a happily ever after.
March 29, 2023
This is a different take for odc. Because of circumstances they pretend, and enjoy the pretense, but pretending goes over too well..... They were happy pretending, and the children were happy. But they alas are still the silly couple who isn't communicating as they should. Will they get together? Happily? And what did happen to Darcy's wife? Need to read to find out.
January 31, 2023
Couldn't put it down!
Pretty original, great pace, sort of predictable but the emotions shine through and once you get there the Elizabeth and Darcy dialogue is great. Worth the read!
Pretty original, great pace, sort of predictable but the emotions shine through and once you get there the Elizabeth and Darcy dialogue is great. Worth the read!
March 7, 2023
S`ok
Predictable in more than one thread, but that did not bother me. Well-edited (found very few typos). You don't really get the sense that Elizabeth is Darcy's one and only destiny from this story.
Predictable in more than one thread, but that did not bother me. Well-edited (found very few typos). You don't really get the sense that Elizabeth is Darcy's one and only destiny from this story.
January 26, 2023
A different premise Darcy previously married with 2 kids.
Nice little story mercifully without Wicky & Lydia stuff.
I liked it a lot.
Nice little story mercifully without Wicky & Lydia stuff.
I liked it a lot.
March 1, 2023
Very enjoyable! There were some editing errors, like varying font sizes and.extra spaces.
April 9, 2023
A compromise, a love denied, two who can’t tell the other he/she loves them, and mysterious death found in one place. This story will enthrall you to not want to put down. Funny in some places, but also sad in others. The emotional aspect will have you turning the pages. I loved how Darcy and Elizabeth worked out their problems. Loved how Elizabeth stepped up and loved the children. Well written, emotional turmoil, and adult situations so I would place this for mature readers.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews