Review - Only Mr Darcy
Only Mr Darcy by Julie Cooper
When Elizabeth is twelve her dying grandmother tells her the name of her future husband. Therefore when twenty year old Elizabeth thinks she has finally found him she is determined to do everything to make him fall in love with her. But soon she questions her own feelings because she is drawn to the brooding and taciturn Fitzwilliam Darcy. But he can not be her future husband because it was not his name that her grandmother predicted.
Fitzwilliam Darcy must find a wife to finally get rid of the demands of his uncle. And he needs help to manage his melancholic sister. The beautiful and serene Jane Bennet seems to fulfill his requirements perfectly, but he nevertheless finds himself drawn to Jane's lively and impertinent sister Elizabeth.
Will Darcy follow duty or will he go where his heart leads him? Will Elizabeth cling to the prediction of her grandmother or will she follow her feelings? Or has fate completely other plans for them both?
The book was very well written by the author Julie Cooper. I always enjoy her stories very much and therefore her books are a must-read for me. This book was no exception, I was hardly able to put it down.
At the beginning Elizabeth is stubbornly clinging to the prediction of her grandmother. Her grandmother had not predicted Fitzwilliam Darcy as Elizabeth's future husband therefore there can be no love and attraction and certainly no future with him. I like that Elizabeth eventually realizes that her heart sees this matter in another way and that she, even if she doesn't like it, is in love with Darcy. I'm glad that she finally acts on it, but before the happily ever after she has to endure much heartbreak.
In this variation Darcy is as stubborn as Elizabeth in clinging to former beliefs, he may even be more stubborn. As always Elizabeth does not fulfill the requirements for a bride of Fitzwilliam Darcy and as always he is attracted to her. He even acts, in parts, on this attraction but he is not so violently in love that he thinks he can overcome all obstacles and propose marriage. Or his sense of duty is even stronger than usual. What a pity, things between them could have been solved so much easier - but then we could not have read this book 😉. I was so glad when he finally is no longer able to resist Elizabeth and can't imagine a world without her. It took him really, really long.
The book has many “oh no” moments for me. You finally have a book where Darcy and Elizabeth are both drawn to each other from the start - and then they both, sadly, have their reasons to not act on this attraction and interest. In addition there is Darcy's interest in Jane, a woman that is not meant for him but only for his friend (if I have a say in the pairings of Pride and prejudice 😉). Therefore I had many moments where I uttered this sentence because I wanted Darcy and Elizabeth to act on their attraction and ignore the prediction and the duty.
But fortunately some things in this variation were as they should be and Bingley and Jane are very much interested in each other. And while Darcy and Elizabeth still try to understand their feelings Bingley and Jane are sure of their feelings and are in love. By this some obstacles put themselves out of the way which finally leaves only Darcy and Elizabeth and they need to resolve what to do with their feelings and to find out how they envision their future and if the other should be a part of it.
As nearly always George Wickham is part of this book. He has a nefarious plan but fortunately is not successful. And, you may not believe it, his plan is no hindrance to ODC way to a relationship, it rather helps them along. If Wickham had known that 😉
If you like to know if Elizabeth will follow the prediction of her grandmother or choose to pursue her interest in Fitzwilliam Darcy you should definitely read this excellent book.
I highly recommend it.
I received a free copy of the book via booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.