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Summary: If Jane Austin only knew
Review: Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife is a fun glimpse into what life at Pemberley might have been. It is hilarious in spots, very sensual, poignant. It is what Jane Austin might have written if she had had a life! A great escapist book for anyone who loved the book and the mini-series. It will make a great "beach book".
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Summary: Funny, Warm, and Wonderful!
Review: Mr. Darcy Takes A Wife is funny, warm, and wonderful! This sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is a truly delightful read! I loved the interlacing of humor with romance and history. Elizabeth and Darcy's love story is shared with the reader in a way that truly draws one into the deepest emotions of the relationship. Ms. Berdoll has a definite flair for developing her characters, and she does it with an insight into her their personalities that makes them extremely real. Her writing style is superb! This is a book I will read again and again.
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Summary: If you don't take this book so seriously, you'll enjoy it.
Review: Please don't read this book if you have high expectations that it is a faithful continuation of Jane Austen's beloved Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen Ms. Berdoll is not, but she is not trying to be! This is her "dream" of what would have happened next for Elizabeth and Darcy. Frankly, I enjoyed reading her view of the Darcy's married life. The book was definitely not what I expected, so I enjoyed it for the outrageous and funny story that it is, nothing more. When I finished the book, I didn't have that sad twinge that I feel when a book that I love has ended ( like P&P which I have read countless of times). But I don't regret having read it at all.
There are many modern-day versions of Ms. Austen's legendary book. Such as Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones' books, and references to the book in the movie " You've Got Mail" (to name a few). There are also books continuing the Darcy saga such as Ms. Berdoll's. We enjoy some of these, and others not. What I am trying to say is this, this is not a Jane Austen book or story, it is Linda Berdoll's. Take it for what it is, and enjoy it.
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Summary: The Cover Says It All
Review: There are other P&P sequels out there, one or two are tolerable. None, however, have the audacity to take the reader behind the fan (in the bed, the tub and, if memory serves, once under a chifferobe). Some may be taken aback by the explicitness, but it is tastefully explicit. There is a wink along with the heavy breathing. If you are expecting Jane Austen decorous prose - you came to the wrong place. (Berdoll's store of euphemisms for sexual congress and auxiliary parts is just short of mind-blowing.) This is the Darcy of our dreams - virile, courageous and devoted to Lizzy. Elizabeth is still just as saucy. She takes on Lady Catherine for another round - I won't spoil it for you - but, suffice is to say, Lady Catherine doesn't win this time either. A few new characters are introduced, but the story still revolves around Darcy and Elizabeth. Beware, a couple of the main characters are killed off. But it isn't at all gloomy - in fact most of it is hilarious. The suppositions the author took with the characters are down-right fascinating and entirely plausible. Mr. Collins fate alone is worth the read. At the end, readers will understand why it was initially called The Bar Sinister. I first read this book under that title, so don't be fooled into thinking this is the sequel. I was happy to buy this revised version (for the cover alone) since my copy of the original was falling apart. The single draw back to the first was its lack of editing. This has been remedied and I am certain that I read a few pages that were not in the first. I hope Berdoll writes a sequel to this - the last page leaves the suggestion that she will. It is huge read, but the pages fly. Be prepared. Don't pick it up if you can't stay a while because you literally can't put it down.
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Summary: Author misses Jane Austen entirely.
Review: This author totally misses who Jane Austen is, and it's a crime she tried to imitate her. I do concede that her style of writing is quite a bit more like Austen than other imitators, but she TOTALLY misses the point.
What makes Austen so appealing is not just her incredible wit and ability to make fun of her own class, but the charm and innocense of the heroes and heroines. Even when she exposes the sins and follies of others, she does not debase herself. She is a lady to the end. It's hard for our generation to understand the appeal, when what is good and innocent and honorable is ridiculed, and what is low, tasteless and dishonorable is glorified.
For me, Jane Austen is "therapy" -- reminding myself that it's okay and right for there to be goodness. It was once a GOOD thing to have brains and beauty, and still be virtuous.
Since I have LOVED Jane Austen, I keep getting my hopes up when an author tries to write a sequel. I would have been wonderful if Jane Austen could have told us how the characters faired after Elizabeth and Darcy married (although she did give us a glimpse at the end of the book). To date, each sequel has been a remarkable disappointment, and this one made me ashamed I had purchased it.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing under either title
Review: This book was originally before under the title "The Bar Sinister." It is quite disappointing under any name. Darcy has a complete change of character to a libidinous libertine with a wild past. The plot is dark, and contradicts the last few paragraphs of Austen's novel with its description of a slightly looser Darcy and a happy marriage. I have yet to see a "Pride and Prejudice" sequel (I've read them all) in which Darcy does not have a complete character change, but this is the most extreme and the most disappointing version of the married Darcy and Elizabeth.
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Summary: If it's your thing, you'll be addicted (I was!)
Review: This is the kind of book that, while not for everyone , is an exceptional read if you're into it. While many Austen fans have been disgusted with the somewhat raunchy bits of the book, it's to be expected that Colin-Firth-at-Pemberley-in-a-wet shirt would spark such a novel! If you want a restrained, more truly authentic sequel, this probably isn't the best choice. If you (like me) aren't a true Austen purist and are looking for something more life-like and fun, then this is it. We follow the newly-wed Darcys into married life, and it's a happy marriage - finally, as most other sequels have an irrational need to make Darcy and Elizabeth unhappy. We hear about their private (sometimes very private) and public life, and the other P+P characters' stories are continued, too. (I particularly liked Colonel Fitzwilliam.) The style seemed to me to be a parody of regency expression, which was actually laugh-out-loud funny at times. The epic scope was enjoyable, and the plot engrossing, so it seemed half as long as it actually is -I finished it within days, and will be re-reading it very shortly! The only annoyance was the lack of editing - mispelling and the occassional missed word, but it does become easy to overlook. If you want a love story, an adventure, a mystrey and a tale of passion, then get into this! I laughed and cried and completely enjoyed Linda Berdoll's work. (Now where can I find a 21st century Darcy ?....)
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Summary: Raunchy and Redundant
Review: This silly romance novel bears no relationship to Jane Austen's work or her characters. Obviously, it is difficult for anyone to capture Austen's witty style and her keen sence for social drama. However the author of this ah, book lacks both sense and sensibility (pray there is no sequel to that).
I recommend this book only to those who enjoy dull romance novels with plenty of sex, and no similarities (beyond their names) to Austen's fresh, original creations.
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Summary: Hours Of My Life I'll Never Get Back.........
Review: What a dreadful book.
I have enjoyed a number of sequels to "Pride and Prejuidce". This was not one of them. Ms. Berdoll goes so far out of her way to strive for what appears to be period language that, instead she comes off sounding hopelessly sophmoric, like a high school kid who's just discovered what a thesaurus is.
I am by no means squeamish about sexual or erotic writing, but to describe the encounters between Lizzy and Darcy as erotic is laughable--I've found better in the bodice rippers you get at the supermarket. The magic of the original text and some of the other sequels was that such description was completely unecessary-we readers love the book precisely because it's so well written it has no need to fall back on such (in this book, anyway)an obvious ploy. Instead of being enticing, it's just annoying and childish. The romance has been sacrificed for badly written sex scenes in an apparent effort to show us just how strong and savvy Lizzy really is, as if it hadn't already been demonstrated. It's the trend of 'modernizing' classic texts and female characters in particular that I absolutely loathe.
I do like the idea of the expansion of these characters--to see what was going on in their lives both before and during the original story, but this was poorly executed in this particular book.
Oh,how I wish I'd paid better attention to previous reviews--as it is I got off lucky, I just checked it out from the library. But if I can keep just one well intentioned Jane Austen fan from making my mistake, well, I've done my good deed.
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Summary: Delicious
Review: What's not to like about the continuing tale of Darcy and Elizabeth. It was quite sexy and it really added a whole new dimension to Darcy. Some of their antics made my face turn red as I was reading it! But, that said, the book is so much more than a romance. Darcy and Elizabeth make it through some pretty hard times and I can't wait for this sequel.
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