Big waste of my time!
The author murdered Jane Austen and her great literary legacy with this parody!
I wonder if she ever bothered to read Pride and Prejudice?

It is marked as a DNF. I just can't force myself to keep going with this one. It's definitely a bit out of character to the original and too bland enough to be interesting with the random actions of the characters, plus the dialogue was making me cringe. Just not for me.

I was pleasantly surprised about this book. As a huge fan of P&P, I wasn’t sure about this book. I expected it to be cheesy romantic, but I really liked it. It had a couple different changes. If you’re a P&P fan, you’ll enjoy this.

I enjoyed this retelling. It's comfortable reading about characters I already knew but in a whole different way. I thought it was worth the read. It did make me smile at some parts. Check it out.

I loved this book. Of course, I love almost any Pride and Prejudice variation. Very original I don't think I've seen any where Darcy becomes the Earl of Matlock. I look forward to reading more from the author in the future.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

While there is neither Pride nor Prejudice between Darcy and Elizabeth in this story, the premise manages to make good use of the same characters in a different situation. They meet under more favorable circumstances, as Mr. Darcy does not attend the Meryton assembly; he arrives at Netherfield a day later.

Consequently, the two are introduced when Elizabeth comes to Netherfield to nurse her sister Jane. Darcy displays no haughtiness and Elizabeth overhears no insult despite her dirty petticoats. The Bennet sisters stay longer because, just when Jane's symptoms start to wane, Elizabeth falls ill. This gives Darcy more opportunities to spend time with her (probably more than Regency propriety would allow), and he soon starts to admire her, although he knows she's not suitable marriage material.

Before the Bennet sisters leave, Darcy unexpectedly receives tragic family news which makes him the new Earl of Matlock. He needs to focus on assuming his new responsibilities, but this quickly becomes difficult because of the swarm of title- and fortune-hunting mamas bringing their daughters to call.

Caroline Bingley suggests that Darcy solve this problem with a betrothal between them that would be called off before the wedding, but he recognizes that Elizabeth would be the more trustworthy partner in such a scheme. He offers to provide dowries for Elizabeth's sisters, and she reluctantly agrees, but only to a pretend courtship. Neither is comfortable with the deception, but it provides the best solution that they can imagine for their respective situations. Even Mr. Bennet is kept in the dark about their arrangement. (So much for "...disguise of any sort is my abhorrence!") Not surprisingly, long before the engagement is called off, Darcy and Elizabeth are deeply in love with each other and want to be tied to each other in truth.

However, with Caroline Bingley, George Wickham, and Lady Catherine all doing their best to impose on Darcy in one way or another, things do not go smoothly for them. Much as I enjoy the preceding set-up, the author really piles on with one unlikely plot twist after another.

Threatening notes appear, addressed to Elizabeth and warning her of dire consequences for herself and her family if she doesn't break off the engagement. There's a double kidnapping, ransom demand and blackmail. After the phony engagement ends and the Gardiners travel to Newcastle with Elizabeth, Mr. Henry Charleton seems to be a very eligible match for her. The visit with his family must be extended due to a severe winter storm. An assembly before they leave creates a new misunderstanding between Darcy and Elizabeth. Yet another kidnapping affects the Bennets with another ransom demand. The Wickham-and-Lydia plot emerges. Elizabeth is deemed responsible for an elopement despite her lack of any knowledge regarding it.

With so many melodramatic storylines, the plot loses any semblance of believability starting somewhere around the midway-point. Although there aren't a large number of other grammatical errors, the modern slang term "alright" appears almost a dozen times throughout the book, which always annoys me, especially in a Regency novel.

The bottom line is that this isn't bad, but this premise could have been developed a whole lot better. (And "alright" ISN'T A WORD!!! Grrrr!)

“At the end of the day, the position is just a position, a title is just a title, and those things come and go. It’s really your essence and your values that are important.” Queen Raina of Jordan

Out story opens with Darcy visiting Bingley at Netherfield. He had been delayed and arrived on a later timeline from canon. Thus, he missed the Assembly and, for those of us who know the story… missed giving offense to the denizens of Meryton and giving his famous insult to Elizabeth.

Following the canon timeline… Jane became ill when she was invited to dine at Netherfield by Caroline Bingley and Louise Hurst. When Elizabeth arrived to tend to her sister, she too fell ill and required additional time staying for her own recovery. During that time Darcy received a visitor informing him of the demise of his Uncle, the Earl of Matlock… along with his son and heir and his sons. The old Earl had made special arrangements in case something ever happened to him and his son and heirs and even had the king sign off on it. Thus, Fitzwilliam Darcy, of Pemberley, Derbyshire, became the Earl of Matlock.

“My principles are more important than money or my title.” –Muhammad Ali

This was a quick, clean story full of conflicts, sudden wealth and open season declared on a newly titled bachelor. Fitzwilliam Darcy had a big bulls-eye painted on his back and he needed a plan to push back the matchmaking mamas of Meryton and London. However, his plans did not take into account his aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh. That b-witch was sneaky, conniving and downright nasty. She wanted her way and was determined to have it. Nor did it include Wickham coming back into his life to cause chaos and mischief. Let’s not forget Caroline Bingley and her machinations.

“If a man loves you… he’s willing to profess it. He’ll give you a title after a while. You’re going to be his lady, his woman, his fiancée, his wife, his baby’s mama, something.” –Steve Harvey

The formula was the same that any good JAFF story should contain… they meet, fall in love, have a major misunderstanding, go their separate ways, get kidnapped, have an unlikely rescue, then need another rescue… proclaim their love and have a most excellent epilogue. There were still questions but the epilogue was a series of letters that were just cute. Although, it still didn’t answer all of the questions that I had regarding a few people. It was cute and actually better than I remembered as a WIP. I upgraded it to 4-stars. It was enjoyable… somewhat predicable but enjoyable none the less.

I first read this in 2017 as a WIP on FF and awarded it 3-stars. I had decided at the time that I would wait to review this work after I had an opportunity to read the book. I volunteered to read an advanced copy via the publisher and NetGalley. The views expressed are my own. After reading the completed book… I am upgrading to 4-stars. Errors were minimal: missing words, her vs here, [decorum and propriety] having a gentleman visit a lady’s sickroom, baldy vs boldly [no one was bald], etc. When I questioned the use of family are vs family is… I looked it up and found that collective nouns [in American English] take singular verbs, while in British English] they can also take plural verbs. I guess the author gets to decide.

Pride and Prejudice is one of those stories I can read, watch, hear, etc. over and over again. So the title intrigued but the story kept my attention. It is similar enough that you feel like you know the story, but original enough that you don't know what comes next. It makes for a good beach read. Short, simple, and engaging.

Fortunately for Darcy he missed the Meryton Assembly but has arrived just in time to meet Jane Bennet when she arives at Netherfield for tea. Bad weather results in Jane becoming ill, and Elizabeth when she comes to visit Jane. But then Darcy receives bad news and involves Elizabeth in the resulting scheme.
We have a bad Lady Catherine, Caroline Bingley and Wickham but no Colonel Fitzwilliam (disastrous) or the rest of his family.
But still an enjoyable story with the characters acting different in the situations. I did miss the insults exhanged between Darcy and Elizabeth, and there didn't seem to be much pride or prejudice.

I loved it!

Although there where some plausibility issues, I found I could easily overlook them as the story was both thrilling and captivating.

The twist and turns on canon was highly entertaining. No insult at the assembly as Darcy arrived too late at Netherfield. As Elizabeth catches Jane's cold while tending her, she was kept in company by mr Darcy.
Darcy received the dreadful news that his uncle Matlock and his heir has succumbed to illness abroad. Suddenly and unexpectedly finding himself the new earl of Matlock, the unattached ladies descend on Netherfield in abundance. Miss Bingley had quite the remedy against that but Darcy handled it with a twist she could hardly have appreciated. Lady Catherine was as opposed as miss Bingley and both ladies wreak some havoc, along with mr Wickham.
It would have been a 5* read to me, if not for the side tracks at the end...

This was chaste read.

Heartily recommend this book

This book was a nice read to relax a little while recognizing the characters of a well-known and beloved book acting in slightly different situations. Even thought I noticed some inaccuracies in the etiquette of the time period, they didn’t stop me from enjoying this book.
All in all, this book is interesting even if it is a little bit more of the same and would be a good read to the lovers of Pride and Prejudice’s variations.

I really liked this book. I will admit that i am obsessed with Austen fan fiction. The what if scenario is interesting but what was sad was the way it was possible for him to become an earl. The only thing i didnt like was that it was so short and parts felt a little rushed.

This novel is a romance set (presumably) in 1813 England. The story started with Darcy arriving late to Netherfield Park, so he never insulted Lizzy's pride. Nor does he have any pride (nor any ego about how desirable he is, despite the fact that hordes of women are trying to marry him). Darcy and Lizzy get to know each other and get along wonderfully. Lizzy never cares for any other. In fact, if you removed the names and occasional quotes from "Pride and Prejudice," you'd never guess it was meant to be a "what if" retelling of that story. The characters were only very loosely based off of Jane Austen's characters. Even the quotes were often given to different characters or used in a different context.

So, as a clean Regency romance novel, how is it? Well, it's got no sex and only a few uses of bad language. There wasn't much historical detail nor did the author always stay true to the times. When Lizzy traveled to London to casually visit a stranger, the author needed Lizzy to stop at that house before even changing her travel-stained clothing and without a servant, so that's what she does. If the author needed Darcy to jump to conclusions and Lizzy to inexplicably not correct him, then of course they do. But for all that, the characters were nice, so it was an enjoyable, fluffy romance were little stood in the way of everyone's happiness.

A lovely little Pride and Prejudice story. How would things be different if Elizabeth and Darcy first met at the quiet comfort of Netherfield? And through circumstance, Darcy inherited a title? Brief, cute, and clever.

I have read many P&P variations and continuations. This one was relatively short and sweet. The author pretty much stayed true to Austen's characters. This book was better than many I have read.

I liked this book! Yes, it deviates pretty substantially from the plot of the original book BUT if you are reading a P & P variation, that's a given. Darcy and Lizzie and most of the other characters were written pretty true to form.

As a fan of Pride and Prejudice, I’ve read several variations and sequels to the original. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Earl of Matlock creates a different and unique spin. Darcy unexpectedly replaces his uncle as the earl. A series of twists, turns, and debacles ensue. Many of the characters from the original are present here as well. Overall, this was an enjoyable read. Hopefully, a good editing of spelling, usage, and grammar will occur prior to the novella’s release!