Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart by Beth Pattillo

ISBN-13: 9780824947934
Publisher: Ideals Publications
Published: January 2010
260 pgs
Source: Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists
(This is an advance reader's edition from uncorrected pages.)

I loved Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Mr. Darcy is no doubt one of the most intriguing heroes I read among others so naturally any spin off of Jane Austen's novels or mention of Mr. Darcy will catch my attention (however I am not so keen when they are linked with paranormal), thus I jumped at the chance when Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists offered me the opportunity to review Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart.

Claire Prescott is unsure where her life is taking her especially after she has lost a job as a pediatrician office manager and that her relationship with her boyfriend, Neil, is just a blah. It is not like she is not working hard enough to make the relationship work, but the thing with Neil is he is a sports fanatic.

Claire has a younger sister named Missy and being the elder sibling, she takes charge in most of their things since their parents died when she was eighteen. Now Missy has received a grant to attend a weeklong seminar in Oxford as part of her continuing education for her teacher certification but due to pregnancy complications, she wants Claire to stand in her position and present her papers on Pride and Prejudice. Claire does not understand Mr. Darcy's appeal but she agrees to Missy's request anyway.

Claire met a lot of interesting people at the seminar; one of them certainly reminds her too much of the fictional Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice because of his aloof attitude when they first met. His name is James Beaufort and he works in a publishing firm which is a family business. During the introduction, Claire did not tell them the truth of her designation, after all it is only a weeklong seminar and she is sure no one will remember her once they left the seminar for home. Nonetheless, Claire and James left an impression on each other's mind and it is not long that they are attracted to each other.

A chance encounter allows Claire to meet the elderly Harriet, who kindly show her the first draft of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, originally titled as First Impressions but Claire has doubts in Harriet because she seems to suffer from early stage of dementia. Nevertheless, Claire read the manuscript and is very taken in the story which is so different from the printed Pride and Prejudice.

However, when someone raided her room did Claire realize that this manuscript might not be authentic after all. The story gets more complex when Neil unexpectedly arrives in Oxford and Claire has to question her true feelings between Neil and James.

I had a fun time reading Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart. There is a little suspense surrounding the manuscript but then the suspense is not to an extent that it would lead to murder or anything. I have to say this is more of a character study where the readers will read the change about Claire and how she deals with issues such as the kinship with her sister and then of course, love. I won't tell you what happened to the manuscript, as I think that is not the main point of this story (though I did enjoy reading a few sections of that manuscript and find it to be quite refreshing on top of the story itself) but I can tell you I loved how it is wrapped up in the end.

On an unrelated note, what do you think makes Mr. Darcy an iconic romantic hero? And which actor would you like to see to play the role of Mr. Darcy?