vampyre pride

"A married man in possession of a dark fortune must be in want of an eternal wife..."

Zombies, Sea monsters, and now Vampires. Or in this case, Vampyres. I just finished reading Amanda Grange's Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, a sequel to Pride and Prejudice in which a centuries-old vampire Darcy puts himself and his lovely Elizabeth in danger by marrying her.

The book recounts Elizabeth and Darcy's honeymoon tour across Europe as Darcy attempts to keep himself from the passion which could turn Elizabeth into a vampire. The honeymoon tour is an excuse to visit vampire friends on the continent who might be able to tell him how to successfully navigate a vampire/human relationship, but results in adventurous flights from those who want to thwart his endeavor.

Through it all, Elizabeth is kept in the dark about Darcy's true nature and his ultimate goal, but her suspicions of something not quite right eventually lead her to the discovery of her beloved Darcy's secret.

Overall, this book is not stunning, but it had two things that kept me reading. The first was the beautiful descriptions of the cities and countrysides across Europe as Elizabeth and Darcy traveled from Paris, over the Alps, and to Venice and Rome. The second was the heartache I shared with Elizabeth as Darcy's strange behavior made her think he really did not love her. I had to keep reading so I could believe that their true love really did make everything right in the end. (Yes, when it comes to books, I am a sappy romantic.)