The Passions of Dr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan - Really, my title should probably read "Recent Skims" because that's a more accurate description of what I did. As a background, I previously tormented myself by reading two of the author's Mr & Mrs Fitzwilliam Darcy books. I thoroughly regret the time wasted by doing so. At the time that I read those, I had this book on my Kindle (for free - thank heavens I didn't spend any money on it!) and felt that I should read the books the preceded it in what is supposedly a series. As far as I could tell, there were no plots of any kind in the previous books, so I needn't have worried that I was missing background for this particular story.
One advantage this book does have over the others is that there is something that sort of resembles a plot. The book follows the invented character of Dr. George Darcy, who is an uncle to Fitzwilliam Darcy. George had a twin brother that died in his youth, and this played a role in George's determination to become a physician. He is incredibly gifted in this role, but is not lucky in love until quite late in his life. The book opens with a prologue in which Darcy and Elizabeth are going through the effects of Dr Darcy following his death, and in this way the character is introduced. Then the tale alternates between George's personal journal entries which are usually written in the form of a letter to someone dear to him that has died - first his twin brother, then later his father and other loved ones - and a narrative of his life. The narrative is way too long and convoluted to be truly interesting, but at least it has direction, which the previous novels did not have. The narrative is also littered with mentions George's amorous encounters, and in the couple of relationships that were presented as being the most deeply emotional and spiritual connections, the focus was actually on the physical aspect of the relationship, and was every bit as horrid as the sappy descriptions of the lust-making between Darcy and Elizabeth. Looking on the bright side, however, these scenes are far fewer in The Passions of Dr Darcy than in the bedroom-scene-every-chapter pace set in Loving Mr Darcy.
I remain incredulous at the gushing positive reviews this author receives. Having now satisfied my curiosity as to whether this novel is any better than the ones I've slogged through before (it is perhaps less saturated in gratuitous s** and less offensively inane and repetitious, but that is not to say that it is better.), I can now delete it forever from my Kindle, and hopefully never be foolish enough to look at this author's work again. Perhaps my story of wasted hours will serve as a warning to other Darcy and Elizabeth fans that these books are not worth your time. Not even if the books are free.
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