Review: Mr. Darcy’s Passion

By: Harriet Lark

Available on: Amazon

Overview:

Blurb: A quick, naughty jaunt through the familiar characters

Trigger Warnings:

Purple Prose, On Screen Sex

Body Count: 0

Overall review:

• Thoughts:
  • What I liked: The smut was flowery but all right.
  • What I didn’t like: Short and shallow. Maybe I’m just too much a fan of period-typical slow burn, but this was just…not my cup of tea. I won’t read further, but enjoyed this well enough. It’s also very much out of character, which tripped me up
• Was it engaging?
  • At times

Rating out of five: 2.5 out of 5

To Read or Not To Read (Again):

Happily Donated for Someone Else to Read

The Technical Specs:

• Series
  • Series Name: Pemberley Intimates
  • Book Number: 1 of 4
• Genre
  • Technical Genre: Literature & Fiction, 45-Minute Romance Short Reads, Regency Historical Romance
  • Theo Genre: Smutty Short Story, Regency Romance, Classic Revamp
• Page count: 24 pages
• POV: limited 3rd
• Publication information:
  • Publisher: Amazon
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B00ZN1EDKY

Representation, Morality, and Sexism in Media Tests:

• Bechdel–Wallace Test: Fail
  • Do two female characters talk about something other than a male character? No
• Deggan’s Rule Test: Fail
  • Are there at least two non-white human characters in the main cast in a story not primarily focused on race? No
• DuVernay Test: Fail
  • Are there fully actualized characters of color? No
• Ellen Willis Test: Pass
  • Would two related characters still work to carry the story if their genders were reversed? Yes
• Hays Code: Fail
  • Part One: outdated moral guidelines
    • Are there any outdated “moral content” rules gloriously kicked in the teeth by this story? Murder, happy queer characters, profanity, etc. No
  • Part Two: queer representation
    • Are there queer characters that get a happy ending? No
    • Do the queer characters die? Not applicable
  • Part Three: age and agency:
    • Is there an illegal or otherwise distasteful age gap between characters, queer or otherwise? No
• Mako Mori Test: Fail
  • Is there a female character that gets her own arc? No
• Mary Sue/Gary Stu Test: Pass
  • Is the main character completely flawless and persecuted by other characters needlessly? No.
  • Take a Mary Sue test here!
• Sexy Lamp Test: Pass
  • Would the plot fall apart if the female character was replaced by a sexy looking lamp? Yes
  • Post-It Note Caveat:
    • Would the character be able to be replaced by a Sexy Lamp with a sticky note on it for information conveyance? No.
• Tauriel Test: Fail
  • Is there at least one woman in the story who is competent in her chosen occupation and not immediately shown up by a newcomer male character? Not applicable
  • If she has or develops a love interest during the story, either implied or explicitly stated, does she suddenly abandon her job and/or chosen path to support or pursue said love interest? Yes
• Topside Test: Fail
  • Are there two or more trans characters in the story that know each other and do they talk about anything other than medical transition procedures? No
  • I acknowledge that most common media lacks decent trans representation.
• Vito Russo Test: Fail
  • Is there a character on the LGBTQIAP+ spectrum spectrum who is a character beyond their orientation and do they actually affect the plot and are something beyond a punchline? No
    • What does that stand for? Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual/Biromantic/Bigender, Transgender, Queer/Genderqueer, Intersex, Asexual/Aromantic/Agender, Pansexual/Panromantic

You can read more about the various Media Tests I employ in my reviews at GeekFeminism.wikia.org or by clicking the header on the individual test. Why include all these? Because I can, because representation matters, and because I’m neurotic.

Review format updated 14 April 2020