I’m not Charlotte Lucas is the first contemporary story that I’ve read by Kasey Stockton, and I enjoyed it! As with other books by Kasey Stockton this story is a clean read (kissing only), which I appreciate. I admit though, that I did get a little impatient with Charlotte towards the end as she discovered her worth and talent, but overall this was a cute, fun, and satisfying read that I would recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book. I’ve been kind of binging this author lately and that’s not a bad thing, but this was a contemporary story and I wasn’t sure what to expect with the title. What I got was a huge nod to Pride and Prejudice, but not in an obvious way. Well besides the obvious comparison to Charlotte Lucas. It was simply adorable.

Charlie struggles with feeling good enough and that idea struck a chord with me. So many of us today struggle with this same thought and we can be so dependent on what others think about us that we become unable to move forward with joy.

Enter Liam. Hellooooo Liam. He is all the swoon and just plain loveable. His blind date with Charlotte sets them on a path of discovering what love truly means and the insecurities that sometimes keep us from allowing love to grow.

Lots of PnP vibes, but not necessary to appreciate this writer’s glimpse into wanting a Mr. Darcy when feeling like Charlotte Lucas. I adored Vera . And hope to see a spin-off with Beth soon.

@authorkaseystockton has quickly turned into a go to author for me. To your Austen nods, add I’m Not Charlotte Lucas, even if you’re a newbie and a little bit clueless.

*I received a copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving this review.

This was a fun read. Charlie (Charlotte) was truly a good person with a lot of insecurities. At times that was really frustrating as she settled for less than she deserved. Luckily she has some good people in her corner who helped her find her own worth. I loved Liam's character. There were several times I wished I knew what he was thinking. I loved how good he was to Charlie and that he saw her worth. Her family, friend and neighbor added some fun moments and real moments to this story. I really enjoyed it.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through Netgalley and this is my honest review.

“𝙒𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠?…𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚. 𝙄 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖 𝙤𝙛 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚.”

Liam Connell…a man who knows what he wants, stealer of hearts and easily one of my new favorite book boyfriends — oof 😮‍💨! Y’all, I absolutely loved this book. It has that perfect brand of magic where even though it’s only the heroine’s POV, you know exactly how the hero feels about her without actually being in his head. That will get me every single time!!

I loved Charlie; she was so good to her core. Always taking care of others and putting the needs of others ahead of her own which often resulted in her missing out. It broke my heart at how long it took for her to see her true worth and exceptionality. Everyone around her, especially Liam, saw it but her, and at times I wanted to shake her!! It was quite the journey of self-discovery and coming into her own and I love how Charlie finally realized her worth. It was so satisfying when she went after everything she truly wanted.

Liam and Charlie together were *chef’s kiss*. My favorite Liam (and Charlie’s too) was laid back in his heather joggers Liam. 🤭😏 I loved all of their interactions and kept wanting them to run into each other more and more. The kitchen scene was my favorite!! 🫠🫠 Vera was perfect with all of her matchmaking machinations! I also really enjoyed Charlie’s relationships with her younger sister Mariah and her best friend Beth (I hope we get her story). Overall, this was a super swoony romance that made me giddy with butterflies.

Thank you to Covenant and NetGalley for an advanced copy. My thoughts are my own.

Charlotte “Charlie” Lucas loves Diet Coke and Pride and Prejudice but she is also terrified of having to endure the fate of her namesake from the Regency novel, which is a life of a spinster. Charlie is also known to be incredibly kind and can never say ‘no’ even when her elderly neighbour asks her to partner her grandson, Liam to a charity ball as he has broken up with girlfriend who is a glamorous actress. However, when Charlie finds herself captivated by Liam Connell, she believes that he is beyond her. Yet, Liam seems to be willing to be more than friends, but Charlie is uncertain whether she can truly believe that he likes her.
Despite the image projected of Liam, he is a nice guy who likes Charlie and does all that he can to make her believe in them as a couple. I like how he persevered with Charlie, when she at times, frustrated me, with her inability to take a leap of faith in the relationship. My frustration with her did settle towards the end, but not a moment too soon. This was a sweet romance with plenty of engaging dialogue.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

If you enjoy:
- sweet small-town romances
- Pride and Prejudice references
- well-meaning meddling grandmas
- gentlemanly heroes
- heroines who are (almost) twenty-seven years old, have no money, no prospects, and are already a burden to their parents
then this is the book for you :D

This was a lovely and enjoyable read with a cast of very likable characters. I really loved the idea of a heroine inspired by the famous Charlotte Lucas quote in Pride and Prejudice and was thus very excited to read this book. I think many people will love it as the heroine, Charlotte, is endearing and her struggles with her self-esteem are very relatable to a lot of readers. Also, the cover art is just beautiful.

While this book was overall a fun read, I found that at about the 70% mark, the book started dragging for me as the storyline seemed kind of directionless at that point which surprised me because the book itself is quite short. I don't think the school play was central enough to the storyline for it to be the grand finale as it seemed like just an afterthought during most of the novel. Also, the final conflict seemed a bit underdeveloped as well because although the heroine struggles with feelings of inadequacy throughout the book, the comments that are the root cause of these feelings only become apparent later on and feel a bit shoehorned in at the last minute. Finally, I know self-esteem issues can make it difficult to believe other people would be interested in you, but I wish the hero was a bit more subtle with his interest and his flirting because it made it a bit difficult to understand why the heroine was so unsure about his feelings towards her when he was being quite obvious and blunt.

Overall, this is a good book, but I think after reading the synopsis my expectations were so high that I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed when it didn't meet them. I think a lot of people will enjoy this book and I urge others to give it a chance as I think this might be a case of "it's not you, it's me."

**Thank you to Kasey Stockton, Covenant Communications, and NetGalley for allowing me to receive an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!!**
This book was really cute. I know that a lot of people are looking for books that are on the tamer side and I think that they would really enjoy this book. It's still a romance but it's not graphic at all. I really thought that the book was a fun read. I liked all of the hidden references to Pride and Prejudice and I thought that it was a fun way of explaining the way that women feel when they reach "spinster-hood." The book was a quick and fun read and I think that it is very accessible. It is obviously improved if you have that background knowledge, but it still makes a lot of sense if you're not a Jane Austen superfan. This was a book I will definitely recommend to my friends!

I am Not Charlotte Lucas is about Charlotte “Charlie” who claims she will be a spinster like her name sake from Pride and Prejudice, not out of want but out of self fulfilled prophecy. Until her elderly neighbour sets her up on a blind date with her grandson.

This book was so darn-cute! I love anything pride and prejudice and this book really satisfies that craving without it being a retelling. The contrasts and similarities with Beth (Charlie best friend ) and charlotte are clever.

All in all this read was fun fluffy and a nice quick romcom ! Thank you NetGalley for providing the arc to I a, Not Charlotte Lucas. Available February 7 2023.

SO Stinking Adorable!! This was NOT another P&P spinoff. This is the cutest book about a modern day gal who doesn’t want to become a spinster. She has some self doubt and could never think a guy like Liam would ever want someone like her. Liam is the swooniest man and doesn’t hide is adoration or his chivalry. He is adorable. Charlotte is a natural beauty who doesn’t know she is beautiful but always fears the worst. You will love this book! I know I did. Kasey Stockton never disappoints with her stories!!

*I received a copy of this book as an ARC reviewer, but a positive review wasn’t required. All thoughts are solely what I personally thought of this beautiful book.

THis was an unexpected delight to read. All the references to Jane Austen will please many romantic readers but Lemme Leap on Him Liam had me drooling. I emoted a lot while reading. I hooted with laughter at Charlie’s many faux pas and loved it when Liam and Andy circled each other like mad dogs.
Liam couldn’t have worn his heart on his sleeve any more blatantly and I yelled at Charlie for being a total idiot!! The ending was sweet and very moviesque.
I do wish Beth had been given somebody because she was a stellar character and best friend.

This is such a fun, sweet story! I honestly thought I would give it 5 stars. I fell in love so instantly with the characters. Not only Charlie and Liam, but their families are also so special. I was having a good time and looking forward to reading the next chapters. But then... something happened at the end... and I couldn't look past it. It was just too much for me, I would never forgive that person. For that reason, the ending was bittersweet for me and I'm giving it 3 stars. But I really enjoyed it most of the time. And besides their cute romance, it's also great to see how Charlie grows during this period of her life and how much she learns about herself. I love that.

Thanks to Covenant Communications for the DRC!

I really liked this book. Charlie was struggling and just wanted to be happy. She thought she was until she met Liam. They gravitated towards each other in a way, the other was there no matter what. It was so obvious that he liked ans wanted to be with her. But she was so self depraciating that she just couldn't see it. It actually broke my heart a little when she didn't she could be more than she was, everyone can, we just have to do an effort. Liam was so dreamy, swear to God, that man was wonderful, he liked her so much and was genuinaly a good person. He was her biggest cheerleader especially when she couldn't see it. I loved them and when they fell out of sorts, I was so sad, I'm glad they worked things out, they belonged together

Charlie Lucas is a bank assistant manager who just moved back in with her parents (well, their newly renovated attic apartment – studios are just so expensive these days!) who is really feeling the pressure of her impending 27th birthday as a singleton and, as <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>’s Charlotte Lucas would put it:
<blockquote>I'm twenty-seven years old, I've no money and no prospects. I'm already a burden to my parents and I'm frightened.</blockquote>

Along comes her neighbor Vera, the wealthy, quirky older sophisticate who practically begs Charlie to go with her grandson – newly single, broken-hearted (she says) – to a charity gala where he would be forced to interact with his ex. Liam turns out (stop me if you’ve heard this one before!) to be a mega-rich, mega-charming, mega-hottie who – no, it can’t be – seems to be <i>flirting</i> with our dear almost-spinster Charlie? Charlie can’t quite believe it, and besides, she’s just run into her ex and agreed to give dating him another shot.

I tease because I really did enjoy. Liam is an A+ book boyfriend. He knows what he wants, but pursues it respectfully. He makes mistakes, but he so clearly means well that it’s easy to accept his apology and forgive.

Charlie, on the other hand, as a little too prone to compare herself to her literary namesake, Liam to Mr. Darcy and Andy (her ex) to Mr. Collins. She believes she doesn’t deserve better than a Mr. Collins who (again, to quote the incomparable Ms. Austen):
<blockquote>to be sure, was neither sensible nor agreeable; his society was irksome, and his attachment to her must be imaginary. But still he would be her husband. Without thinking highly either of men or matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want.</blockquote>

<spoiler>(Andy’s not really a Mr. Collins, more a Mr. Willoughby. And Liam’s really not a Mr. Darcy – he’s too openly sweet and not at all a snob, unless we’re supposed to take his very first appearance as snobby, but it didn’t really come off that way – but more of a Henry Tilney or a Captain Wentworth, or even a Mr. Bingley. Still. This book goes hard on the audience knowing and loving the characters from P&P)</spoiler>

Charlie's deep self-doubt, around who’s in or out of whose league, and her art, never tips over into unbearable. But she’s another romance MC who really could use a better (as in, actual) therapist besides her bestie Beth, who means well and loves her, but still really is just a hair dresser. In addition to Beth the bestie, there were some pretty great side characters in this one (I would happily read a Beth book!). Vera and Mariah are scene stealers.

[book:I’m Not Charlotte Lucas] by [author:Kasey Stockton]
Overall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spiciness rating: 🥤🥤🥤 Three chocolate malts (more sweet than hot)
Sassiness rating; 💁🏻‍♀️💁🏻‍♂️💁🏼‍♀️ Two snarky younger siblings and one lippy BFF
🎨🖼️👩🏻‍🎨🖌️Four arty things for following rediscovering your passion

Charlotte (Charlie) Lucas is 26 years old and living at home with her parents. She isn't using her college degree, works at a bank, and spends weekends watching Pride and Prejudice, while hoping her fate isn't the same as Austen's Charlotte Lucas. Everything changes when her elderly neighbor, Vera, sets her up on a blind date with her grandson to a charity ball.

This book was a super cute, clean lighthearted romance. It was a quick read! The writing was straightforward, and it had all the cute, feel-good things you want in a romance book. The themes were also light, as Charlie learns to overcome her insecurities and pursue her dreams*. It was very predictable, but I found this somehow comforting. I read this coming off of some heavier books, so this was exactly the kind of cute, predictable book I was in the mood for! I loved the family dynamics within Charlie's family, and I appreciated that Charlie was so kind and giving.

I loved all the Jane Austen references, and all the mentions of food made me hungry reading this book!

I recommend this book to anyone who loves clean romance, loves Austen, and is in the mood for something without any heavier themes or content.

I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*As a Christian, I didn't agree with how Charlie overcomes her insecurities by believing in herself, abilities, and self-worth, instead of finding her worth in God and what He has done for us, but I went into this knowing this wasn't Christian fiction so it didn't bother me that much, but just wanted to point it out.

I love Austen retellings so jumped at the chance to read this.I really enjoyed the Pride and Prejudice references and it made me want to rewatch the film and series. However I would have liked this to go a little deeper into how Charlie feels like Charlotte other than having the same name and being single at 27. Liam honestly seemed a little too good to be true so I really understood Charlie’s struggle with feeling not good enough for him.

The romance was very cute but I really liked that a lot of the story was really about Charlie figuring out what she wants and deserves. I think a lot of people will relate to feeling a bit stuck and not sure how to make a change.

Overall this was a sweet, fun read and I recommend it if you are a Pride and Prejudice fan.

Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read and review this book.

"Pride and Prejudice was comfort food for my soul the way a half-gallon of ice cream or a box of Twinkies comforted other people."
I was absolutely delighted to read this one this past weekend! I believe this is my first experience of this author with a contemporary novel, and thought she did such a wonderful job! I enjoyed Charlotte's character and could easily identify with her love for Pride and Prejudice! Her arc was written so well, I thought, and I enjoyed getting to see her grow throughout the book. Liam was such a delightful hero- his patience, kindness and overall swoon-worthiness was so lovely. My favorite parts about this wonderful story, besides the main characters, were:
the benefit gala
bowling
evening dates at grandma's
the P&P play
the conversation across the yard
If you love romance books, I would highly recommend adding this one to your list!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own!

Insecurity and Jane Austen...

Charlie is 26 and riddled with insecurity about everything...from her looks, to ending up like Charlotte Lucas, who settled for Mr. Collins. Nope, she gets Liam (as in FitzWilliam Darcy). Liam is Hemsworth hot and is recovering from a breakup. His grandmother sets Charlie and Liam up on a date. But they meet when Charlie hits Spike on his skateboard.
I wanted Charlie to be a stronger lead and not so insecure all the time, from little things to big things but I always like Jane Austen references and Charlotte Lucas took control over her own future and made her choice on whom to marry.

This book the breath of fresh air that I needed!! After a week where I couldn’t read much, this was just the kind of book medicine for the soul that I needed!

I read this whole book in one sitting. I even stayed up til 1am to finish it and I’m definitely a go to bed by 11pm kind of gal! So that’s when you know it’s good😍

There were so many fun nods to Pride and Prejudice, but this book was entirely its own! I love Kasey’s author voice in the contemporary romance setting!

Charlie’s character was wonderful! She was extremely relatable in her insecurities, and I love how she grew into her own through the course of the story.

And LIAM!!!!! *sighs* Liam was like an cold drink of a water on a summer day! I love him so much. Like everything about him. He’s kind and patient and sweet and charming and flirty. You’ll want a Liam of your own by the end of this book!

My fingers are crossed that we get a story for Beth!!

Read it for:
🎨Blind date
🎨Swoony kiss scenes
🎨He falls first
🎨All the flirting/banter
🎨Pride and Prejudice references

Thank you so much to Covenant Communications and the author for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Content warning: self-doubt, cheating, absent parents

Rounded up from a 3.5

This books follows Charlotte Lucas, aka Charle, a 20something year old who recently moved in with her parents, working a job that she settled in, gets invited to be the blind date to her neighbor's grandson's charity ball. Charlotte lives in fear that she is going to become the spinster character from Pride and Prejudice who shares her name sake. Enter in Liam, her blind date, who ultimately turns her life over with his presence in her life.

I have a bookish confession to make. I have not read or watched Pride and Prejudice, and this book is riddled with references. That being said, I dont think that took away from my experience with this book.

I related to Charlotte as a 20something who feels stuck and doesn't know what her future holds. That being said, there were time in this book that I felt like Charlotte's insecurities were a bit too much. By the end of the book she really pulled through and sought the change that was needed. But considering how fearful she was to end up just like the P&P character, she was very content with settling. I was SO happy that Liam was able to help her pull her from that, but I wanted to see more inner work from her. I loved Liam, he was so selfless and really cared his family and Charlotte. I loved that he saw Charlotte for who she was as well as who she could be and wasn't afraid to tell her that.

This was a cute and fast read that is the perfect palette cleanser. If you're a P&P Fan, you may enjoy this more than me!

Thank you NetGalley and Covenant Communication and Kasey so much for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Covenant Communications for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

In I'm Not Charlotte Lucas, Charlotte "Charlie" Lucas is terrified of ending up like her Austenite namesake: an "elderly" spinster. Charlie wishes she were the Elizabeth Bennet of her own life but sees, and treats, herself as the supporting character. She works a dead end job she is not passionate about and lets her life be dictated by family and friends around her. When a beloved neighbor asks her to go on a blind date to a charity gala with her grandson, Liam, Charlie begins to question parts of her life she has avoided making difficult decisions about.

I loved the premise of this book: I'm a sucker for retellings and love most anything Pride & Prejudice but there were parts of this book that I did not like and I honestly couldn't tell if they were done on purpose or not. The way Charlie acted around her love interests was inane and with her ex, practically excused borderline emotionally abusive traits. Any character growth that Charlie made felt forced on her by other characters.

If you are really into everything P&P you might enjoy this closed door romance but it just wasn't quite right for me.

#ImNotCharlotteLucas #NetGalley