Very enjoyable queer historical fiction novel, as an entry into a plausible Austen-verse it is a wondrous addition to it.

i love sapphic historical fiction. mary bennet was really a wild card, of all of the bennet sisters i felt she was the least likely to be a lesbian.

winners love winning fr.

i felt the characters were SO REAL and relatable. I loved charlottes story and the beautiful writing of this book.

I enjoyed it, it was a lot of fun but also heartwarming and had a found family element.

Mary and Charlotte were so connected, they had an instant spark and they got along very well. I really loved that Mary introduced her to a world of academia and knew she’d enjoy it if given the chance.

I LOVED Mr. Mellor, he was exactly what Charlotte needed, once again giving her a chance to live her life without a husband, which was difficult during the time period.

I wish there was more about her parents and family and how they see her settled with Mary and her new life but what we did see of her family, they were very loving.

Overall, it was a good book with amazing writing.

The unlikely pursuit of Mary Bennet oof this book was not a winner for me I had an incredibly hard time reading it and no matter how hard I tried to get into it and like it I couldn’t .

The book moved incredibly slow and I felt like I was trying to read a book in a foreign language because even when I got through half the book I was still so disinterested that I had no idea what was going on.

For those reasons and several more I had to dnf this book at 56%. I am sure a lot of people will love this book it just wasn’t for me .

Thank you Netgalley Harlequin - Romance | Carina Adores for the arc

Thank you to NetGalley, Lindz McLeod, and Harlequin for allowing me access to the e-Arc.

4.5 stars

I am a big fan of Pride and Prejudice so when I saw this was a sapphic romance between Charlotte Lucas and Mary Bennet. I knew I had to request it. I’m so glad I got to read it. I just loved their romance. It was beautifully written. The cast of characters were wonderful. I see myself re-reading this one.

I highly recommend it!

Oh my godzzzz
I was so intrigued by this book, first of all, the cover is just so pretty, and second, ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT THIS IS A SAPPHIC, WHAT IF, BETWEEN MARY BENNET AND CHARLOTTE LUCAS? YES, Please and thank you.
I never thought that I needed a queer Charlotte until now, besides, I never liked Mr Collins, so i wasn't too sad to know that he's not in the picture in this book.

It was a really sweet and beautiful story and Lindz McLeod is now on my radar of authors to read. I loved this spin to a classic.
Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy

4.5⭐️ As a long time lover of pride and prejudice I was so excited to read this book and I was not disappointed. I always believed that Charlotte deserved better and with this story my dreams were fulfilled. Was the writing perfect? No, but I loved the story and to me that is the most important thing. If you are a fan of pride and prejudice and historical sapphic romance I really think you will enjoy this book. I highly recommend 😊

Thank you to Netgalley and Carina Adores/ Harlequin Romance for the ARC of this book.

Before I begin, I would like to thank Lindz McLeod for allowing me to read a Net Galley copy of her upcoming book, The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet, which will be available on Amazon on April 29th, 2025.

After being married for four years, Mr. Collins dies and leaves his wife Charlotte in a predicament. She’ll be forced to leave the parsonage soon and has to portray a grieving widow in mourning even though she’s not heartbroken. She writes to her beloved friend Lizzie for help, who then sends her sister Mary Bennet to keep Charlotte company. Her memory of Mary doesn’t match the honest and beautiful young woman that’s interested in academics and learning botany. The more time they spend together, the more their friendship develops, and Charlotte can’t help falling for her. But the pressure of taking another husband for security looms more as time passes, and Charlotte has to decide whether to conform to society’s expectations or choose her own happiness and live with Mary. Either way, only Charlotte can determine her future.

I absolutely loved this book. You have Charlotte, a kind, reserved, and beautiful young woman that loves gardening and learning the meaning of flowers. You have Mary, a headstrong, honest, charming, and thoughtful young woman that likes to learn about botany and academic discussions. I adore Pride and Prejudice, and it was great seeing familiar characters in the story. The struggles that Charlotte faced about her attraction to women were definitely relatable, and I cheered her on as she grew more confident about who she was and what she wanted to do with her life. The interactions between Charlotte and Mary were wonderful, honest, and full of meaning. I might say that Mary is right up there with Darcy for being one of my favorite characters in Jane Austen’s works due to this book. The author’s way to discuss and embrace matters of self, attraction, and grief in various forms was full of vulnerability, compassion, and heart. Overall, if you like Pride and Prejudice, great found family dynamics, stories about underrated side characters, humor, botany, LGBTQ+ representation, healthy relationships, and sweet historical romance with quite a bit of spice, then I would highly recommend this book. Here’s the link with more information: The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet - Kindle edition by McLeod, Lindz. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

This was an unexpectedly delightful romance between Charlotte Lucas and Mary Bennet that was just begging to be written! It's a lovely read, with excellent characterization (I particularly loved Charlotte's growth throughout), and the romance was very sweet. Honestly, it just made sense, so I'm going to adopt this as my personal P&P canon now. Justice for Charlotte and Mary!

So thankful that I got to read an arc of this. I love revisiting the world that Austen created through other people’s interpretations.

Saying I enjoyed this was an understatement. This book made my heart soar and I appreciated the expansion of both Mary and Charlotte’s voices in this book. Their chemistry was simultaneously electric and sweet. It was chaste yet incredibly sexy. This was the epitome of sapphic yearning with the happiest of endings.

I highly recommend this one!

When Mr. Collins dies after just four years of marriage, Charlotte is lost. While not exactly heartbroken, she will soon have to quit the parsonage that has become her home. In desperate need of support, she writes to her best friend, Lizzie. Unable to leave Pemberly, Lizzie sends her sister, Mary Bennet, in her stead.

To Charlotte’s surprise, Mary Bennet is nothing like she remembers. Mary’s discovery of academia and her interest in botany (as well as getting out from under her mother’s thumb) have caused her to flourish. Before long, Charlotte is enraptured—with Mary, and with the possibilities that lie beyond their societal confines. With each stolen glance and whispered secret, their friendship quickly blossoms into something achingly real.

If you can forgive some of the time-period lacks of understanding and dialog, this book is adorable. I loved Charlotte and Mary and their awakening to each other. I really enjoyed the large cast of characters. (I hope we see a few of them in later books!) There was a little bit of repetition with some of the ideas, but overall, this book was a solid read for me! 4⭐

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

A nice, "Austen-adjacent" type of Sapphic romance. Not really a "re-telling" as such, but more of a reimagining sort of a "what if" based on Lizzie Bennet's sister Mary, a scientist now, from "Pride and Prejudice" in a romantic relationship with Charlotte Lucas, now a widow. I enjoyed it a lot but it helps that I am very well-versed in the source material, not sure how it would work for any unfamiliar with the original story and characters. Many thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for my advanced readers copy - a pleasure to review it!

This is a very charming story about Charlotte Collins, a widow, and Mary Bennet. They become very close after Charlotte's husband dies. Very slow burn. I think to enjoy this story the best, you should have a very good understanding of Pride and Prejudice. It helps for context. I was also happy how the author arranged the couple to have a HEA. .
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

“I will lay bouquets at your feet so that they will never touch common ground again.”

I am a Jane Austin girlie. And a “Charlotte Lucas is ace or a lesbian” truther! So the moment I saw this title on NetGalley, I knew I had to request it.

References to the meaning of flowers is so beautiful throughout the story, down to Mary smelling of violets - a well-known sapphic symbol.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story of self-discovery. Who knew Mary Bennet could be so desirable and confident? (And trusting of a pianoforte’s sturdiness!)

I will always love queer period romances. They remind us that the 2SLGBTQIA+ community has always been here if you know where to look.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book! As a long time Pride and Prejudice lover I loved reading a new perspective on Mary and Charlotte. I absolutely loved their dynamic, shared passion for science, and love for flowers. A very adorable addition to Pride and Prejudice spin-off works!

A tender and spicy Pride & Prejudice inspired sapphic romance that will have you demanding the next season of Bridgerton be queer.

While Elizabeth Bennet & Mr. Darcy are living their happily ever after, Elizabeth's best friend Charlotte isn't faring so well. Charlotte's loveless marriage ends when her husband dies after only four years, leaving Charlotte feeling unmoored. Elizabeth can't leave her children, so she sends her sister Mary Bennet to comfort Charlotte.

This book is so well written. I love that our main characters are fully defined humans even within the confines society has locked them into. The conversations between Charlotte and Mary are so genuine I could actually imagine sitting beside them on a bench in an English garden.

The themes of this book are so tender and beautiful as we follow Charlotte navigating the complications of being a widow in regency England. She is immediately at risk of losing her home, her station and her sense of self.

I have over 50 highlights because the writing is so compelling. The spice is used to tell the story and growth of our two main characters together.

Read this if you want
🌹 FF historical romance
🌹 Queer-awakening
🌹 One bed
🌹 "Teach me"
🌹 Fancy balls
🌹 Beautiful dresses
🌹 The meaning of flowers

Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book is best read while gathering flowers for your beloved. Remember, the perfect bouquet cannot be rushed.

If flowers could sing, which would make the prettiest music?

2.5 stars

dnf @ 86%/Ch 28



I am extremely sad that I did not like this one. :(( It started off splendidly, with a narrative tone that felt comfortably between Jane Austen's and a contemporary one -- this worked really well, allowing the reader to feel just adjacent to the source material without the style feeling artificial. We're held at a distance from the characters, but that still works for the first half -- it reminds the reader of Austen's style, and the tension between the main characters moves the narrative along, even if it's slow-paced.

But once we get into the 2nd half (and Charlotte and Mary have gotten together), it stops working. The delicious tension from the first half completely evaporates and leaves us hanging. Once they get together, it seems like a happy ending is inevitable and neither character has to actually work for it. The tension and chemistry is completely gone; even the sex scenes are completely lacking emotion. It was such a bizarre shift, I have no clue what happened; I went from really loving the story to not caring at all. I tried to chug along for another ~25% or so, but I couldn't find myself to care about anything that was happening. Everything was won with no consequential conflict.

Also, tbh, I wish we had gotten a chance to actually know the side characters who worked on Mary's staff. Maybe I'm just more interested in the history of queer working class people, but it seemed like a wasted opportunity. We glean that Pitt's husband died at sea, and we find out that the one transfem character was sexually harassed by her female employer (which tbh felt extremely weird to me, but whatever), but that's it.

My hope is that the author is allowed to do a ton of edits to the final ~40% or so before this book is sent to press -- there is a TON of potential, but as this ARC stands, the second half falls extremely flat.

I think this book is worth a try if you enjoy modern books that effectively mirror the writing styles of the early 1800s, as well as if you're a fan of Pride & Prejudice. (I am specifically thinking of my P&P fanfic girlies, this one is for you.) I definitely am looking forward to more from this author in the future!

I just finished reading this after receiving a copy from Netgalley and I am very pleasantly surprised. I'm a big fan of the writing in Jane Eyre and all other regency romances must stack up to it, and I'm glad to say that this one does. It reads easily while sticking to the era. The romance was natural and easy to root for. There were some modern ideals that I'm not sure matched the time but the way they were written seemed to fit in very naturally. I enjoyed both main characters and their relationship as it progressed throughout the story. If you love regency, sapphic, friends to lovers, and a broad cast of characters then you'll love this!

And just to circle back around, I did not realize that this was a spin on characters from Pride and Prejudice as I haven't read it. As a lover of Charlotte Brontë I have yet to venture into the works of Austen. Maybe it's time after having enjoyed this story so much.

I enjoyed this a lot! I love a good Pride & Prejudice remix or continuation with queer characters, so this book spoke to me immediately. I’ve always wondered if Mary’s character was queer, so I’m happy the author decided to tell that story, and I love it being told through Charlotte’s POV post Mr. Collins’ early death.

The themes of this book centres around Charlotte’s very wallflower people pleaser identity, and it’s sometimes frustrating in a very realistic way but very satisfying to read as she works through this, with the assistance of Mary.

I loved the detailed description of flower meanings, and how Charlotte uses them to express herself as she slowly comes out of her shell and realizes her worth. Really lovely to read!

I definitely recommend picking this book up if you are a fan of queer renditions of Jane Austen and regency period history. Definitely enjoyable!

Sweet and unexpected!

I never really pick up Pride and Prejudice "spin-off's" or retellings or the like. There is something very picturesque and idyllic about the original that I could not imagine ever being satisfied with something so closely tied to it.

I'm glad that I did.

Mary and Charlotte are a breath of fresh air. Their romance was funny and delicate and full of yearning, everything that has made Pride and Prejudice so special and time enduring. It's a breath of fresh air, all while taking in beloved, familiar scenery. Everything was fantastic, from the lush prose to the sapphic yearning.