4.5 stars rounded up to 5!

🪻This book is so adorable! I really enjoyed it. It’s definitely for fans of Jane Austen that enjoy a simple low-stakes narrative (lots of tea parties and visits to so-and-so) but with a little bit of a modern twist in that Charlotte and Mary are not interested in being “good friends” or “roommates”. They’re hot for each other! 🌹🌷

🪻The audiobook blew me away! The narrator was absolutely perfect for this book, and she did an excellent job. I don’t know if there’s someone in charge of “casting” or how authors and narrators connect but this was the perfect pairing. 🌹🌷

“Her mind is a vast blue sky. Not a single cloud of thought dims its brightness.” This line made me CACKLE.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the review listener copy!

🫖 I paired this book with organic Serenity Now tea from David’s Tea, another floral tea! Flowers play a big role in the book as Charlotte has a green thumb and loves to study the meanings of all of the flowers. 💐

A beautiful imagining of how both Mary Bennet and Charlotte Lucas found their place in life and happiness for themselves, after their stories in Pride and Prejudice left them with ambiguous futures. This was a lot of fun to listen to, and I’m happy to think this is canon 😌 I especially loved the way flowers were employed in the story! The narration in the audiobook was also enjoyable and easy to follow.

Public Review:

More sapphic regency novels please!!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
4.5 stars

[I listened to the ALC via NetGalley.]

I am an adoring Jane Austen fan, so naturally I was nervous this book wouldn’t do Pride and Prejudice justice. This book perfectly encapsulates the OG Pride and Prejudice vibes while adding the author’s own brilliant touches. The flowers metaphors throughout were my favorite part. Well, second favorite part— seeing Charlotte bloom and get the happy ending she deserves was the best part.

Private feedback:
I feel like the author stayed true to Jane Austen’s style and social norms of the era. The narration was great.

This was such a neat idea. Reminded me of the zombie retelling a while back only, obviously, romance which I hadn't seen before.

All in all it was super cute. It was an easy listen that I started and finished in one go as I cleaned. The narrator had such a lovely voice that really fit the story.

The characters I found stayed true to their origin while still being fresh enough to hold attention. And man was it a slow burn. It read very much like the original book.

My only issue that knocked off a star was now and then it was so... calm, and almost monotone in writing that it was easy to tune out for a few sentences and while you realized you'd missed something you didn't really need to go back and see what it was.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Audio for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet by Lindz McLeod is a Pride and Prejudice spin off starring the younger sister of Lizzy and Jane, Mary, and Lizzy’s best friend, Charlotte.

Charlotte has just been widowed. Lonely and seeking comfort she writes to her oldest friend Lizzy hoping for a visit. When Lizzy is unable to come, she sends her younger sister Mary instead. Charlotte remembers Mary as the somber and judgmental sister. But the woman who arrives has grown up, she's eccentric and interesting, she's funny and kind, and most surprisingly, Charlotte finds herself drawn to Mary in a way she hasn’t been in years. The attraction is obviously (maybe not to Charlotte) mutual.

As Mary and Charlotte spend more time together they become good friends. They talk often of Charlotte's love of flowers, Mary’s scientific community, and their mutual friends and family.

Eventually they travel together (only one room at the inn!), visit Mary’s lovely (and safe) home, and finally, act on their feelings.

Mary is much more independent and sure of herself than Charlotte. But still, Charlotte’s good heart and protectiveness outmatch even the most cynical of Mary’s circle and thoroughly impress the rest of them.

When Charlotte’s anxiety about reputation clashes with their relationship, she’s forced to make a choice and eventually apologize and beg for another chance, which she does beautifully.

I loved everything about this book, as a pride and prejudice fan, as a romance fan, and as a HisRom fan eager for more inclusive stories. The community, honesty, and joy in this book are palpable.

The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet is told entirely from Charlotte's POV but Mary’s take on their relationship is never lost.

This is completely likely to be a continuation of Mary and Charlotte's lives!! I really enjoyed the dialogue, pace, and plot!

DNF @ 50%

This was so boring. Pride and Prejudice world where Mr. Collin's dies and Charlotte ends up having a queer awakening with a Bennettt sister.

This tried to both have Jane Austen writing while also not having the spark of an Austen book.

The narrator did have a spot on impression of Judi Dench/Lady Catherine in the 2005 movie adaption which was fun.

Arc from Netgalley. 0 for 3 this weekend on arcs :')

This is the HEA I wanted for both Charlotte Lucas and Mary Bennet. I laughed for 5 minutes at the first line, but the rest was pretty dreamy and introspective. I felt like it had the right amount of character growth to get us from the Charlotte of P&P to the Charlotte willing to take risks.

🎧 The audio was well done, and each character was clear. Everything was in Charlotte’s POV, with a linear plot, so it’s easy to follow!

I really enjoyed this queer Jane Austen retelling featuring Charlotte Lucas and middle-sister Mary Bennet, set 5ish years after the events of Pride and Prejudice.

The story was sweet and heartfelt, though it made me very glad I am living in the 21st century! The writing definitely had Austen-esque charm, while updating the characters and situations with modern sensibilities. I was surprised that I actually loved that almost all of the other “main characters” of the original work stayed off page, giving others a chance to shine.

Read if you like: Jane Austen, the language of flowers, queer awakenings

On that note, if I had to make a hidden-message bouquet for this book, it would have: pink camellia (longing), Chamomile (patience in adversity), heliotrope (eternal love), and yellow tulips (sunshine in your smile). Though who knows how that would look!

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Audio for providing me with a copy of the book.

The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet has the kind of slow burn romantic tension that will have you shouting, "Just kiss already!" In the best way. And when the lovers do finally kiss, it's worth the wait!

When Mr. Collins passes away from an illness, Charlotte finds herself widowed young without the means to provide for herself. It seems as though she will have to chose between returning to her parent's home or finding a new husband. Neither option is particularly appealing to her, and she writes to her friend Lizzy to see if she might visit with her for a while while in mourning. Lizzy is unavailable, so she sends her sister Mary in her place.

Charlotte and Mary were never close growing up, and so Charlotte is surprised to find that not only is Mary much changed when they meet, but she also enjoys her company more than expected and perhaps a bit more than is proper.

The romance that unfolds between Mary and Charlotte is sweet, tender, and exquisitely slow, which feels appropriate given the social restraints of the time period. I found Mary and Charlotte to be rather uninteresting in Austen's original work, and McLeod breathed so much life and fullness into them that I ended up loving both of them, their love story, and this book.

The narration played a large part in establishing their personalities. I can easily imagine Mary as the witty and coy academic and Charlotte as the shy but curious and loving widow. The narrator transported me to the time period and helped give the book a solid sense of place. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook to enjoy this story to its fullest capacity.

Audio Narration: 4/5 Solid Narration, great pacing and inflection!

<b>Four years after the events of Pride and Prejudice Mary and Charlotte are reunited, and it turns into something quite magical! </b>

I have a small confession. I’ve never finished Pride and Prejudice - I have seen the movies, and the mini series. Don’t be mad at me!

So here is the thing, when I saw this book, I was obsessed with the cover, the title was so f-ing cute, and its sapphic so I jumped right in… without reading the synopsis…

It took me an embarrassingly long time to connect the dots that these were the same characters from P&P. So really it’s me - I am the problem.

I did thoroughly enjoy this one, but I am positive I would have LOVED this one if I was an Austen or P&P fan.

I absolutely loved that these two heroines got the love story they deserved and really enjoyed the language of flowers aspect to this novel. It feels like it would be the perfect read to take to the park and devour surrounded by roses. I did wish there was a considerable amount more angst and yearning. I also think most of the drama could have been resolved with a bit of communication.

Overall a fun read, definitely a must for lover of P&P and those who don’t mind a little less angst in their romances.

It has been far too long since I last read Pride and Prejudice (I'm talking probably over 2 decades, and even then-I was never Jane Austen's Biggest fan), but I really enjoyed the re-imagining of the characters of Mary Bennet and Charlotte Lucas. There was a lot of heart here. I love a queer re-imagining!

Fans of Austen and P&P will fall for this sapphic love story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for access to the audio of The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet in exchange for my honest review.

A sweet queer continuation of Pride and Prejudice that will leave fans of Jane Austin wanting more.

After Mr. Collins dies early in their marriage, Charlotte is left to ponder the rest of her life as a widow. To lend support and companionship, Lizzie sends Mary to stay with Charlotte, and our love story begins.

I loved the internal monologue of Charlotte as she begins to discover her true feelings (that have been there all along) and discover a world broader than she once knew.

Thank you netgalley for letting me listen to the e arc of the audiobook for this lovely story! I’m going to say I did tune out in some spots. In theory a regency romance is totally my thing but the one con of a regency is HOW formulaic it is. I love a nice calm cozy story but sometimes listening to a cozy audio book kind of gets TOO cozy. Now about the story itself. Mary and charlotte are the perfect characters to choose (also the most criticized and joked about characters in the movies) so they chose the most believable to end up in a relationship(though together is a surprise). I loved the exploration of these two and the development of their relationship. My only downside was that I chose audiobook instead of a regular or ebook. I would have been able to pay far more attention to it that way.

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.

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 ALC.

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

I ended up listening to this whole book in a day. This was really just a good, sweet, solid romance. I did love that it revisited Pride and Prejudice but it could easily have been an original story (Mary Bennet was a bit ooc). The flower language was a nice thread throughout and I enjoyed the characters and how they grew towards one another. I guess my one complaint was that this was very much a beat for beat romance novel. That's not exactly good or bad (you know what you are getting) but I thought that maybe there wouldn't be the 'classic third act'...but it was pretty straightforward. Clare Corbett did a nice job with the narration. I would certainly recommend this as a lovely sapphic romance, even without prior knowledge of Pride and Prejudice. Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The 150th anniversary of Austen's birth is the perfect time for a new Sapphic historical romance that takes place 4 years after the end of Pride & Prejudice and has a widowed Charlotte Collins (nee Lucas) falling for Mary Bennet. This slow burn was spicier than anything Jane would have ever written but I enjoyed it! Good on audio and recommended for fans of authors like Claudia Grey or Emma R. Alban. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

(disclosure: I am also a Harlequin author) This is honestly the best Jane Austen spinoff I've ever read! It takes two characters, Charlotte and Mary, who don't get a lot of on-page time in P&P but who are nonetheless very memorable, and it fleshes them out beautifully. They are true to their characters from the original, and the growth that they show is delightful to see. I love how this book affirms that queerness has been around forever and people have long had ways of making queer partnerships work. I really loved the final gesture, too, I am such a sucker for the language of flowers!

Thank you to Harlequin Audio for my gifted review copy. My opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Mr Collins has died leaving Charlotte a widow at 31. Lizzie is unable to visit and sends Mary Bennet in her place. Mary is nothing like what Charlotte remembers.

My thoughts:
This is for the Jane Austen lovers, particularly those who love the idea of a queer bent to the beloved characters of Pride And Prejudice, who act within societal rules (there were an awful lot of close friends). I really enjoyed the slower pace of this story and the massive intense character shifts that Charlotte goes through as she figures out she’s not alone in her feelings. Mary was an absolute delight to read, I loved that she wasn’t subtle but Charlotte doesn’t pick up on the hints from anyone, and when Charlotte finally does, the relief that the reader and the other characters go through is palpable.

Clare’s narration was lovely, I loved the subtle voice changes that were done for the different characters so you understood who was speaking. The humor is fabulous and perfectly delivered.

Highly recommend for Jane Austen lovers.

2.5 stars rounded up

Unfortunately I think I liked this book a lot more in theory than in practice. I do agree that Charlotte and Mary both could have been queer and deserved better, so Mr. Collins dying after 4 years and the two of them finding sounds great.

It started off strong, but I found both a lack of felt yearning (we're told that it's there, but you don't really feel it), too much of a quick emphasis on sex over emotions which feels discordant for an Austen adjacent novel (though I'm not opposed to steaminess when it's done in a way that fits), and too much drama around lack of communication for characters who are supposed to be very grounded and realistic. I wanted more hand-clenching and less fanfic. It's okay, but sadly not what I was hoping for.

The audio narration is done fairly well. I received an audio review copy via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.