I was in a serious book slump and decided to take a chance on this book. I loved it! The narrow lives of women in the 1800's is hard to wrap your mind around. I found myself rooting for different characters at different points in the book. Yes, it had romance, but also highlighted the strength of women. A great read!!

Pride and Prejudice is my second favorite Jane Austen novel so I was quite estatic to see that there was a continuation/retelling story told by Lizzie Bennetts best friend Charlotte Lucas. I for one found this story to be very enjoyable. Charlotte and Mr Collins were such minor characters in Pride and Prejudice that it was nice to have a story that focused on them.Although there were some things in the novel I did not approve of nevertheless I didn't give up on the book and I continued to read on.

The novel begins with Charlotte making the descion to accept to Mr. Collins proposal. She knows that she isn't getting any younger and soon it will be hard to have any prospects at all. Although Mr. Collins isn't the most exciting man in the world he is still a good man. However, over time Charlotte begins to wonder if she made the right choice is marrying him.

I received an arc copy from Netgalley and all opinions are of my own.

I love these additions to the Pride and Prejuidce world, and was so glad this book is about Charlotte Lucas. Rachel Parris was able to create a world that felt like the Pride and Prejudice story. I enjoyed going on this journey with the characters and this time-period, I was invested in going on this journey with Charlotte. It was everything that I was hoping for and enjoyed in this type of book. I'm excited to read more from Rachel Parris as this was everything that I was hoping for.

This book is literally Charlotte Lucas entering her main character era and I was here for every second of it. Charlotte marries Mr. Collins thinking she’s signing up for a life of stable boredom and respectable beige silence, but when a very unexpected guest shows up at Rosings Park, her quiet routine is flipped and suddenly she’s feeling things she thought she had buried forever. This is a Pride and Prejudice retelling but make it about the side character who always deserved more and finally gets her spotlight. Rachel Parris gives Charlotte so much emotional depth and quiet resilience that you forget she was ever a footnote in someone else’s story. There’s longing, sass, repressed desire, and the slow unraveling of what happens when you make the sensible choice and then realize you want something wild and real. The writing is witty and clever in the most Austen-nerd-approving way but it still hits with modern emotional punches that had me fully rooting for Charlotte’s second chance. If you’ve ever screamed "but what about her" at a supporting character, this is your cozy, clever, and quietly romantic revenge read.

Oh how I love the world of Pride and Prejudice and this was a story that fit right into this world of love, friendship and setting your own path.

“Introducing Mrs Collins” does just that as we watch Charlotte grow into herself as she learns what it means to be the wife of a man she just sort of tolerates. After watching her dearest friends find their passion and join this new stage of their lives with the ones they love most she resigns herself to her duty with the hope that maybe in time things will grow into something more, but as she settles into this life and makes new acquaintances she finds that maybe there is more to this world than doing what is expected.

Sweet, sweet Charlotte.

As someone who loves the source material it is easy to imagine yourself as the witty self-assured Elizabeth but man reading this it is clear I hold a lot of the same experiences as her overlooked friend and man if that isn’t a sucker punch. I enjoyed the cross over with the original so we could see what was happening in the Collins household has Elizabeth and Darcy danced around each other and I really loved the inclusion of the letters to see what was shared and more importantly what was left out. It felt organic for a lot of the characters with this extension and alternate POV which really kept me locked into the story and even if I felt some moments were out of character when you remember it is coming from a new lens it was easy to fall back and understand that maybe to an outsider some of the more charming attributes could be taken poorly by someone going through their own problems.

I felt like everyone was fleshed out more except perhaps for Mr Collins who had his moments but ultimately I still felt the same for him at the beginning as I did the end which was disappointing but unfortunately not unexpected as you follow the trajectory of the rest, he needed to be one thing in order for the rest to fall into place. People may look at this as a love story, and it absolutely is, but I think the true love is what Charlotte finds for herself because she is far more than just Lizzie’s plain friend she is someone fiercely loyal and determined in her own right and it is about time she got her moment in the sun.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review!**

One of the things I've always found so fun about stories like this is that they are published fanfiction, and as someone who really enjoys fanfiction, its neat to see people playing in the sandbox of IPs that are in the public domain. And for the first half of the book I was having a marvelous time. Charlotte is a character that is rich for exploration about her hopes and dreams and sorrows, and this author absolutely sucked me in with her story. However, somewhere about the halfway mark, the book shifted in tone in a way I didn't particularly enjoy, and the story that had been taking its time in drawing out the story was suddenly hurtling along at a breakneck speed. And then at the end when I really wanted to spend time with my two favorite characters who had overcome all odds to be together, it was over and we didn't get that time. I wanted more time to savor after all the hardships.

SPOILERS AHEAD! READERS BEWARE!

I will always struggle with stories that feature adultery. This story really did make me think about what it would be like to be in a loveless marriage and then find the love of your life. However, I didn't enjoy it when Charlotte and Fitzwilliam crossed the line to actual adultery - especially since the author had put so much time into trying to make Mr. Collins a more sympathetic character. Which, on that topic I had very mixed feelings about as well. That part felt out of character for the person who had been established in the original novel. Also, I deeply disliked that Darcy told Charlotte not to come to Fitzwilliam after he was injured and then she actually didn't go. I didn't buy that for a single second - it felt odd. As someone who has found the love of her life, I would be devastated if he wasn't there with me every step of the way after a traumatic experience. I wanted to see Charlotte take charge of her story, and it felt like so often - especially at the end - she just drifted along as things happened to her.

A very enjoyable read!

One never really contemplated what happened to Charlotte after marrying Mr Collins but this book digs into the meat of why, what, and how. Plus what happens after Lizzie’s happily ever after.

This book starts right where Mr Collins asks Charlotte to marry him and works its way into the future. It does jump backwards in time a couple of times but nothing more than a short chapter.
Most of us thought Charlotte unwise for allowing the marriage but in that time frame it was be a spinster and languish or marry and have something for herself. She turns the marriage into something worthwhile yet misses passion. Just when she’s at her lowest she finds someone who inspires her. But Charlotte is married and any whiff of scandal will ruin her family. Will Charlotte allow herself happiness or go back to calm safety?

This story spins an intriguing tale of being sensible, with romance, loss, grief, and happily ever after.

A great read!

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for the arc!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc. Unfortunately this book was not for me. I couldn’t keep my interest and kept putting the book down. Although I love Jane Austen I just didn’t was another version. Again the opportunity is appreciated.

I’m such a Jane Austen fan, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to request this! Introducing Mrs. Collins falls into a beloved tradition of Pride and Prejudice reimaginings that delve into the interior lives of secondary characters—think The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow, Longbourn by Jo Baker, or The Clergyman’s Wife by Molly Greeley.

Charlotte has always been seen in contrast to Lizzie: staid, pragmatic, caring and careful—but not daring or in love. This story explores what her life might look like if she were to take other opportunities and dare to be visible to others.

Jane Austen, of course, is famously (and delightfully) cruel to her characters, often making them satirical caricatures. I was curious to see what tone this novel would take and enjoyed the balance that was struck. Their foibles are as much on display: Mrs. Bennet’s dizzying neuroticism remains wholly entertaining: "Hill [the housekeeper] is away visiting her sister who is dying, so you can imagine how we suffer!"

Mr. Collins is also still ridiculous—the author is no gentler on him than Austen was—but we do get glimpses of something more through flashbacks into his past: hints of vulnerability and self-awareness that didn’t exist in the original. Despite this, he still veers into the pedantic and pious, and Charlotte is caught in the tension of being grateful for her home and independence while being deeply uncomfortable in her marriage. That conflict is portrayed with nuance and depth.

The interlude chapters gave me mixed feelings. On the one hand, they sometimes pulled me out of the flow of the present-day storyline. On the other, they offered haunting and poignant glimpses into the characters’ pasts, adding texture and emotional weight.

Charlotte’s choices are not always comfortable ones - particularly in her affair. I kept wanting to excuse her; Mr. Collins is hardly an ideal husband. But she is still making hurtful choices, and I appreciated that the author doesn’t shy away from that complexity.

The novel walks a fine line between preserving the satire and lightness of Austen’s original and exploring heavier themes like loss, miscarriage, sexual assault, and the emotional aftermath of war. I think this balance was handled well overall.

All this being said, reader, I loved it. ;) Reading a Pride and Prejudice spin-off is like coming home to old friends—imperfect, beloved, and enduring.

Much thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown & Company for the free ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.