THE OTHER BENNET SISTER is perfect for Jane Austen fans and readers who enjoy re-tellings and historical fiction. Hadlow does a great job of capturing Austen's style and details of the time period. I enjoyed getting to see Mary's perspective - such a creative approach. My one caveat is that the first part of the story drags a bit, in part because we are "re-reading" Pride & Prejudice from Mary's viewpoint. The plot picks up during the second half of the book when Mary is coming into her own. Overall, I'm glad I stuck with it!

This story just did not work for me. I ended up DNF'ing it at the 20% point. I think the joy of Pride and Prejudice is reading about how witty and interesting and even silly the characters are. I feel like I know them, they are part of my extended literary family. So for this book to turn the tables, so to speak, and introduce those characters through Mary, the least interesting character, who basically complains about everyone and everything the whole time...it took the joy out of the story. I'm not sure Mary needed her own story. Certainly not this iteration of Mary Bennett.

I did love the writing, and I thought it flowed well, and felt similar in style to Jane Austen, but it was lacking her tone.

I adore Pride and Prejudice, and usually am a tiny bit prejudiced (ha) against retellings. I loved the idea of Mary having a story and gave it a shot, but it was a little slow for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy for review. I am not usually an Austen fan, but I really enjoyed this take on the sister Mary from Pride and Prejudice. It was a bit long and stretched out, and overall exceptionally predictable, but the writing was entertaining and well done enough to keep the reader interested.

"Then he took her in his arms again, and they found ways to express their happiness that required no further words from either of them."

One of the most spectacular Austen retelling I have ever read! A book about everyday life, it truly dives deep into the emotional and moral compass of the characters. While telling weaving its own new tale, it perfectly struck that Austenesque style of writing.

A Pride and Prejudice retelling from Mary's point of view, this story is a breath of fresh air in a sea of Austen want-to-be's. The characters that you have come to know and love have a new light shone on them in a way that will have you reevaluating how you have felt about them in the past. Mary's story, while filled with melancholy, is a true triumph of self-reliance in the pursuit of happiness.

I was happily charmed by this debut novel. I hope that Janice Hadlow will grace us with more Austen retellings in the near future. It is a five out of five stars rating from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for an advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Poor Mary Bennet, always the odd woman out in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, left to her music and her books. (Which, for the record, are fine hobbies.) Hadlow imagines a rich, multifaceted sequel for Mary in which she treads and ultimately flourishs despite of the limitations of poor eyesight, female intellectualism, and Regency spinsterhood. This book is no mere fanfiction; there is richness to Hadlow's characterization and plot that ultimately make Mary's triumph something worth savoring.

Austen retellings can be boring and predictable, but this story avoids both. The closer look at Mary's view of the Elizabeth/Darcy romance doesn't get bogged down dragging us through all the details but gives us a fresh perspective on the characters and their motivation. Mary's story continues past the end pojnt of Pride and Prejudice to show us Her Story and growth.

Mary Bennet finally gets her own moment in the spotlight in this charming story she even finds love .A. book that drew me right in really enjoyed.#netgalley#henryholt

The concept of this book is brilliant! Pride and Prejudice is a classic tale, and people love to read about other characters from the main story. Mary Bennet is one character that is not mentioned often. Like true "middle child" circumstances she is overlooked. Writing an original story about her is a great idea.

However, the execution of this novel was not the best. The first part was a retelling of Pride and Prejudice from Mary's point of view. How she longs to be close to Lizzie and her father, but sometimes her mannerisms come off the wrong way.
The second part has Mary wandering from home to home trying to figure out what she's going to do in her life. Majority of the chapters are internal dialogue about the feelings and emotions she wants to express, but she never actually expresses them. Mary then realizes she made a mistake in not being open sooner and goes back to lamenting her woes.

It isn't until you're deep into the book her character starts to change for the better. This was the most exciting thing to read. The descriptions were bold and enticing; and you could feel her happiness jumping off the page. But then it goes back to her being insecure and unsure how to express what she desires.

I am close to the end and even that is dragging. The writing, descriptions, and character development is well written and intriguing. I just have to say the book is too long.

I really enjoyed this, I was left feeling it was a little long. But it will be something I pick up for my channel in the future to talk about and reread.

The ugly duckling--Mary Bennet--gets her due in this wonderfully inventive and richly characterized novel sure to delight Austen fans.

Mary Bennet is the plain sister. She's the forgotten sister. She's the sister that no one thinks of. This is her story.

From a young age, Mary Bennet came to understand that she was plain. And her mother's lack of affection or any kind words pushed Mary to become studious for she knew that becoming accomplished was the only way to distinguish herself from her beautiful and charismatic sisters. We see Mary's life from childhood, through the death of her father, and her fate as she has no home to call her own and must rely on the charity of friends and family. Mary becomes a woman beaten down by unkindness but unwilling to accept that she will become a spinster or a governess. Her journey is about a woman who comes to love and appreciate herself, despite the odds stacked against her.

I really enjoyed this story. Mary is portrayed as the most boring and annoying in the original Pride and Prejudice. This novel places her in a new light and does not always paint the other family members with a kind brush. You get to revisit the characters of Pride and Prejudice and go beyond. It's well written and interesting. I could not wait to see what fate had in store for Mary Bennet.

Delightful read! I was so pleased that the oft-overlooked Mary Bennet got her own story, and a true love match in the end. She didn't compromise who she was, she grew over the course of the story and I was so happy for her in the end. Recommended!

All any of us want is a little attention, she thought...~from The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow

Poor Mary Bennett, the 'ugly duckling' sister, the comic foil, the forgotten and ignored child! Portrayed in film as squinting, clueless, socially inept, pseudo-intellectual, and plain.

Her story must be depressing. She watches her older sisters marry well for love, and her silliest, youngest sister at least snags a handsome rake. Even Charlotte Lucas gets her ever after--happy to have a home if not Mr. Collins as a mate.

Janice Hadlow's debut novel The Other Bennett Sister channels Austen's character Mary Bennett, imagining a worthy character who lives into a richer life. The novel shows inspiration from Austen's story and themes yet Hadlow develops the story in an original way, true to the historical time and setting.

Themes of self-realization, self-recreation, learning through error, prejudice and pride, sense and sensibility are all a part of Mary's path.

The first part of the book follows Pride and Prejudice from Mary's perspective. Those of us familiar with Austen's novel must be patient; the best is to come. We do learn that Mary had taken to reading theology and philosophy hoping for her father's approval.

After her sisters, including Kitty, are married and Mr. Bennett has passed, twenty-year-old Mary and Mrs. Bennett are dependent on the rich sisters. Miss Bingley takes out her disappointment on Mary with whispered jabs. And the Darcy household is too happy and perfect to easily allow her room. In desperation, Mary turns to the Gardiners. They offer Mary the example of a happy marriage, value her for herself, and provide good counsel.

When Mary is convinced to select a new wardrobe to better suit London society, I loved the descriptions of spotted and stripped and sprigged muslins, the fad colors of coromandel and jonquil, the green dress that will replace the dull colors that had allowed Mary to previously disappear into the woodwork.

In her simple elegance, Mary takes her place in society and attracts the attention of several men. One combines good sense and steadiness with a love of poetry. The other embraces free-thinking and prefers the pursuit of sensation as life's goal.

She meets men with a love of the novel. I love the many references to the literature and poetry that arises in conversation:

William Godwin's Poetic Justice

Mary Wollstonecraft

Lord Byron and Shelley

Tintern Abbey and We Are Seven by William Wordsworth; also his Guide to the Lakes

Evelina by Fanny Burney

Tom Jones by Henry Fielding

Pamela and Sir Charles Grandison by Samuel Richardson

I loved how the Romantic Era makes its impact on her life with Mary's (unsuitable) beau extolling feeling and sensation and rejecting cultural expectations and values, especially concerning the role of women and marriage as a socio-economic compromise.

Our lives are so brief and yet we spend so much of them obeying rules we did not make.~ from The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow

Mary early prefers the steady man. But his reticence leaves Mary to be persuaded into unwise decisions.

This landscape gives us a proper sense of perspective. It shows us our smallness in the great scheme of things.~ from The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow

The Gardiners take that trip to the Lake District they had once planned for Elizabeth; Mary's preferred beau accompanies them while the other just shows up.

Before she came to the Lakes, she had read a great deal about the subline--sights so extraordinary they could not be adequately described, only felt and experienced. She had never expected to feel for herself such an extraordinary consummation.~ from The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow

...they caught sight of the great lake at Windermere; then they were quiet, for it was a sight magnificent enough to silence anyone.~ from The Other Bennett Sister

The group decides to walk up the second largest mountain in England. It is a rocky climb that will last all day--and threatens Mary's future happiness.

The romance has enough twists and turns for any Austen lover, with the satisfaction of a happy ending. This is not a plot giveaway--any Austen fan fiction must have it's happily ever after.

Hadlow has given us a fantastic read.

I was given access to a free egalley by the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

Mary Bennet, the middle sister, possesses neither beauty not charm shared by her sisters. The ugly duckling becomes the subject of many conversations. She finds consolation in music as she has no talent for drawing or painting and no patience for needlework. To stretch her intellect, Mary asks her mother to hire a governess, which is met with bleak enthusiasm. She is directed to Mr. Bennet’s library to read to her heart’s content. To her surprise the first book she picks is written by a woman. To her disappointment, that’s the only book in her father’s library written by a woman. Nevertheless, “she felt the unused muscles of her mind flex and curiosity stir within her.” Normally, she wouldn’t be interested in attending ball, but now she is even excited about it.

My weakness is I have a hard time resisting books associated with Jane Austin. But then the realization hits me that I already know those characters. Even though, Mary is a very interesting character and the writing is superb with wonderful sense of humor, it wasn’t enough for me. I think I’m expecting something new that would surprise me and it doesn’t come.

The story is way too long. It would be much stronger with some parts trimmed. 3.5 stars

This book was a brilliant slow burn. It started a little slow and I had a hard time getting into the sections that overlapped with the original. But once Mary's story started in earnest I was hooked! I so enjoyed seeing old favorites fleshed out and given new life.

I always wonder about Mary when reading or watching Pride and Prejudice, so I was thrilled to get this novel. I really like the authors take on Mary. It brought the Bennett family in focus from a much different view, and while entertaining, it didn't deviate from Austen's novel, only added to it.

I like how Mary, by herself, became a strong character and was very smart. She was book smart and smart with her decisions. I like how you saw a lot of true emotion from her character and how in the end she stood up for herself, while recognizing her own faults.

I received an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. These opinions are my own.

The Mary Bennet of Pride and Prejudice is plain and actually somewhat of a terrible person but stil sympathetic since her parents are less than stellar and she's the often overlooked sister. This book gives her depth that P&P does not, and right off the bat, I sympathized more with this version of Mary. This is almost a coming of age story, Mary is trying to find a long term plan for herself, with her own interests. Along the way, she develops relationships of different varieties and grows as the story progresses.

One of the things I really like about this book, other than the storyline itself, is the tone of the book was true to the original. The only thing I didn't love was the ending seemed a bit of a rush, the entire book was about characterization but everything was wrapped up in just a few pages.

Excellent read and I'll certainly be looking for future books by Janice Hadlow!