A queer "retelling"/continuation of Pride and Prejudice, focused on one of my favourite side characters? Yes please! I loved this so so much!

DNF @ 56%

I tried my best to get into this, but I just couldn't. I was extremely excited for it, but it was too slow for me. I may pick this up again and try to finish it, but for today, I'm calling it quits.

I'm only just getting into historical romance, and I really enjoyed the style of this one. It's inspired by Pride and Prejudice and picks up after the events in that book, and I thought the writing style really matched the vibe of Jane Austen's novels while still being very readable. I found myself really enjoying the writing style.

That said, I found myself enjoying the actual story and especially the romance less, at least initially, because it all just felt like it happened too fast - it felt quite rushed. Especially in historical romance, I personally prefer a slowburn. Later on, I did become more invested in the story as it progressed into a lot of yearning, which I'm always here for!

Thanks to net galley.com and NineStar Press publishing for the advance ARC copy for my honest review.

This was my first read from author Elna Holst, that she uses a character from Jane Austen's classic "Pride and Prejudice", with "Lucas" made it both fascinating and an interesting read. It's written in the epistolary style, letters written by Charlotte to her childhood friend Elizabeth Bennet, the writing is perfect for the 1800's that it's written in and found it be a nice change from traditional writing.

Did find that it took most of Volume 1 for me to get into the story but the further into 'Lucas', I got the better it got and will read more from Elna Holst.

Liked both characters in this one, Charlotte Collins AKA 'Lucas' and Ailsa Reid, from their first meeting, the reader can visualize the attraction between the two, the chemistry they have, that no matter how wrong it is, they can't end the relationship and feel like the author could continue this into a series. Continue on with their travel to Switzerland, stories of their life in the Castle that Ailsa inherited from her mother and even add a twist as 'Lucas" portraying herself as Charles Lucas.

Review excerpted from my blog post over at Pan/Cis LGBT2SQ+ Romance Reviews (https://pancis.wordpress.com/2020/06/13/lucas-by-elna-holst/)

Overall Rating: 4.0 stars

Library recommendation: Recommended for public library LGBT2SQ+ historical romance collections.

Warning: Hereafter, you chance spoilers. I will try never to reveal major plot points, but to review any book, you must reveal some parts of the story.

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Number of titles I have read by this author: 1

Love story speed: Fast burn

Relationship dynamics: The Long-Suffering Parson’s Wife (h1) / The Charming New Neighbour (h2)

Sexual content: A fair amount; some explicit and some semi-explicit

Gender Identity: Cis (h1) / Cis (h2)

Sexual Identity: Lesbian (h1) / Lesbian (h2)

Triggers: Descriptions of stillbirth, extreme grief, rape, and religious angst around homosexuality

Acceptance Rating: 2.5 stars

Acceptance Rating Explanation: This book includes historically accurate attitudes towards homosexuality and also contains a fair amount of self-loathing related to sexual identity.

Grammar/Editing: My ARC included a couple of typos and grammatical errors, but was otherwise clean.

Review: Lucas is a Pride and Prejudice spin-off presented, essentially, in a “dear diary” format. The pacing is even and fairly quick. It is set primarily in Kent in 1815, with much reliance on Jane Austen’s descriptions of the setting. That being said, although I can’t imagine many people picking this title up if they haven’t read Pride and Prejudice, there is enough detail included for this book to be read independently. Essentially, this book is for those who wanted to hear more of Charlotte Lucas’ story, or wanted something else for her entirely.

The main characters of Lucas are Charlotte and Ailsa. Charlotte is, as most readers will be aware, the long-suffering wife of the dreadful Mr. Collins, and best friend of Lizzie Bennet (now Darcy). We see a significant transformation of her character from the original material, however – although she starts the novel as she ever was, she quickly becomes impassioned and quite impulsive. Gone is the shrewd realist that was Charlotte Lucas. Ailsa is the cousin of the local physician who has come to live with him after leaving their uncle’s house, in which she endured terrible treatment. While Charlotte has never really examined her attraction to women, Ailsa knows that she is a lesbian – a sapphist, as she would have been referred to at the time. She is fiery, at times jealous, and very passionate. Their relationship is a little instalove and, at times, melodramatic, for my taste but, overall, this is an interesting study of what it must have been like for many lesbians of this era.

In terms of supporting characters, there are many returning characters from Pride and Prejudice, as well as newly introduced characters. Dr. Reid is interesting, although I don’t think we got as much development for him as we could have. Some of the changes to original Pride and Prejudice characters also seem a bit like the author has rewritten them purely for comedic purposes rather than any noble reason, especially Anne De Bourgh.

Overall, a fascinating second-chance spin off for Charlotte that is worth a read by devotees of the original.



Full disclosure: I received a free advance review copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A five-star work of art 😍

Jane Austen left poor Charlotte Lucas languishing in the parsonage at Rosings, married to the offensive and oily Mr Collins. Elna Holst sends her a lifeline in the form of her letters to her dear friend Elizabeth Darcy, (although we only ever get to read the unsent and uncensored drafts) and the company of a new friend: Miss Reid, the doctor's cousin.

I love epistolary novels, the way the nature of the text draws attention the very fact that we might not get the full story. In "Lucas", this feeling is heightened when our letter writer breaks off mid-sentence, or declares she cannot bring herself to write as she is too upset. The occasional strikethrough again highlights that what we are reading is something created by a key player in this drama.

I have read a few other "Pride & Prejudice" books by other authors and was disappointed each time as they merely tried to replicate the original, but set in Pemberley for example. For me, one of the reasons that "Lucas" really works is because it doesn't focus on Elizabeth Bennett, (anyone who's read the original has their own strong ideas around her). Equally important is Holst's chameleon-like ability to switch genres seamlessly: I've read an awful lot of Austen, Georgette Heyer etc. and this is a flawless 'Recency' romance - admittedly this is much better given it features a lesbian couple!

After sleeping on it, I still don’t know for sure how I feel about this book. I had fun reading it. I was occasionally making this face because of its contents 😬(most of the things in the CW above made me seriously uncomfortable and took away from the fun factor). Some of the character work didn’t make sense to me, which negatively affected my reading experience. Do I recommend it? Maybe, but with caveats: you should be familiar with Pride and Prejudice and treat this like P&P Gothic AU fanfic.

Full review: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/lucas-by-elna-holst/

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lucas is definitely one of my favorite reads for this year
Elizabeth Benett, the main character of the beautiful chef-d'oeuvre pride and prejudice, had a best friend named Charlotte Lucas, who sometime throughout the events of the novel had accepted the marriage proposal of the insufferable William Collins.

This is an elegant and original tribute to Jane Austen featuring Charlotte, as she goes by her daily duties as Mrs. Collins.
The novel is written in the form of virtual correspondences to Elizabeth, but mainly serving as a journal for Charlotte. She recounts her encounter with Miss Ailsa Reid, and how they gradually and passionately fell in love with each other.
I have to admit, that at first, I was a little bit discouraged to read a serie of letters. Well, I was pleasantly surprised and I stand in awe for author Elna Holst, for delivering this beautiful masterpiece; and I genuinely think this going to be a part of the pillars of the queer literature. The novel can get graphic yet it still follows the classical style of the period.
Many thanks to Netgalley and nineStar press for my electronic copy, in exchange for an honest review

Charlotte Collins is married to Mr Collins the rector of Hunsford Parsonage in the early 1800s. Her duty/job to take care of her husband, the church, home etc. She is pretty unsatisfied with her life and takes to writing in her diary to her childhood friend (Lizzy) who is now married and has children and who she seems to have been in love with at some point. This story centers around Charlotte who eventually becomes Lucas.

I thought this was a rather interesting romance. I wasn't sure what to expect but knew I needed a change in what I was reading. This history romance shows how women were treated back in the 1800s. Also, the speech was for sure different. I had to look up a few things to make sure I understood what was going on. I must say, that even though I suspected a good outcome, this historical romance had a many twists and turns that made me want to keep reading.

I understand that many people have issues with infidelity when reading a romance, but you should be able to over look that in Lucas. Everything falls together with how Charlotte was treated to understanding that this setting was different to current times.

My only issue is that Lucas started off slow for me and took a bit of time for me to read. It does pick up at around 25% and I am glad I stuck with it.

4 stars

Pride and Prejudice must be one of the most widely read books in the world. Centering around the Bennet sisters, the focus of that book is on Elizabeth Bennet. One of the most important relationships that Elizabeth has is with Charlotte Lucas, her best friend. A sensible (seemingly cynical) young lady, Charlotte surprises everyone by marrying the insufferable ass William Collins after Elizabeth refuses him. Charlotte’s marriage to Collins has always remained a problem. While it speaks volumes about the lot of women in that age and the choices, sacrifices and compromises they had to make, Collins is so beneath Charlotte is intelligence, polish and bearing that the pairing has always sat ill on readers.

There are a few more open threads in the book in terms of characters whose story is not quite completed. Caroline Bingley is one, but the more interesting unfinished story is Anne De Bourgh, the rather insipid daughter of Lady Catherine De Bourgh, Collins’ patroness. Lady De Bourgh intended that Anne and Darcy marry but Anne never is quite fleshed out (except rather disparagingly, particularly about being sickly). She never seemed to be a part of her mother’s machinations, seems more shadow than person and remains quite a mystery. We know nothing of who she is, her personality or her thoughts.

Elna Holst writes an offshoot (or companion piece) of the beloved Pride and Prejudice. Do not dismiss this one off as pastiche. This is Charlotte’s story as Mrs. Collins.

Charlotte is living a blameless, yet boring life with her pompous husband, William Collins. Charlotte finds relief in writing to her best friend, Elizabeth Darcy (née Bennet), letters that she never sends. So they are more in nature of a diary albeit addressed to a real person.

A part of Charlotte’s job as Mrs. Collins is to add to the numbers at Lady De Bourgh’s bi-weekly soirées which include Lady De Bourgh’s daughter, Anne (mostly, not always), and the local physician, Dr. Thomas Reid. One evening, there is an addition to the party, Dr. Reid’s cousin, Miss Ailsa Reid. The rather pale and unwell looking Miss Reid arrests Charlotte’s attention immediately; so much so that she even interrupts Lady De Bourgh’s inquisition of the newcomer to save the latter. Miss Reid invites Mrs. Collins for tea a few days later where she first meets Miss Reid’s rather casual maid, Lilly. The R&R has done wonders for Miss Reid who is now blooming with health and life. A friendship forms between Charlotte and Ailsa which somehow seems different from a normal friendship because there is an unnameable attraction between them.

Holst does a marvellous job in maintaining the Pride and Prejudice continuum in terms of era, language, expressions, environment of the times and characterisations. She’s added a dimension of alternative sexuality to Charlotte Lucas since before she chooses to marry Collins. She takes the other unfinished character, Anne De Bourgh, and gives her more flesh and depth (though Anne’s story still needs to be told and can still do with a book of its own).

But her real triumph is Ailsa Reid. Ailsa is a captivating young lady who has a terrible past. Once her past is revealed, Ailsa becomes a much stronger character for her kindness, openness, lovingness, steadfastness and joie de vivre. She is a fantastic character.

The era that the book is set in makes a lot of plot points feasible and forgivable, which wouldn’t quite be so understandable if the book was a contemporary romance. The two primary issues would be adultery and the part where Charlotte disappears on Ailsa when Ailsa needs her the most. Yet, somehow, in the context, it is all admissible.

This is a wonderful book (with plenty of steaminess) written with exceptional art and craft.