Before I get started I want to make it very clear: I REALLY enjoyed this book and I would (and will) recommend it to my friends once it's out in stores. It got me hooked on it from the very beggining, the writing was great and some scenes gave me so many butterflies I had to stop for a little while. However, I did have a couple important issues with it.

The aspect that bothered me the most was the perfection of both leading characters. Kasey Stockton puts so much effort in the protagonist's inner monologue by saying how little she feels, how she's not perfect, how her friend is better looking and overall better than her, that it's pretty obvious it's going to be a case of "she was beautiful all along". I don't mind and can even understand the fact that she felt inferior in some ways, but it was so reiterative it just didn't feel realistic. Liam, on the other hand, was so perfect it seemed fake. He fell head over heels for Charlie within the first three or four chapters, and it happened so fast that up until 90% there's barely any evolution in his character.

And the second (and last) complain I have about the book is the fact that some details or storylines just didn't seem to add up to the entirety of the novel. I truly don't understand why the failed romance between Mariah and Spike was so important. Was it to highlight how perfect Liam was in opposition to Spike? Or to put more weight on how he "failed" as a parent figure for his brother? In the end it wasn't really important for the plot but it was a storyline that was strung along the entire novel. On another note, why does Fernando (who is barely acknowledged through the novel) ask her on a date and confess his interest in her? The scene last less than a page and it doesn't really impact the plot at all. Just like I said before, I think it justifies the "she was beautiful all along".

Again, I did enjoy the book. It was well written, cute, awkward at times and filled with chemistry between its leading characters. If you like contemporary romances this will be a fantastic release for you to read in 2023.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC for review.

Charlotte (Charlie) Lucas is on the verge of sharing the fate of the Jane Austen character bearing her name, becoming a 27 years old spinster. She is 26, single and living with her parents. When she accepts a blind date with her neighbors grandson, she meets the perfect man. He seems so much out of her league and she should probably do the practical thing and give her ex another chance instead of trying for Mr Perfect.

I had a hard time getting through the first 40 pages because there was a lot of self pity and insecurities and I’m not a huge fan of it. After those pages, there’s the same amount of self pity, but there are also some lovely characters, and a great love interest. The main character’s insecurities become the thing that she has to overcome instead of just an annoying trait.

The chemistry is there and I found myself smiling many times through the book.
It’s a fun light book that’ll bring joy to your day. It’s perfect for when need a little lift to your mood.

I would recommend it to anyone who likes romance and wholesome couples who communicate.

Definitely a must for Jane Austen fans that see themselves in Charlotte Lucas.

This book caught my attention just by the cover I I knew I had to read it. Then I saw it was by Kasey Stockton one of my favorite authors and I could not wait! I loved Charlie and Liam’s story I feel like so often we are the most critical of ourselves and we don’t see the true picture. This was definitely true for Charlie and she let one bad critic convince her that she wasn’t good enough. Insert Liam who did see Charlie for all her good attributes, I loved that this wasn’t a relationship that just worked out perfectly because in real life things are never so easy. We all self sabotage at times and doubt ourselves but I’m glad Charlie finally decided to do what made her happy instead of what she mistakenly felt like she deserved

This was a fun, sweet, clean story of Charlotte Lucas. Not the one in Pride and Prejudice, but a real woman with that name. Charlie loves Pride and Prejudice, but has definitely made herself more into the character of her name than she really is. She's a caring person, always helping and thinking of others, but always insecure and fighting her own demons. When the grandson of her neighbor's comes into her life, things start to change. Can she change too?

This was a fun, contemporary read. The characters were fun, well thought out, and lovable.

“I’m not Charlotte Lucas.”

This is one of those books that hooks you from the first sentence. It was such a fun and easy read. I love a good contemporary romance story and this one did not disappoint! Charlie definitely kept me entertained with her slightly chaotic way of life and Liam was such a great MMC and love interest! I really appreciated the fact that there wasn’t the common miscommunication trope thrown in because that drives me crazy. All in all, I’d say this was an absolute success of a book for Kasey Stockton!

Thank you to NetGalley and Covenant Communications for the opportunity to read this book before the release date. All opinions are purely my own.

I loved this story! While I've watched Pride and Prejudice and even listened to the book within the last few months, I must admit that I am not a die hard fan. Some of the character references went over my head, but I know that those that love P&P will definitely appreciate them in this story.

I am so thankful that I was given an advanced copy of this book to read. It was charming! Liam was so romantic and his actions gave me the *feels* as he tried to help Charlie see her worth and his love.

I think most readers will be able to relate to Charlie's fears and insecurities. Fans of Pride and Prejudice will enjoy the finer nuances to the story. Everyone that loves clean romance with witty banter should definitely pick up a copy of "I'm Not Charlotte Lucas".

I love any book that references or is based on Pride and Prejudice. In this book, Charlie feels every bit the Charlotte Lucas in the Jane Austin tale. She goes on a blind date and meets Liam, but feels he is out of her league. She is expecting a Mr. Collins in her life and feels that is all she deserves.

This is a book about learning to believe in yourself and accepting love when it comes to you, even if you feel you don't deserve it. I love the way that Stockton gets Charlie to where she needs to be. She makes her stubborn and infuriating at times, but your heart aches for her as well. And LIam. Liam believes in Charlie and never makes her feel like less. It is Liam is the one who feels that Charlie is out of his league. He sees how truly exceptional she is. Stockton sure knows how to write a book boyfriend.

When I'm in need for a Pride and Prejudice book fix, this is going to be my go to book. Thanks to NetGalley and Covenant Communications for this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“I was Charlotte Lucas in the flesh, and my wretched namesake was cursing me with her unfortunate life.”

I really enjoyed this contemporary romance and all of the Pride and Prejudice references.

Charlotte (Charlie) Lucas is in her late twenties and living in her parents house….much like the Charlotte Lucas of Pride and Prejudice. She fears what her future holds for her and all signs point to a life of loneliness or settling for a Mr. Collins.

Charlotte’s neighbor is a sweet elderly lady who decides to play matchmaker and set Charlotte up with her grandson, Liam. He is sweet and kind and everything Charlotte needs. She suffers from insecurity and I love how Liam helped her to see herself the way that others do.

I thought it was a delightful story and I truly enjoyed it.

I'm a huge Pride & Prejudice fan and love me some good fan fiction because I can never get enough Mr. Darcy in my life. I stopped in my tracks when I saw this title and then saw the author's name and got even more excited. Not very often I see Charlotte Lucas as the main character in fan fiction so I loved that idea. It is also not often that one sees Charlotte Lucas end up with "Mr. Darcy". But Liam makes a wonderfully swoony Darcy type hero.
Charlotte or Charlie as she is called in this one is so full of insecurities that cripple her life progress and that kinda matches canon too. Charlotte marries for security, crippling her potential happiness and Charlie keeps a job for security that keeps her from her life goals. It was fun to see how the story played out to bring about Charlie's happily ever after.
All through the book I kept wondering what Liam was thinking. Was he really as good as he appeared to be? In some ways I wished it was a dual POV book to find out these things but only knowing Charlie's thoughts puts the reader in the same boat as Charlie. She can only see him through her lens of insecurity so that is what the reader gets too.
I enjoyed spending an afternoon in the life of Charlie Lucas and finished the book with a satisfied smile on my face and a little sigh of pleasure.

No sex, language or violence
*I received an ARC through NetGalley and voluntarily chose to review it.

I did not dislike this book, but I did not like it either. I liked it well enough to finish it and nothing more. It is a bit staid and plays on tropes/typical story devices and it was hard to really become engaged with any character.

This book is a sweet, clean Pride and Prejudice “retelling” with a twist. I thought the book had great potential, as the idea for the story is quite cute. I wish I liked Charlie more, and wish she had more of the…realistic “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” attitude that the real Miss Lucas had. She was very down on herself and it read as very woe is me. Liam was a stronger character and was definitely more likable. Overall this was a quick read, and I’d pick up more from the author. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Do our names destine us to play out their histories? That is Charlotte's very real fear. Named for Charlotte Lucas, from Pride and Prejudice, Charlie very much hopes to not live out the slightly sad story of a girl who marries for security instead of love. She currently lives a quiet, uneventful life in California and is still single, after a bad breakup years before. She's a bit of a people pleaser, trying to help everyone else, so when her elderly neighbor asks her to be the blind date for a grandson to a charity ball, Charlie says yes.

That grandson, Liam Connell, happens to be the reason the charity ball exists. He is living a life focused on helping children learn to read in other countries, fundraising and also going out to teach and help. He accepts his grandmother's blind date suggestion, because it's hard to tell her no.

After a magical evening, Charlie and Liam return to real life in different places. Except Liam keeps finding reasons to return to visit grandma, and Charlie is the neighbor. They become friends, and along the way Charlie's old boyfriend returns to throw a wrench into Charlie's life. Does she live out her namesake's life and choose the safe old boyfriend, even if there aren't sparks, or does she risk the stable life she's always dreamed of, for a man she's not quite sure she is good enough to have?

So cute! Very clean, very charming, but not without angst. Charlie was very difficult to love at times with her cripplingly low self-esteem, and how she over came it without therapy I will never understand. But it’s a fairy tale, and so enjoyable.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

What a brilliant read! This book is a lovely, clean romance with a fresh perspective; infusing elements from Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' with a modern day love story.

Oh Charlie, you are so similar yet so strikingly different to your namesake (Charlotte Lucas)!
I thoroughly enjoyed her character progression throughout the book and felt that she expressed very real emotions in the face of the challenges thrown her way.

The characters of Beth, Liam, Vera and Mariah helped to balance out the storyline and I particularly enjoyed the writing behind the slow burn romance between Charlie and Liam.

I read this book all in one day and really didn't want to put it down! I needed to know what was happening next in the life of Charlie and appreciated the epilogue to give us a glimpse into her future.

Overall, a brilliant book and I'll be looking out for this authors work in future!

Okay so I am prefacing this with I love pride and prejudice, so when I saw a modern retelling called I’m not Charlotte Lucas I was already excited. This story tells of a woman called Charlotte Lucas who hasn’t had much luck with men, her career is not what she dreamt of doing and has recently moved back in with her parents. She adores pride and prejudice but her name being Charlotte Lucas, she has always feared being that character in her story. That is until her next dort neighbour sets her up on a blind date with her very rich and handsome grandson.


Okay, even though the story is predictable and follows all the tropes and if you are a pride and prejudice fan you could see them from a mile off…. I adored this story and tropes are there for a reason. The characters were wonderful, the romance was swoon-worthy and the modernisation worked really well. I may be a biased reader due to my own obsession but it was great to read a book that wasn’t a direct retelling but it took and moulded ideas into its own to give Charlotte Luca the ending she deserves. My only problem is I want to read more! Just marathoned this in a couple of hours early in the morning and it was worth it!

I was super excited to get this one and read it. I love retellings of pride and prejudice so I figured that was what this book was about. She loves Diet Coke which i find hilarious because I know several 30 something year olds who are obsessed with it. I love the blind date aspect of this book. So many Austen references but you can enjoy this without knowing too much about her works. Which is nice. I love romcoms and this one is clean and lighthearted!

Charlotte “Charlie” Lucas lives comparing herself to the Pride and Prejudice side character Charlotte Lucas. It doesn’t help they share the same name. Her life is stagnant, with an Arts degree yet working at the local bank, and moved back in with her parents. She lives in a constant insecurity about her life. The opportunity to make a change comes in the form of a blind date set up by her elderly neighbor. This sets up a chain reaction of many changes Charlie will face.

First of all, I love Kasey Stockton books! I’m not a fan of first person POV, but for this book, I truly enjoyed it. However, I could only take Charlie Lucas in small portions. I tried to like her, but I had a very hard time liking Charlotte until the very end. Many of her decisions made me want to throw my Kindle or phone across the room. Most, if not all, her decisions were dictated by deep rooted insecurities that affected her relationship with the people around her. I love when a character has some flaws that shows they’re human (although fictional), and I could even relate to a lot of what she went through, but her self-esteem and insecurity felt a bit much, even for me. I did find myself relating to some of the things she was going through. Like her, I also live with my parents, dating is nonexistent, and my life has taken a different turn than I previously thought. I think part of my annoyance with Charlotte was how much I related to her. This book really brought to life the famous quote: “I’m twenty-seven year old, I’ve no money and no prospects. I’m already a burden to my parents and I’m frightened.” This describes Charlotte’s life to a T!

Something I definitely understood about Charlie though, was her feelings towards Liam. He seemed to good to be true, and too perfect, I understood Charlie’s anxiousness about the relationship. My favorite characters in the whole book was Vera, the elderly neighbor, and Mariah the little sister. I feel like everyone else around Charlie was a bit of an absentee friend or parent. I really loved the book, and the Pride and Prejudice references throughout the book. The ending was great! Although, like Charlotte, I did not entirely like Liam’s big gesture of support, I think it helped Charlotte see herself in a different light.

*I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

A beautiful and very romantic story!
I love the Austen's based character. and background and how well Kasey Stockton has presented this unique story to readers.
The story has you turning pages without you wagching the time, waiting on how the relationship between Charlie and Liam developed and the twist and turns happening
Kasey is a favorite write for me and I recommend reading this amazing book and the rest of hers!

I'm Not Charlotte Lucas is a contemporary reimagining of the character's namesake from Pride and Prejudice. In case you haven't read the book or watched any of the screen adaptations, Charlotte Lucas is known for marrying Mr. Collins - a squeaky little yuck ball - because she is scared of becoming a burden to her family as a spinster.
Kasey Stockton did a really nice job writing this story. Her craft is strong. However, I didn't necessarily agree with the second chance she gave Charlotte (aka Charlie).
In I'm Not Charlotte Lucas, Charlie is a 26 year old banker who lives at home with her parents and has abandoned her art degree after a few rejections. She spends her days working, running errands for her family, and hanging out with the elderly. The rich senior citizen next door begs Charlie to go on a blind date with her single grandson. Lo and behold, he is Liam - a Darcy reimagining. While I love the idea that Charlie and Liam get thrown together - it just didn't work for me. Charlie's biggest character traits are insecurity and drinking diet coke. Yes, she was self-sacrificing and practical like her namesake, but she didn't really have any growth on her own. All of her decisions were the direct results of the actions or suggestions of other characters. I think I would have preferred if she had her own Spring Fling Queen moment rather than a pep rally. I didn't really get to have an "Atta girl" moment for her and I think I needed it after not really connecting with her character.
While this story wasn't my favorite, I did like the writing style and would read other books by this author.
I was given an eARC of this book from Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher/author for providing me with an E-Arc of this book. The following is my honest opinion *

Warning: I love romance genre: books, movies, etc. With that being said, I have never read or seen Pride and Prejudice. Let alone any Jane Austen books. I have read some regency romance, and I regularly read romance. I did read the Wikipedia plot of movie after I realized the importance of it in the book.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a slice of life, rom-com that I think people should read.

Liam, the main male character, was my favorite. The way the author wrote him was just greatness. He wasn't a rich successful man, that dated movie stars. He was human. And that made him just perfect.

Charlotte Lucas, the main female character. I hated her but in a good way. It felt like I had met Kasey Stockton when I was in 15-17 years old, feeling jaded and Kasey was like "Yes. This is some good material. I'm going to write this down and put it to paper in some years." I related a lot to Charlotte and I enjoyed how the character was written and the growth she had.

To hit back on the warning: Pride and Prejudice plays a huge part in this and is kind of a personality trait of the MFC but it does seem like the author is aware that not everyone has read/seen it and does well to guide the reader through things that someone that has experienced P&P would click with.

All in all, Definitely recommend.