I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Beware of possible spoilers.

This is more of a 2.75 star rating.

The thing is, I REALLY wanted to like this book. Jane Austin is one of my favourite authors, and Pride and Prejudice is one of my favourite novels. For the most part, I was drawn in specifically because of that; nostalgia and an already built love for the base material.

Unfortunately, the story part fell flat. How can it, though? It's Pride and Prejudice! But it is as the title states "Pride and Prejudice in Space" meaning...there isn't really an adaption portion to this novel. It's simply taking the original story and dropping it into space. This could have worked, I think, if there had been some slightly bigger changes. Maybe even changing the characters' names. But most of the story, and even the dialogue, was practically verbatim to the original.

I have to say, though, the graphics and images were wonderful. Absolutely beautiful and I really adored them. But it really felt like the story was second to the graphics, and I wanted to like this book because BOTH were wonderful.

Overall, I wouldn't say this is a bad book. I think a lot of people will love it. People who don't mind the aspect of just plopping the original Pride and Prejudice story into space will most likely find it fun. I think I was just expecting it to be a little more different than it was.

The chivalry and slowburn romantic tension of Pride and Prejudice but make it SPACE! This was such a fun read. The plot sticks pretty closely to the original story but has been adapted to incorporate a futuristic sci-fi universe. Thoroughly enjoyed!

For the positives, that gorgeous cover! The author included some interesting multimedia aspects scattered between chapters. These included private logs (journal entries), comms between characters, and pamphlets advertising some of the locations in the book, which often included beautiful illustrations. This was a fun and unique addition. I liked the comms, as it was a way to gain more insight into the personal thoughts of the characters and as the story was told from multiple characters’ POVs, it also helped with that.

That being said, there were many comms and personal journals, which slowed down the book significantly. There were also minimal descriptions included, especially relating to the characters. Despite all the insights into the characters’ thoughts and communications, I never felt connected with them or that interested. Much of the text was verbatim with the original but with “spacey” terms replacing words when necessary, which honestly just felt awkward and a little uninspired. And probably the biggest aspect that didn’t work for me – why is everyone in space with advanced tech but still following regency-era values, rules, and gender stereotypes? The author didn’t explore gender roles/relationships at all, and this was certainly a missed opportunity. In fact, the entire setting and idea of it being in space really just felt like slapping a new coat of paint on an old car and claiming it to be something entirely fresh and inspired.

If you’re looking for a retelling of Pride and Prejudice that’s aesthetically quite different, then you might enjoy this one. My thanks to NetGalley and Union Square & Co. for allowing me to read this work, which will be published October 15, 2024. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is a terribly formatted galley. It's nearly unreadable, with the title randomly inserted in the middle of a paragraph, weird spacing and breaks. I can't read a 600 page book like this. I will wait for this to come out, but honestly the bit I did read didn't seem to be adapting Pride and Prejudice so much as lifting exact conversations from the original and plopping them "in space". I feel like this book might be just as unimaginative as its title.

THIS IS THE SCIFI OF MY DREAMS. Seriously. What a cool concept omg. My huge thanks to the author for mashing up my favourite things. Sometimes I find science fiction really hard to concentrate on but I ate up this writing style and it was so fun.

🚀🌌 As an avid Jane Austen fan, I eagerly dove into this futuristic retelling of "Pride and Prejudice." Set in the Londinium Lunar System, it follows the Bennet family's five daughters, each with their unique passions. When wealthy bachelor Charles Bingley arrives, along with the aloof Darcy, matchmaking schemes ensue. 🎩💫 Despite some familiar plotlines, the adaptation offers fresh twists, captivating world-building, and over 50 stunning illustrations. While some aspects felt slightly out of place in the futuristic setting, the overall experience was delightful. 🌟📚 Despite knowing the outcome, I was thoroughly engaged and give it 4 out of 5 stars. Highly recommend for Austen enthusiasts and space opera fans alike! 🌠

This book both charmed and frustrated me. I like the conceit a lot, but in some ways it feels like the author didn't do enough *with* it, at least within the main narrative. Much of the book's text hews so closely to Austen's original as to be identical, excepting the swapping-in of spacey terms for Regency ones where appropriate. Where the book shines is in the places it doesn't do that: the interstitals between chapters are delightful and hint at more worldbuilding, and the few scenes in the book that have no direct equivalent in the original are the best bits. They feel the least forced, the most narratively playful, and certainly the most original. I love the additional layers she gives to the younger Bennet sisters, in particular.

Overall, though, the space setting is more overlay than truly important to the adaptation. It feels like the author missed a lot of opportunities to explore what she'd created at more than the surface level, and that was frustrating because those interstitials provided glimpses *of* so much more! I wanted to know more about the society, especially with regard to gender roles and relations, since that's such a key part of the original -- but we never get the opportunity to see how a spacefaring society ends up with Regency values, nor *exactly* what those mean in this context.

As such, the book ends up feeing like it missed the point of adaptation -- there's no transformation, no recontextualization, just a vague reskinning of the aesthetic. And that disappointed me. It honestly feels like a "what if" idea someone had on Tumblr that then got larger but not deeper. I wish the author had been bolder and braver, deviating more from the original rather than just reproducing it in a new setting.

I loved the world building in this book and feel like it is super unique conceptually. To retell such a classic with new elements feels really refreshing.

At points, it felt a bit slow but this might be because of all the world building that was necessary and all the different planets did get confusing at points but that might just be me!

A fun take on a classic, it is nice that it helped develops few of the side characters more and gave everyone more interstellar interests.

I’m a huge fan of space and a huge fan of P&P so what could go wrong?!

I really really wanted to like this but it just felt… off. It read a little clunky for my liking. I think it was just too much like the original when I was hoping for something… more. It was like the original P&P just plopped down into space without all the extra magic.

I did quite enjoy the drawings. They were spectacular. The colors, the vibes, beautiful.

This may be better for someone who has t read the original P&P but it just wasn’t for me.

When I initially began reading this book I honestly thought it might be a copy and paste situation. I was wrong about my assumption. Lampley’s writing takes a classic story and makes it her own with a sci-fi spin while still keeping the tortured romanticism we all love.

Like a good space opera with a twist .
A good retteling of a classic.
Very unique and good writen

DNF
Unfortunately I just could not get into this book. I honestly had high hopes...guess you really can't judge a book by it's gorgeous cover.

Did not finish. The cover art is amazing and I was excited by the idea of the book. I had trouble years ago with the disjointed nature of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and I had a similar issue with this book. It just didn't mesh well for me. Maybe if more changes were made to the original text, like using something besides "ball" -- something more spacey... I could've gotten into it better.

I was expecting more of an adaptation than this exact replica of pride and prejudice but with some space and fantasy terms thrown in. The language style of the instant chat messages clashes with the regency style dialogue of the main text.

DNFd - I really loved this concept and was excited to read but it was like almost word for word in some areas and I didn’t like that. Would’ve preferred an adaptation not just like word replacement.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

DNF @ 15%.

Unfortunately, this one was not for me. I love a Jane Austn adaptation and have read many, but this one missed the mark for me. It was an exciting concept and I thought that it held promise, however, the author took so much dialogue and scene direction directly from the source material. I'm talking whole paragraphs word for word. And the story was set up exactly like the original except there were made up sci-fi terms crammed in there. It was basically Regency in space, and I was hoping more for an actual adaptation.
If that sounds appealing to you, I would still recommend it.
The few illustrations I looked at were pretty, and the cover is beautiful.

I was knocked COMPLETELY sideways by Alexis Lampley's gorgeous illustrations, but in my opinion, they are the singular draw of this particular P&P adaptation, which is otherwise basically exactly what it says on the tin: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE... in space. ("Well, duh?") I just could not fully immerse myself in the Londinium universe, because I was distracted by how much of the writing and dialogue felt like it had been lifted straight from the original novel and just plopped into a new setting. Maybe that was the point? Maybe the story was always meant to be secondary to the graphic design work? In which case: awesome, mission accomplished. But it's still a bit disappointing, as a lover of creative P&P adaptations; I really would have loved to see Lampley absolutely GO FOR IT with this universe and these characters, even if that meant deviating from the original novel a bit more, because I think it would have been so incredible.

"Pride and Prejudice in Space" molds Austen's loved story with the intrigue of science fiction, resulting in a captivating and visually appealing adaptation. Lampley's attention to detail, from the careful attention to Austen's language to the imaginative worldbuilding of the futuristic setting, ensures an immersive experience. I enjoyed the pictures, particularly of the futuristic landscapes and outfits. It adds an extra layer of charm to the story. Overall, this was a fun retelling. Thank you Alexis Lampley and NetGalley for letting me read it.

I'm biased as an avowed Austenite, but Pride and Prejudice in Space works really well as a YA sci-fi update to the classic story of social norms, comedic character study, and gently blooming romance. Lampley doesn't go too far to reinvent this well-polished wheel - in fact certain chunks of dialogue feel all but lifted directly from Austen's original = but the sci-fi flourishes are charming, it's pleasingly readable, and while it's not the first attempt at 'Austen in space' (see Alexa Donne's The Stars We Steal for a Persuasion retelling-cum-YA-mystery-in-space), it's a nice entry in this micro-niche genre and a recommended read.