While I enjoyed Pride as a story of self-acceptance and love, I found myself constantly comparing it to Pride and Prejudice, and not in a good way. The parallels to Austen’s classic were superficial, with elements like the names, a meddling mother, and the sudden appearance of a “scoundrel” three-quarters of the way in. Honestly, I would have preferred if the novel had distanced itself from Pride and Prejudice altogether. It could have been a much stronger book if it had its own identity, rather than relying on the famous opening line and loose character resemblances.

That said, Pride has its strengths. Ben, the bookstore owner, is a likable character, though his aversion to putting a café in his store (was this supposed to represent his pride?) seemed a bit forced. His love interest, Avery, was harder to connect with. Despite being portrayed as easygoing, Avery often came across as distant and flighty. Their romance had its moments, but at times it felt like Ben was putting in all the effort, while Avery faded into the background.

The vacation setting, which set up the classic “one-bed” trope, felt forced and didn’t do much to develop their relationship. Avery’s struggle with his identity, revealed at the end of the book, could have been explored more deeply. Instead, it felt rushed, and I wish the themes of identity, acceptance, and love had been woven throughout the story more thoughtfully. These concepts had real potential, but they were crammed into the final pages when they could have driven much of the narrative.

The chapter with the therapist also felt out of place, and I could have done without it. Additionally, the subplot involving Ben’s sister Mel and her romance with Beck seemed like an unnecessary distraction from the main story.

Despite its flaws, I still found Pride enjoyable. Samantha Ryan’s writing shows promise, and while this book felt like it needed more editing and focus, I’m open to reading more of her work. Pride could have been a standout romance if it had distanced itself from its Austen inspiration and leaned more into its own unique story. Fans of Pride and Prejudice retellings may enjoy it, but don’t expect a perfect parallel to Austen’s timeless work.

While I generally enjoyed this book of self-acceptance and love, I felt that I was constantly trying to draw comparisons between Pride and Prejudice and this novel. The similarities begin and end with superficial things such as names, a crazy mother, and a no good scoundrel who randomly appears 3/4 of the way in the book. I would rather have read this book without any strings attached to P&P. If the book began without that famously overused line of Jane Austen's and the characters were simply renamed, the book would be far better for it. In general the characters were easy to like, Ben came across as a good natured man prone to love the wrong person and had an aversion to putting a cafe in his bookstore (was this pride?). His love interest, Avery, was a much harder read as he was supposed to seem easy going but at the same time aloof. There were many times the two characters felt flat in their attraction, as though Ben had to struggle to keep liking Avery, and Avery was just... not present as a character? The vacation setting was very contrived and while I'm all about some tropes, the one bed trope here was confusing. Sure Avery was struggling to accept/reveal his identity, as we find out at the very end of the book, but he just came across as flighty - which frankly happened often. As I was mentally comparing Avery to Austen's Darcy, I felt that he just wasn't a substantial character. The end reveal could have been half the book instead of a blip at the end and explored the ideas of identity, acceptance, trust and love ingrained in the book. And the whole chapter with the therapist felt random and I could've done without it. I'm not even going to get into Mel, the sister, and her side quest with her love interest Beck.

I don't mean this to at all sound like I disliked the book. I actually did enjoy it and thought it could use some tightening up and perhaps some more editing. I'd definitely read more by Samantha Ryan.