Ah, no, sorry.

A romance one of whose MCs, Avery, is the billionaire scion of an oil company (and no, he isn't conflicted about it) has dug itself a deep hole to begin with. Someone oblivious to the evils of the fossil fuel industry could let it pass, I guess, but a writer would have to do some fancy footwork to make me sympathize with the guy. Oh yeah, he's also a developer. These are not morally neutral things.

We are treated to rich people showing off their money: "Oh, Mal, I forgot, I was going to show you the Degas," says Avery's best buddy, Beck. This is the kind of thing that brings out a reader's inner Robespierre, if you know what I'm saying.

I tried, therefore, to assess "Pride" on a purely technical level, and unfortunately it fails.

- Characterization. There's the showing-off-money thing, but also this: Early on, we learn that Avery's favorite book is Italo Calvino's "If on a Winter's Night a Traveler," which okay, not bad, not bad, though it might be nice if he had something to say about it besides naming it, but anyway ... later the other MC, Ben, "wanted to ask Avery how he would even know what was good or bad writing." Which. Calvino's pretty good? A taste for Calvino might suggest that a person reads around sort of widely? And we can argue all day about "good taste" and gatekeeping and so on but we can probably agree that a person who reads a lot is liable to have some thought-through opinions? It's a detail, sure, but it's one among many; it just happens to be the one that brought me up shortest.

- Exposition. It's clunky.

- General credibility. Ben's bookstore is apparently in danger of failing -- a point is made of how few customers he gets -- but somehow he can afford to fly off on a posh ski weekend with Avery and some other richies. Dude's credit cards must be maxed.

Also: Ben's sister dates Beck for months and months and yet somehow they still haven't decided whether they're seeing each other. Nobody seems to find this odd.

- Dialogue. Within a few paragraphs: " 'There must be some mistake,' Nathan gushed ... Nathan suggested ... Nathan added quickly ... I conceded ... Nathan mumbled." That is to say, the verb "said" puts in many fewer appearances than it should.

Throw in a little gender stereotyping:

“Where are the girls?” Avery asked, leaning back in his seat.
“Spa day. So we’re going to go do boy stuff.”
Avery laughed. “What is boy stuff?”

"Boy stuff" turns out to be ax throwing. I can't even.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand toss that with a little subtle, or not so subtle, fatphobia. I won't quote the whole passage, but the tl;dr is that Ben's sister is looking good, and we immediately learn that she's lost weight since her divorce. But it's "healthy," so that's okay.

This book is too slow-paced for me. It just felt like nothing was going on. DNF at 27%.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

This is a loose Pride and Prejudice retelling, but the story is cute. When Ben meets Avery, he's taken with him but resigned to pining after his friend. Ben believes that Avery is straight, so even though he would love a relationship with Avery, Ben knows he can't push things. He doesn't want to be with someone who doesn't accept him completely. There's a bit of grumpy/sunshine in their relationship as well; Avery often seems grumpy and stand-offish, but then will do something that makes Ben wonder what is going on in his head. There's a lot of angst here too (I wanted to punt Ben's mother into the next county more than once!) with families and exes. But mostly it's just a sweet enemies to lovers story along with standing up for what you believe in, even when it's not what the world wants.

Low spice, but high on page turning plot.

This is a great riff on a classic and one that I am glad I stumbled onto. From the very start you are pulled into the world and Ben Bennett and Avery Fitzgerald.

I won’t lie you are going to spend the whole time screaming “JUST KISS ALREADY”, and when Ben blows the opportunity to kiss Avery when asked you are going to scream even louder.

By the end it all is worth it though.

There are things you see coming from a mile away, but there are some things also not really touched on the leave some plot points open that still have me asking questions. Still, overall a great book and the perfect book to cuddle up with and enjoy.

Thank you to Rattling Good Yarns Press for the ARC of Pride in exchange for an honest review!

This queer retelling of Pride and Prejudice follows Ben, a gay man who longs to live his cozy, quiet life with simple pleasures and a good book. This is immediately disrupted when his sister, Mal, begins dating someone new who brings around the wealthy and intelligent Avery Fitzgerald. Avery has lots of opinions and ideas for Ben’s bookstore, whether he likes it or not. As Avery becomes more involved with Ben’s life in the business sense, he might just fall prey to his charms, too.

Sweet and easy, Pride is a welcome twist on a classic tale. Though, I’ll admit, it lacked a little bit of the pining, agonizing love-hate relationship of Elizabeth and Darcy, favoring something slightly more quick and digestible. I would classify it as P&P-light, and once you understand that, it’s an enjoyable romantic endeavor. It has enough familiar beats to draw you in, but then blossoms under its own will, creating something unique in itself. And that’s something to be proud of.

Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books, which means I'm always a bit wary going into retellings. This one felt (to me) more like a book inspired by Pride and Prejudice than a proper retelling, but I actually didn't mind. I think in some ways it even allowed me to enjoy it more.

The main story bits are there, but a lot also differ from the original, and pretty much none of the characters feel like their original counterparts. Avery is similar to Darcy in ways, but the other characters (especially Ben/Lizzy) feel totally different. I think this is a big part of why I didn't feel like I was reading a retelling. It was totally fine and I didn't mind, but I think someone looking for a more accurate/faithful to the source material retelling might mind? It's something to keep in mind I guess.

Overall though, I think this is a really nice book. Funny, sweet, easy to read (I flew through it in one sitting), and the perfect amount of predictable — just enough to not feel anxiety about how things will go/end, but not so much that it was boring. And, while some more serious topics are discussed it never felt heavy or hard to read. I think those deeper moments were handled with a lot of care and respect, and it was really lovely to see.
I had a really nice, fun time with this book, and I would definitely recommend picking it up!

Thanks NetGalley for giving me access to this ARC. I’m a sucker for Pride & Prejudice retellings as well as M/M romance, so this was right up my alley (though the P&P parallels were pretty thin until the second half of the book). The way Ben and Avery’s relationship slowly evolved made me twirl my hair and kick my feet. There was only one bed FTW! While the stereotypical romcom “misunderstandings” were frustrating, I knew everything would work out in the end. One somewhat unique aspect of this book that I enjoyed was the main characters being in their late 30s/early 40s. So many romances I read are about teens and twenty-somethings. It’s refreshing to see slightly older characters still figuring out their lives. That’s REAL.

3.5 stars

Thank you Rattling Good Yarns and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a Pride and Prejudice inspired queer romance, but certainly not a retelling. While there are some specific influences in the writing of characters and dramatic points, it is very much its own story.

I liked that this book followed characters in their 40s. It’s so refreshing to read romances with older characters, to have books showing older characters who don’t have it all figured out, to show that you can find the love of your life at any age and your chances don’t end in your 20s.

I absolutely loved the slow burn of this. It genuinely gave me butterflies at times, the will they, won’t they of it all. It was very sweet and a little bit sad, but ultimately made me giddy as heck.

I normally try not to go into negatives too much in reviews but these two peeves just need to be talked about. One is the feeling of bi-erasure. I have no problem with Avery being a closeted gay who’s only dated women out of fear. What bothers me is the way Ben is so insistent that Avery is straight and then when it’s clear Avery is into him, he switches to saying he’s gay. There’s never any conversation about how he could be bi, not even from his sister when she’s trying to tell him there’s something there and Ben’s insisting Avery’s straight.

The other thing is the almost third act breakup that lasted all of 3 pages. Ben’s reaction made zero sense to me whatsoever, and while I was glad he got over it fairly quickly, it absolutely soured the end of the book for me. Maybe it was just the lack of buildup (there was almost zero groundwork for this reveal) but I really do think it was just irrational.

I do recommend this one despite that, especially to the gay men reading this.

DIDN'T WOW ME

I usually love a P&P retelling, but I feel like this was just marketed all wrong. If I hadn't expected P&P, maybe I would have appreciated it more?

Thumbs down

👎This was P&P only in the loosest of loosest sense. If it hadn't been marketed at such, I don't necessarily think my mind would have made the connection on its own. I think it was a mistake to market it as a retelling, because it simply wasn't.
👎The characters were not real enough for me, I just couldn't connect with them at all.

This was an interesting take on a Pride and Prejudice reimagining! I have read a few queer ones already, but this one had some unique additions that brought up some more interesting takes. More specifically, making Avery and Ben become friends, pretty much best friends as our version of Elizabeth and Darcy. Though there were a lot of changes made, the main beats of the original still show through at certain points, which is one of my favorite parts of reading a reimagining/retelling. For example. our Collins, is a guy named Curtis who is a blind date for Ben and is a preacher obsessed with bowling. Very fun! I think overall, the romance was cute and people looking for a fresh take on P&P would find enjoyment reading this book.

If you follow my reviews, you know that I am obsessed with Pride & Prejudice retellings. And a gay retelling of P&P? Yes please.

I would classify this as more of Pride & Prejudice fan fiction. One of the cornerstones of the P&P story is its enemies to lovers plot. This version did away with that plot line. It’s instant attraction for our main character Bennett. And friendship on the side of Avery Fitzgerald (the Darcy character). A few of the other characters were loosely based on P&P. A clergyman blind date, a meddling sister, a spurned business partner. But otherwise, the story was vastly different. It paid homage to Austen, but told its own story.

So taking it on its own merits, this was a cute romance. The characters were interesting. And the ending was good. But in between I felt like the plot was very disjointed. It was episodic, and there were big gaps between those short vignettes. The characters also seemed to change a lot. I could never get a good read on what they were thinking and feeling. They seemed inconsistent.

Overall it was a cute but hard to follow romance that took inspiration from Pride & Prejudice.

Thank you to @Netgalley and @rattlinggoodyarnspress for the chance to review this ARC.

Pride is an LGBT gay romance that takes inspiration from Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. This retelling is not a plot point by plot point retelling of the classic, so go into it with an open mind. The characters are loveable if not a bit predictable. This book is very cute and will definitely suck you in. A lovely read all around.

This was a cute slow burn, lots of angst but worth it. Avery and Ben both come off as authentic, Avery always in control of his life and Ben little neurotic and worried about everything. Despite this they are somehow building a friendship and something more.

Please note, I received an ARC copy of this book for review from NetGalley, but that never influences my honest reviews of books or authors.

If you are looking for a 1:1 retelling of Pride and Prejudice but in modern times, this is not it. I went into it with those expectations so I had a hard time with the story at the beginning. By about the 30% mark, I was able to get past that and see the similarities in the characters as the original story and enjoy this book for what it actually was.

The romance in this book was nothing like P and P but it was a great story. It focused a lot of figuring out who you are and what you wanted in a partner. Ben and Avery were definitely made for each other.

(4.25 stars) This was a wonderful contemporary queer Pride & Prejudice retelling. It's not literally beat for beat (which is good, matching exact plot points is not what's interesting to me about retellings), but the main themes are recreated with so much affection, it's a beautiful homage and unique story on its own. Definitely check this out if you're looking for a wonderfully infuriating slow burn romance with lots of pining and delightful side characters.
(This was a review of a free advanced review copy. Thanks to Rattling Good Yarns Press, Samantha Ryan, and NetGalley for that privilege!)

I am obsessed with this book. OBSESSED. From the very first line I knew I would love it, and it just continued to deliver until the very end. I couldn’t put it down, and devoured the whole thing in less than 24 hours.

First, let’s talk about the yearning. There was so much yearning, and I felt it, deep in my soul. This is the sort of book where the first-person narrative really shines, because we got to know about Avery alongside Ben. We got to unpack the layers of his character, we got to get to know him, and there is that glorious, glorious moment when us as the reader get to realise something before Ben and have to watch it all unfold painstakingly slowly. The story takes place over a whole year, and we really do get a whole year’s worth of character development, and of these two characters really getting to know each other.

I really liked how Ben and Avery quickly became friends, and the author really made the most of that. Although their friendship does (spoiler, I guess?) end in romance, it was still a celebration of everything friendships can bring us, and for the importance of friendship in romance. The surrounding cast of characters were so vividly realised, especially Ben’s sister and their family. There was a very real sense of this network of people, and the complicated relationships between them all.

I was completely gripped the whole way through. Not to give anything away, but there is a subplot brewing the whole time that you don’t even know about until it leaps out and punches you in the face and I LOVED it! (My fiancée, who I usually turn to in these situations, was out of the room, so instead I told my dog all about it because I couldn’t hold it in.) It also brought together all of the P&P elements of the plot really nicely, and in a way that really suited the themes of the story.

Speaking of. I had no idea at the start how emotional this book was going to get. The way the author explores what it truly means to be out, what it’s like for men to experience compulsory heterosexuality (which is rarely discussed), it was all so well done. My heart was so full at the end of this book, and I just wanted to reach inside and give the characters a massive celebratory hug.

This is a really, really incredible book, and I hope it gets all the hype and celebration it deserves because it is an absolute triumph.

I received a free copy for an honest review.

This is a very tender rom com and a very enjoyable and sweet read. It has some fun references to Pride and Prejudice but isn’t a close retelling of the story. Quick and fun read.

A spectacularly adorable, queer retelling of Pride and Prejudice with a fun modern twist!

Ben owns an indie book store that’s struggling. Avery is an oil tycoon heir and a bit snooty. These two have the slowest of burns that’s wonderfully reminiscent of one of my favorite classics.

But even more, we see more of the side romance as well. In this story, it’s Ben’s sister Mal with the enigmatic Beck.

Honestly a fun and interesting tale of queer pride and prejudice.

Acknowledgements and grateful thanks to NetGalley and Rattling Good Yarns Press for the opportunity to read and review this e-ARC: 'Pride by Samantha Ryan'. All opinions are my own and are not a reflection of the publishers and/or author, of which I have no association with.

3.5 Stars (rounded up to 4).

Publish Date: Feb 04, 2025.
#LGBTQIAP+ #Fiction #Romance #Queerfiction #AdultFiction

"Ben Bennett treasures the cozy rhythm of his life: running his beloved bookstore, curling up with his sassy cat Ziggy, and putting up with his spirited sister Mal. He’s not exactly searching for love—despite the occasional swipe on Grindr—and he’s definitely not interested in anyone messing with his hard-won peace, even if he could use an extra set of hands around the shop. But everything changes the moment he crosses paths with Avery Fitzgerald," — from NetGalley.

I didn't realise this was an adult fiction and was surprised when I realised after reading it as there were dade to blacks and it was more a slow-burn novel than I had been expecting. Honestly it was refreshing to have a queer (m/m) romance where the characters took their time.

In saying this it was easy to read with it's style and dramatic flourish (not to mention Tulsa setting) that reminded me of my Hanson fanfiction writing days. What can I say, there were a few things that did it for me. But Ben reminded me of a few Taylor's I had read about. Not a bad thing, just made me feel a bit home sick.

Excuse your judgement for a little while, yeah? I was young.

Anyway, I had a good time with this, but... The drinking, there was too much of it for my liking as I have a personal trigger thanks to my alcoholic father. We don't need alcohol to be happy, okay?

I only took off point five for this. It's a taste thing and didn't make it unreadable for me.

Check it out if you like queer slow burn romances with enough flirting to have you tugging at your collar, but not enough to have you peeking through your fingers to read—yes I do do that.

This book is a masterpiece in slow burn, heartache, humor and hope. The story of Ben and Avery is beautifully messy, raw and a real exploration of identity, vulnerability and love. Ben's stubbornness clashes with Avery's guarded personality and the tension from the two keeps you hooked until the very end. The dialog and interactions are sharp, extremely authentic and relatable. The emotional payoff, along with the twist at the end, is absolutely worth the journey. This romance will stick with you long after you turn the last page.

“A heartfelt tale of love, identity and second chances. When two opposites collide, can they find the courage to rewrite their own stories? " — J. Orozco