Thank you Harlequin Romance and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this one. All thoughts are my own.

I did enjoy this read, but not nearly as much as I had anticipated.

It was soft and sweet and I really enjoyed the exploration of being queer during the regency period and what it meant for people like Charlotte Lucas. I also loved the in-depth inclusion of flowers and their meanings.

But I found this book quite slow. Not just a slow burn (which I usually love) but full of meandering and very little in the way of plot.

I wanted to get to know both Charlotte and Mary far more intimately than I felt I did. Outside of Charlotte’s love of gardening and Mary having an interest in science, I feel as though I barely know anything about them. I certainly didn’t connect with them on an emotional level.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Books for this copy of "The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet."

I'm always enthralled when reading Jane Austen re-imaginings by the creativity and inventiveness of the authors in making the stories fresh and exciting.

Charlotte Lucas Collins is a widow after four years of marriage and her future security is unsure, having to vacate the parsonage. She asks her dear friend Elizabeth Darcy to visit but Elizabeth has a sick child and suggests that Mary visit instead.

Mary Bennet has undergone a wonderful transformation after living with her aunt in Canterbury and flourishes while she's out of her sisters' shadows.

Will Charlotte find the courage to follow her dreams or will she remain bound by strict Regency society and family expectations?

I especially enjoyed the language of flowers that was used to portray feelings and emotions. Like a secret code so people could exchange messages without words.

I DNFed this one.

Partly this book was not quite for me and partly I'm not sure the author has a handle on the source material. Mary comes across as very whimsical, rather than very serious and studious (she even criticizes her teenage self) while Charlotte feels very stilted and uncomfortable all the time - even in her own brain.

The attempt to sound like Jane Austen leaves this book wanting something else. Instead of handling the time period and style with grace, I think it hindered the author.

As an AVID Jane Austen super fan, this was everything I wanted it to be. Lindz McLeod truly captured the perfect Jane Austen tone and humor, but with a twist. McLeod included lots of figurative language and metaphors and things not often found in current romances so I loved that it had that literary skill that Austen brought to her writing. It also felt so true to the story and the personalities of the characters. I could truly believe this is cannon. 😂 Mary and Charlotte were so likable, fun, and relatable. Even as someone not a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, I felt like I could relate to and understand Charlotte’s journey of first experiences and finding herself on her own terms. I have always loved Charlotte’s character and I have read a few “spin-off” books about her that I did not feel like truly captured who she is like this story did. It left me feeling happy and giddy just like Pride and Prejudice does. LOVE!

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A slooooow burn as Charlotte slowly learns that gay people exist, that she's one of them, and that she has feelings (that she believes are unrequited) for her bestie's little sister. The slow burn is lovely and delicate, and Charlotte's awakening is beautifully done. I think it's easy to read canon Charlotte as queer, and even canon Mary to some extent, but this Mary doesn't really feel like canon Mary who was pedantic and desperate for attention. Mary here is smart and carefree and uninhibited by social mores in the open society she frequents in Canterbury. I do think she's a wonderful character--and I would have liked to have had her POV as well--but she could've been anyone, and didn't have to be Mary Bennet.

By the end of the story, the major obstacles for Charlotte seem to be tacked on--she's worried about embarrassing her family by...going to live somewhere else rather than returning home? This was even before she was offered a job, which would be somewhat of a descent for her, but not in a scandalous way that she keeps comparing to Lydia Bennet running off with Wickham. The job offer and later the offer of becoming an heiress both seem sudden and a way to easily grant her money and therefore the ability to have more choice. She worries about what her sister and her parents will think of her loving Mary, but she doesn't end up telling them, at least not that we see on page. The convenient wrap-ups and some historical inaccuracies (e.g. forms of address) didn't really work for me.

4.5

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

I've read quite a few Jane Austen universe novels, and this is one of the better ones. I'd put this up there with The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow in terms of feeling true to the characters in the source material and maintaining an elegant writing style throughout that compliments Jane Austen's original writing while still being a bit more natural for a modern reader. Both books also explore the nuance of Mary Bennet and what a happy ending for her might look like, but in this case it is because her story tangles with the protagonist Charlotte Lucas/Collins.

None of the original characters from Pride and Prejudice felt overly villainized here, which I appreciated. It also felt like a fairly organic insertion of LGBTQ+ representation into the historic setting, although it did seem like there were an awful lot of lesbians in Mary's neighborhood.

The story is quite slow paced and focused on Charlotte's journey of opening her eyes to consider more than the most practical path and allow the layered petals of who she is as a person unfurl and bloom.

Overall, I would definitely recommend to fans of Jane Austen's characters and fans of queer historical romance.

Content Warnings:
Moderate: Death and Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia, Sexism, Alcohol, and Classism

Sapphic Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice fans, this one’s for you! This was such a lovely read. It started off a little slow for me, but once I got used to the writing style, I flew through it. So much yearning and longing, and I couldn’t get enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin - Romance for an ARC of this book

A must-read for anyone who loves Pride and Prejudice and always suspected Charlotte and Mary were sapphic. I absolutely loved their slowburn romance, the incorporation of flowers and their meanings, and seeing Charlotte truly come into her own. They really were the perfect partners for each other. And the whole queer found family was lovely, and something I haven’t seen enough of in regency romances.

You don’t need to have read Pride and Prejudice to follow the story—I haven’t (I know, I know)—but I’d recommend having at least a familiarity with one of the film adaptations (the 2005 adaptation is my personal favorite).

I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.

This was a lovely romance. Although it was predictable I loved the slow burn little hand touches and delicate flirting. I would've liked to get to know the side characters a little bit better.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5⭐️rounded up! If you ever wished for better for Charlotte Lucas than a life under the judgmental gaze of Rosings, you need to pick this book up! The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet is Charlotte Lucas’ journey of self discovery spurred on by the arrival of Mary Bennet (the Bennet sister done dirtiest by P&P) to the Parsonage. This book manages to be sweet, sexy, and thoughtful about the challenges faced by women, the LGBTQIA+ population and the working class in 1800s England. From the very first line it’s clear that this book is Charlotte’s awakening, but I loved all of the side characters (Mrs. Waites, Pipp and Mr. Mellor in particular!) who loved Charlotte and Mary as hard as they always deserved. This book does justice to Jane’s original while also bringing new life to the characters that served just as brief plot points in the previous Longbourn canon. I’m grateful I was able to read it as part of The Hive, thanks to Harlequin Romance/HTP books for the ARC! I can’t wait to get a physical copy on my shelf for my Austen-adjacent novels.

supperrrr good book!!! mary and charlotte are my favs !!! very nice romance and a good read! i just love love LOVE charlotte lucas!!! would for sure read again!

This book hooked me right away with it's first sentence. Reading like a Jane Austen novel itself, I was really excited to read how two women could fall in love with one another in regency England, how to make it work, how to reconcile with the fact that they are queer. The problem is this book falls apart around the halfway point. All the tension DIES when the two get together and slowly the plot, the characters, and the setting becomes ridiculous. Charlotte's parents are ok with her never marrying and taking a job instead? Charlotte is asked to be her employer's heir to inherit this great house? Mary's family knows she's queer and accept it?

My suspension of disbelief completely died and something that felt solidly set in the Regency era turned into ridiculous historical wallpaper, where it felt like modern characters were plucked into the past. I am genuinely surprised how a five star read turned into such a low rating so quickly. McLeod's understanding of the characters suddenly switched, where both Charlotte and Mary turned into uncharacteristically soppy. The second half of this desperately needs editing and rewriting. I'm super disappointed in a read that started so strongly.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC.

I loved this book! As a forever lover of all things Jane Austen I was so excited to get my hands on this fresh take! With all the loveuly witty banter one would expect from a period piece that makes you feel at once at home in the story you fall in love all over again with the world of Austen while simultaneously seeing it in a whole new light. The love story is as sweet and ardent as one would expect and was such a pleasure to read.

I am a sucker for all thinks Austen inspired, and this book was no exception. I was so thrilled to see Charlotte Lucas and Mary Bennet, two underrated but fascinating characters, get to tell their story in this book. I loved what the author did with both of them. Mary was so confident and had clearly grown into her own unique person. She was so clever with some great one liners, and yet she was also so kind and caring and protective of the life she had built and the people she loved. As for Charlotte, she had amazing development as she figured out who she was and who she wanted to be. I loved how much she loved flowers, and how she used the language of flowers to communicate. And Mary learned that language for Charlotte and listened to her. Together they had such a sweet relationship and I adored it. I also loved how much pining it took to get to that relationship. I do wish that we had gotten both Mary and Charlotte’s POVs. I also wish that Charlotte’s development had been a bit faster. But overall I loved this book and recommend it.

I have to admit it: I always thought Charlotte Lucas was queer. So I jump at the opportunity to read this book and I’m not disappointed at all! This book is all I hoped. Charlotte’s fighter with the comphet was very well executed and I feel her pain and her difficulties a little too much.
The story is cute, not so original but warm and comfortable, in perfect Austen style.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequinn for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Please keep in mind the following content warnings: Death, Sexism, and Sexual Content.

This book took me by surprise. While the blurb was enough to catch my attention as a lover of Pride and Prejudice, I wasn't sure if it would live up to my expectations. Thankfully, it has done more than that.

I loved how Charlotte and Mary were reimagined in this story and just how well it portrayed the culture and societal expectations of the Regency era. The setting was crucial in informing our characters and why they do what they do, and that's the best thing a setting can do. It also did a great job at showing the importance of taking care of our happiness and how always pleasing others can hurt us more.

It left me craving more Historical Romances with LGBTQIA+ characters. I really hope to explore this genre more this year and hopefully find some hidden gems like this one.

This book is perfect for people who love Pride and Prejudice, Historical Romance, and slow burns.

the sapphic historical romance of my dreams…i am beyond ecstatic to have received this arc and it was so stinking good! i sat and read this in one solid sitting and i am head over heels!! 💫

I wasn’t expecting the book to be a retelling of Pride and Prejudice, so I was pleasantly surprised with that aspect. I will say I was bored at some points throughout the book, but I think that’s just what adult historical romances are like. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the slow burn and yearning between Charlotte and Mary..

3.5 Stars

The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet gave me everything I wanted in a Regency romance. As a lifelong Pride & Prejudice fan, I always approach continuations and retellings with a mix of excitement and apprehension—excited for more of Austen’s world, but also nervous that nothing will quite live up to the original. Thankfully, this book put my worries to rest almost immediately.

It’s clear that Lindz McLeod truly understands Austen’s characters and setting. Her writing honours the spirit of the original while adding fresh depth, especially with Charlotte Lucas. Watching Charlotte step into the spotlight and take charge of her own story was such a rewarding journey. The romance is beautifully done—tender, slow-burn, and packed with that perfect mix of yearning and emotional depth.

The book picks up four years after Pride & Prejudice, with Mary Bennet visiting Charlotte, now widowed after Mr. Collins’s death. As Mary’s presence stirs old emotions, Charlotte begins to reckon with long-buried truths about herself. Her arc—embracing her queerness and discovering her own desires—felt so natural and deeply moving.

That said, I had a harder time connecting with this version of Mary. Her transformation felt like a big leap from how Austen originally wrote her, and I struggled to buy into such a dramatic shift in just four years. While I appreciated what she brought to the story, that aspect never fully clicked for me.

This was my first book by Lindz McLeod, but definitely not my last!

Thanks to Lindz McLeod, Harlequin - Romance and NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book. “The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet ” will be available for purchase on April 29th, 2025.

Terribly charming. My only real complaint is that Charlotte's complete lack of faith in her own desirability and thus Mary's affection persists so long that it becomes frustrating and sometimes difficult to believe, given what a smart woman she is. Regardless, a delightful slow burn that feels faithful to Austen while also a complete work of it's own.