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.

4.0 ⭐️

This was a cute, sweet regency-era romance, which I’m genuinely (but pleasantly) surprised I enjoyed so much!

I have a bit of a poor track record with Regency-era romances, particularly those inspired by or adapting Pride and Prejudice—before this, I had only read two and disliked both greatly. I really only started this one on a whim, since it had been offered to me as a pre-approved widget and I was stuck on the subway with nothing to read.

And I genuinely enjoyed it! I found myself pulling my phone out to read it even when I wasn’t on my way to or from work, simply because I wanted to know what would happen next. Charlotte’s struggles with compulsory heterosexuality, class, and her family are just as important as her blossoming romance with Mary, and her platonic and familial relationships are certainly not the main focus but they never disappear from Charlotte’s mind.

Because of those struggles with compulsory heterosexuality, and the fact that the author took care to make Charlotte’s struggles with entering queer community, navigating her first ever actually romantic relationship, and struggling self-esteem issues part of her character and not merely angst points in the romance, Charlotte’s character is genuinely likable and deeply relatable. I adored her, and frankly, her characterization is why The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet was such an enjoyable read—yes, I wanted to see how Mary and Charlotte’s relationship progressed, but more than anything I wanted to see how Charlotte changed.

Charlotte’s struggles with compulsory heterosexuality, societal pressure, low self-esteem, and her newness to queer community is what smoothed over what would normally be a huge pet peeve, which is the third act breakup. I don’t even read romance that often, and this narrative beat is a part of it—so often the third act breakup is completely unnecessary and eye-rollingly contrived. In this case, while it still did feel contrived—Charlotte does it to herself for really no good reason beyond assumptions she has very little logical reason to have—her struggles with self-esteem and her newness to queerness make the breakup make at least a little sense, so I am willing to forgive.

McLeod has such a beautiful touch on the regency-romance prose style and her side characters were all treats, so, frankly, I’d love to read sequels to this novel following some of the original characters introduced (particularly Miss Brodie). I know it probably won’t happen, but still. A lesbian can dream.

All of that said, there are elements endemic to the Regency-era queer romance genre that I’m simply never going to gel with, which, I think, is going to always prevent me from ever falling truly in love with any as a matter of taste. (Which goes to show how excellent of a specimen The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet is—or maybe it’s just a reflection of my taste. Who knows.)

Thank you to the publisher for reaching out and providing an e-ARC via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I have not read Pride and Prejudice but I do watch Pride and Prejudice (2005) dir. Joe Wright at least once a year and let me say I was eating this up.

This book picks up roughly four years after the original Pride and Prejudice story thought you don’t need any context to enjoy the book. I do think the first half of the novel was stronger than the second half (with all of its sapphic yearning and hand touches and loaded glances). If you’re looking for a sweet sapphic historical romance, you’ll enjoy this!

Once again i have not read Pride and Prejudice or any Austen and I don't plan to. So I read this one as original but I could tell there were many references to the original work but I can't comment on it.

I found the lesbian awakening of Charlotte really sweet and gradual but also it made a lot of sense for this period. As always I love when the queer historical romance introduces queer side characters living in a queer safe haven.

This book made me feel like the hilltop engagement scene in Gentleman Jack (and I cry when I watch it). Like what do you mean we get to have the big historical romantic stories with an orchestra and all that swoony writing? It hits most of the major stones of historical romances and I even got a sex scene against a piano. I love it

gorgeously romantic book based on one of my favorite books of all time. the yearning is epic, the romance is strong, and the characters are great. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

I really enjoyed this! A nice romance that sticks pretty close to the original and still makes room for queerness. At a couple points the writing wasn't amazing, and felt a little like fanfiction (which I love, to be clear! I just have...lower standards for fanfic haha). But overall I really liked it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Romance for the chance to read and review this ARC.

First lines are always hard, and I think that in the realm of writing in the Pride and Prejudice universe, with its iconic opening, they’re even harder. McLeod didn’t just nail the opening, they hit it out the park. It perfectly captured the energy of a familiar character and got me hooked from the start. I think Charlotte’s journey in this-in finding herself and her happiness-was so beautifully handled. Her fear and confusion as she sorts through what she’s feeling and what that means for her is so palpable. I think the book does a really good job of blending realistic historical context in a way that’s just shy of idealistic, which is exactly what i want out of this type of romance. I also adored the language of flowers being so woven into the story and Mary and Charlotte’s relationship. I’ve always been a sucker for it, and McLeod did a fantastic job of incorporating it and also using flower metaphors throughout to tie it together further.

I think my only complaints are that the pacing at the beginning and end felt a little off. the bulk of the book was paced perfectly, and the ending might just be a matter of my personal preference, but the beginning felt jarring at times, and bordering on heavy handed.

boooo tomato tomato.

i'm sorry that was mean but as a love of pride and prejudice i could not make myself love or care about this book. and i love a retelling or continuation don't get me wrong but i did not care about any of the characters or plot throughout this entire book. i felt like i was dragging myself through each page