twentyventi's reviews
129 reviews

I read this book as part of a book club. Despite the low rating, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this as one of those books so bad it’s fun to read — a love interest who is just a series of red flags (that we are supposed to like?), women written in a way that made me question if this was secretly written by a man(?), a romantic skinny dipping session with a dog, a cringey brother/sister relationship, dated and sexist gender roles, some fun witchy vibes thrown in, and a disappointingly unfulfilled accidental(?) queer subplot. 10/10 recommend reading it with a few friends for a good laugh and a great time.

3.5 stars

An ode to everyone who felt for (and related to) the awkward, introverted, bookish and under appreciated middle Bennet sister, Mary — and for anyone who believed she deserved a happy Regency era ending too.

It took me a while to get really invested into be story as it is slow to start, and Part 1 (the book is divided into four parts) takes place in many of the familiar scenes of Pride and Prejudice, but from Mary’s perspective. 

By Part 3 I was heavily invested, and loved how the story resolved. Love all the nods to Austen’s books, and the continuation of many of the P&P characters.

After so enjoying Little Women and Little Men, I was excited to continue where the story left off and see how “Jo’s Boys” fared 10 years later — but I found this story unequal to the previous two. It just didn’t have the same heart and tenderness as it’s prequels, and I struggled to get through it and found the conclusion deeply unsatisfying.