The Bennet Women
Ratings3
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings3
Average rating3.5
In this delightfully modern spin on Pride and Prejudice, love is a goal, marriage is a distant option, and self-discovery is a sure thing.
Welcome to Bennet House, the only all-women’s dorm at prestigious Longbourn University, home to three close friends who are about to have an eventful year. EJ is an ambitious Black engineering student. Her best friend, Jamie, is a newly out trans woman studying French and theatre. Tessa is a Filipina astronomy major with guy trouble. For them, Bennet House is more than a residence―it’s an oasis of feminism, femininity, and enlightenment. But as great as Longbourn is for academics, EJ knows it can be a wretched place to find love.
Yet the fall season is young and brimming with surprising possibilities. Jamie’s prospect is Lee Gregory, son of a Hollywood producer and a gentleman so charming he practically sparkles. That leaves EJ with Lee’s arrogant best friend, Will. For Jamie’s sake, EJ must put up with the disagreeable, distressingly handsome, not quite famous TV actor for as long as she can.
What of it? EJ has her eyes on a bigger prize, anyway: launching a spectacular engineering career in the “real world” she’s been hearing so much about. But what happens when all their lives become entwined in ways no one could have predicted―and EJ finds herself drawn to a man who’s not exactly a perfect fit for the future she has planned?
Reviews with the most likes.
Admittedly I'm not an expert on Austen but I'm confused by a few of the reviews which state that this was not an authentic Austen retelling. Many of my favourite P&P plot points are covered in this novel:
* Darcy/Wills's cutting comment after the first dance
* Elizabeth/EJ's muddy walk to comfort a sick Jane
* Darcy/Will's letter writing
* the whole Wickham saga etc...
Even when there's a deviation from the original, there's a nod to what was and it feels very intentional. For example, Will doesn't jump straight into telling EJ his feelings in this novel. However, he writes a letter to that effect but is advised against any declarations of love by his sister and Zara for very good reasons. So even though in this respect, it doesn't follow the original text, the author very clearly acknowledges the original P&P plot point.
The Bennet Women is undoubtedly a P&P retelling, it just isn't my favourite. I didn't really connect with the characters. I just couldn't sink into the storyline the way I tend to with a really good romance.
