The Bennet Women by Eden Appiah-Kubi (Review)

Title: The Bennet Women
Author: Eden Appiah-Kubi
Type: Fiction
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Retelling
Publisher: Montlake (Amazon Publishing)
Date published: September 1, 2021

A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by Thomas Allen & Son in exchange for an honest review.

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?

⤖ My Review ⬻

I won’t lie, I hesitated before requesting a review copy of The Bennet Women. Let me explain why. Being a lover of the Pride and Prejudice plot and elements, I’ve read quite a few retellings of it over the years. Having done this though, around the time this title made its way into my inbox via a newsletter, I found myself needing a bit of a reprieve from P&P retellings (along with retellings of other popular books in general)…and I therefore found myself hesitating before requesting a copy of The Bennet Women.

I was worried that it wouldn’t be fair to the book and the author for me to go into the story feeling over sensitized from all of the previous P&P retellings that I’ve read. However… I’m so glad that I got over that hesitation though! I didn’t have to worry at all. This retelling of P&P was fresh and so, so much fun! I liked the idea of a P&P retelling with college students and famous people while reading the synopsis, but ended up loving the concept was I was reading the book (and also now while looking back).

Even though famous people were involved, the situations the characters ended up in were very relatable. Also, the representation in this book made me so happy! It was so great to see a retelling with such a diverse cast. I really adored all of the characters, and was filled with varying emotions while following them on their journey through the plot of The Bennet Women.

I can’t say this enough. I’m glad that I got over my P&P retelling issue and requested The Bennet Women because it was just so great. I’m also wondering if adult retellings might be more my jam than YA ones. Hmm! But anyway, as I’m writing this, I’m finding myself missing the characters and wishing for a sequel or to have the time available for a re-read. Eden Appiah-Kubi is definitely an author I’ll be keeping a close eye on. I want more!