Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Bennet Women by Eden Appiah-Kubi

8 reviews

trphna's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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jgarrin93's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

1.25

honestly, I wouldn't have finished reading this if it weren't the chosen novel for my book club. I've studied Pride and Prejudice retellings for a long time and this missed the mark by a long shot. 

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samireadsbooks's review

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funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

A wonderful modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice!

Read if you love:
  • Pride and Prejudice 
  • Enemies to Lovers
  • Loyal Friendships
  • Multiple POV
  • Good communication styles in relationships 
  • Diverse characters, and even queer representation! 
  • (And another plus if you were an RA in college!)

The Bennet Women is a sweet modern Pride and Prejudice retelling where we follow EJ (Elizabeth), Jamie (Jane), Will (Mr. Darcy), Lee (Mr. Bingley), and all the other P&P characters we love! Eden did an amazing job bringing this story to the 21st century, as we follow the characters through a year of college, some of them getting ready to graduate and find their way through “the real world.” Eden tackled some big topics in a wonderful way. I was left feeling completely whole, full of love and reminiscing over my college friendships (and my own Mr. Darcy I met while being a RA in Bennett Hall!) I definitely recommend this sweet novel, and I’m looking forward to more from Eden in the future! 

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ika92's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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shector1's review

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lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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foreverinastory's review

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emotional funny hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you to Turn the Page Tours, Montlake and Netgalley for an eARC and a finished copy in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.

Oh my god, I loved this so much!! I definitely forgot I was reading a Pride & Prejudice retelling at times, but then elements from the original would appear and I would love this story even more! Cannot recommend enough.

The Bennet Women follows EJ, a Black woman navigating college life as a RA and Engineering major. She is the RA for Bennet House, the only all-women's dorm at Longbourne University. With her are her two best friends, Jamie who has recently come out as transgender and studies French and theatre, and Tessa, a Filipina studying astronomy with major guy problems.

When Jamie runs into Lee Gregory, the two hit it off immediately. Unfortunately, for EJ, this means dealing with Lee's best friend, Will, who is very grumpy and insults EJ behind her back immediately after meeting her. EJ is civil with Will for Jamie and Lee's sake, but the more she learns about Will, the more she thinks maybe she judged him too harshly at first.

This was such a good retelling. I loved the Bennet family reimagined as a cohort of college women! I also loved the diversity of experiences we had in Bennet House. I think I missed whoever were supposed to be Mary and Catherine/Kitty, but it didn't take away from the story for me. Seeing EJ, Jamie and Tessa constantly be there for each other was so heartwarming. I loved their friendship so much and I'm so glad they supported each other through the whole book!

I also really enjoyed Will and EJ's relationship. These two definitely get off on the wrong foot, but I loved how they worked their way back to each other. I'm really glad Will did not send that first letter he wrote too. I was laughing so hard when he read it to his sister and Zara. The tension between these two was so fun and I loved every second of their relationship and how it developed.

EJ was such an easy character to care for. She cares so much for everyone around her. She's also so strong, but is somewhat struggling with what she wants. That I can definitely relate to. I loved seeing a college age character at the end of their degree questioning what they should do next. That's very much where I was when I finished mine and had grad school not worked out, I would've been in the same position as EJ.

I loved seeing EJ dive into her family relationships to untangle her motivations behind what she's done. She comes to terms with things in her past in order to figure out what she wants for her future and that was such a powerful message. EJ is also given some advice to take the summer off before her next steps and I think this is something that should be said to more women of color. EJ does so much throughout this book, constantly pushing herself to the edge of exhaustion and she deserves to rest and be happy.

Overall, this was fantastic, and such an easy book to love.

Midsize Black cishet female MC, white trans heterosexual female MC, Chinese cishet male MC, Black biracial cishet male side character, Afro-Latina cishet female side character, Chinese lesbian cis female side character, Filipina cishet female side character. 

CWs: Cursing, racism, fatphobia, sexism, sexual content, toxic relationship. Moderate: mentions of drug use and drug trafficking, transphobia/transmisia, stalking, addiction, body shaming, grief, past mentions of disordered eating and excessive exercising, emotional abuse, suicide attempt, alcohol consumption. Minor: cancer, car accident, death of parent, death of grandparent, infidelity, self harm, abandonment. 

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kimi72714's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I loved the romance of the book, I love the way the story was adapted, I love that the characters COMMUNICATED with each other, and I absolutely adored EJ. The friendships between the women were fantastic and that's everything I want out of a P+P retelling. 

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sallysimply's review

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3.5

This is a sweet story with a lot of heart. It reads like YA much of the time, but I had fun with it.

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