I love a Pride & Prejudice retelling! This book was cute especially being set in the craft beer industry. I don’t necessarily think it brought anything new to the retelling but it was still a fun read.

A modern version of Pride and Prejudice - with lesbians, craft beer and set in Colorado. What's not to like? Greene does a great job with the re-imagining of the classic story, with enough of her own twists on the tale to make if familiar but still original. I particularly liked the characters of Erin and Darcy as well as the rest of the supporting characters but I just didn't fall into the romance between the two. The story, the setting, the characters worked on their own, but together just didn't gel for me. This isn't a bad read, but it didn't wow me as much as I had hoped. Points to Greene for updating and making Pride and Prejudice her own - I'm looking forward to more of her books.

I would like to thank netgalley and Bold Strokes Books, Inc. for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Nothing really happening, too focused on setting.

I wanted to like this book, really. I don't hate "Pride & Prejudice" by any means. And I thought adding lesbian romance and beer would improve on such a classic story. Unfortunately, it just did not hold up for me. It is missing the magic from the original story. And the ending felt rushed. That being said, it wasn't a bad read. It was adequate. I didn't hate it, but I don't think I'll read it again.

Very close to all tried and true Pride and Prejudice facts with a great storyline. Loved learning about beer and the trade.

This book is exactly what it sounds like: a lesbian retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice featuring beer. I was excited to see what Greene would do with the premise and was a bit disappointed that the book did not deliver. This being my first Greene, I checked her out in Goodreads and saw that this is not her debut. Since Austen's shoes are a little too big to fill, I will check out the author's other work before I form an opinion on her as a writer.

Read this book for the fun of it. Try to ignore the parallels between it and Pride and Prejudice. If you can do that, you may enjoy it more than I did.

Pride and Prejudice probably one of the greatest books in English Literature history. Now this book takes on a modern day version of the book.

It's done quite well. But I just couldn't help comparing the two. Not only in style but the story too. Greene got it right sometimes but others I was left questioning.

I did enjoy this book. But I studied Jane Austin at Uni and I just can't get the original out of my head. I also don't want to critisise this book by comparing the two. So my advise is read it and make your own mind up. Enjoy!

*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2419511595

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2NLE43HBCX6VR/ref=pe_1572281_66412651_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Erin Bennett is a brewer and Darcy is a reviewer.. could pose some issues. This was a very enjoyable updated version of one of my favorites. The characters are likeable and it was fun to learn more about craft brewing. This will not disappoint fans of Austen or anyone looking for a light hearted enjoyable romance. Recommend.

I wanted to love this book. When you riff on P&P you've got characters and general plot already there for you, so the dialogue must be great, and I didn't chuckle or or even grin reading this book. It was ok. I found the information about the brewing process more interesting than the story, honestly.

3.5 stars
This was a really fun and interesting retelling of Pride and Prejudice. I loved that the author had the Bennet sisters be beer brewers, I would never have thought of that. I also really loved the relationship between Erin and Jen, you could tell how much they loved and supported each other. I did get annoyed by how much Erin kept from her sister, especially when it was things that Jen should have been told. And speaking of Jen I thought she and Charlie were very sweet (a little insta love, but whatever).

As for Erin and Darcy, I have to say I was not too impressed with Darcy. She never redeemed herself for me, I could not get passed what a snobby jerk she was in the beginning. I know all of the great and sweet things she did later on in the book, and saw how much she loved her sister and cousin but I don't know... it was really hard for me to accept that she deserved to get the girl in the end(as it was for me in the original P&P).

But overall I thought it was a fun re-creation.


<I>This was sent to me via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Pride and Porters by Charlotte Greene is a lovely and fresh take on the Jane Austen classic. Erin and Jen Bennet are the proud owners of Bennet Sisters Brewery one of the most up and coming breweries in Colorado. Charlie Betters comes calling at BSB with his friend Darcy Fitzwilliam as he has just inherited his family’s brewing empire. He is there to learn what he can about the business while his cold and aloof friend, Darcy embarks on reviewing the breweries of Colorado. If you have read Pride and Prejudice then you can fill in the rest. Jen and Erin have an interesting collection of family members and when Jen and Charlie’s relationship falls apart (Darcy being the driving force) the whole family seems to suffer. The worst part; Erin has hopelessly and haplessly fallen for Darcy who seems to run hot and cold at every turn. Will Erin and Jen find true love? Will Bennet Sisters Brewery grow into the success everyone hopes for? This IS a romance, so…

The book is told in the third person, limited from Erin’s point of view. There are a lot of characters to keep track of and Ms. Greene tackles that by giving each of them just the right amount of attention and character foibles to keep them interesting. The book is filled with great highs and great lows. Like the Jane Austin novel, the most intriguing coupling involves Darcy. Her motivations still seemed illusive at times and it was hard for me to relate to her. She and Erin embark on a whirlwind relationship that really just feels like no-strings-attached sex. A good portion of the book is watching Erin longing for Darcy or angry at Darcy. I would have liked to see more going on between the two of them. Of course, Darcy’s change of heart and her coming to the rescue for all the Bennet sisters redeems her in the end. Interestingly, her and Erin’s future is not tied up in a simple, neat red bow.

I liked learning about the world of microbreweries along with the beautiful descriptions of that part of Colorado. The novel takes place over the course of several seasons so I felt like I became somewhat familiar with the state.

I liked this book but I was not wowed by it.

I was provided with an ARC of this book from Bold Strokes Books, via Netgalley in return for a fair and honest review.

Look, I’m always a sucker for a nice romance, especially when it has to do with Pride and Prejudice. This book was nice, it was a good story, but eh... I don’t think it was one of those books that I instantly fell in love with. Thats nothing against the author or publisher, just simply that personally I didn’t conenct with the story. Perhaps it’s the certain way I like my stories or something along those lines. It just wasn’t for me.

An honest review thanks to NetGalley. This is a difficult review to write as a lot of the character development, and plot points irritated me, but at the same time, I couldn't put the book down. I was drawn into this world and kept reading until I was finished. THough I did really like Charlie and Jen, it was really hard to find Darcy and Erin's relationship believable. There was so much left out between them and so much not said that I would get confused, it is hard to believe that they loved each other as I saw nothing of the sort. As Erin was the main character this was particularly troubling, I believe it balanced out, even though the relationships in the book was poorly done the fact that I was so engaged meant I did like it. It is an interesting read, but I do not think I will read it again.

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion*

3 stars. This book was alright, it wasn't terrible, it wasn't great. It was mostly just average. I enjoyed reading it, but I am not dying to share it with my friends or give it as a recommendation. This book is about Erin, who is a co-owner of her brewery, BSB and Darcy, a beer reviewer. They meet since Charlie, Darcy's friend, comes to her brewery to learn more about beer. Charlie starts to visit more and more and get involved with Erin's sister, Jen, the other co-owner of the brewery. Eventually Erin and Darcy get together and the book goes from there.

The one thing that bothered me about this book, is I felt like probably at least 75% of the book was Erin and Darcy apart, longing for each other or trying to avoid feelings. I never really felt like they actually liked each other or really developed heavy feelings for each other. I never saw their relationship enough or them together to really feel like they wanted to be together. I like reading about the development of their feelings and how they start to fall in love with each other, but this book never really did that for me. It was disappointing.

I didn't hate the book, but I didn't love it either. The story was okay and it didn't drag, but there was something...perhaps the characters. I couldn't quite like any of them.

Trigger warnings: [homophobia, sexual assault (retold in detail), bullying]

I’m a humongous fan of Austen retellings, Pride & Prejudice especially, so I was extremely excited to see a modern lesbian P&P retelling set in a brewery. Unfortunately, while there was a lot of good things, it also fell short for me.

As with any retelling, we have most of the main characters. In this case, Jen and Erin are the two older Bennet sisters who own a brewery, while their younger sister Lydia is the black sheep of the family, more interested in hanging out with her friends than waitressing. They meet Charlie (heir to a Boston brewery empire) and his friend Darcy when they stop by on their months-long tour of Colorado breweries. These main characters mostly stay true to their P&P roots, with the same character flaws and motivations.

On a whole, I think this retelling works well. One major departure was Jen and Erin’s parents – their mother is dead, and Erin and her father aren’t close. While he took time off from his busy job (he owned and managed several restaurants) to spend time hiking and skiing with her as a child, they grew apart when she was a teen. When the book starts, they’re estranged, mainly because he disapproves of her “choice” to be a lesbian, though he also was highly critical of them opening a brewery. I liked watching the development of their relationship as the book progressed. The parts of the book dealing with the running of the brewery – talking about which brews needed to be ready when, the problems involved in expanding the brewery, the camaraderie among the brewers – were some of my favorites, and Ms. Greene’s love for the state shines through in her descriptions of Colorado and all its mountains and trails.

“Oh, Erin thought. I’m an idiot. She was obviously having problems being around Darcy because Darcy was incredibly hot. Darcy’s attractiveness simply drained all of Erin’s suave and cool. Being around Darcy made Erin act like an idiot—that was all.”

My main issue with the book was that there was no romance. There’s pretty much zero chemistry between Erin and Darcy. There’s a lot of Erin being awkward and embarrassed around her, and Darcy goes from being a complete jerk to being friendly, which all culminates in a secret affair. Besides some making out, all the sex scenes are behind closed doors, and described as impersonal and almost angry. While I’m certainly not opposed to some no-strings-attached sex, I want a deeper emotional connection to develop, some flirting, some gooey stuff – romance, you know? Otherwise, to me, it’s not really a romance novel. The romance between the secondary characters Jen and Charlie felt more pronounced than the one between Erin and Darcy. There’s also a sexual assault subplot with the family friend who’s taking over the restaurants (the Mr. Collins analog), who also becomes involved with Erin’s best friend, Lottie. I get that part of the book was Erin being isolated from her family and friends after Darcy leaves, but I didn’t think that particular subplot fit, and I was unimpressed by the resolution of it with Lottie.

One additional nitpicky note – I don’t usually comment on things like this, because I know I’m reading an advanced copy, but the book needed more editing. There were weird tense shifts in the middle of paragraphs (past to present tense), incorrect word usage (“notoriety” when they’re talking about a positive boost from winning a competition) and a few other oddly worded sentences that kicked me out of the story every time I ran into one. I’m hoping these are fixed in the final version.

Overall, while the retelling as a whole works, but the lack of romance between the two main characters lessened my enjoyment.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This story revolves around the growing love for craft-beer. Erin and Jen Bennet have dreamed of opening their own brewery but as their beers become better known they know they will have to grow their business but finding the funds to do just that isn't easy to come by. Charlie Better has inherited his business form his father but he knows he will have to make some changes if he’s to keep the Board of Directors from placing someone else to run the business. He’s being helped by his good friend Darcy. This could have been such a nice story but reading it seemed like a job you know you have to do but really hate. After reading and enjoying other books by Greene this was a huge disappointment.

This was a very enjoyable read. Having spent many years in the Colorado foothills, I could relate to much of this book, which was a big plus for me. Anyone who is a microbeer aficionado, will have fun reading this book because the main characters run a small microbrewery. I really liked the main lesbian character, Erin. She is very protective of her sister, Jen, who is falling fast for a visiting brewer, Charlie, who wants to learn the ropes from fellow brewers as he has gained the brewery from his late father. However, Charlie’s friend, Darcy, is not as friendly. As the two remain in town, there is a developing chemistry between Darcy and Erin. Not to give any spoilers away, but it is a very engaging read. If you like lesbian romances and beer, this is the book for you! Highly recommend!
This ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like this was one of those books/authors that had so much potential, I ended up being more upset by what could have been once I finished it than anything else. I really think that if Charlotte Greene could utilize dialogue more than she does, this would be a totally different story and a great one at that.

My biggest issue is how internalized this whole story is. Almost 80% of it is the characters inside voice and descriptions of what is going on, rather than conversations while those events are occurring. For instance, instead of saying goodbye to someone as actual dialogue, it was written as “Erin finally excused herself”. That’s just one TINY example of how everything felt so descriptive and not intimate. When this is happening all the time between your two leads, it barely feels like they got to know each other. I want flirty dialogue, not being told that they are flirting!

I also have to be honest that I didn’t like many of the characters. They all seemed like jerks during different points and never redeemed themselves. Charlie was a coward and couldn’t communicate. Jen/Erin’s Dad was mean for most of it and then seemed bipolar at the end. Lydia was just full of attitude, and acted like an angsty 14 year old. Will seemed like a creep, Darcy’s family were mainly full of snobs, and I didn’t even really like Darcy that much considering how hot and cold she always was. I figure I just like some likable people to relate to??

Overall, I think if the next book the author writes could rely much more on dialogue than I’ll read it. If it’s structured like this one, I’ll pass.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39410441-pride-and-porters" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Pride and Porters" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1521941437m/39410441.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39410441-pride-and-porters">Pride and Porters</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/285828.Charlotte_Greene">Charlotte Greene</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2355243319">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
An ARC was obtained from NetGalley/Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.<br />An angst filled romance with leads Erin and Darcy and ample supporting characters. The unusual main setting - a small town brewery (with all the drama of owning/operating one) was a clever hook for the story and I loved the Colorado backdrop. However, for me the relationship between Erin/Darcy never quite gelled while Jen/Charlie's did and that carried the plot. <br />A fair read with 3 stars.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31134832-gail">View all my reviews</a>