There is no denying the impact of Jane Austen. As readers of all genres can attest, we all remember the first Jane Austen book we read and it’s such a unique experience.

The one thing we can say about Miss Austen is that she loves to feature loads of characters in her books. That’s why upon hearing the pitch for Ladies in Waiting: Jane Austen’s Unsung Characters, I knew I had to read it. Not only would it introduce me to characters I’ve never met but I adore so many of the authors involved.

However, the biggest surprise for me was how much I enjoyed the stories by authors I’ve never read from or heard of. If anything, this book was massively dangerous for my already huge TBR. With that being said, let’s get into my thoughts.

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As most readers know, these short-story collections tend to be hit-or-miss as not all authors will be for you but some will work for you. That’s the case with Ladies in Waiting as I adored some of these while others simply felt like they weren’t my style.

Before getting into my favorites, I just have to applaud these authors because they wrote about so many different characters. Though I have yet to read all of Jane Austen’s novels, this made me want to go back and revisit them. That’s not an easy feat, but all of these authors were so passionate about the characters.

While this story wasn’t until later in the collection, I adored Nikki Payne’s take on Caroline Bingley in her story, “Lace and Larceny.” This takes Caroline on a road trip in which she’s looking to meet her fiance who she was engaged to via a letter. Of course, things don’t go exactly as planned and this story felt like a rollercoaster in the best way.

Earlier in the collection, we got “The Bennets of Jane Street,” which is Adriana Trigiani’s look at Mary Bennet. The way Trigiani wrote Mary was just so incredible. It was amazing to see how she grew within the story especially when it came to her independence, her confidence and her love life. While the romance did feel a little quick, it was nice to see Mary get her HEA.

Last but certainly not least, we have to give Sarah MacLean her flowers. I mean I adore her Hell’s Belles series so I knew this one was going to be a homerun and I was right. “The Triumph of Hetty Jane Bates” explained how Hetty ended up as an “old maid” but showed why and how she managed to finally get the love she’d been waiting for. This was the perfect story to end the collection with.

Honestly, I enjoyed this collection so much and I’d love to either see a part two or see these authors work on another project together. If you’re looking for a great book to snuggle up with this winter, look no further than Ladies in Waiting: Jane Austen’s Unsung Characters.