Susan, A Jane Austen Prequel by Alice McVeigh Book Review

Susan, A Jane Austen Prequel by Alice McVeigh ended up being a pleasant surprise. 

Initially, I almost gave up on this story. I was a little confused and I was not being pulled into the story. Things changed for me about 20% of the way through the book. I finally started grasping the different relationships and understanding the story better. 

I loved all the different characters from Austen’s novels, especially the secondary ones, having this world where they all interacted with each other. There were different nods to events that happened in Austen’s novels which also made it fun. 

I am not sure I see the exact progression though of McVeigh’s Susan to Austen’s Susan. I found McVeigh’s Susan was manipulative but not as aggressively or nastily as Austen’s. I feel she could have been a little shrewder and more callous. Even though she was young, I found McVeigh’s Susan a little too likeable for who I feel Susan is supposed to be. I would be interested to see if there is another book that bridges that gap a bit. 

I also found McVeigh’s writing to be a very nice nod to Austen’s novels. As an Austen fan that made the book very enjoyable. 

Overall, I think whether you have read Austen or not you will enjoy this book. Austen connoisseurs will enjoy all the nods of Austen. I think those that are not familiar with Austen will enjoy it for the entertaining story that it is. 

I received an eARC from BooksGoSocial through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.