The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch

If you ever felt that Lydia Bennet deserved better than the pathetic ending Jane Austen provided for her in [b:Pride and Prejudice 1885 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320399351l/1885.SY75.jpg 3060926], you might appreciate this retelling that portrays the youngest Bennet sister as a powerful witch - so formidable that she conjured a feline familiar and convinced the rest of the family that “Kitty” had been there all along. Lydia's epistolary version of the events that led to her hasty marriage to George Wickham bears little resemblance to the original source, focusing instead on Lydia's development as a witch and the other supernatural entities, friend and foe, she encounters along the way. Elizabeth doesn't appear in the story, but Darcy and Georgiana play an important role. And it turns out that George Wickham isn't just a lying cad - he's something much more sinister. I enjoyed the book but found it was easy to put down, and it took a lot longer to finish than usual because I was distracted by other treasures on my TBR pile. Maybe it was because, while the plot was stuffed a little too full, the pace was paradoxically slow. Maybe if I re-read Scandalous Confessions in a few months I will love it. It is certainly one of the more creative P&P adaptations I have encountered; sometimes the book karma just isn't there.

I'm a big fan of Pride & Prejudice, so I was excited for a witchy spin on the classic.

This is from Lydia's perspective. She's essentially writing her life story, so everyone understands where she went wrong.
I liked the story, but the way it was told was very disjointed. It didn't flow very well going between writing about her past and what was going on in the present. If not for that, I would have rated it higher.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an e-arc.

ok I should preface by saying I'm not like the BIGGEST Austen girlie, and I know there are tons of Austen retellings/pastiches/etc and I certainly have not read all or most of them. I'm mentioning bc I have seen reviews that are like “ummm why is Georgiana Darcy in NEWCASTLE?!” and I'm like “huh I don't know where else she was supposed to be”. Like just some lil details like that that are apparently very upsetting to some serious Austen fans that I simply did not notice.

But I was intrigued by this title and premise and you know what? I thought it was fun as hell.

A couple era-typical?-ish notes on racism and ableism: I saw one review that was like "the book turns its only character of color into a ROCK" and like yes technically true but it's a very powerful rock? And like...she gets better? Lol like when your story is starting with the Bennets idk I wasn't expecting a paragon of diversity and inclusivity here but I thought the side plot about the sugar plantations was actually relatively sensitive overall... and then also the ableism about the mental illness in the Darcy family like...imo for the era having her be like "yeah I'd rather keep my 'sanity' and turn into an owl than not have my 'sanity'" like...yeah.

Like is it a perfect book no but I stayed up too late to finish it so that's worth something!