The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch is the magical, witchy Pride and Prejudice retelling I never knew I needed. I absolutely loved this novel!

The whole book is told in an epistolary style, the bulk of which is a long letter—basically a full-length autobiography—that Lydia is writing to a secret someone. (We don’t find out who until the end.) It’s not until the last four chapters of the book that we see the narrative shift to (normal length) letters written by Lydia and a few other characters in the story’s exciting climax.

Lydia’s voice may be the biggest standout of this novel. She has such a fun, strong personality, full of wit and humor and a self-centered air that is somehow charming. Throughout my reading, I took note of numerous sentences and full passages that made me laugh out loud. Her way of describing characters and scenarios is completely engaging and a joy to read. It’s also a wonderful chance to get to know this version of Lydia better, beyond the simple flirt shown in Pride and Prejudice. Here, we still see that spark of her character, but there’s more depth and nuance now. Lydia readily showcases her flaws and mistakes, but over time, we get to see her many virtues, too.

Characters like Kitty, Mr. Wickham, Georgiana Darcy, and Mr. Darcy also flourish here. Kitty isn’t actually one of the Bennet sisters; she’s a cat that Lydia made into her familiar! And unlike the forgettable filler character Kitty was in Pride and Prejudice, here she has so much more personality. With her unique state of being, Kitty has her own limitations and wishes, but is also even more closely tied up with Lydia. Mr. Wickham, too, is quite changed. The author somehow made this villain into a literal demon here… and he’s actually better for it. It was fun to read about him and surprising to see the way his relationship with Lydia evolved over time.

And of course, I’d be remiss not to talk about all the witchcraft going on in The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch! Lydia is a powerful witch regularly casting spells and paying the price, learning stronger spells, attending covens, and even battling witches, demons, and dragons. Her time in Brighton is actually a quest to save Kitty and herself, though who she can and can’t trust remains obscure. Especially with Wickham—a demon—hanging around. The author expands on lesser characters and adds entire new ones, some of whom prove to be instrumental to the whole story. Later, in the present, Lydia is spending time with the Darcys in an effort to save Georgiana from a nasty hex, and she’ll need every ounce of skill that she’s gained in the past year.

The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch is a must-read, whether you like Pride and Prejudice retellings, witches, or historical fantasy more generally. It’s a fun and utterly engrossing read full personality and imagination, with adventure and even some surprisingly welcome romance. I wouldn’t mind if this ended up being the first in a series… I’d love to see more of these characters and/or other witches! Regardless, I will absolutely read more from Melinda Taub, whatever she writes.

When one considers the power and repercussions of magic, is it any wonder that the last woman in the world people want possessing it is the youngest, most irrepressible and irresponsible of the Bennet sisters from Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice? But, indeed this is Lydia Bennet’s chronicle of what happens when fate’s twist makes her a witch of power. Lydia fumble-bumble’s her way through coming of age in this magical variation set in Jane Austen’s world told in a clever journal-style first person narrative.

The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch reads like a teenage girl’s diary. Fair enough, Lydia was just that when she puts pen to paper to share with an unknown reader how her life ended up the way it did starting from the first moment she understood she possessed magic. Melinda Taub does a fabulous job inviting the reader into the mind of Lydia and it feels completely authentic. So authentic, I wanted off the ride not long after starting and this feeling didn’t change for well over half the book. Lydia leaps from one thought to the next like a pinball shot into the game. First she’s in her present time, then she’s back in the past, then she’s off chasing a squirrel, back to the past, a stop in the present, and so on. There were times I wondered what the point in including some parts was.

But, I did a big hang in there and made it past the first half of the book. This is when the reader can look back into the earlier pages of Lydia’s thoughts and begin to see where those loose thoughts that meander on the long route of the plot start to show some ‘ooh, ah-hah’ moments.

In the first half, Lydia is learning just enough about magic from her sketchy Aunt Phillips to be dangerous and yep she lands into some deep trouble soon enough. But, her outlook is sanguine no matter how terrible the situation, the betrayals that stun her, and the unexpected support she receives along the way. It was hilarious getting her thoughts on her sisters, her parents, and all the other people and events that Jane Austen lovers are familiar with from other points of view. Lydia has her faults, but she’s rather clear-eyed about some people her pretty and smart older sisters are not. She knows they think little of her, but loves her family anyway.

I don’t want to spoiler, but there are some clever character decisions that give familiar characters a new role or even a slightly different storyline that would still fall within the perimeters of the original Pride & Prejudice plot trotting along in the distance while Lydia’s side of things is told. I will share one since it occurs in the first chapter. We all thought there were five Bennet sisters, right? Well, we would be wrong. In fact, Kitty is a true kitty- she’s Lydia’s familiar hidden behind an illusion spell.

That second half ratchets up the suspense and has some good action sequences, a few plot twists, and lead to a satisfying finish. I love what Melissa Taub did with her magical worldbuilding. I appreciated that she made magical power require sacrifice so that its no small thing to draw on it for a spell and there are consequences that must be considered when dealing with other magic users who often are not sweet, nice people.

All in all, I am glad to have picked this historical fantasy set in Austen’s world up and appreciate the author giving a fresh face to one- or rather, some- of Austen’s more colorful secondary characters. Whether a reader is new to Austen or not will not matter so do not hesitate if your looking for something a little creative and different for your fall spooky reading.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Alternate History, Historical Fantasy, Regency Fantasy
Spice Level: Medium (fade to black) & kissing!
Representation: BIPOC & LGBTQ (just touched on this one, but it's in there).

THE SCANDALOUS CONFESSIONS OF LYDIA BENNET, WITCH is a delightful surprise. Lydia has always been one
of my least favorite characters in literature. So, you might ask why I picked this up? It is P&P adjacent, so I had to.

There are moments in this book, where it feels like Lydia is talking directly to you as the reader. We get moments of fashion and gossip, much like the original Lydia.

In addition to this, we see Kitty in a new way—yes, she's a barn cat but there's more that makes this relationship even better.

And Wickham is a demon, but what else would you expect? I laughed so hard through moments of his interaction with Lydia.

And we get to see her other sisters through a new lens: one is boring, one is bossy, and one is boring and bossy. Lydia relates the most to her mom, which makes sense since they're both concerned with gossip and all the happenings. But, oh my goodness, her views made me laugh. There are so many surprises, and the characters are all amazing! There is even some thoughts inserted about the time period taking advantage of Blacks and slavery.

I'm so happy I read this book so that Lydia is no longer on my top ten list of unsavory/disliked characters.

Who is this book for?
You, fantasy readers, romance readers, Janeites, and anyone who loves historical magic and retellings. It's also for cat lovers!

I highly recommend this book!

Happy reading!

PS: I sincerely hope this one tickles you like it did me. Even now, I start smiling like a fool as I think about everything.

Are you reading any books for the Halloween season? I was happy to recently read The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub. It combined two of my favorite things – Halloween and Pride and Prejudice.

Lydia Bennet is the seventh daughter of the seventh daughter. She has powers that are not shared by the rest of her family, except for her Aunt Phillips who is able to guide her as she grows into a young witch. This novel tells Lydia’s background and then retells the story of Pride and Prejudice from her point of view.

I thought this novel was very fun. I loved that it was told from Lydia’s first-person narration through a manuscript she is writing to Lizzy to explain everything. It is very funny and in character for Lydia. I was delighted to find out that Kitty Bennet is actually a cat and George Wickham, is literally a handsome devil or demon. To me, it seemed like the entire novel was really about the love that Lydia had for her best friend and sister, Kitty, and the sacrifices that Lydia made to ensure her happiness. Taub really captures Lydia’s voice. A few of my favorite quotes:

“I suppose if this were a proper book, I’d begin it something like, ‘Miss Lydia Bennet, youngest of five daughters to a father hopefully entailed, had few advantages in life, but not too few to squander.’”

“La! Imagine what Lizzy would do if she knew I made that spot on her chin pop back out whenever she vexed me.”

“This is the part, I suppose, where the novel would wrap up with a tidy boring moral, so I will say this: Love your best friends. Forgive your worst friends. Remember, always, not to judge people too hastily, for everyone is living out the story of their own, and you only get to read the pages you appear on.”

I was delighted to find out in the author’s note that she used real history, myths, and folklore for the novel. I also loved that Miss Lamb from Sanditon is a character in this novel. I always find her an interesting character and love her addition to the story.

I laughed out loud when I read the first line of the acknowledgements, “Guys, I did so much damn research for this book. I could write a 10-page bibliography.”

Overall, I thought this was an inventive, unique, and fun retelling of Pride and Prejudice perfect for reading during the Halloween season.

Book Source: Review copy from Grand Central Publishing as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank-you! Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

An unlikely mash up of Pride and Prejudice and this season's top thing- witches. Lydia Bennet was the youngest daughter and here you get her interior thoughts. While I had high hopes for this and appreciated the effort Taub put into replicating the style of the period, I found this over written and implausible in a way I didn't expect. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. I DNF and I expect I'll be the odd one out.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC!

I absolutely adored this! I have always been a huge fan of Pride and Prejudice and the subsequent retellings, so when I saw there was a witchy retelling from the perspective of Lydia I knew I had to pick it up. This was perfectly executed! The voice of Lydia is true to the source material and gives her a new life I couldn’t have imagined better. This is the perfect read for this upcoming fall!

This was such a fun spin on Pride and Prejudice. I definitely think it's more compelling than the many reworkings of the main storyline we have.

Give me Pride and Prejudice...but make it witchy! This book was delightful, wicked fun and the perfect fall read. I loved Lydia's blunt and often cutting, but always sincere voice as she gave us her secret side of events from the well-known story. The author wrote a truly creative spin and gave a burst of new life into an old tale. I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for access to this arc.

I love all things Jane Austen, and think this is an interesting take on the youngest Bennett sister. Ultimately this didn’t keep my attention, and DNF’d around 13%

"A sparkling, witchy reimagining of Pride and Prejudice, told from the perspective of the troublesome and - according to her - much-maligned youngest Bennet sister, Lydia.

In this exuberant retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Lydia Bennet puts pen to paper to relate the real events and aftermath of the classic story. Some facts are well known: Mrs. Bennet suffers from her nerves, Mr. Bennet suffers from Mrs. Bennet, and all five daughters suffer from an estate that is entailed only to male heirs.

But Lydia also suffers from entirely different concerns: her best-loved sister Kitty is really a barn cat; Wickham is every bit as wicked as the world believes him to be, but what else would one expect from a demon? And if Mr. Darcy is uptight about etiquette, that's nothing compared to his feelings about magic. Most of all, Lydia has yet to learn that for a witch, promises have power...

Full of enchantment, intrigue, and boundless magic, The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch, has all the irreverent wit, strength, and romance of Pride and Prejudice - while offering a highly unexpected redemption for the wildest Bennet sister."

Oh my, I'm swooning, it's REGENCY MAGIC TIME! Also, Kitty is a barn cat. I can't stop laughing.

This was just not for me. I liked the characters, and I enjoyed the idea of reframing Lydia as the misunderstood witch of the family. But that was about all I liked. The writing was so tedious, and I was bored pretty early on. The plot had some great ideas behind it, but Lydia, as the narrator, is too scattered and the story drags because of it. She spends pages upon pages with irrelevant meandering thoughts, and it breaks up the story too much. If the writing had been tighter and there had been fewer asides, this could have been great. As it was, it was far too slow for me.

The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch is a retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice from Lydia's point of view.

To be honest I'm always a bit afraid of retellings, reimagined and parallel classics. To me after a certain time the classic, while fictional, is that character's truth, their history and in my mind I don't want someone to rip it all apart. The addition of witches, familiars, demons and magic did change the story some but at it's heart Melinda Taub did a wonderful job of keeping the original Pride and Prejudice threads recognizable.

Whether you liked Lydia in the original or not, she has been given a chance to tell her version of what happened.

Thank-you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

#TheScandalousConfessionsofLydiaBennetWitch #NetGalley

Book was an interesting idea and I liked the authors approach but unfortunately just not for me. But I would recommend for anyone who’s interested in an alternative take on Lydia.

This was a fun take on the Bennetts. I enjoyed reading it, and would recommend as a nice fall read! It wasn’t my favorite, as I just couldn’t get into the story but I think it was more me being a mood reader and not anything wrong with the book itself.

This was a really fun retelling of Pride and Prejudice with a totally different take than some of the other retelling I’ve read. It was well done and I really liked the writing style. I have patrons in mind who will want to read this so we are going to purchase for sure.

Utterly fantastic.

I love retellings, and this Pride and Prejudice combines magic with a new look at the characters we all know and love. Lydia Bennett is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter (some sisters died at birth), and that gifts her with powers she doesn't quite understand. When she accidentally turns her barn cat familiar into her sister Kitty, though, she attracts the attention of an aunt with powers. Lydia's love for Kitty makes her vulnerable to powers beyond her control, however, and the two sisters find themselves stretched to the max as mentors and allegiances shift. Their bond to each other becomes a critical part of a power struggle amongst coven members, all against the backdrop of an ancient power that wants to claim what's due to it.

Who knew Wickham could be even more fascinating? I love this iteration of Wickham as a demon conflicted when he enjoys human life more than he ever dreamed. As his motives and Lydia's collide, every moment they are together is a delight.

Die-hard Pride and Prejudice fans will want to know that this book focuses on Kitty, Mary, and Lydia, with Elizabeth and Jane only referred to, instead of appearing on the page. Their husbands make brief appearances, however.

I delighted in this clever, charming retelling that gives Lydia a whole new set of motives and depth.

The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch
by Melinda Taub
Pub Date: 03 Oct 2023

This exuberant retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Lydia Bennet puts pen to paper to relate the real events and aftermath of the classic story. Some facts are well known: Mrs. Bennet suffers from her nerves, Mr. Bennet suffers from Mrs. Bennet, and all five daughters suffer from an estate that is entailed only to male heirs.

But Lydia also suffers from entirely different concerns: her best-loved sister Kitty is really a barn cat; Wickham is every bit as wicked as the world believes him to be, but what else would one expect from a demon? And if Mr. Darcy is uptight about etiquette, that’s nothing compared to his feelings about magic. Most of all, Lydia has yet to learn that for a witch, promises have power . . .

Full of enchantment, intrigue, and boundless magic, The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch, has all the irreverent wit, strength, and romance of Pride and Prejudice—while offering a highly unexpected redemption for the wildest Bennet sister.

#TheScandalousConfessionsofLydiaBennetWitch

A fun retelling of the events of Pride and Prejudice, this time from youngest sister Lydia's point of view. And to make the story extra interesting, Lydia is a practicing witch! All of your favorite Austen characters are present in the tale, though Lydia definitely takes center stage. Plus, we learn quite a bit more about her reckless elopement with devilish Wickham and her special relationship with sister Kitty.

I will admit that at first, I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this book. I'm generally turned off by "tale within a tale" storytelling format (Lydia is writing a letter describing events, and also speaking directly to the reader as her current story unfolds) but once I got into a groove with Lydia, it ceased bothering me. The characters are quirky and lovable, with plenty of spunk, and by the end I was enthralled by this tale. AND THAT ENDING (!) oh my goodness, I definitely got a little teary at the close of the letter. Really enjoyed this book.

A definitely must-read for Austen fans looking for a fresh take on such a classic story! Thank you to Melinda Taub, Grand Central, and NetGalley for my advance digital copy.

Melinda Taub already has the excellent Still Star-Crossed under her belt, so I’m not surprised this take on Pride and Prejudice is playful, well-written, and original. But The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch does a lot more – it makes you rethink Lydia as a character and adds new layers to Austen's book’s characters and attitudes.

Lydia narrates her life story to the reader, and already things are not as typical as they might seem. Kitty Bennet, for one, is revealed to be a barn cat and Lydia’s familiar. Lydia enchants the animal into shapeshifting, then alters her family’s memories and Kit’s outward appearance so that they believe she was always a part of the family. Lydia thus learns she’s a witch early in life, but thankfully Aunt Phillips already knows of her trickery – and sets about acting as Lydia’s mentor in magic.

In time, Lydia comes to meet with other witch societies hidden under the genteel surface of Regency England, specifically The Order. As the Bennets come in contact with the Darcys, Lydia finds she must conceal her magical exploration as to not offend Fitzwilliam, Elizabeth’s potential suitor. When Lydia meets the wicked George Wickham, she thinks she’s found someone just as happy to flout social convention as she is. But George has some secrets up his sleeve that could separate Lydia and Kit – and Lydia from her magical abilities – for good. Lydia and Kit thus go on a search that will change them forever for better or for worse.

This is a knock-your-socks off good retelling/post-P&P novel. It takes a lot for me to sing the praises of yet another alternate history version of Pride and Prejudice, but this one definitely manages to create something new and different from Lydia. If you hate Austen’s final take on the character – for her flightiness and impulsiveness and lack of care – you will love her sparkly wit and fresh voice here. The central conceit of her social butterfly ways and playfulness shine through during the novel.

Kit is witty, playful and sarcastic – the most important companion in Lydia’s life. No one but Wickham rivals Kit for the first place in her heart. And Wickham is devilish – but harbors secret depths and feelings.

I liked the complexities of Wickham here, the way he and the women in The Order develop and change over time, and how ballroom politics and witchy politics collide (there’s a touching scene where the coven is called together to help one of their number’s social prospects with a magical spell that’s a nice example of sisterhood). There are magic battles, social battles and battles with evil to be won. Let Lydia Bennet be your guide. Her journals are not as naughty as they seem at first blush, but they will make you laugh, smile, cry and feel a shock of anger. This is a masterpiece and a treat for any Austen fan.

Review coming 9/29/2023, as part of an Austenprose PR book tour.

Thanks to the author, Grand Central Publishing, Austenprose PR, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Opinions are mine.