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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this. While I LOVED The Lizzie Bennet Diaries YouTube series, I never got around to watching Lydia's vlogs. Here though, I DID continue on to Lydia's story. I was able to snag the audiobook at the library (extended) but the Kindle copy wasn't there. I would have liked to have it on hand, but not $12 worth to. A little pricey for an ebook.
Unlike Lizzie's book, which was in diary format, this was basic chapters. Kind of a stream-of-consciousness of Lydia telling her story to us. Very conversational. This picked up after the first book ended (as well as the video series) so this whole story was new. Lydia is in therapy, dealing with the GeorgeWickham disaster, trying to dedicate herself to getting her associates at the community college and transfer to a four year college. There's still quite a bit of "fun" ... hitting the bars, drinking, boys. The other sisters, Lizzie and Jane, make appearances. Cousin Mary plays a larger role. But this is Lydia's story, and there were enjoyable twists and turns.
I enjoyed seeing Lydia attempt to grow up and become a little more serious. Still struggling with living up (or down) to expectations from others, and herself.
I didn't have the Kindle copy to double check - Trigger check - the f-bomb was dropped at least once (but maybe only once?), lots of beer drinking/parties going on, there is a side story of an LGBTQ relationship. No sex that I recall (other than the mention of the sex tape made earlier).
Unlike The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet ... I'm not sure this could be a stand-alone. I just don't know that readers/listeners would be able to jump into Lydia's world. They would have needed the preceeding book AND probably the video series to really know Lydia. Despite it all, she really is lovable.
Unlike Lizzie's book, which was in diary format, this was basic chapters. Kind of a stream-of-consciousness of Lydia telling her story to us. Very conversational. This picked up after the first book ended (as well as the video series) so this whole story was new. Lydia is in therapy, dealing with the GeorgeWickham disaster, trying to dedicate herself to getting her associates at the community college and transfer to a four year college. There's still quite a bit of "fun" ... hitting the bars, drinking, boys. The other sisters, Lizzie and Jane, make appearances. Cousin Mary plays a larger role. But this is Lydia's story, and there were enjoyable twists and turns.
I enjoyed seeing Lydia attempt to grow up and become a little more serious. Still struggling with living up (or down) to expectations from others, and herself.
I didn't have the Kindle copy to double check - Trigger check - the f-bomb was dropped at least once (but maybe only once?), lots of beer drinking/parties going on, there is a side story of an LGBTQ relationship. No sex that I recall (other than the mention of the sex tape made earlier).
Unlike The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet ... I'm not sure this could be a stand-alone. I just don't know that readers/listeners would be able to jump into Lydia's world. They would have needed the preceeding book AND probably the video series to really know Lydia. Despite it all, she really is lovable.
Absolutely adored this book. Lydia Bennet has so many layers that were discovered even more in this book than in the Lizzie Bennet Diaries webseries and I found myself relating to her way more than I expected. Mary Kate Wiles does a fantastic job narrating the audiobook and overall it was a wonderful, fun, and surprisingly really emotional experience.
This is an amazing sequel to The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet. While reading Pride & Prejudice I always related more with Elizabeth and mostly ignored the rest of the sisters, but after watching The Lizzie Bennet Diaries on YouTube I wanted to know more about Lydia. I wanted her to succeed and to find her own happiness and I really just wanted more of my Bennets.
Lydia's tale was exactly what I wanted, and I found myself smiling, crying, and hoping for the best. Watching Lydia try to move on after what happened to her was in many ways inspiring. And after having watched every episode of Lizzie's web series and the short run of Lydia's series, I even found myself reading the book in Lydia's voice, which made it even more entertaining.
I would love to see more books that continue the story of these characters, to have a book for Jane and a book for Mary at the very least. I have become even more invested in the characters adapted for this modern age, and it makes me look at the classic P&P in a different way. Seriously, I highly recommend the YouTube series and the companion books created by Bernie Su, Kate Rorick, and Rachel Kiley. They have done an amazing job of expanding on the story created by Jane Austen, and I look forward to many more adaptations and stories in the future.
Lydia's tale was exactly what I wanted, and I found myself smiling, crying, and hoping for the best. Watching Lydia try to move on after what happened to her was in many ways inspiring. And after having watched every episode of Lizzie's web series and the short run of Lydia's series, I even found myself reading the book in Lydia's voice, which made it even more entertaining.
I would love to see more books that continue the story of these characters, to have a book for Jane and a book for Mary at the very least. I have become even more invested in the characters adapted for this modern age, and it makes me look at the classic P&P in a different way. Seriously, I highly recommend the YouTube series and the companion books created by Bernie Su, Kate Rorick, and Rachel Kiley. They have done an amazing job of expanding on the story created by Jane Austen, and I look forward to many more adaptations and stories in the future.
This book is a surprisingly satisfying sequel/spin off to the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. I would recommend getting the audiobook so you can hear it narrated by Mary Kate Wiles, the actress who played Lydia in the series. That experience drew me into the plot if the book a lot more--and beware, the first half is a necessary but frustrating portion acknowledging that Lydia is all capitals NOT OKAY. It's believable but sad because if you've watched the series, you really want Lydia to be okay. Now that doesn't truly happen until the final act of book, and justifiably so, but otherwise the book it's fairly well plotted, so the beginning was a little maddening. The second half is where the breakthroughs happen and the book really hits its stride.
All in all, it's worth the read if you enjoyed the series. It was great to get some updates (and a satisfying character arc for Mary) on favorite old characters, and meet some new favorite characters.
All in all, it's worth the read if you enjoyed the series. It was great to get some updates (and a satisfying character arc for Mary) on favorite old characters, and meet some new favorite characters.
If you loved the Vlogs and The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, this is an obvious choice. I honestly couldn't put this book down. I devoured every sentence, wanting to know more and find out what happened to or favorite "adorbs." I honestly read it over the course of just one day because I just was so interested in this story about some of my favorite characters.
As with [b:The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet|18775255|The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet|Bernie Su|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394475850l/18775255._SY75_.jpg|26680388] I'm not sure if you could really read this without having watched the Lizzie Bennet Diaries (and Lydia Bennet) web series, and in this case without having read [b:The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet|18775255|The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet|Bernie Su|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394475850l/18775255._SY75_.jpg|26680388] because basically the plot of this shoots off what was mentioned in that book, which were not mentioned in the series. Though Lydia gives a quick (but fairly natural) synopsis of what's happened. It was nice to get this breadth and depth on Lydia's experience (which was certainly already given more breadth and depth in LBD compared to the original character 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].
The first half was kind of painfully realistic and un-epic. It got more what you could call epic in the second half. I don't know that I expected any real epicness as that's just the way Lydia talks, and the whole thing was rightly about processing everything she'd experienced and growing to understand herself and others.
The first half was kind of painfully realistic and un-epic. It got more what you could call epic in the second half. I don't know that I expected any real epicness as that's just the way Lydia talks, and the whole thing was rightly about processing everything she'd experienced and growing to understand herself and others.
Halfway through I was sure I was going to give this book 3 stars, but the last half definitely changed that.
Pretty decent as these one-off Austen modernizations go...and an automatic 3 stars for anyone who makes Lydia Bennet interesting and even likeable.
I absolutely loved where this story went, and I especially enjoyed Lydia's character development. This was such a wonderful addition to the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Highly recommend the audio, which is narrated by Mary Kate Wiles!