You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
I listened to the audiobook read by Mary Kate Wiles. I definitely recommend it! Her voices for characters like Mary, Lizzie and Jane (Oh and Mr. Collins) were great and fun.
I listened to this in a day and was trapped by the story. I wanted what Lydia wanted. I wanted closure and I’m very happy we got it.
I loved the plot and Lydia’s discovery of her love for psych, mixed in with her journey of finding what to do with her future.
She’s also self aware and it’s refreshing to read/hear the conclusions she came to. I really loved the repetition of the ‘villain’ theme.
I should’ve read this sooner! If you love LBD and the adorbs, what are you doing?! Pick this up and adventure with Lydia!
I listened to this in a day and was trapped by the story. I wanted what Lydia wanted. I wanted closure and I’m very happy we got it.
I loved the plot and Lydia’s discovery of her love for psych, mixed in with her journey of finding what to do with her future.
She’s also self aware and it’s refreshing to read/hear the conclusions she came to. I really loved the repetition of the ‘villain’ theme.
I should’ve read this sooner! If you love LBD and the adorbs, what are you doing?! Pick this up and adventure with Lydia!
Why I Read It: I randomly stumbled upon this and because of my love of Pride and Prejudice figured it would be right up my alley!
Premise: This book is a sequel to the popular Lizzie Bennet Diaries YouTube series (which I have not watched...). It's a modern re-telling of Pride and Prejudice and this book is about Lydia managing the consequences of her tryst with George. Lydia is taking summer courses to finish up at her local community college before heading off to university with cousin Mary. She's trying to work through the last semester of disasters, but sometimes the past just won't stay in the past.
What I Liked: ALL OF IT
- Lydia is surprisingly likeable/relatable in this. In the original P&P, Lydia is pretty much unredeemable (other than that most of her shortcomings could be blamed on bad parenting...), but here she is quirky, passionate, and yeah, a bit immature.
- PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR - as a psychology grad student I loved all the parts about Lydia's psychology courses and trying to figure out her career plan.
- It was so cool seeing the characters in the real world (XOXO Jane)
- Really good messages without being preachy
- I really enjoyed going with Lydia to explore different cities - all of this was super relatable
- The drama of a family of 3 sisters and the rivalry/bonds that creates was presented perfectly and I very much identified with the family dynamics
What I Didn’t Like:
I really liked it all. I will say, this is not a book full of beautiful prose or overly complex themes. It's a simple but entertaining story about how one can deal with the past without losing oneself, and it's told from the POV of a 20(ish) year old. So that might not be everyone's cup of tea.
Verdict: 5/5. Highly recommended for fans of P&P, you do not need to watch the web series first, and you'll be left sad to be leaving behind your favorite characters again.
Premise: This book is a sequel to the popular Lizzie Bennet Diaries YouTube series (which I have not watched...). It's a modern re-telling of Pride and Prejudice and this book is about Lydia managing the consequences of her tryst with George. Lydia is taking summer courses to finish up at her local community college before heading off to university with cousin Mary. She's trying to work through the last semester of disasters, but sometimes the past just won't stay in the past.
What I Liked: ALL OF IT
- Lydia is surprisingly likeable/relatable in this. In the original P&P, Lydia is pretty much unredeemable (other than that most of her shortcomings could be blamed on bad parenting...), but here she is quirky, passionate, and yeah, a bit immature.
- PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR - as a psychology grad student I loved all the parts about Lydia's psychology courses and trying to figure out her career plan.
- It was so cool seeing the characters in the real world (XOXO Jane)
- Really good messages without being preachy
- I really enjoyed going with Lydia to explore different cities - all of this was super relatable
- The drama of a family of 3 sisters and the rivalry/bonds that creates was presented perfectly and I very much identified with the family dynamics
What I Didn’t Like:
I really liked it all. I will say, this is not a book full of beautiful prose or overly complex themes. It's a simple but entertaining story about how one can deal with the past without losing oneself, and it's told from the POV of a 20(ish) year old. So that might not be everyone's cup of tea.
Verdict: 5/5. Highly recommended for fans of P&P, you do not need to watch the web series first, and you'll be left sad to be leaving behind your favorite characters again.
this book proves that lydia bennet is not a secondary character in someone else's story. also, mary bennet is confirmed bi in this so all we do is win.
My favourite webseries ever, the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, has been finished for nearly two years at this point - last year saw the publication of The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, a companion book to the series, and now this novel has just been brought out - a sequel, of sorts. As the writers (the same who wrote episodes for the webseries) explained, Lydia was the only one who did not get a nicely tied up ending; all the other characters are clearly going to good places at the end of the series, but Lydia - unsurprisingly, considering her story arc - lags behind.
And stays behind, as turns out from the start of this novel, showing us a Lydia who still lives in her home town, without her sisters, having to do summer courses in order to catch up and be able to go to college. The novel takes us through Lydia's summer, which pretty much is an emotional rollercoaster with a lot of ups and downs.
Let me make one thing clear: I've always been a Lizzie. Lydia annoyed me, though perhaps also because I could in fact see parts of her that kind of reflected me. Though Lydia can be irritating, and her put-on act of awesome partygirl truly becomes bothersome at some point, I think there are a lot of people like Lydia. Refusing to see things you don't like, refusing to suck it up and fix your mistakes but instead ignoring them for as long as possible, and messing up your life and disappointing others in that process - these are probably things a lot of people in their late teens and early twenties can identify with.
So even though The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet is, perhaps, not really a 4 star book, it deals with these problems so realistically - I could follow the negative spiral from my couch, and got both frustrated and pitying because of it - while refraining from becoming a depressing novel, it's worth quite a lot. I loved the fact that Lydia does not end up with a guy, but surrounded by her family. She is shown to be able to do very well on her own, and to do whatever she must to attain what she wants. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries opted to change the Lydia arc in the story, which was very well done from the start, and this novel manages to properly finish that arc with Lydia's unmistakable voice and personality leading the reader through her ups and downs.
And stays behind, as turns out from the start of this novel, showing us a Lydia who still lives in her home town, without her sisters, having to do summer courses in order to catch up and be able to go to college. The novel takes us through Lydia's summer, which pretty much is an emotional rollercoaster with a lot of ups and downs.
Let me make one thing clear: I've always been a Lizzie. Lydia annoyed me, though perhaps also because I could in fact see parts of her that kind of reflected me. Though Lydia can be irritating, and her put-on act of awesome partygirl truly becomes bothersome at some point, I think there are a lot of people like Lydia. Refusing to see things you don't like, refusing to suck it up and fix your mistakes but instead ignoring them for as long as possible, and messing up your life and disappointing others in that process - these are probably things a lot of people in their late teens and early twenties can identify with.
So even though The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet is, perhaps, not really a 4 star book, it deals with these problems so realistically - I could follow the negative spiral from my couch, and got both frustrated and pitying because of it - while refraining from becoming a depressing novel, it's worth quite a lot. I loved the fact that Lydia does not end up with a guy, but surrounded by her family. She is shown to be able to do very well on her own, and to do whatever she must to attain what she wants. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries opted to change the Lydia arc in the story, which was very well done from the start, and this novel manages to properly finish that arc with Lydia's unmistakable voice and personality leading the reader through her ups and downs.
Well, I finished a 9+ hour audiobook in one day. That should speak volumes. I love that they found a way to "redeem" the character of Lydia Bennet in such a believable way that didn't try to sugar-coat or diminish what they had happen to her at the end of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. I really liked the direction they took her character and that her growth, maturation, and healing were realistic enough---a few steps back every so often just to show how much of a struggle moving on and learning to live again can be.
I don't know if it's because I love LBD or the writing or the way I relate to Lydia but I loved reading this book. I'm the youngest in my family and the one who has life figured out the least, much like Lydia. Reading her internal struggles with herself resonated a lot with my own feelings and gave me so much hope for the future. I really wish there was more to this story so I could see Lydia after the conclusion and the rest of the Bennet sisters. I don't think I'll love any other P&P adaptation as much as these stories.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I like how Lydia was the protagonist in this one. She is a wise choice as a narrator because of how perceptive she is. The story really comes alive through her point of view because of how she's able to read people so clearly.
This book is a must read our any fan of The Adorbs aka Lydia Bennet.
The story shows nog only the story of our favourite character, but it shows the truth about the struggle of recovery.
We all like to think that when a story is over, or when someone has reached out for help, they are going to be okay. It's only a matter of time we say to them and to ourselves. But that is not true, the work has only just begun. It's going to be so much hard work, and you'll screw up, and you'll be scared and you'll beat yourself up over it.
But it can get better. And that is what this book is about, it's about the struggle of trying to be better before you're ready to be better. And about that that doesn't mean you can't get better. Because you can.
The dedication says: to all the Lydias out there. And I think in truth we all have a Lydia inside of us, an adorable, excited, self doubting Lydia that we have to embrace and love with our whole hearts.
I suck at reviews, but I'm sure there are more than enough actual literary geniuses who will take the time and give the writers the excellent and we'll reasoned feedback they deserve. I just wanted to tell what this book has meant to me.
The story shows nog only the story of our favourite character, but it shows the truth about the struggle of recovery.
We all like to think that when a story is over, or when someone has reached out for help, they are going to be okay. It's only a matter of time we say to them and to ourselves. But that is not true, the work has only just begun. It's going to be so much hard work, and you'll screw up, and you'll be scared and you'll beat yourself up over it.
But it can get better. And that is what this book is about, it's about the struggle of trying to be better before you're ready to be better. And about that that doesn't mean you can't get better. Because you can.
The dedication says: to all the Lydias out there. And I think in truth we all have a Lydia inside of us, an adorable, excited, self doubting Lydia that we have to embrace and love with our whole hearts.
I suck at reviews, but I'm sure there are more than enough actual literary geniuses who will take the time and give the writers the excellent and we'll reasoned feedback they deserve. I just wanted to tell what this book has meant to me.
I have so much appreciation for this book. The end of Lydia's story in the webseries really left me wanting to know more. I don't think that there were loose ends, but I desperately wanted to know what she did afterwards. This book is incredible because it develops how she changed after what happened to her with Wickham and how her healing process developed and affected her decisions, goals, and personality. I loved seeing her change.
And I just want to say that I totally called it that
And I just want to say that I totally called it that