Quick Synopsis – In this scandalous addition to the Pride and Prejudice universe, we follow Lydia Bennet as she tells her side of the story. What if she wasn’t just a beguiled little sister who ran off with a rake? What if she was a witch?

Song Lydia Would Love – Could it Be Magic by Barry Manilow (to dance to) or Heads Will Roll by Yeah Yeah Yeahs (for general chaos)

Genre – Classic retelling, closed door romance, historical fiction, and fantasty

Book Review – Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this eARC.

This was a fun romp of a book told from Lydia’s perspective widely covering the events of Pride and Prejudice as well as the time period immediately before/after. Lydia tells her story through letters and personal recollections. She seems to be a rather reliable narrator, though she is quick to blame herself for the events that unfold.

Lydia is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter making her a relatively powerful witch. So powerful that it turns out her sister Kitty is not only her familiar, but secretly a cat in girl form. We start our journey when Lydia is young and is learning from her Aunt all about witchcraft and it’s costs. When she’s about seven, she accidently gets the attention of a great power and grants him a boon.

The boon turns out to be her fatal error that sends her on a crash course with the dashing rake Wickam. It really was great fun getting Lydia’s side of the story, and this retelling made her a much more sympathetic character. You really watch Lydia grow up and change from a self centered character to a well grounded young woman who would do anything for her friends.

However, I did find that the chapters were often too long and I felt like it took forever to get to the main conflict of the story. There also were a lot of little side plots which all wrapped up relatively neatly, but were kind of distracting.

In the end this is a 4 star read for me.