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The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet
Based on the Emmy Award-winning “genius” (The Guardian) web series, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, this is a new novel starring Lizzie’s spunky sister Lydia as she navigates the joys and pitfalls of becoming an adult in the digital age.
Before her older sister, Lizzie, started her wildly popular vlog, Lydia was just a normal twenty-year-old plotting the many ways she could get away with skipping her community college classes and finding the perfect fake ID. She may not have had much direction, but she loved her family and had plenty of fun. Then Lizzie’s vlog turned the Bennet sisters into Internet sensations, and Lydia basked in the attention as people watched, debated, tweeted, tumblr’d, and blogged about her life. But not all attention is good…
After her ex-boyfriend, George Wickham took advantage of Lydia’s newfound web-fame, betrayed her trust, and destroyed her online reputation, she’s no longer a naïve, carefree girl. Now, Lydia must work to win back her family’s trust and respect and find her place in a far more judgmental world.
Told in Lydia’s distinctive, eccentric, and endearing voice, The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet picks up right where The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet left off and “offers a fresh take on Pride and Prejudice without ruining it” (The Washington Post, on The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet). Featuring fresh twists, wonderful new characters, and scores of hilarious texts, doodles, and tweets, The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet takes you behind the webcam and into the lives of your favorite sisters in a way that’s sure to satisfy existing fans and delight new ones.
Before her older sister, Lizzie, started her wildly popular vlog, Lydia was just a normal twenty-year-old plotting the many ways she could get away with skipping her community college classes and finding the perfect fake ID. She may not have had much direction, but she loved her family and had plenty of fun. Then Lizzie’s vlog turned the Bennet sisters into Internet sensations, and Lydia basked in the attention as people watched, debated, tweeted, tumblr’d, and blogged about her life. But not all attention is good…
After her ex-boyfriend, George Wickham took advantage of Lydia’s newfound web-fame, betrayed her trust, and destroyed her online reputation, she’s no longer a naïve, carefree girl. Now, Lydia must work to win back her family’s trust and respect and find her place in a far more judgmental world.
Told in Lydia’s distinctive, eccentric, and endearing voice, The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet picks up right where The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet left off and “offers a fresh take on Pride and Prejudice without ruining it” (The Washington Post, on The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet). Featuring fresh twists, wonderful new characters, and scores of hilarious texts, doodles, and tweets, The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet takes you behind the webcam and into the lives of your favorite sisters in a way that’s sure to satisfy existing fans and delight new ones.
336 pages, Paperback
First published September 29, 2015
27 people are currently reading
1942 people want to read
About the author
Kate Rorick
4 books150 followersaka
Kate Noble
Emmy Award-winning writer Kate Rorick is the author of novels about modern motherhood. Her latest is Little Wonders (William Morrow, coming 3/17/20). She is also a television writer and producer, most recently for The Librarians and Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger. Kate was one of the writers behind the runaway YouTube sensation The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, and authored its two tie-in novels. In her vast spare time she is a bestselling author of historical romance, under the name Kate Noble. She lives in Los Angeles with her family.
Kate Noble
Emmy Award-winning writer Kate Rorick is the author of novels about modern motherhood. Her latest is Little Wonders (William Morrow, coming 3/17/20). She is also a television writer and producer, most recently for The Librarians and Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger. Kate was one of the writers behind the runaway YouTube sensation The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, and authored its two tie-in novels. In her vast spare time she is a bestselling author of historical romance, under the name Kate Noble. She lives in Los Angeles with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 272 reviews
October 30, 2015
Review originally posted on Mostly YA Lit:
The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet is a love letter to fans of the wildly popular webseries, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. There's no other way to put it. In the Acknowledgments, the authors say that the book would not have existed if people hadn't voiced their love, affection, and concern for this version of Lydia Bennet. So it seems absolutely right that Lydia should finally get her own story via the voices of those who loved her...because this book, in, itself, is all about Lydia reclaiming her voice.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. If you haven't heard of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, it's an online adaptation of Pride & Prejudice in which Lizzie is a grad student filming YouTube videos of her life. If you haven't read about Pride & Prejudice, please go read it, go watch the LBD webseries, or read The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet before checking out this review. Because while Lydia's story can be read as a standalone, it's just not as captivating or compelling if you don't get the full story. The context is very important here (also, spoilers for the whole LBD series).
In The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet, we really, finally get to see how George's betrayal (he encouraged Lydia to make a tape of them having sex, and then left town, intending to sell it to an online company) affected Lydia, changed her. Yes, we saw her videos and her in Lizzie's videos. But now we get a taste of what it's like being in her shoes, and it's a hard place to be. Even though LBD ended on a good note for Lydia, we never got closure on her story. Her last video where she says she feels so happy and safe with George? That's still up. There's no conclusion after that.
And it makes sense, because the Lydia we saw at the beginning of the show is gone. She's in counselling, she's thinking about majoring in psychology, she's got a plan to go to San Francisco with her cousin Mary and start at a school there, but she's struggling to finish her credits for her Associate's Degree so she can leave. And she's scared, because all of her classmates (her whole town, in fact), know what happened to her. In particular, there are a few classmates who really make light of what happened to her, and it's upsetting to see her in that position. Luckily, Lydia still has her family support - Mary plays a huge part in this book, and Lizzie and Jane make more than brief appearances. But still, she feels alone.
What I really loved about this book is that it doesn't give an easy answer to what Lydia went through. She's healing, but she's still going through something really hard and scary, something that makes her question every action and every belief. It's definitely darker than what we saw in LBD. Lydia goes to some haunting and sad places emotionally in this book, she makes some serious mistakes, she beats herself up...in some ways, this was one of the hardest books I've ever had to read. But it was also very, very real, and one thing I've learned about mental illness is that sometimes, it really is two steps forward and one step back.
But the thing with Lydia is - she also knows when enough is enough. And she's stronger than she knows. The second half of the book is all about her making small steps to change her life, to celebrate herself, and to be kind to herself. And it's about understanding what people are saying to her, with their actions and words (the Bennet family is almost smothering her with their pity and worried looks at the beginning of the book) and reconciling it with what makes sense in her heart.
I feel like I'm just babbling here, but it's because this book is SO emotional. Lydia is a girl who wears her heart on her sleeve, but she's also someone who is excellent at avoidance and ignoring problems. Watching her go through this journey to realize what she needs and wants is both exhausting and exhilarating. It says a lot that at the end of the book, I felt PROUD of her. She was more than just a character to me. I was living this with her and to see her change throughout the book was so personal.
Bonuses:
Secondary Characters Represent (aka all of the Bennets): Want to know how Lizzie and Darcy are doing? Or Jane and Bing? Or Mary? YOU WILL FIND OUT, and some of them have some serious developmental arcs that made me SO HAPPY.
I Want to Go To There: There's a surprising amount of travel in this book, and it just works so well. You'll guess at some of the moments in the travel, but I was so enamoured of them, I didn't care if they were a little predictable.
School Daze: I loved the fact that we got to read some of Lydia's schoolwork in the book. It made me laugh, smile, and fall in love with her more, because that is EXACTLY how Lydia would write papers.
Pitch-Perfect Voice: I know Kate Rorick and especially Rachel Kiley wrote Lydia's dialogue on the show, but they really, really nailed the new Lydia as well. You still see hints of the adorbs and her effervescence, but you also see how smart and truly amazing she really is. They nailed it.
The Final Word:
Honestly, I really did love most of this book, but I think the darkness of the first half really wore on me...and yet, I can't fault the writers for making me feel so much. This book is an excellent depiction of trauma and depression and how it can beat down on you, but also how support and time and understanding can change and move you onto the right path. It's a stressful, emotional read, but it's well worth it. If you're a Lydia Bennet or Lizzie Bennet Diaries fan, this is the ending that you need for all of our characters.
THE EPIC ADVENTURES OF LYDIA BENNET comes out next week. I've already pre-ordered the audiobook, which is narrated by the actress who portrayed Lydia, Mary Kate Wiles, and I can't wait to relive it through her. Will you be picking up a copy? Have you watched The Lizzie Bennet Diaries or read The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet?
Updated after audiobook re-read: Mary Kate Wiles does a great job with the voices of Lydia, Jane, Lizzie, Mary and more - what's interesting is that I didn't get quite as depressed or feel quite as dark about her story while audiobooking - I think because Lydia's voice is so distinct, and even when she's at her worst moments, I could still hear the strength behind her character. That's what Mary Kate brings to reading this book - levity, but also a reminder of just how strong Lydia is. The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet made me just as happy at the end as it did the first time, and once again, I applaud the authors and Pemberley Digital for taking this chance on Lydia and giving her a voice and a story.
The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet is a love letter to fans of the wildly popular webseries, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. There's no other way to put it. In the Acknowledgments, the authors say that the book would not have existed if people hadn't voiced their love, affection, and concern for this version of Lydia Bennet. So it seems absolutely right that Lydia should finally get her own story via the voices of those who loved her...because this book, in, itself, is all about Lydia reclaiming her voice.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. If you haven't heard of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, it's an online adaptation of Pride & Prejudice in which Lizzie is a grad student filming YouTube videos of her life. If you haven't read about Pride & Prejudice, please go read it, go watch the LBD webseries, or read The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet before checking out this review. Because while Lydia's story can be read as a standalone, it's just not as captivating or compelling if you don't get the full story. The context is very important here (also, spoilers for the whole LBD series).In The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet, we really, finally get to see how George's betrayal (he encouraged Lydia to make a tape of them having sex, and then left town, intending to sell it to an online company) affected Lydia, changed her. Yes, we saw her videos and her in Lizzie's videos. But now we get a taste of what it's like being in her shoes, and it's a hard place to be. Even though LBD ended on a good note for Lydia, we never got closure on her story. Her last video where she says she feels so happy and safe with George? That's still up. There's no conclusion after that.
And it makes sense, because the Lydia we saw at the beginning of the show is gone. She's in counselling, she's thinking about majoring in psychology, she's got a plan to go to San Francisco with her cousin Mary and start at a school there, but she's struggling to finish her credits for her Associate's Degree so she can leave. And she's scared, because all of her classmates (her whole town, in fact), know what happened to her. In particular, there are a few classmates who really make light of what happened to her, and it's upsetting to see her in that position. Luckily, Lydia still has her family support - Mary plays a huge part in this book, and Lizzie and Jane make more than brief appearances. But still, she feels alone.
What I really loved about this book is that it doesn't give an easy answer to what Lydia went through. She's healing, but she's still going through something really hard and scary, something that makes her question every action and every belief. It's definitely darker than what we saw in LBD. Lydia goes to some haunting and sad places emotionally in this book, she makes some serious mistakes, she beats herself up...in some ways, this was one of the hardest books I've ever had to read. But it was also very, very real, and one thing I've learned about mental illness is that sometimes, it really is two steps forward and one step back.
But the thing with Lydia is - she also knows when enough is enough. And she's stronger than she knows. The second half of the book is all about her making small steps to change her life, to celebrate herself, and to be kind to herself. And it's about understanding what people are saying to her, with their actions and words (the Bennet family is almost smothering her with their pity and worried looks at the beginning of the book) and reconciling it with what makes sense in her heart.
I feel like I'm just babbling here, but it's because this book is SO emotional. Lydia is a girl who wears her heart on her sleeve, but she's also someone who is excellent at avoidance and ignoring problems. Watching her go through this journey to realize what she needs and wants is both exhausting and exhilarating. It says a lot that at the end of the book, I felt PROUD of her. She was more than just a character to me. I was living this with her and to see her change throughout the book was so personal.
Bonuses:
Secondary Characters Represent (aka all of the Bennets): Want to know how Lizzie and Darcy are doing? Or Jane and Bing? Or Mary? YOU WILL FIND OUT, and some of them have some serious developmental arcs that made me SO HAPPY.I Want to Go To There: There's a surprising amount of travel in this book, and it just works so well. You'll guess at some of the moments in the travel, but I was so enamoured of them, I didn't care if they were a little predictable.School Daze: I loved the fact that we got to read some of Lydia's schoolwork in the book. It made me laugh, smile, and fall in love with her more, because that is EXACTLY how Lydia would write papers.Pitch-Perfect Voice: I know Kate Rorick and especially Rachel Kiley wrote Lydia's dialogue on the show, but they really, really nailed the new Lydia as well. You still see hints of the adorbs and her effervescence, but you also see how smart and truly amazing she really is. They nailed it.
The Final Word:
Honestly, I really did love most of this book, but I think the darkness of the first half really wore on me...and yet, I can't fault the writers for making me feel so much. This book is an excellent depiction of trauma and depression and how it can beat down on you, but also how support and time and understanding can change and move you onto the right path. It's a stressful, emotional read, but it's well worth it. If you're a Lydia Bennet or Lizzie Bennet Diaries fan, this is the ending that you need for all of our characters.
THE EPIC ADVENTURES OF LYDIA BENNET comes out next week. I've already pre-ordered the audiobook, which is narrated by the actress who portrayed Lydia, Mary Kate Wiles, and I can't wait to relive it through her. Will you be picking up a copy? Have you watched The Lizzie Bennet Diaries or read The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet?
Updated after audiobook re-read: Mary Kate Wiles does a great job with the voices of Lydia, Jane, Lizzie, Mary and more - what's interesting is that I didn't get quite as depressed or feel quite as dark about her story while audiobooking - I think because Lydia's voice is so distinct, and even when she's at her worst moments, I could still hear the strength behind her character. That's what Mary Kate brings to reading this book - levity, but also a reminder of just how strong Lydia is. The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet made me just as happy at the end as it did the first time, and once again, I applaud the authors and Pemberley Digital for taking this chance on Lydia and giving her a voice and a story.
September 30, 2015
A satisfying sequel-of-sorts to our favorite little sister :) When we leave off with Lydia, the whole debacle with George Wickham is over, Lydia is healing and thinking of majoring in Psychology.
This is about Lydia figuring out herself and her future after the camera turns off for good.
Lydia's voice comes through loud and clear.. it feels like she's pulling you into her confidence and sharing her story with you while you're hangin out on the couch. While she made some choices I wish she hadn't, I was still rooting for her and proud of her for not giving up on herself (even though she didn't see it that way at first).
Lydia meets some good people along her journey... LOVED Kat. Milo, and Violet... I wanted to go hang out with them and do whatever they felt like doing. I have a feeling you would never be bored with them :).
It takes Lydia a little while to find her way... it takes some soul searching and a couple trips
The ending had me smiling from ear to ear, I have feeling Lydia has a good future ahead of her.
We get some updates on Lizzie (to a lesser extent than the others), Bing, Jane, and their parents, they are more in the background but a definite presence in the story. One had me wanting to grab a certain someone in a big bear hug.
Would recommend,You could probably read this without reading 'The Secret Diary' of Lizzie Bennet but I would still advise reading it and/or watching the web series first.
~~~~
Shining a spotlight on a Wonderful review here from Tiff at Mostly YA Lit... she says it all better than me :)
Want to read
December 22, 2014[image error]
April 18, 2021
4 stars
In case you didn't get the memo, I adore The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. It's a fabulous modern day retelling of Pride & Prejudice in a webseries format, and now it's spawned TWO books to give even more depth to the story. The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet tells Lydia's story after the webseries ends... and boy. It's a doozy. It's only right that Lydia, arguably the series' most complex character, gets the chance to shine in her own story. I loved it.
This book is all about Lydia, so whether or not you like it will hinge on whether or not you like her voice. She's so complicated and flawed, but I find that makes her so much more interesting. You see her using cheerfulness as a mask. You see her running away from any dark feelings. You see her stubbornly pretend she's okay and awesome, when actually she feels anything but. Considering the ordeal she went through in the webseries, this book is not a particularly cheerful one. But it's a very realistic one. It perfectly captures the mess that's left behind after someone gets out of an abusive relationship. She's coping - badly - but gradually getting stronger.
The journey Lydia goes through in this book is a very intrinsic, character-focused one. If you're looking for super swoons or exciting plot, it may not be for you. But if you do like super duper depth in your characters, heartbreaking feels, and some genuinely good anxiety and therapy related scenes, you will likely appreciate it anyway. I was completely sucked into Lydia's story and hoping and praying so hard that things would get better for her. She deserves happiness, because despite all of her flaws, she's not a bad person. I just have a lot of feelings about Lydia. And I adore what this book did for her character.
I would also argue that this is very much a new adult book, though without the sexual content. It deserves the label, because Lydia faces a lot of the new adult struggles and anxiety that actually come with being in your 20s. She's been left behind by her successful sisters, she has almost finished community college, but she has no idea what direction she wants to go in her life. Or, she thinks she knows, but then she messes it up again. She's now an outcast from her community because of the sex tape scandal, and she faces a shit-storm of prejudice because of it. Your 20s are filled with stress, anxiety, and peer pressure, and Lydia faces all of that and more. It was seriously relatable.
You also get to see familiar faces - Lizzie, Jane, Bing, and Mary most prominently. Honestly I adored seeing how deep the friendship went between Lydia and Mary (despite their share of drama in this book). It was super heartwarming. And, yeah, Lydia doesn't really have a shippity ship of her own, but that kind of makes sense since she just got out of such a terrible relationship. She needs to learn to stand on her own two feet. But Mary does get a ship - one that's super exciting and full of F/F adorableness. And I love how Lydia's response to that again shows her growth and her genuine friendship with Mary.
Though I feel like Kate Rorick and Rachel Kiley caught Lydia's voice perfectly (seriously, it was like Mary Kate Wiles was talking in my head), my main hangup about this book is the writing. Something about the style was a little bit off for me - it's mostly told in present tense but it awkwardly switches to past tense in some of Lydia's thoughts (which aren't clearly separate from the general narrations). This made me stop and start quite a bit and just kept the story from flowing smoothly. It took quite a bit of effort to just ignore it.
Summing Up:
Lydia is flawed, complicated, and eccentric, but she's also super endearing. Her voice shines in The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet, where she doesn't actually have epic adventures, but instead finds herself and her place in the world after the ending of the webseries. I loved this book - particularly because Lydia deserved to have her own story told. It was realistic, heartbreaking, and, ultimately, empowering. Not a fluffy book, but one definitely worth reading.
GIF it to me straight!
Recommended To:
Fans of the webseries.
In case you didn't get the memo, I adore The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. It's a fabulous modern day retelling of Pride & Prejudice in a webseries format, and now it's spawned TWO books to give even more depth to the story. The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet tells Lydia's story after the webseries ends... and boy. It's a doozy. It's only right that Lydia, arguably the series' most complex character, gets the chance to shine in her own story. I loved it.
This book is all about Lydia, so whether or not you like it will hinge on whether or not you like her voice. She's so complicated and flawed, but I find that makes her so much more interesting. You see her using cheerfulness as a mask. You see her running away from any dark feelings. You see her stubbornly pretend she's okay and awesome, when actually she feels anything but. Considering the ordeal she went through in the webseries, this book is not a particularly cheerful one. But it's a very realistic one. It perfectly captures the mess that's left behind after someone gets out of an abusive relationship. She's coping - badly - but gradually getting stronger.
The journey Lydia goes through in this book is a very intrinsic, character-focused one. If you're looking for super swoons or exciting plot, it may not be for you. But if you do like super duper depth in your characters, heartbreaking feels, and some genuinely good anxiety and therapy related scenes, you will likely appreciate it anyway. I was completely sucked into Lydia's story and hoping and praying so hard that things would get better for her. She deserves happiness, because despite all of her flaws, she's not a bad person. I just have a lot of feelings about Lydia. And I adore what this book did for her character.
I would also argue that this is very much a new adult book, though without the sexual content. It deserves the label, because Lydia faces a lot of the new adult struggles and anxiety that actually come with being in your 20s. She's been left behind by her successful sisters, she has almost finished community college, but she has no idea what direction she wants to go in her life. Or, she thinks she knows, but then she messes it up again. She's now an outcast from her community because of the sex tape scandal, and she faces a shit-storm of prejudice because of it. Your 20s are filled with stress, anxiety, and peer pressure, and Lydia faces all of that and more. It was seriously relatable.
You also get to see familiar faces - Lizzie, Jane, Bing, and Mary most prominently. Honestly I adored seeing how deep the friendship went between Lydia and Mary (despite their share of drama in this book). It was super heartwarming. And, yeah, Lydia doesn't really have a shippity ship of her own, but that kind of makes sense since she just got out of such a terrible relationship. She needs to learn to stand on her own two feet. But Mary does get a ship - one that's super exciting and full of F/F adorableness. And I love how Lydia's response to that again shows her growth and her genuine friendship with Mary.
Though I feel like Kate Rorick and Rachel Kiley caught Lydia's voice perfectly (seriously, it was like Mary Kate Wiles was talking in my head), my main hangup about this book is the writing. Something about the style was a little bit off for me - it's mostly told in present tense but it awkwardly switches to past tense in some of Lydia's thoughts (which aren't clearly separate from the general narrations). This made me stop and start quite a bit and just kept the story from flowing smoothly. It took quite a bit of effort to just ignore it.
Summing Up:
Lydia is flawed, complicated, and eccentric, but she's also super endearing. Her voice shines in The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet, where she doesn't actually have epic adventures, but instead finds herself and her place in the world after the ending of the webseries. I loved this book - particularly because Lydia deserved to have her own story told. It was realistic, heartbreaking, and, ultimately, empowering. Not a fluffy book, but one definitely worth reading.
GIF it to me straight!
Recommended To:
Fans of the webseries.
June 28, 2015
Because another thing he has failed at doing is taking my identity, and taking my voice. Those are mine. And with them, I can always turn my failures into strengths.
A satisfying follow-up to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries that finally gives the series' scene-stealing breakout character a chance to tell her own story - and continue it, on her terms. Lydia is a fun, clever, engaging first-person narrator: it's impossible not to root for her as she attempts to redefine herself, pursue meaningful new adventures, confront her personal demons, and deal with the emotional fallout of trauma - all while retaining the sense of humor and zest for life that made viewers fall in love with her in the first place.
The familiar cast (Mary is integral, with a compelling subplot of her own, and Lizzie, Jane, Bing, and all make appearances) is fleshed out with memorable new faces that put Lydia in interesting new scenarios and add fresh dimensions to her character. In authentically resolving old storylines while setting the stage for new ones beyond the final page, authors Kate Rorick and Rachel Kiley have given fans closure and definitively done justice to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries' most complex and sympathetic character. Highly recommend!
A satisfying follow-up to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries that finally gives the series' scene-stealing breakout character a chance to tell her own story - and continue it, on her terms. Lydia is a fun, clever, engaging first-person narrator: it's impossible not to root for her as she attempts to redefine herself, pursue meaningful new adventures, confront her personal demons, and deal with the emotional fallout of trauma - all while retaining the sense of humor and zest for life that made viewers fall in love with her in the first place.
The familiar cast (Mary is integral, with a compelling subplot of her own, and Lizzie, Jane, Bing, and all make appearances) is fleshed out with memorable new faces that put Lydia in interesting new scenarios and add fresh dimensions to her character. In authentically resolving old storylines while setting the stage for new ones beyond the final page, authors Kate Rorick and Rachel Kiley have given fans closure and definitively done justice to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries' most complex and sympathetic character. Highly recommend!
October 12, 2015
Arc provided by Touchstone through Netgalley
I had a hard time with this book, and part of it was my fault.
After all, this is Lydia's book. And Lydia is Lydia. Even in the aftermath of "Wickham's I wanna punch you in the nuts SOB" incident, she is still her same frustrating self piling mistakes after mistakes.
The thing is, this contemporary version of Lydia is also extremely adorb.
My biggest complaint about this story is that _for me_ it just felt as if it went on and on.
It's a very emotional, introspective tale of someone trying to pick up the pieces of herself, and trying to move on with her life. Basically, there is a lot of angst _ understandable one_ and a very new adult feel to it.
Thing is, my tastes don't run alongside the new adult/angst kind of stories, therefore there were some moments _ especially during the first half of the story _ in which I got pretty tired with this.
However, I just couldn't force myself to leave Lydia's tale unread. Because I actually like the girl.
I like her for that big heart of hers, and basically for the fearless way she lives her life. Even if sometimes things don't end working as she would wish they would, at least she tries her best.
As for the secondary characters, I loved her cousin Mary and her cat, Kitty. ;)
In case you're wondering, Kitty is the one on the left...Lizzie and Jane also make small appearances. Darcy not so much. -_-
So, all in all, this actually ended up being better than I thought it would turn out to be... considering how it started.
July 4, 2015
I have been waiting a long time to be able to finish Lydia's story, so as soon as I received an ARC for this book, I couldn't wait to finally go on this last journey with Lydia. And it was a journey that did not disappoint. If you've felt like Lydia's story remained unfinished, if you've ever wished she could have made just one more video, this book is for you.
Unlike the corresponding book previously released by Rorick and Su, telling the untold behind the scenes of Lizzie's story during her vlogs, this book, by Rorick and Kiley, delves into the untold future for Lydia. The what comes after the camera turns off for good. Reading this book, it is clear to me that this story could never have been told on video, because it was crucial in Lydia's growth at this point to figure out who she is off camera.
No specific spoilers in my review, but I found this book very touching, and found myself relating to Lydia in even more ways than I had before. Vague spoilers of the overall emotional arc of the book:
This book will speak to anyone who has ever been unsure how to move forward in life, unsure how to move out of who they've always known and who everyone expects of them, anyone who has been hurt or feels they've failed and are filled with self-shame, blame, guilt, and doubt.
On a personal note, this book particularly resonated with me as I've been walking an albeit very different but still similar road to Lydia navigating your way after a failed relationship that leaves you sort of questioning everything... two moments in particular stood out to me (very vague slight spoilers ahead?), This is a truth that I know, but I haven't fully felt all of the time yet. It's comforting to know that a friend (alright, a totally fictional character, but still someone who has felt like a friend over these years) has also struggled, but is starting to succeed at believing that truth and moving forward out of it. The dips in her journey remind me it's okay to have dips in my own, and the hope for new things, for potential... reminds me I can also have that hope for myself.
Looking past how much I enjoyed exploring the themes of learning how to navigate your failures, and finding your identity and your own voice, it was also incredibly enjoyable just to spend time with not just Lydia, but the entire Bennet crew. Fans of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries will be happy to know this book doesn't just provide a more satisfying conclusion to Lydia's story, but also provides snapshots into Mary, Jane and Bing, Lizzie and Darcy, even Mr. Collin's life post-video diaries.
This book is for everyone who knows you're only a secondary character if you let yourself be, everyone who saw more to Lydia than just a party girl or a screw up, everyone who believed she still had a story to tell and has waited for her chance to get to tell it. She finally has that chance, and I'm so glad she found her voice to share it.
Unlike the corresponding book previously released by Rorick and Su, telling the untold behind the scenes of Lizzie's story during her vlogs, this book, by Rorick and Kiley, delves into the untold future for Lydia. The what comes after the camera turns off for good. Reading this book, it is clear to me that this story could never have been told on video, because it was crucial in Lydia's growth at this point to figure out who she is off camera.
No specific spoilers in my review, but I found this book very touching, and found myself relating to Lydia in even more ways than I had before. Vague spoilers of the overall emotional arc of the book:
This book will speak to anyone who has ever been unsure how to move forward in life, unsure how to move out of who they've always known and who everyone expects of them, anyone who has been hurt or feels they've failed and are filled with self-shame, blame, guilt, and doubt.
On a personal note, this book particularly resonated with me as I've been walking an albeit very different but still similar road to Lydia navigating your way after a failed relationship that leaves you sort of questioning everything... two moments in particular stood out to me (very vague slight spoilers ahead?), This is a truth that I know, but I haven't fully felt all of the time yet. It's comforting to know that a friend (alright, a totally fictional character, but still someone who has felt like a friend over these years) has also struggled, but is starting to succeed at believing that truth and moving forward out of it. The dips in her journey remind me it's okay to have dips in my own, and the hope for new things, for potential... reminds me I can also have that hope for myself.
Looking past how much I enjoyed exploring the themes of learning how to navigate your failures, and finding your identity and your own voice, it was also incredibly enjoyable just to spend time with not just Lydia, but the entire Bennet crew. Fans of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries will be happy to know this book doesn't just provide a more satisfying conclusion to Lydia's story, but also provides snapshots into Mary, Jane and Bing, Lizzie and Darcy, even Mr. Collin's life post-video diaries.
This book is for everyone who knows you're only a secondary character if you let yourself be, everyone who saw more to Lydia than just a party girl or a screw up, everyone who believed she still had a story to tell and has waited for her chance to get to tell it. She finally has that chance, and I'm so glad she found her voice to share it.
April 27, 2017
I didn't know just how much I needed this book! I missed Lydia so much and this book made me so happy. It's so realistic and so Lydia! The ending made me really emotional, I just love her so much.
July 3, 2017
Shut up, I’m not crying. There’s just a tree branch in my eye. That’s all. A tree branch named Lydia Bennet. The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet is not at all the book I expected it to be, which was disappointing at first, but Lydia’s book was ultimately much better for that. As much as I love all of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, my favorite thing is Lydia’s arc and the changes to her character. In The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet, she gets to develop even further, navigating those complicated new adult waters as she tries to figure out who she is, what she wants to do, and how to navigate all sorts of relationships.
What I expected from The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet was something similar to the Lizzie book. I mean, I figured it would be set after the time of that book and the show, but I figured the tone would be light and that romance would be a lot of the subject matter. It’s not, actually. That threw me for a while, and, at times, The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet was hard for me to read, because so much bad stuff already happened to Lydia and it really hurt to see her go through more of it. I wanted rainbows and unicorns and kissing for Lydia, with no thunderclouds or douchey guys allowed.
However, the story in The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet isn’t that one. Lydia’s experience with George Wickham affected her in a big way, so it makes sense that she didn’t just get over that and fall in love Jane Austen style. The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet really dives into Lydia’s mental health and road to recovery. Lydia’s herself, the adorbs, but she’s also muted for a lot of the book. Like towards the end of the show, she can’t be that full-on, completely confident person anymore. MY BABY.
As the novel opens, Lydia’s looking to the future, with big plans to get her associate’s degree before transferring to a college in San Francisco where she’ll live with Mary and get a degree in psychology. Mary has been seeing a counselor at her community college, and this has inspired her to consider a career in psychology. Everything’s coming up Lydia. She finally has an idea what she wants to do, and it seems within her grasp.
Only then, inevitably, things fall apart. Lydia’s spiraling back down, once again the failure her family always expects her to be. Everything ties back, of course, to all those things Lydia hasn’t quite faced down yet. It’s so painful to watch Lydia try and not get there, and then give up. How can you possibly not want the best for her? This part of the book was rough.
Eventually, though, and don’t worry I won’t give details, Lydia gets back on her feet again. The adorbs gets haltingly back into action. She recovers her dreams, in a more realistic way, and really starts to commit to them. She faces down her past with George and learns to love herself again. This book is beautiful and inspirational and goddammit that tree branch.
The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet is mostly about Lydia obviously, but it’s also about Mary, and I’m SO IN LOVE with Mary’s story. It’s potentially spoilery, so I’ll go into spoiler tags. View Spoiler » I just hope there will be a video at some point where I get to see Mary being fabulous and happy in person. That’s all I’m saying.
Speaking of the videos, I’m pretty sure I’ll be rewatching them AGAIN pretty soon, because the obsession is strong with this one. As soon as I do that, I’m going to buy the audiobook and listen to that because I need this book in every format. <3
What I expected from The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet was something similar to the Lizzie book. I mean, I figured it would be set after the time of that book and the show, but I figured the tone would be light and that romance would be a lot of the subject matter. It’s not, actually. That threw me for a while, and, at times, The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet was hard for me to read, because so much bad stuff already happened to Lydia and it really hurt to see her go through more of it. I wanted rainbows and unicorns and kissing for Lydia, with no thunderclouds or douchey guys allowed.
However, the story in The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet isn’t that one. Lydia’s experience with George Wickham affected her in a big way, so it makes sense that she didn’t just get over that and fall in love Jane Austen style. The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet really dives into Lydia’s mental health and road to recovery. Lydia’s herself, the adorbs, but she’s also muted for a lot of the book. Like towards the end of the show, she can’t be that full-on, completely confident person anymore. MY BABY.
As the novel opens, Lydia’s looking to the future, with big plans to get her associate’s degree before transferring to a college in San Francisco where she’ll live with Mary and get a degree in psychology. Mary has been seeing a counselor at her community college, and this has inspired her to consider a career in psychology. Everything’s coming up Lydia. She finally has an idea what she wants to do, and it seems within her grasp.
Only then, inevitably, things fall apart. Lydia’s spiraling back down, once again the failure her family always expects her to be. Everything ties back, of course, to all those things Lydia hasn’t quite faced down yet. It’s so painful to watch Lydia try and not get there, and then give up. How can you possibly not want the best for her? This part of the book was rough.
Eventually, though, and don’t worry I won’t give details, Lydia gets back on her feet again. The adorbs gets haltingly back into action. She recovers her dreams, in a more realistic way, and really starts to commit to them. She faces down her past with George and learns to love herself again. This book is beautiful and inspirational and goddammit that tree branch.
The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet is mostly about Lydia obviously, but it’s also about Mary, and I’m SO IN LOVE with Mary’s story. It’s potentially spoilery, so I’ll go into spoiler tags. View Spoiler » I just hope there will be a video at some point where I get to see Mary being fabulous and happy in person. That’s all I’m saying.
Speaking of the videos, I’m pretty sure I’ll be rewatching them AGAIN pretty soon, because the obsession is strong with this one. As soon as I do that, I’m going to buy the audiobook and listen to that because I need this book in every format. <3
July 29, 2019
I'm so happy I finally got the this book! I think I added this to my TBR back in 2015, was SUPER excited, and then proceeded to never pick it up. I don't know what was wrong with me.
I recently re-watched all of LBD along with reading The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, so I thought it would be a good time to finally read this. And it was phenominal. While I detest Lydia in the book and the film adaptations, she's probably my favorite character in LBD. While her story doesn't end on a sad note, it doesn't end on a happy note either. This book may have been a cash-grab, but I kind of feel like it's necessary because it finishes Lydia's story.
The book really stayed true to the character. I loved how they showed Lydia's progression and character-growth. She starts the book understandably upset and a bit broken. She's different than the Lydia we were introduced to in episode 1. And she's still not perfect. She makes dumb decisions, trusts the wrong people, and makes some mistakes - just like anyone who's in her situation would do. But she learns. gets better, and eventually finds her way.
Another thing that's great about this book is that they don't shy away from how much this incident would have affected Lydia. She loved George Wickam, and I'm glad that the authors spent time exploring how Lydia would deal with what he did to her.
I pretty much loved everything about this book. It was nice to see some of the old characters, but I loved the new ones as well. And I am so happy that Mary got a lot of pages. She was great in the show and it's amazing how well they translated her personality to book form. (As a sidenote, it was super funny that they lampshaded how Lizzie literally always forgot about Mary.) I wish there were more books about Lydia, but I think this completed her story perfectly.
Pre-Read Review
I AM SO EXITED FOR THIS BOOK! I MEAN, EVERYONE IS!!!!

But I have to wait 'till September?
I can't wait to get more Lydia.
I recently re-watched all of LBD along with reading The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, so I thought it would be a good time to finally read this. And it was phenominal. While I detest Lydia in the book and the film adaptations, she's probably my favorite character in LBD. While her story doesn't end on a sad note, it doesn't end on a happy note either. This book may have been a cash-grab, but I kind of feel like it's necessary because it finishes Lydia's story.
The book really stayed true to the character. I loved how they showed Lydia's progression and character-growth. She starts the book understandably upset and a bit broken. She's different than the Lydia we were introduced to in episode 1. And she's still not perfect. She makes dumb decisions, trusts the wrong people, and makes some mistakes - just like anyone who's in her situation would do. But she learns. gets better, and eventually finds her way.
Another thing that's great about this book is that they don't shy away from how much this incident would have affected Lydia. She loved George Wickam, and I'm glad that the authors spent time exploring how Lydia would deal with what he did to her.
I pretty much loved everything about this book. It was nice to see some of the old characters, but I loved the new ones as well. And I am so happy that Mary got a lot of pages. She was great in the show and it's amazing how well they translated her personality to book form. (As a sidenote, it was super funny that they lampshaded how Lizzie literally always forgot about Mary.) I wish there were more books about Lydia, but I think this completed her story perfectly.
Pre-Read Review
I AM SO EXITED FOR THIS BOOK! I MEAN, EVERYONE IS!!!!
But I have to wait 'till September?
I can't wait to get more Lydia.


September 23, 2018
#contemporaryathon book 6! I really liked this one! It was my 5 star prediction technically but I didn’t quite expect it to me. So I’m happy!! Let’s see if I can finish a few more before the readathon ends.
December 23, 2015
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.
June 21, 2015
Thanks to Eidelweiss for the ARC.
Like many people I fell in love with Mary-Kate Wiles's portrayal of Lydia Bennet in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and so I was very happy to get my hands on this book because while Austen's Lydia Bennet is terrible this Lydia Bennet is delightful. This book starts off with Lydia's last summer at community college. She is working to take the last two summer classes she needs and there is a boy. Lydia learns a lot about herself. For those Mary fans there is also a lot of Mary and she gets a great story. Of course there are appearances by both Lizzie and Jane but this is Lydia's story and Lydia grows up and comes into her own while still retaining the adorbs that makes her Lydia.
I have so much more to say but it would spoil it for the rest of you so I won't. Just read it.
Like many people I fell in love with Mary-Kate Wiles's portrayal of Lydia Bennet in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and so I was very happy to get my hands on this book because while Austen's Lydia Bennet is terrible this Lydia Bennet is delightful. This book starts off with Lydia's last summer at community college. She is working to take the last two summer classes she needs and there is a boy. Lydia learns a lot about herself. For those Mary fans there is also a lot of Mary and she gets a great story. Of course there are appearances by both Lizzie and Jane but this is Lydia's story and Lydia grows up and comes into her own while still retaining the adorbs that makes her Lydia.
I have so much more to say but it would spoil it for the rest of you so I won't. Just read it.
July 9, 2019
George Wickham betrayed Lydia Bennet's trust and she in turn must win back the trust of her family. Lydia has an epic plan: finish community college with stellar grades so she can transfer to a four-year school, Central Bay College near Lizzie and move in with cousin Mary. While Mary works as a barista at the community college coffee shop, Lydia works on her plan. Her grand plan doesn't get off to a great start with the college application asks for an essay on failure. Ew! Like who wants to relive that? Not Lydia. Then an evil psych professor doesn't value Lydia's ideas and a flirtatious boy named Cody brings out the old Lydia. What's the harm in having a little fun? When a little fun turns into nightly drinking, Lydia's life spirals out of control. She lets down herself, her therapist and most importantly, her family. How can she prove she's not the same old irresponsible Lydia now her epic plan has failed? She doesn't know what her life holds now and it's a bit frightening.
This is a really good standalone novel, probably in the "new adult" category. I wouldn't say it's a great addition to the Jane Austen paraliterature canon or even the Lizzie Bennet Diaries story. The story doesn't quite fit the Lydia we came to know and love in her video diaries. It reads a lot like one of those films with the A Cappella girl group (minus the zombies). Lydia does have to battle demons but not the physical kind, the internal kind stemming from years as the screw-up youngest daughter/little sister/cousin and George Wickham's betrayal.
Obviously, the original story of Lydia and Wickham just doesn't hold up in today's world. I'm not sure this one even holds up in the post #MeToo era. Jane Austen's Lydia gets what she wants but Wickham is punished. What happened to modern Lydia is not the same thing so the outcome can't be the same. The question then remains: What does Lydia wants and what does George want? I feel like there isn't enough resolution to the George plot and it comes too late in the story. Maybe a spin-off from his point-of-view is necessary? Lydia can psychoanalyze him all she wants but I don't think she knows him as well as she thinks she does. I think Lydia is going into the wrong field. She isn't scientific enough for psychology. She needs to take some writing classes first before even writing that college essay. I cringed every time she wrote a paper or essay. Perhaps community college will let her conversational style pass but a four-year school won't, especially not as a psychology major. That's why I majored in Literature because it's not precise, I can state my opinions and as long as I back them up with evidence from the text I'm golden! I was very intrigued by Lydia's gothic literature class and the TA or beginning career instructor, Natalie. I would have liked more guidance from her.
This is very much Lydia's story with a sidenote of Mary. I like Mary and especially her journey towards happiness. I guessed right away what was going on. It took a little while to confirm my suspicions though. Hurrah for Mary for telling off the vlog fans when they try to hold her up as a role model. Mary is incredibly astute.
I liked Lydia's journey and had a hard time putting the book down. The story is a little slow to start until things unravel for Lydia. The best section of the book is set in New York. I really like the people she meets there and the discoveries she makes.
My biggest complaint is that there's ZERO Lizzie and Darcy! Lizzie makes a cameo at the end and Darcy is mentioned a lot but not in the story. We are reunited with Jane and Bing, who are still so sweet together. I was surprised and pleased by his decision. One thing I really do appreciate is that although Lizzie + Darcy, Jane + Bingley are in lurrrvvee, neither couple is in a hurry to marry. I don't see Lizzie marrying Darcy. She's too independent and I don't see her being the wife of someone of his status. He comes with too much baggage (money and Ms. DeBurgh).
Fans of "The Lydia Bennet!!!!" videos will enjoy this continuation. It needs another epilogue set 5 years into the future (present day) or even 10 (future) so we know where she is and how she's doing.
This is a really good standalone novel, probably in the "new adult" category. I wouldn't say it's a great addition to the Jane Austen paraliterature canon or even the Lizzie Bennet Diaries story. The story doesn't quite fit the Lydia we came to know and love in her video diaries. It reads a lot like one of those films with the A Cappella girl group (minus the zombies). Lydia does have to battle demons but not the physical kind, the internal kind stemming from years as the screw-up youngest daughter/little sister/cousin and George Wickham's betrayal.
Obviously, the original story of Lydia and Wickham just doesn't hold up in today's world. I'm not sure this one even holds up in the post #MeToo era. Jane Austen's Lydia gets what she wants but Wickham is punished. What happened to modern Lydia is not the same thing so the outcome can't be the same. The question then remains: What does Lydia wants and what does George want? I feel like there isn't enough resolution to the George plot and it comes too late in the story. Maybe a spin-off from his point-of-view is necessary? Lydia can psychoanalyze him all she wants but I don't think she knows him as well as she thinks she does. I think Lydia is going into the wrong field. She isn't scientific enough for psychology. She needs to take some writing classes first before even writing that college essay. I cringed every time she wrote a paper or essay. Perhaps community college will let her conversational style pass but a four-year school won't, especially not as a psychology major. That's why I majored in Literature because it's not precise, I can state my opinions and as long as I back them up with evidence from the text I'm golden! I was very intrigued by Lydia's gothic literature class and the TA or beginning career instructor, Natalie. I would have liked more guidance from her.
This is very much Lydia's story with a sidenote of Mary. I like Mary and especially her journey towards happiness. I guessed right away what was going on. It took a little while to confirm my suspicions though. Hurrah for Mary for telling off the vlog fans when they try to hold her up as a role model. Mary is incredibly astute.
I liked Lydia's journey and had a hard time putting the book down. The story is a little slow to start until things unravel for Lydia. The best section of the book is set in New York. I really like the people she meets there and the discoveries she makes.
My biggest complaint is that there's ZERO Lizzie and Darcy! Lizzie makes a cameo at the end and Darcy is mentioned a lot but not in the story. We are reunited with Jane and Bing, who are still so sweet together. I was surprised and pleased by his decision. One thing I really do appreciate is that although Lizzie + Darcy, Jane + Bingley are in lurrrvvee, neither couple is in a hurry to marry. I don't see Lizzie marrying Darcy. She's too independent and I don't see her being the wife of someone of his status. He comes with too much baggage (money and Ms. DeBurgh).
Fans of "The Lydia Bennet!!!!" videos will enjoy this continuation. It needs another epilogue set 5 years into the future (present day) or even 10 (future) so we know where she is and how she's doing.
January 31, 2016
Lydia Bennet became somewhat of an internet celebrity when her older sister Lizzie's vlogs, made as part of her graduate project, went viral in a major way. Always happy to be the centre of attention, Lydia made her own videos and loved the attention she got on YouTube, Twitter, Tumblr and other social media sites. Unfortunately, when she fell in love with and trusted a man who took terrible advantage of her, she also had to face her private life being open for all to see, and her name became synonymous with "that girl whose boyfriend tried to sell their sex tape to make money". Then her sister Lizzie's powerful boyfriend paid to have the whole ugly situation go away, and Lydia was left traumatised, humiliated and heart-broken.
Now Lydia is trying to rebuild her confidence and look to the future. Still living at home with her parents while her two older sisters have found love and moved to big cities, Lydia is completing summer courses at community college in preparation for transferring to San Francisco, where she'll study psychology and live with her taciturn Goth cousin Mary. Trying to re-build your life in a place where everyone is aware of who you are and what mistakes you've made isn't easy, though, and Lydia is so worried that everyone around her is just waiting for her to screw up again that she retreats back into the carefree party girl persona she used to be so comfortable with. All she needs to do to get accepted at the prestigious San Francisco university she wants to transfer into is write her application essay about a time when she experienced failure and what she learned from it. That shouldn't be too difficult, should it?
While Lydia's had to grow a lot since her first serious relationship crashed and burned extremely publicly, she's still has a lot of healing and maturing to do. Clearly feeling inadequate in comparison to both her sisters who are working in the fields they're most passionate about, Lydia is still not entirely sure what she wants to do with her life. While she likes the idea of studying psychology, she also has doubts and gets very insecure when she realises how many years the education is likely to take. She tries to cling to her old life while being impatient to move on to a new and better one, yet is uncertain and afraid of screwing up badly again. She's also struggling to rebuild the trust of one of her best friends, her cousin Mary, as well as her sisters and her parents.
The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet is a sequel to both the highly successful YouTube series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, which re-imagined Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudicefor the 21st Century (which if you haven't watched - what are you doing with your life?) AND the book The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, which gave us a lot of extra insight into protagonist Lizzie and further re-imagining of a lot of the scenes from the original novel that didn't appear in the series. In the Austen novel, Lydia is the obnoxious and oblivious flighty youngest sister who elopes with Mr Darcy's childhood friend and later nemesis, Mr. Wickham and seems quite happy to have ended up married to him.
In the modern re-imagining, Lydia may have started out similarly wild and irritating, but thanks in large part to the immense charm and skill with which actress Mary Kate Wiles portrayed her, Lydia grew to be a huge fan favourite and because the fate of Lydia Bennet of 200 years ago simply wouldn't work today, the show's writers took her story in a different direction. Running off with a man to whom you are not married wouldn't raise so much as an eyebrow in today's society, but being betrayed by your lover with the release of a sex tape would absolutely cause a stir similar to that of a Regency elopement. In both the book and the YouTube series, Mr. Darcy eventually comes through and sorts things out for the Bennet family in an attempt to make life easier for Lizzie, the woman he loves. In the YouTube series, however, Lizzie and Lydia tearfully begin to re-build their somewhat dysfunctional relationship in the aftermath of the tragedy and Lydia not trapped forever in a relationship with Wickham.
Kate Rorick and Rachel Kiley, two of the writers of the show, write in the acknowledgements that fans kept asking for Lydia's continued story and wanted to see that she had a chance at the same happy ending that her two sisters got. This book shows us what how Lydia's life progressed after the scandal that nearly ruined her life. There are appearances from Lizzie and Jane, but the most important supporting character is Mary, who in the YouTube re-imagining is the Bennet sisters' gloomy cousin, rather than their sister. Mary only appeared in a couple of episodes in the main YouTube series, but was quite prominent in Lydia's own videos (a spin-off of the main series). In this book she's working in a coffee shop off campus of the community college, waiting for Lydia to finish her courses so they can move to San Francisco together. She has a lovely sub-plot where she becomes the bassist of a local band, mainly through Lydia's machinations.
Having listened to the audio book of Pride and Prejudice at the end of last year and then read Jo Baker's Longbourn, it's interesting to have three very different versions of Lydia Bennet and her story in my head. The modern version is the only one I'd really be interested in reading more about, though, and I'm really glad that Rorick and Kiley decided to pen the continuing story of the youngest Bennet sisters, to give fans of the show an idea of what the future brings for her. It was absolutely nice to catch up with the older sisters and seeing where their lives had taken them, but getting more Lydia and Mary was more fun than I was expecting. Like in the series, Lydia occasionally really annoyed me and I kept wanting to shake her for some of the choices she was making, but slowly but surely, she figures out what she wants and who she wants to be, and in many ways, that was even more satisfying than her sister's Lizzie's development. Lydia's views on Dracula were also hilarious. Absolutely a worth-while book to pick up if you liked The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.
Now Lydia is trying to rebuild her confidence and look to the future. Still living at home with her parents while her two older sisters have found love and moved to big cities, Lydia is completing summer courses at community college in preparation for transferring to San Francisco, where she'll study psychology and live with her taciturn Goth cousin Mary. Trying to re-build your life in a place where everyone is aware of who you are and what mistakes you've made isn't easy, though, and Lydia is so worried that everyone around her is just waiting for her to screw up again that she retreats back into the carefree party girl persona she used to be so comfortable with. All she needs to do to get accepted at the prestigious San Francisco university she wants to transfer into is write her application essay about a time when she experienced failure and what she learned from it. That shouldn't be too difficult, should it?
While Lydia's had to grow a lot since her first serious relationship crashed and burned extremely publicly, she's still has a lot of healing and maturing to do. Clearly feeling inadequate in comparison to both her sisters who are working in the fields they're most passionate about, Lydia is still not entirely sure what she wants to do with her life. While she likes the idea of studying psychology, she also has doubts and gets very insecure when she realises how many years the education is likely to take. She tries to cling to her old life while being impatient to move on to a new and better one, yet is uncertain and afraid of screwing up badly again. She's also struggling to rebuild the trust of one of her best friends, her cousin Mary, as well as her sisters and her parents.
The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet is a sequel to both the highly successful YouTube series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, which re-imagined Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudicefor the 21st Century (which if you haven't watched - what are you doing with your life?) AND the book The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, which gave us a lot of extra insight into protagonist Lizzie and further re-imagining of a lot of the scenes from the original novel that didn't appear in the series. In the Austen novel, Lydia is the obnoxious and oblivious flighty youngest sister who elopes with Mr Darcy's childhood friend and later nemesis, Mr. Wickham and seems quite happy to have ended up married to him.
In the modern re-imagining, Lydia may have started out similarly wild and irritating, but thanks in large part to the immense charm and skill with which actress Mary Kate Wiles portrayed her, Lydia grew to be a huge fan favourite and because the fate of Lydia Bennet of 200 years ago simply wouldn't work today, the show's writers took her story in a different direction. Running off with a man to whom you are not married wouldn't raise so much as an eyebrow in today's society, but being betrayed by your lover with the release of a sex tape would absolutely cause a stir similar to that of a Regency elopement. In both the book and the YouTube series, Mr. Darcy eventually comes through and sorts things out for the Bennet family in an attempt to make life easier for Lizzie, the woman he loves. In the YouTube series, however, Lizzie and Lydia tearfully begin to re-build their somewhat dysfunctional relationship in the aftermath of the tragedy and Lydia not trapped forever in a relationship with Wickham.
Kate Rorick and Rachel Kiley, two of the writers of the show, write in the acknowledgements that fans kept asking for Lydia's continued story and wanted to see that she had a chance at the same happy ending that her two sisters got. This book shows us what how Lydia's life progressed after the scandal that nearly ruined her life. There are appearances from Lizzie and Jane, but the most important supporting character is Mary, who in the YouTube re-imagining is the Bennet sisters' gloomy cousin, rather than their sister. Mary only appeared in a couple of episodes in the main YouTube series, but was quite prominent in Lydia's own videos (a spin-off of the main series). In this book she's working in a coffee shop off campus of the community college, waiting for Lydia to finish her courses so they can move to San Francisco together. She has a lovely sub-plot where she becomes the bassist of a local band, mainly through Lydia's machinations.
Having listened to the audio book of Pride and Prejudice at the end of last year and then read Jo Baker's Longbourn, it's interesting to have three very different versions of Lydia Bennet and her story in my head. The modern version is the only one I'd really be interested in reading more about, though, and I'm really glad that Rorick and Kiley decided to pen the continuing story of the youngest Bennet sisters, to give fans of the show an idea of what the future brings for her. It was absolutely nice to catch up with the older sisters and seeing where their lives had taken them, but getting more Lydia and Mary was more fun than I was expecting. Like in the series, Lydia occasionally really annoyed me and I kept wanting to shake her for some of the choices she was making, but slowly but surely, she figures out what she wants and who she wants to be, and in many ways, that was even more satisfying than her sister's Lizzie's development. Lydia's views on Dracula were also hilarious. Absolutely a worth-while book to pick up if you liked The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.
May 21, 2017
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!
September 6, 2015
*I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.*
I was worried I wouldn't like this book. I have always has a special hatred for Lydia Bennet. As a semi-goody-two-shoes, I could never believe someone could be so thoughtless as to become an embarrassment and create so much trouble for their family. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries changed that for me. Lydia was still thoughtless, but she tried her hardest and was just attempting to make her own way. I still wasn't sure I would enjoy a whole novel from her perspective though.
It should be no surprise to hear that I was wrong to fear this. The first thing I noticed upon reading this book was how well they captured Lydia's voice. I could automatically see Mary Kate Wiles on the screen; recall her exact mannerisms. It was easy to get caught up in the text, just like I had the videos.
The story is lovely. It works perfectly for those of us who dreamed that George Wickham wouldn't be the end of Lydia Bennet. She now has her own story that isn't bounded by the trouble she caused or the mistakes she made. She can move past that. The novel doesn't perfect Lydia either. She doesn't magically grow up and change. She stumbles and falls behind. She is relatable and wonderful and human. I was with her the whole novel, hoping she succeeds because I want to imagine I can succeed too.
The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet contains the essence of all our favorite characters from The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, but unveils a whole new story. It is definitely a recommended read.
I was worried I wouldn't like this book. I have always has a special hatred for Lydia Bennet. As a semi-goody-two-shoes, I could never believe someone could be so thoughtless as to become an embarrassment and create so much trouble for their family. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries changed that for me. Lydia was still thoughtless, but she tried her hardest and was just attempting to make her own way. I still wasn't sure I would enjoy a whole novel from her perspective though.
It should be no surprise to hear that I was wrong to fear this. The first thing I noticed upon reading this book was how well they captured Lydia's voice. I could automatically see Mary Kate Wiles on the screen; recall her exact mannerisms. It was easy to get caught up in the text, just like I had the videos.
The story is lovely. It works perfectly for those of us who dreamed that George Wickham wouldn't be the end of Lydia Bennet. She now has her own story that isn't bounded by the trouble she caused or the mistakes she made. She can move past that. The novel doesn't perfect Lydia either. She doesn't magically grow up and change. She stumbles and falls behind. She is relatable and wonderful and human. I was with her the whole novel, hoping she succeeds because I want to imagine I can succeed too.
The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet contains the essence of all our favorite characters from The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, but unveils a whole new story. It is definitely a recommended read.
May 24, 2016
Official Rating: 3.5 stars
It's no secret to most people that I adored The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. I was late on the train, but I watched the entire series in one day and have watched the entire thing multiple times since. I loved The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet and seeing as LBD gave my favorite portrayal of the historically super infuriating Lydia Bennet, I was excited to see what this book would hold.
There were certain elements of the story I really liked -- seeing Lydia grow as a character (even if she did have a few additional super infuriating moments); getting a peek into the post-show lives of Lizzie, Darcy, Jane, and Bing; seeing more of the friendship between Mary and Lydia; and getting far more interaction between Lydia and her parents than we ever got in LBD.
Parts of the story dragged a little bit because it felt like we were repeating the same old things we dealt with back in LBD, but in the end I was pleased with how things wound up. It was a cute story that I'm sure most fans of LBD will enjoy.
It's no secret to most people that I adored The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. I was late on the train, but I watched the entire series in one day and have watched the entire thing multiple times since. I loved The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet and seeing as LBD gave my favorite portrayal of the historically super infuriating Lydia Bennet, I was excited to see what this book would hold.
There were certain elements of the story I really liked -- seeing Lydia grow as a character (even if she did have a few additional super infuriating moments); getting a peek into the post-show lives of Lizzie, Darcy, Jane, and Bing; seeing more of the friendship between Mary and Lydia; and getting far more interaction between Lydia and her parents than we ever got in LBD.
Parts of the story dragged a little bit because it felt like we were repeating the same old things we dealt with back in LBD, but in the end I was pleased with how things wound up. It was a cute story that I'm sure most fans of LBD will enjoy.
October 26, 2022
I won't lie, I did find Lydia annoying and overbearing in the web series. I don't think I would love having her for a sister, and I struggled to go through her videos.
Then again I loved what was done with her -not to her, that's gross- from an adaptation perspective. I loved the way they adapted her part of the story and the way they offered her the grace and understanding she deserved (and this Lydia is actually 5 years older than P&P's Lydia!.
Lydia in this book is what I wish Lizzie had been in her. Her writing is engaging, rich and interesting. It feels more adult than Lizzie's and more real (perhaps because it was written by a woman? But I digress). Of course it's fanfiction, but it's excelent and very well done.
It follows Lydia through the events after the Lizzie Bennet diaries are finished and it explores Lydia's future path. It is a growing up story, but also a story of falling, rising and recovering. I thought it was done masterfully.
No complaints, not really.
Then again I loved what was done with her -not to her, that's gross- from an adaptation perspective. I loved the way they adapted her part of the story and the way they offered her the grace and understanding she deserved (and this Lydia is actually 5 years older than P&P's Lydia!.
Lydia in this book is what I wish Lizzie had been in her. Her writing is engaging, rich and interesting. It feels more adult than Lizzie's and more real (perhaps because it was written by a woman? But I digress). Of course it's fanfiction, but it's excelent and very well done.
It follows Lydia through the events after the Lizzie Bennet diaries are finished and it explores Lydia's future path. It is a growing up story, but also a story of falling, rising and recovering. I thought it was done masterfully.
No complaints, not really.
June 17, 2022
3.5*
This book is a companion piece to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. As the Lizzie Bennet Diaries are more of a light fluffy, in many ways reminiscent of Pride & Prejudice. The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet is the exact opposite. Its a darker and more depressing read of a character that undoubtedly have her fair share of flaws and impulsive behaviors. Its basically a modern telling of Lydia Bennet, whom runs off and gets married to Mr. Wickham in Pride and Prejudice. There are countless and countless similarities, the author did really well with that. An yes the character and the story is intriguing but I have to say as intriguing as Lydia is, she's also very annoying and comes off as spoiled.
I think, though, this story conveys that Lydia has more going on under the surface that makes her extremely complex. For example,does she have ADHD and a mental disorders? At times it comes off that way.
If you like complex characters, than by far this story is for you!
This book is a companion piece to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. As the Lizzie Bennet Diaries are more of a light fluffy, in many ways reminiscent of Pride & Prejudice. The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet is the exact opposite. Its a darker and more depressing read of a character that undoubtedly have her fair share of flaws and impulsive behaviors. Its basically a modern telling of Lydia Bennet, whom runs off and gets married to Mr. Wickham in Pride and Prejudice. There are countless and countless similarities, the author did really well with that. An yes the character and the story is intriguing but I have to say as intriguing as Lydia is, she's also very annoying and comes off as spoiled.
I think, though, this story conveys that Lydia has more going on under the surface that makes her extremely complex. For example,does she have ADHD and a mental disorders? At times it comes off that way.
If you like complex characters, than by far this story is for you!
November 20, 2015
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
April 6, 2016
Wow, I thought this was a great book! I really enjoyed reading it. Once I got started it was hard for me to put the book down. I loved the continuation from the "Lizzie Bennet Diaries" and have it from Lydia's point of view. I thought the plot was really well written. I have always wonder what happened with Lydia after the whole thing with George. Now all we need is a stand alone novel of Jane and how things are going with her. I want to hear her point of view.
Read
October 2, 2015Graded By: Alix
Cover Story: Brown Bag It
BFF Charm: Yay!
Swoonworthy Scale: -eleventy billion and also 2
Talky Talk: MKW!Lydia
Ambivalence Factor: PTSD
Bonus Factors: Cameos, New York, Chris the Bouncer
Relationship Status: I’ll Be Your Goth Cousin BFF
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Brown Bag It
BFF Charm: Yay!
Swoonworthy Scale: -eleventy billion and also 2
Talky Talk: MKW!Lydia
Ambivalence Factor: PTSD
Bonus Factors: Cameos, New York, Chris the Bouncer
Relationship Status: I’ll Be Your Goth Cousin BFF
Read the full book report here.
November 14, 2019
This was a journey of finding yourself and I loved it.
April 29, 2024
4/28 of my 'books I've owned for over 5 years' collection.
I honestly don't know why I've hung on to this. I found it for 1$ at a thrift shop and I think a tiny part of me was like 'well, let's see if they at least tried to improve on the absolute trainwreck that was the back quarter of the web series'. A quarter where they pretty much destroyed this character and got actively hostile towards a portion of their fans.
I mean... as a resolution to the storyline they gave her... it wasn't half bad. It was a little slow and nothing much happened, but they could have done worse in resolving the abuse narrative they set up. Although, no matter how much commentary, dialogue or one-liners they threw in to the contrary, this wasn't Lydia being "Lydia still; untamed, unabashed, wild, noisy, and fearless." And I think I knew that'd happen. They've made it clear in the story they wrote, and honestly in the acknowledgements to this book as well, that they don't actually like Austen's Lydia.
And as for the being actively hostile to that portion (my fellow Gigi/Lydia people) of the fans? Not great in that category either. It's very Supernatural's "we refused to make this character people are headcanoning as queer queer, but we're also going to play into it for jokes and give you a handful of queer characters to appease you" rather than 9-1-1's 'oh this makes sense and we're going to roll with it."
Well, as with Supernatural, I say, as I get it out of my house:
I honestly don't know why I've hung on to this. I found it for 1$ at a thrift shop and I think a tiny part of me was like 'well, let's see if they at least tried to improve on the absolute trainwreck that was the back quarter of the web series'. A quarter where they pretty much destroyed this character and got actively hostile towards a portion of their fans.
I mean... as a resolution to the storyline they gave her... it wasn't half bad. It was a little slow and nothing much happened, but they could have done worse in resolving the abuse narrative they set up. Although, no matter how much commentary, dialogue or one-liners they threw in to the contrary, this wasn't Lydia being "Lydia still; untamed, unabashed, wild, noisy, and fearless." And I think I knew that'd happen. They've made it clear in the story they wrote, and honestly in the acknowledgements to this book as well, that they don't actually like Austen's Lydia.
And as for the being actively hostile to that portion (my fellow Gigi/Lydia people) of the fans? Not great in that category either. It's very Supernatural's "we refused to make this character people are headcanoning as queer queer, but we're also going to play into it for jokes and give you a handful of queer characters to appease you" rather than 9-1-1's 'oh this makes sense and we're going to roll with it."
Well, as with Supernatural, I say, as I get it out of my house:
January 14, 2018
Good story does weird thing to reader's mind. While I was kind of glad to reunite with Lizzie's Diary characters and for Lydia's chance to tell her story I went through many different emotions (stages of grieving?). It was so hard to stop reading. I felt like if I don't read I would like to call Lydia and ask how she's doing.. Or just kick her. I was so in conflict with my emotions, sometimes feeling empathy for her and sometimes... not so much. and while reading/watching Lizzie Bennet Diary I wouldn't really identify myself with Lydia at any point, this time around I was finally able to find an element of each Bennet sister in me.
Overall, maybe some points of plot were really not that hard to predict. But I enjoyed little twists and finally closing on Wickham drama. And of cors Happy Ending/Beginning of a New Adventure.
This book was worth a while and finally did Lydia Bennet some justice. Authors gave her a chance that Jane Austen probably never even considered for her character, instead leaving her in blisfull stupidity. Well done authors!
Overall, maybe some points of plot were really not that hard to predict. But I enjoyed little twists and finally closing on Wickham drama. And of cors Happy Ending/Beginning of a New Adventure.
This book was worth a while and finally did Lydia Bennet some justice. Authors gave her a chance that Jane Austen probably never even considered for her character, instead leaving her in blisfull stupidity. Well done authors!
November 30, 2017
3.5. I'm a huge fan of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and it was cool to take a journey of self-discovery with Lydia here. However, I did feel like it dragged at parts and I would love more Milo and Kat.
May 1, 2018
The character just wasn't my favorite. I mean, get off your butt already!
August 21, 2019
cheers to a book sequel featuring the only lydia bennet i haven’t hated.
November 26, 2019
Finally reading this made me cry. Lydia's journey is a lot and its important and I am Emotion.
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