It’s been almost four months since I read this, and I already remember very little of what I thought about it. I admit that might be more of a reflection on my state of mind since early October, than a judgement on the book itself, but it does make this a short review! 

My main gripe with this was the structure: epistolary and relating the past and present simultaneously, to the extent that it’s almost dual timelines. There is a huge amount of plot packed into this book, but the way it jumps around somehow makes it feel SO slow at the same time, and it took me a long time to get into the story because of that. Plus, there’s a certain reveal towards the end that makes the reason for the flashbacks seem so pointless that I felt retroactively even more annoyed at having had to struggle through it! 

That said, I did really enjoy the overall story. Melinda Taub’s care for Austen’s work and her attention to detail are so evident, and I really appreciated her retelling choices. Lydia is still flighty and immature, but softened by kindness and a willingness to admit her mistakes, and aside from getting a little frustrated with her epistolary voice, I did enjoy following her as a heroine. The addition of witchcraft also felt really natural, and I had a lot of fun with Taub’s takes on Kitty Bennet and Wickham! 

So all in all, even though I would have enjoyed this more as a linear narrative, I did still have a good time, and am even more keen to get hold of Melinda Taub’s first book now too!