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A review by anaiira
The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
My least favourite part of Pride and Prejudice was the letters. I know they're important, but I have always found them tedious and stuffy and a real chore to parse through the palimpsest of meaning. So it's no real surprise that I found this very dull despite all of the liberties taken with the canon to induce excitement to the plot.
I'm not against the concept of rewriting a classic to modernize it or to explore it in other contexts, this one... why not write it as its own standalone story? It barely holds resemblance to the source material. And I love fantasy novels, I'm not against suspending disbeliefs for magic, but the world that Taub has built lacks an internal coherency to the magic, such that whenever anything really big happens, it feels like a deus ex machina forcing the magic to conform to the outline to the plot.
The romance with Wickham is not romantic, or sexy, or really enjoyable at all. At best it reads as two very irritating people vexing each other, at worst, the palpable lack of chemistry makes me wonder why anyone is bothering.
The whole book just feels very contrived and pleased with its own perceived cleverness.
I'm not against the concept of rewriting a classic to modernize it or to explore it in other contexts, this one... why not write it as its own standalone story? It barely holds resemblance to the source material. And I love fantasy novels, I'm not against suspending disbeliefs for magic, but the world that Taub has built lacks an internal coherency to the magic, such that whenever anything really big happens, it feels like a deus ex machina forcing the magic to conform to the outline to the plot.
The romance with Wickham is not romantic, or sexy, or really enjoyable at all. At best it reads as two very irritating people vexing each other, at worst, the palpable lack of chemistry makes me wonder why anyone is bothering.
The whole book just feels very contrived and pleased with its own perceived cleverness.