Halfway through 'The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet' (literally), the first line reads “I’m Lydia freaking Bennet. And I’m done being lame” and I think that pretty much sums up the second and my favourite half of the book, the second half being what I had expected from this book after watching the LBD diaries and reading the 'The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet'. I didn’t expect the first half and I am glad to be pleasantly surprised by the realistic approach to therapy, mental health and summer classes. Good on Rorick and Kiley!

Whilst reading, I thought Cousin Mary would have played a key role in this book, seeing how close Lydia and she are but after fully reading it, I'm happy with Mary's presence however small. This is Lydia's story and I truly believe that the best amount of character development is achieved when Lydia is by herself. However, I did continue to dislike their friendship in parts, especially with Mary's lack of communication. It felt dragged. This leads me to George and the very-badly-finally-come-to conclusion that Lydia has about him. It would have made sense if this book was set directly after the Sex Tape incident but it wasn't and again the book felt dragged.

This book sometimes read as what could have happened to Christine after the end of the film 'Ladybird' - these similar characters are both so pleasing to go on a journey with. I liked the very meta-comments that Lydia made on the genre of Young Adult Diary Entry novels - it was my kind of humour. This book also did a great job at writing the characters we know, sorry Lizzie Bennet but I could literally hear Jane and Lydia in every line they spoke. There are new characters and I enjoyed them - I see nothing wrong with expanding the LBD universe and no one felt out of place either.

However to finish, I wish Lydia’s explanation as to why she didn’t post one last video on her YouTube Channel was better than what was given to us. I didn’t know what the real reason was until I read the interviews in the back (that the creators didn’t have the time to film them but had written the scripts and it’s what we see in the novel) but I felt Lydia's reasoning was rubbish. How come Lizzie managed to make two more videos for her favourite teacher but Lydia who had more to say at the end of her arc was silent? It takes reading this book to find out what happens to her and that doesn't fit well with me.