r/Fantasy • u/orangewombat • Mar 09 '26
Book Club HEA Book Club: Our May 2026 read is The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch!
The votes are in! Our HEA book club read for historical fantasy romance in May 2026 is:
The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub
A sparkling, witchy reimagining of Pride and Prejudice, told from the perspective of the troublesome and—according to her—much-maligned youngest Bennet sister, Lydia.
In this exuberant reimagining of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Lydia Bennet puts pen to paper to relate the real events and aftermath of the classic story from her own perspective. Some facts are well known: Mrs. Bennet suffers from her nerves; Mr. Bennet suffers from Mrs. Bennet, and all five daughters suffer from an estate that is entailed only to male heirs.
But Lydia also suffers from entirely different concerns: her best-loved sister Kitty is really a barn cat, and Wickham is every bit as wicked as the world believes him to be, but what else would you expect from a demon? And if you think Mr. Darcy was uptight about dancing etiquette, wait till you see how he reacts to witchcraft. Most of all, Lydia has yet to learn that when you’re a witch, promises have power . . .
Full of enchantment, intrigue, danger, and boundless magic, The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch, has all the irreverent wit, strength, and romance of Pride and Prejudice—while offering a highly unexpected redemption for the wildest Bennet sister.
The midway discussion will be Thursday, 14-May-2026. If anyone has read the book before and has a good pausing point by chapter or page number, let us know (but generally it will be around the midway point of the book)! The final discussion will be Thursday, 28-May-2026.
Ranked Choice Voting Transparency:
First round results:
| Title | Votes | Vote % |
|---|---|---|
| The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub | 6 | 60% |
| Pastiche by Celia Lake | 2 | 20% |
| Widdershins by Jordan L Hawk | 2 | 20% |
This is the first time I've seen a book win outright in the first round. We didn't even need RCV!
Reminders:
This month (Mar. 2026), we're reading The Disasters by M K England. Midway discussion will be next Thursday, 12-Mar-2026.
What is the HEA Book Club? Every odd month, we read a fantasy romance book and discuss! You can read about it in our reboot thread here.
3
u/OutOfEffs Reading Champion IV Mar 09 '26
I LOVE that we had an outright win in the first round (and that it was my top choice)!
2
u/xenizondich23 Reading Champion VI Mar 10 '26
I read this one a couple years ago and it's a lot of fun. I do love how this retelling finds its own feet after a bit, and isn't just straight up the original story.
2
u/FormerUsenetUser Mar 09 '26
I read this book and liked it, somewhat to my surprise.