Cover Image: The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels

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Member Reviews

This was a cute, unique historical read! The writing style was hard for me to follow but I see the appeal of this series.

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This book was delightful! I loved the characters, I loved the premise, and it felt delightfully fast-paced and easy to read! I'd consider this one of those books that you sit down and read when you just want to have a fun good time and not worry about anything else. I'll definitely be recommending it to several of my friends to check out, even though it isn't something I would normally pick up!

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This book from India Holton truly made me a fan. As a lover of this era in novels, it didn't take very long for me to become enthralled in the world of this sarcastic regency romance.

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I love these books! They are so fun to read. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for a review!

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Could not finish this one. I thought I liked historical fiction but I’m learning there’s only a few I do enjoy.

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This book was entertaining, witty, and quite hilarious! There was a sarcastic sense of humor to the story, along with espionage, action, and the romance aspect. I honestly did not expect to have as good a time as I did reading this! I was laughing out loud throughout, and was intrigued to see where the story was going to go. I can't wait to read more from India Holton!

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After seeing a lot of good reviews for this I decided to give it a shot and I ended up DNFing this about 40% in. I can't even pin point what it was I just know that it wasn't for me.

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I enjoyed this book. The idea of lady pirates flying houses around as they pillage and plunder, with utmost decorum of course, it lots of fun. Still, the story did drag a bit at times and it took me longer to get through than I would have thought. I am, however, looking forward to reading the next books in the series.

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The dialogue! The banter! The whimsy!!! Oh man, I just ate this book up. I think this is such a fun concept and I honestly cannot wait to finish the rest of this series. I realize that this book may not be for everyone because of the flowery language and plot, however, it was very much for me. If you think you are interested in a society of lady pirates with flying houses, spies, assassins, magic, a touch of romance, and high tea, then this is for you as well. This particular blend of fantasy, satire, adventure, and romance is just what I needed in my life. Think of it along the lines of The Princess Bride and Stardust. I really enjoyed all of the characters but especially Cecelia and Ned, but the rest of the cast were standouts as well. I think the worldbuilding in this is quite clever, so I'm excited to see what's next in the following book in the series. Definitely recommend this one.

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PIrates, scoundrels, asasinations, and a few other strange ocurrances. This wasn't what I was expecting and found it challenging to finish. I really wanted to enjoy it more.

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Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for honest feedback. This book isn't my usual genre, but I was drawn to this book after a bout of Bridgerton binging. I also loved the cover and the title. The cover is stunning, especially in real life. I've since bought a paper physical copy and love the details of the design. The story itself is really quaint and fun. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes cozy mysteries, period era books, historical romance and historical fiction.

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This book is bonkers.

An romp of ridiculous yet lady like proportions.

There’s pirates and society ladies with the skills to steal, assassinate, and wield a weapon all while having a spot of tea. Flying houses and pirate flags? You bet ya.

Humor is SO subjective but I laughed out loud while reading this book. Some humor was spot on, some a little out in left field and some parts had me shaking my head.

Go into this book with an open mind and know not to take it too seriously. It was a delightful escape from reality with My Lady Jane/Princess Bride/Monty Python type humor. It’s campy and fun and I always love when a book can make fun of the societal norms of the times.

There’s a handsome roguish pirate and a girl who can handle herself but also can’t resist said roguish pirate. And let’s be honest the romance plays a huge role in this book and I was just along for the ride.

All in all my expectations were met and I thought this was a delightful, silly but fun summer read.

^*open door romance scene. A few spots of language.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

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The League of Gentlewoman Witches follows the events of 2021’s The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels. While the first book in this series followed the outrageous adventures of house-flying lady pirates, book two centres on The League of Gentlewoman Witches, a coven of high society witches, operating covertly and in complete opposition to the pirates. The league’s young heir apparent, Charlotte Pettifer, aims to capture and secure a talisman, an amulet the pirates also claim as their own. When one particularly unhinged lady pirate absconds with the amulet, Charlotte is forced to team up with Alex O’Riley, a notorious pirate bachelor. Readers of the first installment will recognize the dark and dangerous O’Riley as the long-time friend of Ned Lightbourne. Of course, the tenuous alliance between Charlotte and Alex soon becomes something far spicier.

Dangerous Damsels is, by far, my most favourite new series. Combining elements of satire, fantasy, adventure, and historical fiction/romance, this series is an absolute riot. The premise is completely creative and outlandish, setting it distinctly apart from the pack. The series’ refusal to take itself too seriously grants it a fresh perspective and is the exact escapism I’m craving in these overwrought times. It’s smart too. The self-reflexive nature of the book and its engaging, confident (albeit flawed) characters are like a conspiratorial wink to the reader. I have read this entire series wearing a silly grin, barking out laughter and gasps at regular intervals.

I cannot get enough of Dangerous Damsels. I hope India Holton has many more adventures on deck.

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Thank you to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for access to this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

First off, this book cover is stunning!!! This book was witty, absolutely entertaining and a very sweet slow burn romance. Both Ned and Cecelia had such difficult pasts and I loved that they were able to be vulnerable with one another at the end. But seriously, this book is just so funny at the end of the day and that is what I will remember when recommending this book.

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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5242686910

Book Review: The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels
⭐⭐💫
🔥🔥

Let me start by saying this isn’t a badly written book, and I completely understand why it was so popular, however it just wasn’t for me. Overall, I’d give it like a 2.5, rounding up to 3 for Goodreads.

Starting out I was very excited. I had heard a lot about this book, saw good reviews, and the early chapters were really strong in setting the scene and vibes of the world. Piracy, magic, and Victorian England with a romantic bent was a great set up and brought to mind some of my favorite stories: Sorcery & Cecelia, Stardust, and Howl’s Moving Castle. The story promised to be fun, adventurous, humorous, and romantic.

The Wisteria Society itself was fantastic. I loved seeing a cast of quirky, capable older women involved in a women-only piracy club. That was tons of fun, and I loved to see it. I feel like this book might be for those looking for a fantasy-comedy-romance. If you like a lot of banter, sword/gun fights, and a “good girl”/rake pairing then this could be a great book for you. A warning that the violence definitely takes a comedic bent, but if you enjoyed that church scene in the Kingsman movie, you shouldn’t have any problems with this.

However, some parts of the book I just couldn’t enjoy as much as I wanted too. The constant bantering and back-and-forth between several characters grew tiresome for me. There were bits of dialogue that sounded like the author was really trying to hit that classic English lit/Austen-esque language but it just sounded awkward.

The main character Cecilia is meant to be sheltered and naive and I’ve come to really dislike that trope in my romance. I’ve also decided that I really dislike when limited sexual experience is equated with innocence. For me it implies something darker: had Cecelia kissed someone before the hero, would the hero think she was wrong or sinful? To some extent, I understand that having an inexperienced heroine is a common trope of historical romance, however considering all of the genre bending ideas the author incorporated I was really surprised to see it here.

One of my biggest pet peeves of the story was when our “hero” Ned decides to mislead the protagonist Cecilia and get her drunk without her knowledge/consent. I know this scene was supposed to be funny, and I’m sure for others it played well. But I found it a bit contrived and borderline problematic. I didn’t find it believable that the main protagonist Cecilia had 1. Never heard of alcohol and 2. Had never heard of the effects of alcohol, such as drunkenness or a hangover. But mainly, it just seemed really inappropriate for Ned to offer alcohol to someone when he knew that she had never had it before and then intentionally leave her in the dark about it when he “playfully” tells her the next morning that hangovers are caused by bad seafood. Not a good look, Ned.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CndIto8rVBW/

𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 🌿

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚆𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚊 𝚂𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝙻𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚜
⭐⭐💫
🔥🔥

This isn’t a badly written book by any means but it just wasn’t for me.

Starting out I was very excited. I had heard a lot about this book, saw good reviews, and the early chapters were really strong in setting the scene and vibes of the world. Piracy, magic, and Victorian England with a romantic bent was a great set up and brought to mind some of my favorite stories: Sorcery & Cecelia, Stardust, and Howl’s Moving Castle. The story promised to be fun, adventurous, humorous, and romantic.

The Wisteria Society itself was fantastic. I loved seeing a cast of quirky, capable older women involved in a women-only piracy club. That was tons of fun, and I loved to see it. I feel like this book might be for those looking for a fantasy-comedy-romance. If you like a lot of banter, sword/gun fights, and a “good girl”/rake pairing then this could be a great book for you. A warning that the violence definitely takes a comedic bent, but if you enjoyed that church scene in the Kingsman movie, you shouldn’t have any problems with this.

However, there were some things I didn’t like that much. I found the dialogue tiresome at times, and some of the characterization of the main character was just not the heroine I usually like to see in my romance novels. If you want to read about what I didn’t like, head to Goodreads for my full review (link in bio).

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I was lucky to be given an eARC of this book to review. This is my first book by this author, so I was not sure what I was getting into with this story. But I loved my time reading.

This is written in such a fun and goofy way, that you can’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the characters. And yet, I loved every second of this story. If you are someone who wants a very historically accurate story set in regency England, this is not the story for you. The author twists what is reality and turns it into a fun adventure that I couldn't stop reading. I laughed out loud multiple times throughout my reading experience, and this is exactly the fun energy I needed to start off a new year.

I genuinely had the best time reading this story, and I will definitely look into more stories by this author.

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I love being surprised by a book, and my experience reading India Holton's start to the Dangerous Damsels series was certainly a happy surprise. This book has pirates, witches, adventure, flying houses, tea parties, razor-sharp wit and a delicious romance that wasn't hindered by the jam-packed plot. Every neatly-organized piece of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels was delightful, whimsical, and well thought out from the beginning. I love Cecelia and Ned both, as well as all of the wacky side characters we meet in this swashbuckling book. Any reader who likes adventure will enjoy this charming series opener!

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A zany fantasy of pirates, flying houses, and assassination attempts that ultimately tired me out. Cecilia and her aunt are members of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, a book club that discovered an incantation that made objects move regardless of weight, meaning they drive their mansions through the sky around town. For some reason they're pirates, thieves, and assassins too. Ned, one of his aliases, was hired (or not) to assassinate Cecilia. I was charmed at first by the off-beat characters and clever dialogue but eventually I was lost. Can something be too cute?

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One of my favorite books of the year, hands down. Had not realized I had already read previous works by this author but after this will be keeping an eye out for any other books by them.

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