Name: Chloë's review of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton
Item: The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels
Rating: 4
Author: Chloë

India Holton

TIKTOK MADE ME BUY IT! The THRILLING Victorian fantasy romance that you didn't realise you needed in your life . . . 'SPECTACULAR. just the sort of absolute madness which one needs in a book!' 5***** Reader Review 'Victorian lady assassins fighting the patriarchy, flying houses, AND...an ONLY ONE BED trope?! Fun fun fun' 5***** Reader Review ______ The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels are no ordinary women . . . Pirates, thieves and ne'er-do-wells, these ladies spend their days pickpocketing and blackmailing their way around the country - all before afternoon tea. But when Lady Cecilia Bassingwaite meets Ned Lightbourne, her world is set to change forever. Because he's a paid assassin and she's his next hit. Yet when he lays eyes on the feisty, beautiful Cecilia he's faced with a conundrum: Does he kill her . . . or fall in love with her? Bridgerton meets Peaky Blinders in this swashbuckling tale of scoundrels and society, crime and crumpets. As these enemies turn to allies and might just fall in love along the way . . . ______ 'Witty, entertaining, laugh-out-loud funny and adventurous . . . Everything I need in a historical romance' 5***** Reader Review 'The best romantic humorous adventure fantasy of manners you will ever read!' 5***** Reader Review

Bridgerton meets Peaky Blinders in this fantastical TikTok sensation

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels

A prim and proper lady thief must save her aunt from a crazed pirate and his dangerously charming henchman in this fantastical historical romance. Cecilia Bassingwaite is the ideal Victorian lady. She's also a thief. Like the other members of the Wisteria Society crime sorority, she flies around England drinking tea, blackmailing friends, and acquiring treasure by interesting means. Sure, she has a dark and traumatic past and an overbearing aunt, but all things considered, it's a pleasant existence. Until the men show up. Ned Lightbourne is a sometimes assassin who is smitten with Cecilia from the moment they meet. Unfortunately, that happens to be while he's under direct orders to kill her. His employer, Captain Morvath, who possesses a gothic abbey bristling with cannons and an unbridled hate for the world, intends to rid England of all its presumptuous women, starting with the Wisteria Society. Ned has plans of his own. But both men have made one grave mistake. Never underestimate a woman. When Morvath imperils the Wisteria Society, Cecilia is forced to team up with her handsome would-be assassin to save the women who raised her--hopefully proving, once and for all, that she's as much of a scoundrel as the rest of them.

Sabrina McCarthy

If only she could be a lesbian and yet still have a grand public wedding.

“The kind of book for which the word “rollicking” was invented.”—New York Times Book Review An Indie Bestseller One of Bustle's Best New Books Out June 2021 A Popsugar Best Summer Read of 2021 A prim and proper lady thief must save her aunt from a crazed pirate and his dangerously charming henchman in this fantastical historical romance. Cecilia Bassingwaite is the ideal Victorian lady. She's also a thief. Like the other members of the Wisteria Society crime sorority, she flies around England drinking tea, blackmailing friends, and acquiring treasure by interesting means. Sure, she has a dark and traumatic past and an overbearing aunt, but all things considered, it's a pleasant existence. Until the men show up. Ned Lightbourne is a sometimes assassin who is smitten with Cecilia from the moment they meet. Unfortunately, that happens to be while he's under direct orders to kill her. His employer, Captain Morvath, who possesses a gothic abbey bristling with cannons and an unbridled hate for the world, intends to rid England of all its presumptuous women, starting with the Wisteria Society. Ned has plans of his own. But both men have made one grave mistake. Never underestimate a woman. When Morvath imperils the Wisteria Society, Cecilia is forced to team up with her handsome would-be assassin to save the women who raised her--hopefully proving, once and for all, that she's as much of a scoundrel as the rest of them.

Amrei 

The Queen caught her expression and waved her over. "My dear," she whispered. "Some advice from a long-married woman: every time he speaks, close your eyes and think of England."

Rowan Hughes 

Florence

Emma Hak-Kovacs

Emma Miller

Chloë

If you love Austen the writing of this is so reminiscent of her work, all the random tangents and jokes sometimes only the reader is in on, with an extra splash of whimsy. I love an MMC who falls first and harder. 

Abigail

ingrid 

“ ‘So this is merely a romance?’ She frowned disapprovingly. ‘I was hoping for an epic adventure, or a gothic mystery at the very least.’ “ 
pg 321 
kind of exactly how I feel rn

"The kind of book for which the word "rollicking" was invented."--New York Times Book Review One of Bustle's Best New Books Out June 2021 A Popsugar Best Summer Read of 2021 A prim and proper lady thief must save her aunt from a crazed pirate and his dangerously charming henchman in this fantastical historical romance. Cecilia Bassingwaite is the ideal Victorian lady. She's also a thief. Like the other members of the Wisteria Society crime sorority, she flies around England drinking tea, blackmailing friends, and acquiring treasure by interesting means. Sure, she has a dark and traumatic past and an overbearing aunt, but all things considered, it's a pleasant existence. Until the men show up. Ned Lightbourne is a sometimes assassin who is smitten with Cecilia from the moment they meet. Unfortunately, that happens to be while he's under direct orders to kill her. His employer, Captain Morvath, who possesses a gothic abbey bristling with cannons and an unbridled hate for the world, intends to rid England of all its presumptuous women, starting with the Wisteria Society. Ned has plans of his own. But both men have made one grave mistake. Never underestimate a woman. When Morvath imperils the Wisteria Society, Cecilia is forced to team up with her handsome would-be assassin to save the women who raised her--hopefully proving, once and for all, that she's as much of a scoundrel as the rest of them.

Mieka Estrada

This was very fun to read! I loved the very different setting and the feminst touch of it all! I would have liked one or two more intimate scenes 

Marie

Funny easy reading romance with cheeky old ladies pirates, entertaining!

Barbara

A great premise lacking substance, character depth, and worldbuilding

 had all the elements to catch my attention: feisty lady thieves, pirates, and a Victorian English setting. Anything with femme fatale thieves gets a yes from me, so I was excited to read this.

Unfortunately, the story ended up being too hollow and silly for my tastes. The opening left me feeling that I'd missed something. This is listed as the first in the series, but I had to double check that it actually was the first book and not a spinoff series or something. I initially felt completely clueless about the worldbuilding. At a glance, you have the typical Regency England setting. But then the characters started to mention magical elements. There was stuff about people living in magical houses that fly around. They basically treat the houses like ships and refer to the owners of said houses as captains. There were vague implications that the captains are some sort of pirates up to a variety of criminal enterprises. But none of it was explained well.

The book does have a lot of resourceful female characters who do indeed engage is swashbuckling and sometimes nefarious feats. This had the promise of strong feminist themes.

Unfortunately, the potentially tongue-in-cheek roasting of the patriarchy was overshadowed by massive instalust for the first badboy to knock on the heroine’s door. On top of that the villains were completely cartoonish. The whole thing felt almost spoofy. I just couldn’t take any of the characters seriously, and there wasn’t any character development to change that opinion.

And that, dear readers, was the most apropos quote of the book.

Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars

Colleen

A great premise lacking substance, character depth, and worldbuilding


The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels had all the elements to catch my attention: feisty lady thieves, pirates, and a Victorian English setting. Anything with femme fatale thieves gets a yes from me, so I was excited to read this.



“I needed a book in case of emergencies."
"You mean like being attacked by foul-mouthed highwaymen?"
"No, I mean those moments when nothing important is happening, such as during travel. After supper. Before sleeping. Or whilst one's opponent reloads their gun.”


Unfortunately, the story ended up being too hollow and silly for my tastes. The opening left me feeling that I'd missed something. This is listed as the first in the series, but I had to double check that it actually was the first book and not a spinoff series or something. I initially felt completely clueless about the worldbuilding. At a glance, you have the typical Regency England setting. But then the characters started to mention magical elements. There was stuff about people living in magical houses that fly around. They basically treat the houses like ships and refer to the owners of said houses as captains. There were vague implications that the captains are some sort of pirates up to a variety of criminal enterprises. But none of it was explained well.

The book does have a lot of resourceful female characters who do indeed engage is swashbuckling and sometimes nefarious feats. This had the promise of strong feminist themes.



“You are a scoundrel," she whispered furiously.
"Yes," he agreed. "I'm thinking of starting a Society of Gentlemen Scoundrels."
"You're millennia too late. It already exists and is called the patriarchy.”


Unfortunately, the potentially tongue-in-cheek roasting of the patriarchy was overshadowed by massive instalust for the first badboy to knock on the heroine’s door. On top of that the villains were completely cartoonish. The whole thing felt almost spoofy. I just couldn’t take any of the characters seriously, and there wasn’t any character development to change that opinion.

So I will end with one final quote:



“I'm afraid I've done nothing at all to advance the plot."
"You chose to come away with me," Ned reminded her.
"So this is merely romance," she frowned disapprovingly. "I was hoping for an epic adventure, or a gothic mystery at the very least."


And that, dear readers, was the most apropos quote of the book.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 2 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

pirates of the caribbean meats and emily henry book. it was cute but i knew the plot by chapter 2.  im biased because i don’t like to read books like this but if you’re looking for a book to get you out of a slump like i did, then this is great. 

emma peebles

Very strange, uniquely written book. I’ve never read a book like it. 

Jodie Reads

Amazingly lighthearted and enjoyable! I love the character developments of Cecilia (my personal favourite) and Ned. I now want to live in the alter reality Victorian England; with lake-loads of tea and cottages flying as high as clouds! Thank you India Holton for this ride I am very grateful for!

Among the Stacks

Eleutheria5833

Sweet and a little bit weird. 

 Entertaining.

Teeeeeesha

B99 meets The great/Dickinson but with Lady pirates, scoundrel and societies, flying houses, women smashing the patriarchy and stealing from it in a ladylike way with a moral code and romance.

Adelia French

Elaina 

Alexa M

what a silly, goofy time. the romance was so cheeky and cute and i genuinely laughed out loud multiple times. would highly recommend for happiness and fun !!

finished this book like a week ago but I loved it SO much! this book genuinely made me giggle and laugh out loud, it's really witty and the writing is so clever. 

what I really really loved, and I wasn't expecting to find, was the absolutely wonderful description of the fmc's "first time". it was so real, the tension between her fear for her inexperience meshed with her desire was really well written. also the last hundred pages were the most ROMANTIC shit I've ever read and I genuinely found myself crying because they're so precious😭 Ned was phenomenal from the beginning, I love a pining man and his infatuation was lovely to read. the e2l vibes were strong in this one and I loved the banter.

this was a great book, the romance was outstanding and everyone needs to read this <3

Joycelyn Ghansah

It's a mix of "Keeping Up Appearances" and late-night murder mystery. Loved Cecilia

Amanda

A spiritual successor to The Princess Bride, the characters and witty banter had me chuckling out loud. I could picture every scene vividly in my mind. Charming and hilarious, this book was a wild fun ride that never disappointed me.

Arianna M

No.
The only thing a romance has to do is create characters who develop over the course of the novel and have good reason to be together. This book does not do anything towards that. There’s literally no reason for the characters to fall in love, mostly because they’re paper-thin. Don’t get me started on the fact that the guy had an obsession for the heroine’s MOTHER. ANYWAY. Even calling Cecilia an heroine feels wrong because, as remarked in the book itself, she does nothing to advance the plot. She does nothing to advance her own character either.
So you might ask, were the adventures fun at last??? Nope. Nothing made sense. It’s just not the book for me.

I admit, I've been charmed by rakish rogues and scintillating, law-breaking pirate ladies. Jolly good fun to read.

Kate B-L

I really struggled to get going and usually would have given up but once I got into the flow it got easier to read. It was actually quite humorous and definitely light hearted.

I struggled with the 3rd person point of view and the names of characters. I especially thought that some characters weren't built out enough. 

I found the language very flouncy which wad making it more difficult to read but once I got in the swing of it, it became more bearable. 

There were actually some really funny bits, especially concerning Frederick, and overall it was a simple story line but still amusing enough to make sense. 

I do think the lack of explanation of the flying houses/magic was weird, like why not explain more?

I did like the feminist undertones as well as the end moral being living for yourself. I'm a sucker for romance and I thought this one was quite cute.

Overall, the story was simple but good, however the writing style was, in my opinion a bit jarring, hence I probably won't read the next in the series.

I really struggled to get going and usually would have given up but once I got into the flow it got easier to read. It was actually quite humorous and definitely light hearted.

I struggled with the 3rd person point of view and the names of characters. I especially thought that some characters weren't built out enough. 

I found the language very flouncy which wad making it more difficult to read but once I got in the swing of it, it became more bearable. 

There were actually some really funny bits, especially concerning Frederick, and overall it was a simple story line but still amusing enough to make sense. 

I do think the lack of explanation of the flying houses/magic was weird, like why not explain more?

I did like the feminist undertones as well as the end moral being living for yourself. I'm a sucker for romance and I thought this one was quite cute.

Overall, the story was simple but good, however the writing style was, in my opinion a bit jarring, hence I probably won't read the next in the series.

The concept of this book is so wonderful! A must read if you like Victorian-era romances, but this has just a tad more feminism, but with all the longing still present. So wonderful!

(Bre)anne✨

Will come back to add TW

The concept of this book is so wonderful! A must read if you like Victorian-era romances, but this has just a tad more feminism, but with all the longing still present. So wonderful!

A slow start and often hard to follow but once the story began, it was entertaining. I liked the characters but I felt like there was not a lot of depth to any of them. 

Georgia Fiorenza

Charis Naylor

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say this is my new favourite book. I found this book by accident and it is the best purchase I have ever made!!! The style in which it is written is absolutely gloriously hilarious and I have never smiled so much while reading a book

Emily Insinna

Absolutely loved this book! I rarely laugh out loud but I found myself having to put this book down and tell someone about funny scenes/dialog in this book. If you love the movie Princess Bride, I recommend this book.

Chloë &
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

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The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton