Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels

Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

26 reviews

whatthelauj's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I adored everything about this book. I haven't laughed this hard while reading in such a long time. It's as if Douglas Adams wrote a historical romance, it's got that level of chaos energy. So funny! I'm definitely going to pick up the next book in this universe.

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stwriter92's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I really need to stop getting recommendations from BookTok. I know that they might be other people's cup of tea, but it wasn't mine. This wasn't a horrible book, to be sure. It was just kind of...meh. It didn't leave any sort of impression for me either good or bad.

The story centers around a society of lady pirates (scoundrels) who fly around in houses, having tea, planning assassinations, and discussing the latest in literature. It is set in an alternative Victorian England and, thus, carries a lot of the sensibilities that were common during that time. The story starts during a botched assassination attempt on Cecilia Bassingwaite by one Ned Lightbourne. However, instead of killing her, her would be assassin decides to assist her when her aunt (along with the rest of the Wisteria Society) are kidnapped by the mysterious Captain Morvath.

After reading the synopsis, I was intrigued. Flying houses? Lady pirates? Tea time? Excellent. I was drawn in immediately. However, upon reading the book, I felt that the plot was lacking. It kept being bogged down by unnecessary tea parties, awkward banter, and conversations that seemed to keep repeating themselves. I can only giggle at the juxtaposition of "tea parties" and "assassinations" being mentioned in the same sentence once. However, it kept happening throughout. It seemed as if this was the only real method of humor used. That and it felt as if the book was written as a movie with stage directions being slipped in here and there.

In addition, I felt like the pacing was very inconsistent. There would be minutes upon minutes (I listened to the audiobook) of repetitive banter and then suddenly something big would happen in the span of thirty seconds before returning back to the mundane banter. The ending also felt extremely drawn out to me for no particular reason.

I think the problem was more with me expecting more than was there. I think that if you go into this expecting a lighthearted story of a pirate girl and a debonair assassin bumbling their way through a plot (and their own feelings for each other) in a story that seemed to have a longer-than-necessary resolution, then this is the book for you.

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amberinpieces's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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fromjuliereads's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed this book. I surprised me how much! I was trying to explain this book to some friends and the best I can come up with is a weird and wonderful romcom that feels like if you mashed together My Lady Jane and Pride and Prejudice or Bridgerton, but make it Victorian 😅

I absolutely loved the characters - obviously the two main characters but I also just found so many from the Wisteria Society hilarious!? And the quotes and misquotes from classic poets were so fun! Loved seeing a bit of Wordsworth and Byron mixed in with the Brönte quotes.

You definitely have to suspend reality but when don't we in books? Very enjoyable and I laughed out loud numerous times!

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meghanm404's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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j_squaredd's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Do I usually read fantastical rom coms? No. Is this a perfect book or the next great piece of capital-L-Literature? No. Was it the most fun I’ve had reading a book in a very long time? Yes.

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