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lizziaha's review against another edition
funny
4.0
Truly a good time. I just couldn’t quite accept the premise on this one. The two main characters are supposed to be prodigious spies, but they’re so utterly oblivious that it’s hard to believe. Otherwise, a thoroughly enjoyable story, although I would not quite classify it as historical romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Trafficking
katjacatbeans's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A charming and funny installation in the series.
All the FMCs have been a bit peculiar and particular, but Alice is the one who most thoroughly had me saying "tell me you're autistic without telling me you're autistic". But it's never called out in text that way, and while in don't think it's a wholly unproblematic portrayal, it seems pretty good and doesn't feel stereotyped.
All the FMCs have been a bit peculiar and particular, but Alice is the one who most thoroughly had me saying "tell me you're autistic without telling me you're autistic". But it's never called out in text that way, and while in don't think it's a wholly unproblematic portrayal, it seems pretty good and doesn't feel stereotyped.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse
onthesamepage's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Tropes: fake relationship, rivals to lovers, only one bed, first time
Steam level: 🌶
Steam level: 🌶
Alex clicked his tongue. “No doubt they’re searching for the weapon in efficient fashion—unlike you, who showed more interest in hanky-panky.”
Upon hearing this phrase, Alice’s inner dictionary opened its pages excitedly. “What does hanky-panky mean?” she whispered to Daniel.
“Witchcraft,” he whispered back.
I couldn't help but feel that there was something missing while I was reading this. I've enjoyed the previous two installments in this series. The writing is either going to work for you, or you're going to absolutely hate it. It's quirky and frequently breaks the fourth wall, not necessarily by directing commentary at the reader, but by reminding the reader that there is an author behind the words. I felt that a lot here, especially, and it distracted me from the book itself.
Seeing this, her heart clutched the book to its, er, heart with happiness.
And then theycontinued on with their search for the weapon like exemplary professionalskissed.
Sometimes this is funny, sometimes it isn't, but if you just read these quotes and winced, this series is probably not for you.
The book didn't fully grab me anyway, writing aside. The two main characters aren't pointed out to be neurodivergent, but they do read like it. Both have been trained to not show any emotion. They're professionals whose idea of fun is reading a good book (which I can absolutely get behind). When they're thrust into the hectic life of pirates while working undercover, it makes sense for them to struggle with what that entails. But I think there was too much time spent on pirate shenanigans, and too little time spent on helping me form a connection with the characters, or on developing the romance. We do learn fairly quickly that Alice and Daniel have had a crush on each other for over a year, but I didn't feel like they spent a lot of time communicating. I was told that they have an emotional connection, but rarely allowed to actually see it. The moments I did get to glimpse them were my favourite parts of the story. It happened more towards the end, but it made the middle part a bit of a slog.
There were POV scenes from both characters, but not evenly split. I think it was about 80-20 in Alice's favour, which was a shame because I liked what I did get to see of Daniel. I also really appreciated the cameos by the main characters from the previous two books.
All in all, I would recommend this series, and I had a good time with it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Animal death, and Physical abuse
emalderwood's review
adventurous
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.5
Another fun read in this series! Also loved getting some autistic rep from Alice.
Alice's sensory experiences and overwhelm I felt were well handled and realistic, including how she herself felt about them. Her autistic traits were kept mostly consistent through the book and went deeper than stereotypes - her autism was a part of what made her, her but she encompassed more beyond the symptom checklist and had her own unique coping mechanisms that allowed her individuality to shine. She also experienced difficulty, and shame, and pain from how her autism impacts her. I really appreciated how that was handled. Alice's hurt and reflections on who she is vs who her many masks are made me feel seen.
I did feel that Alice's lack of awareness around idiom and subtleties of conversation weren't entirely consistent with her character, though. I appreciated her not picking up on all of them or interpreting them incorrectly or just not noticing when someone was speaking with double meaning. What I wasn't as much a fan of was how that was the case in every situation. I felt that as an intelligent spy, who supposedly has spent so long masking and pretending to be someone else undercover, that she would at least have studied and learned the real meaning of some of the idioms and euphemisms people were using. Even if she still forgot or had to take a minute to figure it out, or got it wrong sometimes, it wouldn't have felt it so at odds with how she's had to adapt over her life and mask.
Overall a great read and I absolutely adored Alice. I could tell the author took her time trying to do her justice.
Alice's sensory experiences and overwhelm I felt were well handled and realistic, including how she herself felt about them. Her autistic traits were kept mostly consistent through the book and went deeper than stereotypes - her autism was a part of what made her, her but she encompassed more beyond the symptom checklist and had her own unique coping mechanisms that allowed her individuality to shine. She also experienced difficulty, and shame, and pain from how her autism impacts her. I really appreciated how that was handled. Alice's hurt and reflections on who she is vs who her many masks are made me feel seen.
I did feel that Alice's lack of awareness around idiom and subtleties of conversation weren't entirely consistent with her character, though. I appreciated her not picking up on all of them or interpreting them incorrectly or just not noticing when someone was speaking with double meaning. What I wasn't as much a fan of was how that was the case in every situation. I felt that as an intelligent spy, who supposedly has spent so long masking and pretending to be someone else undercover, that she would at least have studied and learned the real meaning of some of the idioms and euphemisms people were using. Even if she still forgot or had to take a minute to figure it out, or got it wrong sometimes, it wouldn't have felt it so at odds with how she's had to adapt over her life and mask.
Overall a great read and I absolutely adored Alice. I could tell the author took her time trying to do her justice.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Violence
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Ableism, Bullying, and Child abuse
tobyw's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Didn't really do it for me.
I found the writing style cute at first but it quickly became grating. There were a couple really funny lines, but it mostly floundered in a repetitive word salad. It did that annoying thing of refusing to commit to omniscient or limited, so we kinda just... floated, with the occasional jarring reference to 21st century pop culture.
Two problems engendered by the weak POV choice were "telling over showing" and failure to raise the stakes. We're constantly being told how dangerous etc. a character is, and frequently by one-upping the other characters (ie. So-and-so's raised eyebrow is more dangerous that a whole horde of pirates). But none of it hits because it's all icing and no cake. You haven't even convinced me the pirates are dangerous yet. This doesn't work. The most convinced I was of the pirates' dangerousness was early in the book, when Alice and Daniel are almost shot down on their way to Starkthorn. After that, it was a slow roll downwards. No one even gets hurt in this book, let alone killed. It's just farcical to witter on about how deadly everyone is when there's literally nothing to back it up. The one character who DOES actually try to kill a bunch of people (not in a quirky "hehe murder attempt" way, in a way that is treated by the narrative as an actual threat) is NOT counted among the characters that gets a bunch of hay made about what a threat they are.
The middle of the book was meandering. I'm sure it would be more compelling if you were invested in the romance, but it's a pity that a fun plot set-up got sidelined so hard. The romance didn't really compel me; I wish there was more substance to it besides literature quotes and sexual attraction. I guess I don't read these kinds of light romances very often (I loved One Last Stop, which is the closest comparison I can think of from my reading history) but it was genuinely kind of weird how often the book would just spout a cliche completely unaltered, and I'd read on, expecting some kind of subversion, but... no, it was literally just... the cliche. Their first meeting is probably the most egregious example, but I may have gone numb to it a 100 pages in.
Are Cecilia/Ned and Alex/Charlotte the protagonists of the previous books? I had a bit of trouble differentiating between them. There's a point near the end where Alice sees either Charlotte or Cecilia's personal library flying house and gets all misty-eyed and yearning, and then Daniel gets her a similar house... I dunno. Just seemed like a lack of creativity and variation in characters.
I appreciate the attempt at autism and neurodiverse representation, which I clocked early on but didn't know about going in, although it fell short in a couple of places. I think the high point was establishing Alice's variable discomfort with being touched; it's appropriate for a romance and it felt mostly true to life. I saw a complaint from another reviewer (on goodreads, I think) that they felt that Daniel "cured" too much of Alice's autistic characteristics. I don't entirely agree because I related a lot to the exploration of "I hate being touched unless it's by you, sometimes, in a particular way". That being said, I was a little put-off by how their big sex scene heavily relies on descriptions of Daniel breaking all the rules Alice set up about touching her. Not hot, dude.
Also, Daniel? He was clearly also being set up as autistic, but I had more gripes with how *his* autism is put on hold whenever things are getting hot and heavy. I'm not surprised that Austen-lite emulations like to go heavy on the "male protagonist being extremely courteous and deferring to the woman's desires" thing, but it felt more like Daniel's personality was erased to default back to Male Romantic Lead whenever things were getting intimate. He was of course way more sexually experienced than her, and she was pure and innocent as a flower.
That's where the representation really did not work for me. Alice's autism ends up infantilizing her with how thickly the author lays on the "she doesn't understand figurative speech" thing. Daniel, meanwhile, has no obvious problem with it. He gets sexual innuendo easily; Alice is the one who constantly needs enlightening. We're told in his internal monologue that he doesn't have an imagination and thinks very concretely, but it's telling over showing, and not a convenient excuse to make the female lead completely sexually naive.
Furthermore, Alice going on about how she doesn't like social interaction stretched my suspension of disbelief. It's just... a really bizarre thing to harp on for someone whose profession is SPYING? The author almost stuck the landing with Alice occasionally trying to match micro-expressions to the ones she learned out of a book -- that would've actually worked, with her applying a very analytical approach to situations that are intuitive for other people -- but it's constantly undercut by Alice going on about how she can't hold a conversation and doesn't like talking to people. Felt like autism was being watered down to "can't talk to people disorder".
I wasn't really expecting a rollercoaster, but the plot was pretty predictable. Even the author seemed to feel like it, because the theoretical climax of the plot fell apart TWICE before we got the big action sequence (which was barely over 20 pages and very easily resolved). The world seems so quirky and fun but maybe because it's the third book the author was getting bored with it and just wanted to focus on the romance. Oh, well.
The one twist I did enjoy wasV-2's reveal. Suddenly, all the tropey situations that I had to suspend my disbelief for had an actual plot explanation backing them up. That was good.
The book also gets strangely angsty in the last sequence with A.U.N.T., which didn't land especially well for me because I didn't feel as though we were adequately introduced to Alice and Daniel before they became obsessed with each other. I'm not really invested in them. It was also a jarring tonal shift that wasn't handled with a deft hand. Until the mission is over, the narration is just peppered with jokes about which particular regulations they're breaking by smooching. A.U.N.T. is treated as goofily as everything else. I didn't feel like they were in sincere jeopardy.
That being said, I know the kind of person who would enjoy this. It's super tropey, HEAVY HEAVY on romance, very cutesy, guaranteed to end with the characters married and pumping out babies. I probably would've loved this book when I was 14. It was readable, at least. Could've been great.
I found the writing style cute at first but it quickly became grating. There were a couple really funny lines, but it mostly floundered in a repetitive word salad. It did that annoying thing of refusing to commit to omniscient or limited, so we kinda just... floated, with the occasional jarring reference to 21st century pop culture.
Two problems engendered by the weak POV choice were "telling over showing" and failure to raise the stakes. We're constantly being told how dangerous etc. a character is, and frequently by one-upping the other characters (ie. So-and-so's raised eyebrow is more dangerous that a whole horde of pirates). But none of it hits because it's all icing and no cake. You haven't even convinced me the pirates are dangerous yet. This doesn't work. The most convinced I was of the pirates' dangerousness was early in the book, when Alice and Daniel are almost shot down on their way to Starkthorn. After that, it was a slow roll downwards. No one even gets hurt in this book, let alone killed. It's just farcical to witter on about how deadly everyone is when there's literally nothing to back it up. The one character who DOES actually try to kill a bunch of people (not in a quirky "hehe murder attempt" way, in a way that is treated by the narrative as an actual threat) is NOT counted among the characters that gets a bunch of hay made about what a threat they are.
The middle of the book was meandering. I'm sure it would be more compelling if you were invested in the romance, but it's a pity that a fun plot set-up got sidelined so hard. The romance didn't really compel me; I wish there was more substance to it besides literature quotes and sexual attraction. I guess I don't read these kinds of light romances very often (I loved One Last Stop, which is the closest comparison I can think of from my reading history) but it was genuinely kind of weird how often the book would just spout a cliche completely unaltered, and I'd read on, expecting some kind of subversion, but... no, it was literally just... the cliche. Their first meeting is probably the most egregious example, but I may have gone numb to it a 100 pages in.
Are Cecilia/Ned and Alex/Charlotte the protagonists of the previous books? I had a bit of trouble differentiating between them. There's a point near the end where Alice sees either Charlotte or Cecilia's personal library flying house and gets all misty-eyed and yearning, and then Daniel gets her a similar house... I dunno. Just seemed like a lack of creativity and variation in characters.
I appreciate the attempt at autism and neurodiverse representation, which I clocked early on but didn't know about going in, although it fell short in a couple of places. I think the high point was establishing Alice's variable discomfort with being touched; it's appropriate for a romance and it felt mostly true to life. I saw a complaint from another reviewer (on goodreads, I think) that they felt that Daniel "cured" too much of Alice's autistic characteristics. I don't entirely agree because I related a lot to the exploration of "I hate being touched unless it's by you, sometimes, in a particular way". That being said, I was a little put-off by how their big sex scene heavily relies on descriptions of Daniel breaking all the rules Alice set up about touching her. Not hot, dude.
Also, Daniel? He was clearly also being set up as autistic, but I had more gripes with how *his* autism is put on hold whenever things are getting hot and heavy. I'm not surprised that Austen-lite emulations like to go heavy on the "male protagonist being extremely courteous and deferring to the woman's desires" thing, but it felt more like Daniel's personality was erased to default back to Male Romantic Lead whenever things were getting intimate. He was of course way more sexually experienced than her, and she was pure and innocent as a flower.
That's where the representation really did not work for me. Alice's autism ends up infantilizing her with how thickly the author lays on the "she doesn't understand figurative speech" thing. Daniel, meanwhile, has no obvious problem with it. He gets sexual innuendo easily; Alice is the one who constantly needs enlightening. We're told in his internal monologue that he doesn't have an imagination and thinks very concretely, but it's telling over showing, and not a convenient excuse to make the female lead completely sexually naive.
Furthermore, Alice going on about how she doesn't like social interaction stretched my suspension of disbelief. It's just... a really bizarre thing to harp on for someone whose profession is SPYING? The author almost stuck the landing with Alice occasionally trying to match micro-expressions to the ones she learned out of a book -- that would've actually worked, with her applying a very analytical approach to situations that are intuitive for other people -- but it's constantly undercut by Alice going on about how she can't hold a conversation and doesn't like talking to people. Felt like autism was being watered down to "can't talk to people disorder".
I wasn't really expecting a rollercoaster, but the plot was pretty predictable. Even the author seemed to feel like it, because the theoretical climax of the plot fell apart TWICE before we got the big action sequence (which was barely over 20 pages and very easily resolved). The world seems so quirky and fun but maybe because it's the third book the author was getting bored with it and just wanted to focus on the romance. Oh, well.
The one twist I did enjoy was
The book also gets strangely angsty in the last sequence with A.U.N.T., which didn't land especially well for me because I didn't feel as though we were adequately introduced to Alice and Daniel before they became obsessed with each other. I'm not really invested in them. It was also a jarring tonal shift that wasn't handled with a deft hand. Until the mission is over, the narration is just peppered with jokes about which particular regulations they're breaking by smooching. A.U.N.T. is treated as goofily as everything else. I didn't feel like they were in sincere jeopardy.
That being said, I know the kind of person who would enjoy this. It's super tropey, HEAVY HEAVY on romance, very cutesy, guaranteed to end with the characters married and pumping out babies. I probably would've loved this book when I was 14. It was readable, at least. Could've been great.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse
overflowingshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
CW: Violence; gun violence; abandoment; child abuse; physial abuse; emotional abuse; pregnancy
Starting a new India Holton book means you’re in for a whimsical, over-the-top, fantastically fun time. And The Secret Service of Tea and Treason was just that. In the third and final book in Holton’s Dangerous Damsels series, you get a rollicking good time with an adventure involving spies, pirates, misquoted literary references, assassination attempts, and the overwhelming urge to clean everything. With all the hijinks and hilarity that ensues, Holton still manages to weave in an incredibly sweet romance.
I absolutely adore India Holton’s writing style – she has such a unique voice that I’ve yet to find anywhere else. Her stories are bonkers in the best possible way, and I love how she plays with conventional tropes and plots but flips them on their head to deliver the unexpected. Of all the books in the Dangerous Damsels series, this one had me laughing out loud the most. It was so funny! I swear I had a grin on my face the entire time I read this, as I was having such a blast. I love how tongue-in-cheek her style is. The book never takes itself too seriously, which works perfectly for the story. I love how Holton plays with classic literary references, as I love trying to see how many I recognize.
While this series does not need to be read in order, I feel you get the most out of it if you do! I think I would be a bit confused if I entered this world in this book, as the world-building happens in the earlier books. But every book in this series has been a delight, so I recommend picking up The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels first and reading in order.
As I expected, the plot for this is bonkers. We have a secret spy agency composed of servants who thrive on order, sending their two best agents undercover as married pirates, pirates who thrive on chaos, to stop an attempted assassination of Queen Victoria. What can go wrong? A lot! But it is such a fun time! You literally never know what is going to happen next. For example, I did not expect a conga line and a tiger to show up in the same scene. It was also super fun to see some familiar faces from previous books, as it felt like everyone and their mother showed up to the pirate’s house party (even if they weren’t invited!).
Our two main characters in The Secret Society of Tea and Treason are two familiar faces from The League of Gentlewomen Witches, as we have Daniel Bixby, butler extraordinaire, and Alice Dearlove, a lady’s maid of unusual talents. I was intrigued by these two since their chance meeting in an alley in Clacton-on-Sea in the last book.
I truly appreciate the neurodivergent representation in this book. While never stated directly in the book, India Holton has shared that she wrote Daniel and Alice to be autistic (Holton is autistic herself). They present quite differently from each other, which I liked as neurodivergent people are not a monolith; they’re individuals. I hope people who are neurodivergent can feel seen by Holton’s characters, as I think she does a good job capturing different experiences and presenting neurodivergence in a way that does not stigmatize it.
I felt like we spent a little more time with Alice than with Daniel, so I felt I got to understand her a little bit, though Daniel holds a lot close to his chest, which could contribute to my feeling that way. I loved that they both are bibliophiles (I can relate), and books are the most important thing to both of them. They both had some traumatic experiences growing up raised by AUNT that left its mark on them in different ways. But I loved how they both felt they could confide in each other – there is a level of trust between them that feels unusual for them as secret agents. They also notice things about each other that everyone else seems to overlook – such as Alice with her finger tapping – and know how to give each other the space they need to be comfortable. I also loved how much the chaos of the pirates went against everything they stand for – Alice and Daniel thrive on order, cleanliness, and rules. As AUNT’s best undercover agents, they’re genuinely TERRIBLE at being undercover as pirates.
The romance in this book was super sweet! I loved watching Daniel and Alice explore their connection, as it was so pure and perfect. AUNT has taught them that feelings are a weakness, but once they give in to their feelings, they realize how much of a strength it is to feel love. I absolutely love a fake-dating scenario, and we get a bit of that with Alice and Daniel’s relationship, as they’re supposed to be undercover as a married couple. That leads to so many delicious moments of them having to show off how married people act at the urging (and swooning) of the other pirate ladies. The chemistry between them was apparent to everyone, and it was so fun to watch the sexual tension and emotions build until they spilled over (in some very sexy ways!). Daniel’s also so enamored with Alice and that’s one of my favorite tropes. By the end, it truly felt like they found their person, and I was so happy for them and that they were willing to fight for their love in the end.
I’m so sad that the Dangerous Damsels series is over, but I loved how it wrapped everything up! It was so great to see Ned and Cecilia, and Alex and Charlotte again. Alex and Daniel’s friendship was one of my favorite secondary relationships in this book, and I loved the role it played in this story (even if both of them won’t come out and say they’re friends). The epilogue did a great job tying everything together, and I got a bit misty-eyed at having to say goodbye to this wild world of lady pirates, witches, spies, and flying houses.
I cannot wait to see what India Holton writes next! Holton’s writing style is unlike anything I’ve ever read – her plots are wild and over the top, but her characters have such heart, and the romances sizzle. Her next book, The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love, kicks off a new series, and I’m already excited to read it in 2024!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Gun violence
Moderate: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Pregnancy
dear_alice's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Okay, I bought this book for the beautiful cover and the interesting title... Not having a clue that I just picked up part 3 of a series. That didn't help. This is probably my first time reading a book with an autistic-reading protagonist. It offered an interesting perspective... but was, at times, also exasperating to read her continuous misunderstanding of idioms. Then again, perhaps that says more about my own ableism that I was not aware of. The characters grew on me, became more charming. The intimate scenes were spectacularly well-written and offered insight in handling those as a neurodiverse person with sensory issues and mental overload. The overall "plot" and other characters though... too much #lolrandom for my taste. But still 3,5 stars for ingenuity and originality and offering insight in people with differently-wired brains.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Gaslighting
attolis's review
adventurous
funny
4.5
Yeah. Ok
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Child abuse
erebus53's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This third book in the Dangerous Damsels collection has a lot more going for it than the previous titles, though your mileage may vary. Personally I am in love with it because I finally feel represented in a romance story.
As in previous books the action focuses around the pirates, who dress big, and use magic to fly around in houses, (avoiding sun and freckles), and with gallant rumbistification (a word coined by a different Kiwi author so I'm sticking to it), witches who don't exist and while not doing so use magic to move objects around and artfully assault any who would come into conflict with them. Add to this Her Majesty's spies, a.. downstairs network of handmaids, butlers and sundry help in deep cover attempting to keep the other two factions away from each other while protecting the interests of The Crown.
While the other 2 books were, nerdy, bookish, sex-positive, and loaded with Jane Austen-like verbal jousting, a new element is introduced in the narrative - that of hyper-literal Autism. When a couple of your main characters are being baffled by deft social-maneuvering and would rather slip off into a quiet room and read some poetry, all of a sudden this storytelling becomes entirely relatable.
OOof, this book made me catch feels. When your two main characters are Autistic, and kept under thumb by a manipulative organisation that praises them for being gifted and efficient, while gaslighting them and encouraging them lean into their tendency to ignore their emotions, this all gets a little DARK. Traumatised orphans, trained to excellence, trained to follow rules and orders, punished into compliance, and thus developing idiosyncratic coping strategies... is all a bit close to home.
As far as romance and sexytimes is concerned these two are so marvellous. They are very broken by their previous experiences, but start their navigation of each other by co-regulating, making each other feel safe, discussing their needs and expectations beforehand, identifying their triggers and sensory differences, and trying to get the hang of how their own feelings work. It's a work of art, and I loved the journey. Very saucy.. and neuro-spicy.
Again, your mileage may vary, but I am the target audience.
As in previous books the action focuses around the pirates, who dress big, and use magic to fly around in houses, (avoiding sun and freckles), and with gallant rumbistification (a word coined by a different Kiwi author so I'm sticking to it), witches who don't exist and while not doing so use magic to move objects around and artfully assault any who would come into conflict with them. Add to this Her Majesty's spies, a.. downstairs network of handmaids, butlers and sundry help in deep cover attempting to keep the other two factions away from each other while protecting the interests of The Crown.
While the other 2 books were, nerdy, bookish, sex-positive, and loaded with Jane Austen-like verbal jousting, a new element is introduced in the narrative - that of hyper-literal Autism. When a couple of your main characters are being baffled by deft social-maneuvering and would rather slip off into a quiet room and read some poetry, all of a sudden this storytelling becomes entirely relatable.
OOof, this book made me catch feels. When your two main characters are Autistic, and kept under thumb by a manipulative organisation that praises them for being gifted and efficient, while gaslighting them and encouraging them lean into their tendency to ignore their emotions, this all gets a little DARK. Traumatised orphans, trained to excellence, trained to follow rules and orders, punished into compliance, and thus developing idiosyncratic coping strategies... is all a bit close to home.
As far as romance and sexytimes is concerned these two are so marvellous. They are very broken by their previous experiences, but start their navigation of each other by co-regulating, making each other feel safe, discussing their needs and expectations beforehand, identifying their triggers and sensory differences, and trying to get the hang of how their own feelings work. It's a work of art, and I loved the journey. Very saucy.. and neuro-spicy.
Again, your mileage may vary, but I am the target audience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Grief, Alcohol, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Injury/Injury detail
kendal_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, Ableism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Child abuse
Minor: Death and Pregnancy