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fantastiskfiktion's review against another edition
4.0
https://fantastiskfiktion.wordpress.com/2017/04/02/willful-impropriety/
readingwitherin's review against another edition
Book needed to go back to the library and hasn’t been holding my interest.
april_infinite's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
kricketa's review against another edition
4.0
i am REALLY enjoying this collection of victorian-era short stories, many of which include magic, gender-bending or twisty surprises, and all of which include romance.
my favorite so far is "false colors" by marie brennan, about a young navy lieutenant hiding a secret at sea!
also loved: "the garden of england" by mcdonald (retelling of 'the secret garden' from the ayah's perspective!!) and 'resurrection' by tiffany trent.
i'm sorry to say that i found seth cadin's prose in "outside the absolute" 100% unreadable. i kept reading the same sentences over and over without anything sinking in, so i skipped it. the rest of this book is a delight!!
my favorite so far is "false colors" by marie brennan, about a young navy lieutenant hiding a secret at sea!
also loved: "the garden of england" by mcdonald (retelling of 'the secret garden' from the ayah's perspective!!) and 'resurrection' by tiffany trent.
i'm sorry to say that i found seth cadin's prose in "outside the absolute" 100% unreadable. i kept reading the same sentences over and over without anything sinking in, so i skipped it. the rest of this book is a delight!!
ginnikin's review against another edition
2.0
A collection of mostly non-spectacular stories. "Scandal" and "Impropriety" are pretty tame, TBH.
jena_33's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
misssusan's review against another edition
4.0
Too lazy to review the stories individually right now! I liked the collection overall and it was pretty good on gender and sexuality. A little more Eurocentric than I would have liked – only one story had a protaganist spend time out of Britain and the vast majority were set entirely in London – but y'know. I'd still use it as a example for my 'Just Because It's Set in the Victorian Era is Not An Excuse for Espousing Victorian Attitudes, Let's Hear It For Progressive Historical YA' argument. :) A couple favourites: The Unladylike Education of Agatha Tremain by Stephanie Burgis, False Colors by Marie Brennan, The Dancing Master by Genevieve Valentine, The Garden of England by Sandra McDonald (Secret Garden fanfic :DDDDDD Ngl I have read better Secret Garden fic online but pretty delightful to run across in a published work), Resurrection by Tiffany Trent, Outside the Absolute by Seth Cadin (wasn't a huge fan of the style but genderqueer protagonist! =DDDDDD Actually on that note let's toss in At Will by Leanna Renee Hieber which comes with bonus theater meta). Instalove was kind of a persistent problem in the collection but ehh. I'm more forgiving of that trope in the short story format, there's not a whole lot of space for relationship development there. 4 stars
iwouldeathisheart's review against another edition
Awesome. Every story was enthralling.
tesch18's review against another edition
4.0
"At Will" by Leanna Renee Hieber
- 3/5 stars. I really enjoyed the premise, but I wish it had been developed more.
"The Unladylike Education of Agatha Tremain" by Stephanie Burgess
- 2.5/5 stars. Again, liked the premise, but it felt really under-developed and insta-love-y.
"Nussbaum's Golden Fortune" by M.K. Hobson
- 4/5 stars. Really liked the voice with this one, tho I wish it was a tiny bit longer and had a bit more fleshed out.
"The Colonel's Daughter" by Barbara Roden
- 3.5/5 stars. Mary's background had me on the edge of my seat. The plot was ok, but I really liked Mary in particular.
"Mercury Retrograde" by Mary Robinette Kowal
- 5/5 stars. YES, THIS IS WHAT I CAME HERE FOR. It's flirty and atmospheric and I would tbh read an entire book of this.
"False Colors" by Marie Brennan.
- 3/5 stars. "And here's my review -- not gay enough." Come on. If there's cross-dressing it's gotta be gay or trans, just come on, we all know this. (How desperately I want a story where the love interest loses interests the moment they find out the other person's real gender, bc let's be real, they're gay.) Also, rather unsatisfying ending.
"Mrs Beeton's Book of Magickal Management" by Karen Healey
- 4/5 stars. Oh this was fun. I really loved Irene, she was v cool.
"The Language of Flowers" by Caroline Stevermer
- 4/5 stars. It wasn't extremely noteworthy or anything, but very very enjoyable to read. Good writing.
"The Dancing Master" by Genevieve Valentine.
- 4.5/5 stars. Very subtle, which I loved. Also super entertaining?? It really held my attention for the entire time reading it.
"The Garden of England" by Sandra McDonald.
- 4.5/5 stars. Re-telling of The Secret Garden, with a few things changed. I really really liked this.
"Resurrection" by Tiffany Trent
- 5/5 stars. OH LORD YES. This is super gay & super atmospheric and I really want to read an entire book of this story, please please please???
"Outside the Absolute" by Seth Cadin
- 3.5/5 stars. OK, I'm of two minds about this one. On one hand, I loved the characters soooo much -- the main character is genderfluid and trans, and it seems as tho their love interest is a trans woman. But the story was super super hard for me to follow?? I'm still not entirely sure about everything that happened?? I think this story could have been better had it been longer.
"Steeped in Debt to the Chimney Pots" by Steve Berman
-- 5/5 stars. I really really really enjoyed this one. It reminded me a tiny bit atmospherically of A Darker Shade of Magic and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (at least from what I've read so far). I would love a book of these characters and this world, it was really enjoyable.
- 3/5 stars. I really enjoyed the premise, but I wish it had been developed more.
"The Unladylike Education of Agatha Tremain" by Stephanie Burgess
- 2.5/5 stars. Again, liked the premise, but it felt really under-developed and insta-love-y.
"Nussbaum's Golden Fortune" by M.K. Hobson
- 4/5 stars. Really liked the voice with this one, tho I wish it was a tiny bit longer and had a bit more fleshed out.
"The Colonel's Daughter" by Barbara Roden
- 3.5/5 stars. Mary's background had me on the edge of my seat. The plot was ok, but I really liked Mary in particular.
"Mercury Retrograde" by Mary Robinette Kowal
- 5/5 stars. YES, THIS IS WHAT I CAME HERE FOR. It's flirty and atmospheric and I would tbh read an entire book of this.
"False Colors" by Marie Brennan.
- 3/5 stars. "And here's my review -- not gay enough." Come on. If there's cross-dressing it's gotta be gay or trans, just come on, we all know this. (How desperately I want a story where the love interest loses interests the moment they find out the other person's real gender, bc let's be real, they're gay.) Also, rather unsatisfying ending.
"Mrs Beeton's Book of Magickal Management" by Karen Healey
- 4/5 stars. Oh this was fun. I really loved Irene, she was v cool.
"The Language of Flowers" by Caroline Stevermer
- 4/5 stars. It wasn't extremely noteworthy or anything, but very very enjoyable to read. Good writing.
"The Dancing Master" by Genevieve Valentine.
- 4.5/5 stars. Very subtle, which I loved. Also super entertaining?? It really held my attention for the entire time reading it.
"The Garden of England" by Sandra McDonald.
- 4.5/5 stars. Re-telling of The Secret Garden, with a few things changed. I really really liked this.
"Resurrection" by Tiffany Trent
- 5/5 stars. OH LORD YES. This is super gay & super atmospheric and I really want to read an entire book of this story, please please please???
"Outside the Absolute" by Seth Cadin
- 3.5/5 stars. OK, I'm of two minds about this one. On one hand, I loved the characters soooo much -- the main character is genderfluid and trans, and it seems as tho their love interest is a trans woman. But the story was super super hard for me to follow?? I'm still not entirely sure about everything that happened?? I think this story could have been better had it been longer.
"Steeped in Debt to the Chimney Pots" by Steve Berman
-- 5/5 stars. I really really really enjoyed this one. It reminded me a tiny bit atmospherically of A Darker Shade of Magic and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (at least from what I've read so far). I would love a book of these characters and this world, it was really enjoyable.
wealhtheow's review against another edition
2.0
A collection of short stories set in Victorian England, a few fantastical, most not. I didn't care for half of them.
I liked:
"At Will" by Leanna Renee Hieber. Portia Nightingale takes London's theater world by storm playing both male and female parts, and never revealing her own gender or sex. I wish there'd been a bit more of Mr. Smith, because even at the end I didn't have a firm grasp on his personality or looks, andif he's going to be Nightingale's romance then I want to know how they fit together.
"The Unladylike Education of Agatha Tremain" by Stephanie Burgis. Agatha is nearly sold into a marriage that will suck her magic dry, just as all women of her family are, until she's able to slip the trap. The emotional abuse Agatha went through at the hands of her governess is subtly but convincingly conveyed, as are its effects.
"Nussbaum's Golden Fortune" by M K Hobson. A supercilious trickster tries to use his friend's magical artifact for riches...only to realize he's being conned himself. I liked the twists and turns to the story, and only wish it had been a little longer so I could've had a better idea of Oesterlische.
"False Colors" by Marie Brennan. Victoria has successfully passed as her late twin brother aboard the Hesperides for years, but now she's being blackmailed by a cowardly lieutenant and knows she can't stay much longer. Again, I felt like I wanted more characterization and more to the final chapter, because I'm fascinated by how two people used to operating as equals would act when one is now presumed by everyone to be lesser and different from the other.
"Mrs.Beeton's Book of Magickal Management" by Karen Healey. I thought this began very well, with a nicely ironical tone ("Lady Flora Wittingham was in constant peril of immediate expiration. This day alone, she had been forced to eat cold kedgeree when she arrived late at the breakfast table, wear a pale green day dress that muddied her complexion, and accompany her father and his guest on a gentle walk about Rabton Park's icy grounds while Cyril, Marquess of Chumley, treated them to an extended account of his own grounds in the North. Flora had, in private, declared all these misadventures likely to herald her immediate removal to paradise, and yet, she had survived to this moment, where she was dressing for dinner in her pretty chambers. Indeed, despite frequent threats of imminent demise, she had survived to the age of seventeen."), but it got a little soppy and unrealistic near the end. A future earl doesn't just marry a lady's maid without far more trouble than a minor family tiff. Plus, as with other stories in this collection, the romantic couples know each other for such a short period of time and I know so little about the men.
"The Language of Flowers" by Caroline Stevermer. Olivia watches admiringly as her older sister makes a success of her first Season, but becomes worried when she falls under the sway of a mysterious foreigner.I didn't really buy the secret prince plot, but Olivia and Iris both seemed totally realistic. I loved that Iris tried to make out that she was more popular than she really was to her sister, and that she wouldn't have run away with Mr.Smith no matter what she felt about him.
Possibly my most favorite was "The Dancing Master" by Genevieve Valentine. Leah is plain and shy, and her parents hire a dancing master to give her a little more polish before she makes her debut. The family dynamic here is so well written, from Reg's needling to their mother's managing ways. Most of all I liked Leah, her disturbed feelings about not being able to avoid strangers dancing with her, her crush on Miss Hammond, her worry about a lonely future, and her wary beginnings of a friendship with William.
I liked:
"At Will" by Leanna Renee Hieber. Portia Nightingale takes London's theater world by storm playing both male and female parts, and never revealing her own gender or sex. I wish there'd been a bit more of Mr. Smith, because even at the end I didn't have a firm grasp on his personality or looks, and
"The Unladylike Education of Agatha Tremain" by Stephanie Burgis. Agatha is nearly sold into a marriage that will suck her magic dry, just as all women of her family are, until she's able to slip the trap. The emotional abuse Agatha went through at the hands of her governess is subtly but convincingly conveyed, as are its effects.
"Nussbaum's Golden Fortune" by M K Hobson. A supercilious trickster tries to use his friend's magical artifact for riches...only to realize he's being conned himself. I liked the twists and turns to the story, and only wish it had been a little longer so I could've had a better idea of Oesterlische.
"False Colors" by Marie Brennan. Victoria has successfully passed as her late twin brother aboard the Hesperides for years, but now she's being blackmailed by a cowardly lieutenant and knows she can't stay much longer. Again, I felt like I wanted more characterization and more to the final chapter, because I'm fascinated by how two people used to operating as equals would act when one is now presumed by everyone to be lesser and different from the other.
"Mrs.Beeton's Book of Magickal Management" by Karen Healey. I thought this began very well, with a nicely ironical tone ("Lady Flora Wittingham was in constant peril of immediate expiration. This day alone, she had been forced to eat cold kedgeree when she arrived late at the breakfast table, wear a pale green day dress that muddied her complexion, and accompany her father and his guest on a gentle walk about Rabton Park's icy grounds while Cyril, Marquess of Chumley, treated them to an extended account of his own grounds in the North. Flora had, in private, declared all these misadventures likely to herald her immediate removal to paradise, and yet, she had survived to this moment, where she was dressing for dinner in her pretty chambers. Indeed, despite frequent threats of imminent demise, she had survived to the age of seventeen."), but it got a little soppy and unrealistic near the end. A future earl doesn't just marry a lady's maid without far more trouble than a minor family tiff. Plus, as with other stories in this collection, the romantic couples know each other for such a short period of time and I know so little about the men.
"The Language of Flowers" by Caroline Stevermer. Olivia watches admiringly as her older sister makes a success of her first Season, but becomes worried when she falls under the sway of a mysterious foreigner.
Possibly my most favorite was "The Dancing Master" by Genevieve Valentine. Leah is plain and shy, and her parents hire a dancing master to give her a little more polish before she makes her debut. The family dynamic here is so well written, from Reg's needling to their mother's managing ways. Most of all I liked Leah, her disturbed feelings about not being able to avoid strangers dancing with her, her crush on Miss Hammond, her worry about a lonely future, and her wary beginnings of a friendship with William.