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

Witty, funny, cozy, this was such a delight to read! I love the concept of a society of refined and polished ladies who are also pirates! There was not a single chapter in this that I didn't laugh out loud, I thoroughly enjoyed every page I read.
India Holton has a very distinct writing style and I was immediately drawn in by the historical world and magic she brought. I loved how badass all the characters are, and how they ran the show and treated men with disdain or exasperation.
I am so glad this is a series, I can't wait to read the next book.
If you are looking for a cozy and funny book filled with adventures, pirates, and romance, then this is the perfect book for you. (Or if you just want to read a good book, I HIGHLY recommend!)

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clairew97's review against another edition

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2.75

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skudiklier's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted reflective tense medium-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? No

4.5

It took me a bit to get into this, and tbh a lot of it felt so weirdly dissonant that it was hard for me to be super invested. But on the other hand, the romance was well-done and the ~tension~ was high with that. I ended up reading the second half of the book all in one day, so I must have been at least somewhat engaged.

I wasn't sure if I was going to read the next book in the series, but then I found out the author is autistic and the main character(s) of the second and third books are autistic as well. So now I want to if only for that reason--I haven't read a lot of romances with autistic MCs, so I'm excited!

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sarahsbookss's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing 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? It's complicated

5.0

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callenmecait's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.5

Loved this book. It’s like Bridgerton but with magic and pirates and the overthrowing of the patriarchy. Only has one smut scene but lots of tension building up.

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itsnotalakeitsanocean's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

3.0

I picked this up because I fell in love with the premise when I heard about it. While it was a good read I don't think it fully lived up to my expectations. Admittedly part of it was my fault for ignoring the massive, extremely obvious hints that this was going to be focused on the romance over the idea of a society of swashbuckling sky pirate ladies with Victorian sensibilities, but with a hell of a premise like that can you blame me?

I've only read the complimentary preview of the next book at the end of the story, and I hope that Holton manages to do more worldbuilding between the two feuding societies and maybe tones the romance down a tad (or gives her couples dynamics that feed into the plot better).

One thing I will say:

Note to any aspiring authors: If you have to lampshade at the end your heroine was just kind of there at the end and didn't contribute anything meaningful, that's not good writing even if it's supposed to be for comedic effect. It's just annoying.

Some other assorted things I liked:

It's a decent example of enemies to lovers. I still think Ned was a bit of a flat character who existed to give Cecilia what she needed, but he was funny enough.
I think I'm in the minority when I say that the writing style didn't bother me, having read similar styles before (e.g. Jasper Fforde).

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dianaschmidty's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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kaycie51782's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-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

3.75

The book takes place in the late 19th century, give or take a couple of decades, during the reign of Queen Victoria. It centers around a group of women pirates in England who fly houses using magic instead of sailing ships. The characters are...fascinating, to say the least.

I had some difficulty settling into the book. The author would be following the main character and reacting (or not) to the scene around them as the character would be expected to without fully describing what was going on for you, the reader. I had to double back and re read a handful of passages to really pick up what had happened. The characters are fairly consistent throughout the book, which helps with this problem as you get to know them.

There were several laugh out loud moments, more than one Star Wars coded reference. It's a book where you know the stakes are low even though the whole of the English Empire is at risk at one point.

I will say that I was shocked there was a spicy scene in it. I hadn't read any reviews ahead of time to get a heads up. I'm not anti-spicy by any means (see previous reviews of ACOTAR), but it seemed incongruous with the rest of the book.

There is a sequel, and I do intend to read it.

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