Scan barcode
jewelledfrog's review against another edition
3.0
so here's the thing. i liked the premise of this book. i liked a lot of things about this book. in the end though i felt like it was too many storylines in one book. the separate plots in this book could have been parsed out into 2-3 books. it was a lot going on. her world building was great but it was a lot to take in all in the course of just one book. again, i felt like had this been the first couple of books in a series it would have been much better. i will give the second book a chance to see how it goes bc there are some really intriguing aspects here.
ezandgraces's review
adventurous
mysterious
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
2.25
I did enjoy the ending and the premise, however the world was very complex and I felt it wasn't introduced clearly. There were a diverse set of mythological creatures and references in the book, but it wasn't clear how the rules of myth and magic worked within the universe of the book
sungmemoonstruck's review against another edition
2.0
This steampunk novel, set in a New London where Darwin and Pasteur are worshiped as saints, revolves around a girl who hopes to be a scholar and discovers that she is a witch and a Tinker boy trying to save his family and the Unnaturals the people of New London hunt. The Unnaturalists had much potential, some of which it failed to live up to. Trent's world building was absolutely fascinating and full of intriguing details. This is carefully thought out and planned steampunk. However, the romance was lackluster, filled with predictable bickering and "electric" mutual attraction, and the ending felt rushed as all the plot threads were hastily tied together. Perhaps a longer book, and one where the heroine did more and was less of an "exceptional girl", would have done justice to its rich and intriguing world.
rjtheodore's review against another edition
3.0
Had trouble with the author's writing style; I think it added to the confusion a lot of people share. Many descriptions were repetitive instead of in depth. Want to give it another go - reading this at night as I got drowsy did not make it any easier to keep the details straight!
mackle13's review against another edition
4.0
3.5
What can I say about this book? Despite it's flaws, it kept me up past my bedtime reading until I finally had to force myself to put it down. But I almost feel guilty for liking it how much I did, because at least part of it has to do with stomach fluttering romance.
So -
Nikola Tesla, steampunk's* god of wacky science, ends up transporting random bits of London to another place - a place of Elementals and magic, and the Rational minded Londoners take over in that Empire building way, call the natives 'Unnaturals', and basically set about destroying the world, outlawing magic - except for that approved/hoarded by the Empress.
In this world resides Vespa (and, seriously, I kept thinking of Spaceballs), a young girl who wants to become a Pedant, which is a scientist who studies Unnaturals. Her bits are told in first person.
Also in this world resides Syrus, a Tinker, gypsy-like people who live in harmony with the magical world and its creatures. His bits are told in third person.
And, the third of our main players, Hal, an Architect who fights to preserve the magical world, knowing that the more that the 'Unnaturals' are destroyed, the more of the world goes with them.
And there's other stuff, too, but then it starts getting into spoilers.
Suffice it to say, I really liked the world, though it's not what I was expecting. I was expecting something more techie type Steampunk, wheras this is more magi-tech, and just barely Steampunky at all. But, as I am a fantasy buff, and I do love me some fae, after I readjusted my expectations, I was taken along for the ride.
And it is a bit of a ride, as these three try to save the world, their lives, and their hearts - not necessarily in that order - while going about it in the most annoying way possible.
Here's the downside.
Usually I would really dig a character like Vespa - a girl unhappy with the gender roles of the time. Spunky, independent minded, and a bit wild... but, often, she comes across as more petulant and whiney than anything.
I preferred Syrus, though I wished his character was a bit more fleshed out.
(I also wish the author would've just written everything in third person, instead of alternating between first and third. And, along those lines, the narration styles weren't different enough, really, to allow for two different narrators.)
Hal is one of my favorite characters in the story, though I was vexed with him often, too.
See, this is one of those books where people don't seem to like to actually talk to each other, except in short bursts of, mostly, argumentative banter. No one ever listens to the other, and so much misunderstanding could've been avoided.
And usually that shit drives me to distraction, to the point where I end up not liking the book, but something about this book - maybe the adventurey-suspense bits, or just the world, or something - allowed me to look past even that faux pas to enjoy the larger story.
And enjoy it I did - though I did feel the ending was a bit rushed and unsettled. It's not a cliffhanger, and it does wrap up enough to read it as a stand-alone, assuming you don't get too invested in the characters, 'cause there's some character-related stuff which is left open which left me a bit unsatisfied.
I will definitely be looking for the next in the series - though I do hope that the characters get fleshed out a bit more, and are, overall, a bit less irksome.
What can I say about this book? Despite it's flaws, it kept me up past my bedtime reading until I finally had to force myself to put it down. But I almost feel guilty for liking it how much I did, because at least part of it has to do with stomach fluttering romance.
So -
Nikola Tesla, steampunk's* god of wacky science, ends up transporting random bits of London to another place - a place of Elementals and magic, and the Rational minded Londoners take over in that Empire building way, call the natives 'Unnaturals', and basically set about destroying the world, outlawing magic - except for that approved/hoarded by the Empress.
In this world resides Vespa (and, seriously, I kept thinking of Spaceballs), a young girl who wants to become a Pedant, which is a scientist who studies Unnaturals. Her bits are told in first person.
Also in this world resides Syrus, a Tinker, gypsy-like people who live in harmony with the magical world and its creatures. His bits are told in third person.
And, the third of our main players, Hal, an Architect who fights to preserve the magical world, knowing that the more that the 'Unnaturals' are destroyed, the more of the world goes with them.
And there's other stuff, too, but then it starts getting into spoilers.
Suffice it to say, I really liked the world, though it's not what I was expecting. I was expecting something more techie type Steampunk, wheras this is more magi-tech, and just barely Steampunky at all. But, as I am a fantasy buff, and I do love me some fae, after I readjusted my expectations, I was taken along for the ride.
And it is a bit of a ride, as these three try to save the world, their lives, and their hearts - not necessarily in that order - while going about it in the most annoying way possible.
Here's the downside.
Usually I would really dig a character like Vespa - a girl unhappy with the gender roles of the time. Spunky, independent minded, and a bit wild... but, often, she comes across as more petulant and whiney than anything.
I preferred Syrus, though I wished his character was a bit more fleshed out.
(I also wish the author would've just written everything in third person, instead of alternating between first and third. And, along those lines, the narration styles weren't different enough, really, to allow for two different narrators.)
Hal is one of my favorite characters in the story, though I was vexed with him often, too.
See, this is one of those books where people don't seem to like to actually talk to each other, except in short bursts of, mostly, argumentative banter. No one ever listens to the other, and so much misunderstanding could've been avoided.
And usually that shit drives me to distraction, to the point where I end up not liking the book, but something about this book - maybe the adventurey-suspense bits, or just the world, or something - allowed me to look past even that faux pas to enjoy the larger story.
And enjoy it I did - though I did feel the ending was a bit rushed and unsettled. It's not a cliffhanger, and it does wrap up enough to read it as a stand-alone, assuming you don't get too invested in the characters, 'cause there's some character-related stuff which is left open which left me a bit unsatisfied.
I will definitely be looking for the next in the series - though I do hope that the characters get fleshed out a bit more, and are, overall, a bit less irksome.
romanticashale's review against another edition
3.0
This is a weird book. I liked it, but I'm not sure I would recommend it as a piece of literary brilliance. It was fun though, if mildly confusing.
gio_shelves's review against another edition
2.0
2.5
SPOILER
A volte sono troppo delusa per essere sarcastica. Nah, macché, il sarcasmo è sempre la via!!
È sempre peggio quando è un libro così a deluderti. Perché a volte sai che un libro ti deluderà e in quelle volte non ci rimani male, te lo aspetti dopotutto, ma quando la delusione arriva come un pugno nello stomaco non puoi fare altro che rimanerci davvero male e ridurti a insultare suddetto libro con estremo piacere.
- World-building inesistente. A pagina 250 ancora alcuni dettagli mi sfuggivano, perché l'autrice non si era disturbata troppo a spiegarli. Ora non ti chiedo di dirmi come curano gli attacchi di diarrea ma cavolo almeno non buttarmi lì elementi steampunk senza un contesto! E invece nulla. Alla fine ancora di questo mondo avevo capito davvero poco.
- La nostra eroina a pagina 70 decide di buttare nel cesso tutto ciò in cui crede perché un tizio che conosce da tre secondi le dice la "verità". Senza parole.
- Il fantomatico tipo, chiaramente nasconde qualcosa, un segreto segretissimo, che avrete scoperto già a pagina 100. Perché ovviamente lui è il barone-di-non-mi-ricordo-che che una cretina vuole sposare. E la cretina ovviamente conosce il segreto della nostra Vespa (dai, nome magnifico). Perché ragazzi, shhhh, Vespa è ovviamente una ragazza davvero davvero speciale, quella che dovrà -gasp, era imprevedibile- salvare il mondo.
Lati positivi:
- La parte finale è buona. Davvero. Ma non si può salvare un libro nell'ultimo terzo, non del tutto.
Se riuscite a sopravvivere ai cliché e al non-world-building, potrebbe piacervi.
SPOILER
A volte sono troppo delusa per essere sarcastica. Nah, macché, il sarcasmo è sempre la via!!
È sempre peggio quando è un libro così a deluderti. Perché a volte sai che un libro ti deluderà e in quelle volte non ci rimani male, te lo aspetti dopotutto, ma quando la delusione arriva come un pugno nello stomaco non puoi fare altro che rimanerci davvero male e ridurti a insultare suddetto libro con estremo piacere.
- World-building inesistente. A pagina 250 ancora alcuni dettagli mi sfuggivano, perché l'autrice non si era disturbata troppo a spiegarli. Ora non ti chiedo di dirmi come curano gli attacchi di diarrea ma cavolo almeno non buttarmi lì elementi steampunk senza un contesto! E invece nulla. Alla fine ancora di questo mondo avevo capito davvero poco.
- La nostra eroina a pagina 70 decide di buttare nel cesso tutto ciò in cui crede perché un tizio che conosce da tre secondi le dice la "verità". Senza parole.
- Il fantomatico tipo, chiaramente nasconde qualcosa, un segreto segretissimo, che avrete scoperto già a pagina 100. Perché ovviamente lui è il barone-di-non-mi-ricordo-che che una cretina vuole sposare. E la cretina ovviamente conosce il segreto della nostra Vespa (dai, nome magnifico). Perché ragazzi, shhhh, Vespa è ovviamente una ragazza davvero davvero speciale, quella che dovrà -gasp, era imprevedibile- salvare il mondo.
Lati positivi:
- La parte finale è buona. Davvero. Ma non si può salvare un libro nell'ultimo terzo, non del tutto.
Se riuscite a sopravvivere ai cliché e al non-world-building, potrebbe piacervi.
melbsreads's review against another edition
3.0
Plot summary: Vespa Nex wants to spend her life working at her father's Museum of Unnatural History. But expectation dictates that she find a husband and become a lady. When she finds herself caught up with a Tinker and an Alchemist, her life goes in a direction that she wasn't expecting.
Thoughts: I really liked the world that Trent created - one where mythical, Harry Potter-esque beasts exist. One that combines Victorian science with religion. It made the story a really awesome mix of steampunk, alternate history and fantasy.
Where I found it a little bit of a letdown was the relationship between Vespa and Pedant Lumin. Obviously, it's somewhat obligatory to have a love interest in any YA story, but it didn't quite work for me. It was a fun read, and it finished rather abruptly for my liking. I'm not sure if it was intended to be the first in a series, but if it is, it will be interesting to see where the story goes from here.
Thoughts: I really liked the world that Trent created - one where mythical, Harry Potter-esque beasts exist. One that combines Victorian science with religion. It made the story a really awesome mix of steampunk, alternate history and fantasy.
Where I found it a little bit of a letdown was the relationship between Vespa and Pedant Lumin. Obviously, it's somewhat obligatory to have a love interest in any YA story, but it didn't quite work for me. It was a fun read, and it finished rather abruptly for my liking. I'm not sure if it was intended to be the first in a series, but if it is, it will be interesting to see where the story goes from here.
navsy's review against another edition
3.0
The Unnaturalists is a brilliant book in terms of creative world building, well paced plot, intriguing story line and beautiful mythical creatures set in an alternate Victorian era with a mixture of steampunk and fantasy. However even with such strong premise it didn't make it into my list of favorites due to reasons I'll discuss shortly.
We are introduced to a strange New London in this book that is full of mythical creatures known as Unnaturals, Pedants responsible for caging and studying these creatures, an Empress who rules over this city, Architects who are like male witches trying to save these creatures and Tinkers, more like gypsy mechanics who understand and speak the language of these Unnaturals and live outside the city. This city is powered by a substance called "myth" that is extracted from Unnaturals in large refineries where Tinkers are worked as slaves and which is guarded by the Empress' royal raven-headed guards and wights. However, there is a side effect of removing Unnaturals from their natural habitat in the form of a wasteland that consumes everything on its way and grows threatening every passing day as more and more Unnaturals are endangered.
Quite a setting huh?
So the story begins with Vespa, an aspiring Unnaturalist (scientists who work in the Museum that holds many of these magical creatures) being pushed into a force field that cages a Sphinx. She is pretty certain that the Sphinx would kill her but strangely it doesn't and she's rescued by a mysterious new guy who happens to be the *ding ding ding* love interest. She expects to be admonished by her father (who is the head of the Museum) but since he's on his way to an important task, he doesn't acknowledge her mistake and takes her along. She realizes that her father is hiding something from her and is shocked to find out what that is when they are stopped on their way from thugs and rescued by Tinkers.
The story switched between Vespa and a 13-year old tinker, Syrus who was a really smart and brave guy. Vespa on the other hand was a whiny, angsty, love-struck, unfocused protagonist whose monologue in present tense not only felt weird but was also boring and annoying. Syrus' story was in third person and far more interesting and engrossing than Vespa's. The story, in turn, mainly focused on stopping the destruction of their world, aggravated by the villains who brought in quite a few twists.
Let me first mention all the things that I really liked:
-Imaginative world building
-Vivid descriptions
-Underlying message of conserving nature
-Unexpected twists
-Story behind wights' creation
-Werehounds mystery
-Horrors of the refineries
Now all the things that I didn't like: (and 'cause I'm a nasty critic, the dislikes will be more detailed *cackles*)
-Vespa: She went on and on about how much she wanted to be the second female Unnaturalist in the history of New London and how much she despised being bogged down by lady-like chores that her Aunt insisted she excelled atwho could blame her though but there wasn't ever a time that I found her talking or caring about science. What she mostly did was complain and fret about her situation. She was so very predictable and her sulking over Pedant Lumin/Hal/Bayne was completely ridiculous. I was satisfied to see her suffer a little during the end but disappointingly it didn't last for as long as I'd have appreciated.
-Lack of explanation: Even though the author presented us with some basic history of how it all started, I stayed unsatisfied. A lot of the details were fuzzy and I still have a lot of unanswered questions. To begin with: How did those raven-headed guards come into being? Were they magical creatures too or some other horrendous experiment? How was the force field able to trap Unnaturals? Did I miss it or I don't remember? Did it have something to do with myth? Why were Tinkers the only people who understood the language of Unnaturals? What happened that labeled them as outcasts? Also, what exactly happened in the end?
-The ending: Everything was going on smoothly (if you ignore the parts where Vespa threw herself a pity party) until the last two chapters ended in a rush and ruined it for me. It went down too quickly and was quite open-ended. I don't even understand how Vespa. Also there was big talk of working on a machine to get back to old London but when time for its execution came, it was done rather hastily and then everything after it was wrapped up in a nice shiny package.
-Romance: Even if romance didn't play a major role in this story and was mostly (or completely?) one-sided, it irritated me because of Vespa. I'm being unnecessarily harsh and nit-picking but the whole deal with that love-potion and everything it followed seemed really stupid and useless to me. We were made to believe that Vespa was but all she did was make a trivial thing like a love-potion? Can you give me a good reason why?
Anyways, my 3 star rating is for the remarkable premise and the author's ingenuity. The unpredictability of the book was also a saving grace for me. It is a quick read but Vespa and other books made me abandon it for a week or longer. Not that I regret my decision, but my rating is also biased based on how quickly I devour a book. If I were to rate Vespa's and Syrus' pov's/stories individually, I'd give Vespa a 2 or 1.5 and Syrus a solid 3.5. So, overall, if you're looking for a mystical, peculiar yet a little perplexing read, go for it.
We are introduced to a strange New London in this book that is full of mythical creatures known as Unnaturals, Pedants responsible for caging and studying these creatures, an Empress who rules over this city, Architects who are like male witches trying to save these creatures and Tinkers, more like gypsy mechanics who understand and speak the language of these Unnaturals and live outside the city. This city is powered by a substance called "myth" that is extracted from Unnaturals in large refineries where Tinkers are worked as slaves and which is guarded by the Empress' royal raven-headed guards and wights. However, there is a side effect of removing Unnaturals from their natural habitat in the form of a wasteland that consumes everything on its way and grows threatening every passing day as more and more Unnaturals are endangered.
Quite a setting huh?
So the story begins with Vespa, an aspiring Unnaturalist (scientists who work in the Museum that holds many of these magical creatures) being pushed into a force field that cages a Sphinx. She is pretty certain that the Sphinx would kill her but strangely it doesn't and she's rescued by a mysterious new guy who happens to be the *ding ding ding* love interest. She expects to be admonished by her father (who is the head of the Museum) but since he's on his way to an important task, he doesn't acknowledge her mistake and takes her along. She realizes that her father is hiding something from her and is shocked to find out what that is when they are stopped on their way from thugs and rescued by Tinkers.
The story switched between Vespa and a 13-year old tinker, Syrus who was a really smart and brave guy. Vespa on the other hand was a whiny, angsty, love-struck, unfocused protagonist whose monologue in present tense not only felt weird but was also boring and annoying. Syrus' story was in third person and far more interesting and engrossing than Vespa's. The story, in turn, mainly focused on stopping the destruction of their world, aggravated by the villains who brought in quite a few twists.
Let me first mention all the things that I really liked:
-Imaginative world building
-Vivid descriptions
-Underlying message of conserving nature
-Unexpected twists
-Story behind wights' creation
-Werehounds mystery
-Horrors of the refineries
Now all the things that I didn't like: (and 'cause I'm a nasty critic, the dislikes will be more detailed *cackles*)
-Vespa: She went on and on about how much she wanted to be the second female Unnaturalist in the history of New London and how much she despised being bogged down by lady-like chores that her Aunt insisted she excelled at
-Lack of explanation: Even though the author presented us with some basic history of how it all started, I stayed unsatisfied. A lot of the details were fuzzy and I still have a lot of unanswered questions. To begin with: How did those raven-headed guards come into being? Were they magical creatures too or some other horrendous experiment? How was the force field able to trap Unnaturals? Did I miss it or I don't remember? Did it have something to do with myth? Why were Tinkers the only people who understood the language of Unnaturals? What happened that labeled them as outcasts? Also, what exactly happened in the end?
-The ending: Everything was going on smoothly (if you ignore the parts where Vespa threw herself a pity party) until the last two chapters ended in a rush and ruined it for me. It went down too quickly and was quite open-ended. I don't even understand how Vespa
Spoiler
turned into a bird to fly out of the palaceSpoiler
The princess' involvement IMO was added like an after-thought to the story and also felt like a mere convenience for Vespa to become a Pedant.-Romance: Even if romance didn't play a major role in this story and was mostly (or completely?) one-sided, it irritated me because of Vespa. I'm being unnecessarily harsh and nit-picking but the whole deal with that love-potion and everything it followed seemed really stupid and useless to me. We were made to believe that Vespa was
Spoiler
the only remaining witch and really powerfulAnyways, my 3 star rating is for the remarkable premise and the author's ingenuity. The unpredictability of the book was also a saving grace for me. It is a quick read but Vespa and other books made me abandon it for a week or longer. Not that I regret my decision, but my rating is also biased based on how quickly I devour a book. If I were to rate Vespa's and Syrus' pov's/stories individually, I'd give Vespa a 2 or 1.5 and Syrus a solid 3.5. So, overall, if you're looking for a mystical, peculiar yet a little perplexing read, go for it.
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
This was an awesome book, great plot, and unique, and the whole science as a religion, is really funny, especially when they're living in a magic world. Can't wait for book 2!