A review by beckyyreadss
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Thank you, Michael Joseph Penguin Publishing, for sending this book in exchange for an honest review. 

This book is based on Cecilia Bassingwaite and she is the ideal Victorian lady. She’s also a thief and a pirate. She is apart of Wisteria Society crime sorority, she files around England drinking tea, blackmailing friends, and acquiring treasure by interesting means. Yes, she may have a dark and traumatic past and an overbearing aunt, but all things considered, it’s a pleasant existence. Until the men show up. Ned Lightbourne is a sometimes assassin who is smitten with Cecilia from the moment they meet. Unfortunately, he happens to be under a direct order to kill her. His employer, Captain Morvath, who possess a gothic abbey bristling with cannons and an unbridled hate for the world, intends to rid England of all its presumptuous women, starting with the Wisteria Society. Ned has plans of his own. However, both men make the same mistake. Never underestimate a woman. When Moravth needs stopping, Cecilia is forced to team up with her handsome would-be assassin to save the women who raised her – hopefully proving once and for all, that she’s as much as a scoundrel as the rest of them. This book is a romance historical fiction. 

Okay, if you are wanting a pirate, action-packed feminist book, don’t read this book. It’s a romance book with a bit of action. Not saying that I didn’t enjoy this book, I just didn’t expect it to be all romance and a bit of action. I wanted it the other way around. When I first read the blurb of the book, I was like it’s gonna be bad ass girls fighting men and it’s gonna be great. But then Ned comes in all insta love and it’s just a romance novel. I liked Cecilia, she was great and was all for fighting men, but it just didn’t happen. I liked her back story and thought it could have gone more into her back story and Ned’s. I think this book would have been better if it was a slow burn which is sort of was from Cecilia’s point of view but not from Ned’s. I liked the multiple POVs during this book. 

I just was expecting more and wanting more from this book and it just never happened. Hopefully the next book in this series is better. 
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