A review by stwriter92
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • 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

2.5

I really need to stop getting recommendations from BookTok. I know that they might be other people's cup of tea, but it wasn't mine. This wasn't a horrible book, to be sure. It was just kind of...meh. It didn't leave any sort of impression for me either good or bad.

The story centers around a society of lady pirates (scoundrels) who fly around in houses, having tea, planning assassinations, and discussing the latest in literature. It is set in an alternative Victorian England and, thus, carries a lot of the sensibilities that were common during that time. The story starts during a botched assassination attempt on Cecilia Bassingwaite by one Ned Lightbourne. However, instead of killing her, her would be assassin decides to assist her when her aunt (along with the rest of the Wisteria Society) are kidnapped by the mysterious Captain Morvath. 

After reading the synopsis, I was intrigued. Flying houses? Lady pirates? Tea time? Excellent. I was drawn in immediately. However, upon reading the book, I felt that the plot was lacking. It kept being bogged down by unnecessary tea parties, awkward banter, and conversations that seemed to keep repeating themselves. I can only giggle at the juxtaposition of "tea parties" and "assassinations" being mentioned in the same sentence once. However, it kept happening throughout. It seemed as if this was the only real method of humor used. That and it felt as if the book was written as a movie with stage directions being slipped in here and there.

In addition, I felt like the pacing was very inconsistent. There would be minutes upon minutes (I listened to the audiobook) of repetitive banter and then suddenly something big would happen in the span of thirty seconds before returning back to the mundane banter. The ending also felt extremely drawn out to me for no particular reason. 

I think the problem was more with me expecting more than was there. I think that if you go into this expecting a lighthearted story of a pirate girl and a debonair assassin bumbling their way through a plot (and their own feelings for each other) in a story that seemed to have a longer-than-necessary resolution, then this is the book for you. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings