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A review by sophiahntn
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton
4.0
Alright, gather round, children, for I seldom write a serious review.
This book took me an infinity to get through considering it was a romance that normally I finish quickly. There were a couple of problems I had with the book that usually emerge in period romances that I let slide, but this was so well thought out and witty I feel it's worth pointing them out. There were many subtle references to colorism, fatphobia, and imperialism which definitely detracted from my enjoyment of the book. Normally in romantic English period pieces, I suck it up and ignore it for the sake of the romance but this book was so much more than the romance which made it disheartening.
This book is a very "the future is female" type book which is hard to stomach considering the setting is England during its peak of colonialism and genocide and its characters are England's upper class. Also just hard to stomach in general.
So problematic aspects aside, this book was insanely fun. A society of female pirates that do not reside on ships, but rather houses they use magic to levitate. It was a very fun blend of traditional womens' obligations like etiquette, dress, dancing, tea, classical literature, and piratical things like guns, daggers, robberies, betrayal, assassinations, cocaine, et cetera. The romanticism and elitism conveyed within a world of piracy and thievery are so fun. And the wit this book managed to keep until the end of all 300+ pages is quite remarkable.
Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the romance in this one. I love the idea of an enemies-to-lovers arc between an upper-class and capable female pirate and a lower-class charming common pirate and thief hired to assassinate her. I was very upset at the end upon realizing men in real life are truly, in a word, shit, and no hot guy is coming to assassinate me anytime soon but I will cope.
Anyways the book was dense and at times I couldn't tell if I liked it or not but the ending made me happy so I decidedly like it.
This book took me an infinity to get through considering it was a romance that normally I finish quickly. There were a couple of problems I had with the book that usually emerge in period romances that I let slide, but this was so well thought out and witty I feel it's worth pointing them out. There were many subtle references to colorism, fatphobia, and imperialism which definitely detracted from my enjoyment of the book. Normally in romantic English period pieces, I suck it up and ignore it for the sake of the romance but this book was so much more than the romance which made it disheartening.
This book is a very "the future is female" type book which is hard to stomach considering the setting is England during its peak of colonialism and genocide and its characters are England's upper class. Also just hard to stomach in general.
So problematic aspects aside, this book was insanely fun. A society of female pirates that do not reside on ships, but rather houses they use magic to levitate. It was a very fun blend of traditional womens' obligations like etiquette, dress, dancing, tea, classical literature, and piratical things like guns, daggers, robberies, betrayal, assassinations, cocaine, et cetera. The romanticism and elitism conveyed within a world of piracy and thievery are so fun. And the wit this book managed to keep until the end of all 300+ pages is quite remarkable.
Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the romance in this one. I love the idea of an enemies-to-lovers arc between an upper-class and capable female pirate and a lower-class charming common pirate and thief hired to assassinate her. I was very upset at the end upon realizing men in real life are truly, in a word, shit, and no hot guy is coming to assassinate me anytime soon but I will cope.
Anyways the book was dense and at times I couldn't tell if I liked it or not but the ending made me happy so I decidedly like it.