I intended to love this book, which had everything I love in a book, but I found it remarkably boring for a book about flying houses. I didn't care about the romance, and felt like it spent to much time being cute and not weigh in character development. I am absolutely certain many people will find it a delightful zany romp, it just didn't work for me.

It’s a 3.5 rounded up. Honestly, this was a lovely little funny book. I had a hard time keeping track of the names and the situations, but I still really enjoyed the ridiculousness of it all. I’ve heard people calling it “delightfully bonkers”, which I think encapsulated this book perfectly. It’s funny and ridiculous and honestly I had a marvelous time reading this. Do I think this will stay in my head for long after this? No, not really. I’m bound to forget about it soon, but I don’t think that means it’s a bad book. It’s a fun read. If you’re just here to have a fun time, this is a great book!

Super fun, Heyer-esque in tone Victorian romp with a big dash of fantasy. I devoured this book and will absolutely read whatever Holton has coming out next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Edelweiss and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: death of a parent, violence, mentions of adoption (side character)

I would recommend if you're looking for

-m/f enemies to lovers
-historical romance
-only one bed
-close proximity
-a little bit of magic
-a society of female pirates
-flying houses
-slow burn

Wow, this book. I have not read something so full of imagination in a long time. I would call this almost fantastical rather than fantasy. A world of female pirates, who's ships are their houses. The wit, the banter. This world was fully realized and almost like ours, but not. It was just fun to read.

And the flirting between Cecilia and Ned, their literal fighting, the back and forth. It was full of tension and I found myself laughing throughout their interactions wanting to see more of them together. I loved seeing Cecilia find her palce amongst her family and the society. And sweet Ned, saw her as indepndent, not in need of protection, he wanted to be along for the ride as long as he was with her. I adore a hero just gone on the MC.

I highly recommend this if you're just looking for something different and fun.

Rating: 4.5
Steam: 3 (open door, but almost peeking around the door)

Recommended for fans of Gail Carriger's Finishing School or Parasol Protectorate series, The book is whimsical and bonkers, and maybe a bit too much, but a fun ride.

Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series blended with The Princess Bride, The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels was great fun...thieves and pirates and flying houses! Fantasy and romance, and an absolute romp. Thank you so much, NetGalley and Berkley Books!

This delightful historical romance is full of piratical plotting, swashbuckling adventure, and long, steamy glances. I highly recommend it for fans of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Pirates of the Caribbean, historical romance, and romantic comedies.

You’d think a love story featuring flying houses and proper Victorian ladies who happen to be pirates would be a rather unserious book, and you'd be right. However, like the works of Terry Pratchett (which this book reminds me of a lot), THE WISTERIA SOCIETY OF LADY SCOUNDRELS wraps incisive social commentary in sparkling satire and a ripping, absurdist yarn.

WISTERIA SOCIETY has plenty to say about community, family, gender roles, and the class system, but it's hardly a tract. India Holton's prose shines, and the plot, in which heroine Cecilia Bassingthwaite must avoid the evil Captain Morvath’s clutches with the (dubious) assistance of handsome stranger Ned Lightbourne, skips along nimbly. Holton has a keen eye for character and voice, with many amusing side characters, and her observations, as sharp and quick as Cecilia's dagger, apply as much to our own time as the nineteenth century setting of the book. Cecilia and Ned are adorable together (and in the ways they try to resist falling for each other) and I would gladly read another 80,000 words about them setting up their house, having breakfast together, arguing about whether arranging books by color is evil or merely insufferable, etc. A deeply charming read, but don’t let the whimsy fool you. Holton is a talent to watch.

Well, this book was definitely not for me. I will fully admit that after reading over a third of the book I skimmed the rest. I can see why some are calling it "delightfully bonkers" but for me, it was just bonkers.

This is a world where houses do actually fly, lady pirates can be civil (while trying to assassinate each other), and everything is frankly... bonkers. I thought this would be about a secret society and these "Lady Pirates" would be members of society but no- they are just women flying their houses from place to place to "liberate" others of their possessions. Along with that the world just didn't work for me. The fact that it was Victorian England just with flying houses somehow did not work in my brain. It honestly felt like a weaker and less supernatural version of Soulless. I also did not connect with the writing style and the chapter heads bothered me. I decided to give it a three-star as I did find moments enjoyable, but they could not keep me engaged. If you are interested in this book I highly suggest reading a sample first to see if the writing style is compatible with you.

My Rating System
1 Star- No
2 Star- Meh
3 Star- OK
4 Star- Good
5 Star- Great

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for an E-ARC copy of this book.

The description of this book is misleading. It sounds like an entertaining historical read, yet that is not the entire tale. This story is part historical fiction and fantasy. In a time where ladies take tea and worry about propriety, they also sail houses like ships and work as pirates. There is action and romance and a slew of quirky characters to entertain readers, yet I found it a bit outlandish and overdone. It is filled with elaborate descriptions and character thoughts that are so overemphasized they get in the way of the story. It is at times hard to follow. Had I known the historical element is combined with flying houses and far-fetched chaos, I would have skipped this book entirely. Even trying to get out of my comfort zone and enjoy the story, I found it to be an exhausting read. True historical fans should skip this one.

Whimsical & delightful sailing through a new, piratical version of Victorian England 🏴‍☠️

A prim and proper lady thief must save her aunt from a crazed pirate and his dangerously charming henchman in this fantastical historical romance.

I’ll have to admit, as much as this appealed to me - and as humorous as it was in the beginning - it was a slow start. It just didn’t grip me, so I didn’t finish it. Because of that, I can’t really give an accurate review in that department. However, the bits that I did read were full of wit and whimsy, and so similar and dissimilar to every book I’ve ever read set in Victorian England. The world that the author created was truly one-of-a-kind, and I could totally imagine this as a movie directed by Autumn de Wilde! I just wasn’t in the right mood for this one.

I just hope this isn’t the beginnings of a reading slump.
One can dream.

Big thank you to Berkley Publishing for sending me an ARC copy of this book!

Book Breakdown:

Writing Quality: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
World-Building: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Characterization: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
Romance: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Dialogue: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Plot: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
Enjoyment Level: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

「 Overall: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆」

*Review will be posted on Goodreads on Sunday, June 13th*

This story is set in an alternate 1880s England where that bat-shit Banks family neighbor from Mary Poppins—the one who turned his house into an armed ship deck—must’ve started a new housing trend.

For here you will encounter such things as flying battlehouses and vengeful lady pirates, a bookish, take-no-shit heroine, a hero that could give the Dread Pirate Roberts (aka Cary Elwes, ca. 1987) a run for his money, and a dastardly villain who can’t write a single decent poem. Best of all, there’s a liberal sprinkling of Bronteism that set my moor of a soul howling with gothic laughter.

In case it wasn’t clear, let me reiterate: This is NOT your standard romance novel. It’s a side-splitting satire, facetious and flirtatious in prose, occasionally darkly humorous and always self-aware. It’s totally, wonderfully unlike anything else in the romance genre right now.

The banter between Cecilia and Ned is so smart and zappy, I hardly noticed (until it was much too late to care) that the couple falls a tiny bit under the insta-love trope. Their verbal trades and pistol sparring tantalize like foreplay, and I love that they make each other laugh; it’s easy to see how they suit. Never mind that they just met or that one was hired to assassinate the other.

Despite its subversive witticisms, there’s still a restrained and straining seductiveness to the love story: a mere finger touch is enough to set the heat on high. Victorian romance indeed.

This was a refreshing read, and one that I haven't come across before. It was absurdly fun, witty, and I absolutely adored every character! Fans of historical fiction with a dash of romance will enjoy this!

I’ve never read a book quite like this which is full of plucky, wicked and funny pirate ladies. The dialogues are witty and make you laugh until you drop with laughter. Amazed at the talent of Holton’s in creating an enchanting world and made me want to live in the world for a few days just to witness these ladies in action. You must read this book to experience the wild, adventurous and madcap ride as I couldn’t describe the awesomeness in words. Nothing unfazed these feminist ladies even the attempt on their lives.

These society ladies and junior members of it are completely wicked, unique and bonkers. They rejoice at the assassination attempt on them, go to any lengths to save their enemy so they can kill them, takes it as an invitation to rob when the treasure was guarded by a bare minimum security, go on jolly picnics by leaving husbands to babysit and guard their houses, assume ‘severance pay’ meant paid for severing a couple of limbs. OMG these are only a very few ways to describe their pluckiness, wickedness, peculiarity, and craziness.

I loved many characters in this; they are all bizarre, fearless, distinctive, quirky in their own way.

Being a pirate, longing for promotion at the Wisteria Society, Cecilia doesn’t like violence but she has to fight with the villains to save the society. You have to read to find out with whom she goes to this war and who are her fighting partners as it doesn’t get any more peculiar than this combination. I am in awe of her. She is fascinating, courageous.

Our hero Ned has many avatars in this. You have to read to find out about all of them. The chemistry between Ned and Cecilia is sizzling. The dialogues between them are witty and sometimes full of double-entendre.

Another great character I loved is Constantinopla(isn’t this a cute name?). Thoroughly entertained by her machinations in persuading her fiancée Tom to break in against his will and succeeds in making him think he is still in charge of whatever their mission is. You have to read how she achieves this.

Captain Morvath wields a gun in one hand, writes poetry on the other hand and buttonholes his henchmen to these awful poems.

Pleasance is the housemaid of Cecelia and her aunt Miss Darlington. She is quite an eccentric character who regularly has tete-a-tete with in house ghosts and conveniently throws blame on them whenever she loose mouths saying the bad ghosts possessed her voice.

Lady Armitage is another strong character who hires an assassin to kill Cecilia. She lusts over this assassin. Rather than worrying about her life, she worries over her knees buckling out when ordered to sit down at point block.

There are a lot of misquoted literary references weaved into the story which generates plenty of laughs. I wished there would be a chapter detailing these ladies’ outrage when the turning point event has happened.

Overall, I would highly recommend this amusing, charming and original historical fiction with well-developed characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It's a rare book that has me running around telling friends they absolutely must read this - before I've even finished it. THE WISTERIA SOCIETY OF LADY SCOUNDRELS by India Holton is one such book.

It's a love story - more sweet than steamy, and doesn't fall into any of the usual tropes or traps. It's an absurd comedy, but is so matter-of-fact that I never once questioned that somewhere in the histories was a society of women pirates flying their castles around Europe, fighting bad guys, robbing rich jerks, and trying to assassinate each other. It's delightful and fanciful, even while being grounded in a solid backstory.

Imagine Princess Bride with flying houses, or Clueless with sword play. From casual thievery to a strict code of (un)ethical behavior, THE WISTERIA SOCIETY OF LADY SCOUNDRELS is a gorram whimsical joy to read. 10/10 recommend to everyone!

I adored this book! Clever plotting and characters move the story along at a rapid pace. This book is love child of Gail Carriger and Jasper Fforde. I am hopeful for a sequel.

I apologize in advance for this review because I am clearly in the minority here based on others!

I feel like if I'd known what I was getting into with this book, I might have liked it a little more? But the blurb really hides the fact that they are FLYING HOUSES around England. And I just ... could not get past that. I can see it in the book description now that I know its there but if you aren't looking for it, the blurb really does not indicate HOW "fantastical" a story this is. And that kind of ruined this for me. It all felt a little silly. I did like some of the characters, but they weren't strong enough to redeem the surprise-flying-houses thing.

An exceptionally enjoyable gaslamp fantasy romance! The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels is a romp from start to finish. The titular Wisteria Society is a loosely affiliated group of women who fly their houses around to carry out acts of piracy. (Yes, they actually use magical incantations to levitate their houses.) They are, however, "Lady Scoundrels," meaning that in addition to theft, breaking and entering, and assassinations, they are also devoted to the rules of society.

Our heroine Cecilia has been raised by her aunt to become a member of the Wisteria Society... but at 19 she has not yet been promoted to full membership. Our hero Ned has at least 5 alternate identities (we're still not sure which is his "real name"), and we're still not sure of his motivations at the beginning of the novel (at least where they concern Cecilia). Ned and Cecilia are thrown together in all sorts of situations as they go to the rescue of the Wisteria Society on their way to their own particular Happily Ever After.

We also want to mention that the style of this book is highly referential to romantic and Victorian authors and poets, so if you are a fan of 1800s literature you will find much to entertain you here! That said, Holton's style is not just a pastiche of other authors. Her whimsical turns of phrase are delightful and will have you chortling while you read.

This was just too ridiculous for me. I got about 66% into it and skimmed to the end. I cannot recommend this book, but I seem to be in the minority on this one as a lot of people think the madness of it is what's appealing.

Utterly delightful and charming! This book had the perfect mix of fantasy and humor and romance. I was so compelled by the world India Holton created. It was a stress-free escape in a stressful world. I absolutely loved Holton's prose. This is the sort of book you read slowly because you want to savor every world. I saw it compared to The Princess Bride, and it definitely has that vibe, but Holton's creativity and voice are one of a kind!

And come on, isn't that one of the most gorgeous covers you've ever seen?

Thanks to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for this advanced copy!