Oh, this series is just so delightful! It doesn't take itself seriously, at all, which is a wonderful antidote to the current news: featuring highly quotable (*cough* death threats) repartee; pirates flying houses in aerial battles with giant cannons out of the window; witches starting fights over the proper application of cream to your scones; fearsome aunts and some lovely, um, "exercise" scenes. I love this series and I need to remember to read it again the next time I'm depressed. Highly recommended!

The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton is a delightful fit for readers who adore lighthearted, adventurous romances with a touch of magic, particularly those who enjoy cozy, enemies-to-lovers stories and are looking for a charming, humorous tale of witches, romance, and self-discovery.

While I loved the heroine and her love interest, I struggled with the pacing and plot. I just didn’t care about the amulet and the adventures related to it. I just wanted more tension and drama between in the romance.

For that reason I found myself skipping forward to the spicy/tender bits. Take that for what you will.

The ridiculous idea that a woman named Black Beryl discovered an enchantment in a bottle brought in by the sea that allowed her to levitate any object and create a culture of lady pirates whose ships were their flying houses made me fall in love with The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels last year. Really, though! How??? Fill my veins with it!


I had high expectations for this book, and I was not let down at all. It seems as though Pride and Prejudice had a child with the Pirates of the Caribbean. Best of both worlds combined!


Holton, India Although I don't know you, I believe we would make the best friends.

Welcome back to the world of PIrates, thieves, strange occurrences, literary references, and witches.

Who will manage to obtain the coveted amulet, follow the rules, defy expectations, and perhaps fall in love?

A world of madness, mayhem and disbelief. Lots of banter and a little spice with lots of magical adventure.

If you enjoy a historical romance with an enemies to lovers, forbidden romance, one bed, and a discovery of something greater ,.. give this a go.

I think this whole series just isn't for me. I'm sure its for a lot of other people though.

Thanks to NetGalley / Edelweiss and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

“She’d heard those words over and again throughout her childhood, words that felt like a rap on the knuckles or a prod against the heart. You’re so sensitive, Charlotte. You feel too much, you are too much. It’s messy. A witch must be more restrained. She’d built a hundred layers of calm and coolness over the years in response. She’d worked hard to become something other than her altogether wrong self.”

I really enjoy India Holtons writing style and overall ability to tell stories. I do think that there were a lot of aspects to this story that I really liked. I do however wish that there was a bit more of a wait between the characters sort of meeting and falling in love because it felt a little less like enemies to lovers and more like acquaintances to insta love. Overall I did enjoy this story and think that as always India created a super fun binge-able read that I read in one sitting.

I really tried to like this book because the cover is stunning and I love the concept, but I just couldn't. The main character was unlikeable and the male lead made me cringe. I did not finish this book and stopped at 37%.

This book just reminded me that I am not a fan of historical romance. For those of you who like that genre, you will probably enjoy this. But I couldn’t get past the third chapter.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

As future leader of The League of Gentlewomen Witches, Charlotte teams up with pirate Alex to make sure the long-lost amulet of Black Beryl doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

This was an enjoyable, fantastical romance. I enjoy India Holton's books, and I can't wait for the next one. It was funny!

Dryly witty and funny, the second book in this series sings with the tough groundwork of worldbuilding having already been laid in the first one. An absolute delight to read, especially in audio, which is how I'll be reaching for the third!

This series keeps getting better and better. Wow! If you want to read a romcom set in Regency England with flying houses, pirates, and witches, you definitely need to start reading the Dangerous Damsels series. India Holton never misses! ✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚

This book follows Charlotte, a witch, and Alex, a pirate. Their first meeting is super funny and from that point on you pretty much how the vibe is going to be between them. They're mortal enemies because witches and pirates don't mix, both of these societies have hated each other for such a long time. But Charlotte and Alex "team" up in order to retrieve a magical amulet. They soon realize their chemistry and attraction is amazing and why not dabble a bit on the steamy side, right? I mean... no one would know. PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE KNOWS LMAO.

These two are my absolute favorite. They have one of the best relationships? Yeah, they want to unalive each other, but the other person makes them feel for the very first time. They want a forever with each other, but don't know how the other will react. They've never felt like that! It's so sweet and lovely to see this relationship develop. I mean, their dynamic is so fun and you instantly adore how much they tease each other. But when they start saying all of these nicknames with so much love, you start to see the relationship change completely. When they can't stop holding hands and everyone is like "oh so you have that kind of relationship" and they're like "we're just holding hands so the other one doesn't escape" or something like that lmao LIKE THEY TRY SO HARD TO MAKE EVERYONE SEE THIS IS NOT LOVE. But newsflash! It totally is.

I'm excited about the next book: Daniel and Alice! Spies! Intrigue! Marriage of convenience (I heard?)! I'm readyyyyy to read this asap.

India Holton has given us the second installment of the Dangerous Damsels series with The League of Gentlewomen Witches. The first foray into the secret female societies of Victorian England set a high bar for me. For the most part, I’d say that our second trip met the challenge. Continue reading to get my take on this clever and hilarious sequel.

The League of Gentlewomen Witches continues with the incredible wit, satirical awareness, and fast pace of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels. I enjoyed that not only do we have a new pair of possible (aka definite) romantic partners but also the new group that Holton introduces, the League of Gentlewomen Witches.

A la Wisteria Society, our main female protagonist, Charlotte Pettifer, is referencing her world, events, and her choices through the consideration of Jane Austen’s protagonists. Basically “What would Miss Eliza Bennet do?” This was something I thought was clever from Wisteria with Cecilia and Emilie Bronte. While I appreciated this with Charlotte, sometimes it happens a bit too much. Don’t get me wrong, I love Jane Austen.

I loved the typical battling with words said and those typically unsaid and insinuated that Holton includes in this series. It is over the top in the most delightful way. The writing is incredibly clever and really helps to build the characters of The League of Gentlewomen Witches. Holton uses different writing devices that I do not commonly see in novels that just make the writing so interesting and convincing that the characters are telling the story.

Characters
Again, Holton’s characters are great, especially the side characters, like Bixby, the butler. They are all absurd and so tongue in cheek, which just adds to the wittiness of the series. Many characters from Wisteria return and Holton introduces a handful of new characters, such as our protagonists Charlotte and Alex. I appreciated the introduction of a whole new group of people. It brings another ridiculous intersociety faux feud between the witches and the pirates.

Plot
One aspect I was not as excited about, which is what leads me to prefer Wisteria over the League, is the plot. It is still very fast-paced, but the actual conflict itself is not very compelling. Also, the only hint at danger is practically ignored and shuffled to the side. Regardless, it is a romance novel, so the vehicle with which we get the romance is not always the most important thing. I personally would have liked more development of the conflict and the quest for the artifact itself.

Overall
I am happy that I was able to continue adventuring with the Dangerous Damsels in The League of Gentlewomen Witches. The characters, dialogue, and writing, in general, are comical, absurd, and satirical. While the plot needed a bit more for me, I still love reading this series and hope that there is more to come! Please do read this series if you want to read a series that is light, clever, and absolutely bonkers.

This book ought to have been sub-titled, Witches and Pirates Pretending to Hate One Another but Really Having Way Too Much Fun. And falling in love. Rival organizations, the Wisteria Society (pirates who go to battle in flying houses) and the League of Gentlewomen Witches (who insist that witchcraft doesn’t exist and will batter you with tea and polite manners until you agree) have been at odds forever. When an immensely powerful amulet is re-discovered, it’s a race for who can get their hands on it first. For the witches, Charlotte Pettifer, titular heir to the League’s leadership. For the pirates, well…all of them but in particular Alex O’Riley, who has made a lifelong study of the art of being a dashing rogue. Blades clash, sparks fly, passions ignite, and humor abounds. Hilarity and wit embroider every page, but underneath lie more serious themes: lingering childhood trauma and its effect on self-esteem, and the healing power of honesty, acceptance, and love.

And tea.

To be honest I barely ever give anyone anything lower than a 4.0 but good God this book was really hard to get into. I'm a very plain Jane, get straight to the point when it comes to wording in books. This was on the other hand a minefield of fancy words that nobody uses anymore. Because of this, it was really hard for me to comprehend what was being said. I was looking at my dictionary throughout the whole entire book. Sadly it was hard for me to get into the story itself.

I will say that the world was very interesting and if it wasn't for the type of wording that the author used I would probably really love this book. I did enjoy the enemies to lovers relationship between Alex and Charlotte it was fun and interesting.

The League of Gentlewoman Witches follows the events of 2021’s The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels. While the first book in this series followed the outrageous adventures of house-flying lady pirates, book two centres on The League of Gentlewoman Witches, a coven of high society witches, operating covertly and in complete opposition to the pirates. The league’s young heir apparent, Charlotte Pettifer, aims to capture and secure a talisman, an amulet the pirates also claim as their own. When one particularly unhinged lady pirate absconds with the amulet, Charlotte is forced to team up with Alex O’Riley, a notorious pirate bachelor. Readers of the first installment will recognize the dark and dangerous O’Riley as the long-time friend of Ned Lightbourne. Of course, the tenuous alliance between Charlotte and Alex soon becomes something far spicier.

Dangerous Damsels is, by far, my most favourite new series. Combining elements of satire, fantasy, adventure, and historical fiction/romance, this series is an absolute riot. The premise is completely creative and outlandish, setting it distinctly apart from the pack. The series’ refusal to take itself too seriously grants it a fresh perspective and is the exact escapism I’m craving in these overwrought times. It’s smart too. The self-reflexive nature of the book and its engaging, confident (albeit flawed) characters are like a conspiratorial wink to the reader. I have read this entire series wearing a silly grin, barking out laughter and gasps at regular intervals.

I cannot get enough of Dangerous Damsels. I hope India Holton has many more adventures on deck.

I really loved Holton's The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels so I just knew that I would equally love The League of Gentlewomen Witches. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for giving me an arc for this book. I really love how creative and unique this book was, such a breath of fresh air and I love the enemies-to-lovers, romance-fantasy twist this book brought.

While the idea behind this book is good, I felt like there wasn’t a lot to it. Which, in a romance book, is usually fine since the plot itself takes a back seat to the romance, but I felt like the romance wasn’t all there either, and we get very little of the main characters together and they also fall in love very fast. Overall, an interesting setting and idea, though, and the narration had a good voice to it.

Pirates of the Caribbean meets Pride and Prejudice…with witches! This book has a lot going on, but if you’re a fane of Jane Austen and supernatural romance you’ll really enjoy this.