Ahoy there mateys! This was a such a conundrum. The book is fantastically researched and the magic system is so interesting in terms of its potential. I loved the alt-history of the naturalists and their magic. However, the focus of the book became the sexual and emotional relationships between the characters and those were the least interesting elements. I did not care about the eventual polyamorous relationship or all of the angst of having to hide gay relationships from society. I did not care about the etiquette involved. I did not care about the sexual self-discovery. I wanted magic and science and world exploration. I wanted more time in the Artic and more plot about the upcoming trip to the Antarctic. The sections where the author chose to explore these topics were fascinating and engaging. This is supposed to be the first of a series but felt like a standalone. I am not really sure what the plot of the next book would even entail. I am hesitant to pick up another book in this world unless it switched characters completely and toned down all of the boring relationship angst for more science and magic-based plot. I seem to be in the minority with this opinion though. Arrr!

I had a wonderful time reading this book! I love her writing, and the synopsis sounded really interesting to read! I really enjoyed reading about Beth, Brandon and Anton, as they dealt with the fact that she was the mind behind her husband's "work" and how to utilize it now that he's passed.

I felt so badly for Beth, she was so happy to marry him, not that they were really in love, but because it meant that she could continue her work on documenting nature. Then he dies only a few years later, and she's left adrift, and her plan to slowly present herself as the leading mind is squashed right away in her first attempt to start it.

The magic in this world, with the names of nature, was really interesting to read about. This is a time where the known world is much bigger than the unknown, meaning it's harder to find something new, and while things aren't critical, the writing is on the wall.

Watching the 3 of them work together was really fantastic! I was really interested in their dynamics, especially given that Bran and Anton were in a romantic relaitonship from the very beginning of the story. So that was an interesting part of the book to read!

This was a fantastic read and I can't wait to read more by Carrie Vaughn, and the sequel, which I didn't know this was going to be a series until after I started writing this review! I'm so excited for more from this world!

This is a well-written, interesting premise for a book! So much natural sciences with a unique magical realism twist! The romance in the book surprised me- I wasn't expecting it, but I enjoyed the development of the relationships among the main characters and how they found ways to support each other. Overall a great read for those interested in nature, magical realism, and unique historical romances.

I didn't expect to read this book next from my TBR, let alone as quickly as I did, but something about this book just immediately grabbed me and made for such an enjoyable read! I was so fascinated by this idea of Arcane Taxonomy and really enjoyed exploring this form of magic in the book. I really love when fantasy and historical fiction collide in ways like this book did, and I really appreciate how well the author crafted this story. If anything, I wish this book dove even deeper into some of the topics explored and I'd happily read more from this world and characters. And speaking of characters, I really enjoyed getting to know Beth and the other characters that play a large role in this story and though they all worked really well together. This was a really delightful historical fantasy that I had a lot of fun with. I would absolutely recommend it!

Excellent book, loved it! Looking forward to more from this author! Apologies for the lateness of my review

A heart-warming story of a woman who wanted more than what women were allowed in the late 1800s, tinged with some magical realism and full of science.

An interesting tale that weaves science and magic together, the Naturalist Society makes interesting commentary on sexism and racism in the early 19th century. The characters were well written and Miss Vaughn showed attention to detail in building the historical and scientific concepts of this book.

Cute. It’s a historical fantasy with romance. And a three way…. But for those who prefer to avoid straight out erotica in your books it’s a fade to black and not too explicit
And for those who don’t know too much history what her family does is very accurate, perhaps even a bit gentle but that could be because her family has money. It’ll be interesting to see how the relationship gets explained in later books. That time period may have expected a few “confirmed bachelors” to be quietly sneered at if they were sufficiently lucky to avoid arrest but they’d definitely not have coped with poly.
All in all I enjoyed it and will definitely read book two.

The Naturalist Society by Carrie Vaughn is a very well written story.
This is a fantastic story of courage and friendship and love and magic set in the natural world.

Thank You NetGalley and Publisher for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

DNF. It's fine??? It's fine. A good, solid three stars. I'm just not enchanted, the way I hoped I would be. The prose is very bestseller-y, meaning light on description but well-paced and super readable. I was hoping to see the characters experiencing wonder at the natural world, and they didn't - although in fairness I think that's deliberate, I think Vaughn's making a point about the white/Victorian mindset towards naturalism, ie that it's pretty gross and colonialist and greedy, actually!

And I think that was being done really well, but it's not the kind of thing I want to read.

Fans of magical realism and fantasy will enjoy this tale of arcane taxonomy. Know btw that arcane taxonomy is not a real thing (I was confused and spent some time looking for more information) but an invention of Vaughn. It underpins this novel about a woman-Beth- and two men -Brandon and Austin. Beth allowed her now deceased husband Harry to publish under her name because a woman's research would not be accepted. Now, Bran and Austin who have a secret of their own are leveraging her for their joint benefit. It's a zippy plot and the storytelling is good. THanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

I really wanted to like this book. I thought I'd love it since I'm a big fan of author Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville series, but, sadly, this book just wasn't my cup of tea.

The idea behind the Arcane Taxonomy was really interesting, as was all the naturalist stuff, but I didn't really care for any of the characters. And the romance took a turn that felt out of place for the time period.

I know I'm in the minority here, so be sure to check out other reviews to see if it might be for you.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and comments are my honest opinion.

As a child, I read encyclopedias for fun (and I'm sure I'm not the only one), so while I don't read much non-fiction anymore, fiction about science and exploration is still a big hit with me. That said, I did have some trepidation that this book would tread a fairly stock standard path when it comes to exploring the experiences of female scientists during the Victorian era, since we've all been there and done that in some form of literature.

Thankfully, I needn't have worried. Vaughn does hit many of the familiar beats (there's of course the need for our MC to find a husband, and the hazy academic back rooms full of self-important men), but this book makes up for it by building deep relationships between each of our three main characters and treating them as equals, each facing different, sometimes intersectional challenges with inequality in the natural sciences. The Naturalist Society has as much to say about the theme of survival as it does about science - both surviving the elements, but also surviving society itself. There's also plenty of LGBT+ rep which doesn't seem to have been a feature of the marketing at all, but will be of interest to many.

I'll admit that Vaughn has never really been on my radar as an author before, but I may need to reconsider checking out her backlist - and I hope she writes more in the historical fantasy genre.

To know the name of a living thing is to be able to harness its magic in the world of Carrie Vaughn’s The Naturalist Society. Except, that’s too simple. To really be able to do feats of magic using Arcane Taxonomy, naturalists have to study every species very carefully to understand how a woodpecker can demolish a tree or a pigeon can always return to the same place from anywhere on earth. Beth Stanley is very good at watching the birds of New York City through her opera glasses and, if she had only been born male, she would have been one of the greatest naturalists of her time. But it’s 1880 and there are very few people willing to listen to her, let along read her manuscripts.

When Beth’s husband, Harry—who published Beth’s papers under his own name and gave lectures in her stead—dies, she believes that it’s the end of her charade of a career. She misses her husband, of course, and her mother barely allows her six months to mourn Harry before trying to get Beth to remarry. Thankfully, two men walk into her life and change absolutely everything. Brandon West and Anton Torrance return from an Arctic expedition, hoping to reconnect with Harry and see if he has any new arcane tricks up his sleeve for them to use on their next expedition. It doesn’t take them long to realize that they have the wrong end of the stick and that Beth has been the arcane and scientific genius the entire time.

The Naturalist Society is a cozy read. There are dangers that threaten the growing relationship between Beth, Brandon, and Anton, including a particularly odious naturalist who believes he can bully his way to magic and fame, to keep things interesting. Brandon and Anton encourage Beth to take risks she never dared to before. For the first time, she publishes under her own name (albeit in a women’s magazine with no scientific rigor whatsoever). For the first time, she steps foot inside the male-only Naturalist Society building for a reading of “Harry’s” last article. For the first time, Beth even travels alone. Widow’s mourning gets her a lot of leeway in society, but gumption works a lot better.

What really shines about this book is watching Beth come into her own as a naturalist and Arcane Taxonomist and the love that she finds after thinking that her life was over. I loved the scenes in which Beth can leave the city and the pressures of her family and society and watch birds. When Beth watches birds, she loses herself in their calls and chirps, in the way they flit from branch to branch, in the colors of their feathers. She loathes it when people kill birds to study them, instead of simply watching. Beth’s wonderment at the world makes me want to get outside and see if I can figure out what species are flying around my house.

I really like Vaughn's work - I went through all of Kitty Norville earlier this year. That said, she has a few ticks that turn up in a lot of her books. One that most bugs me is the way she imports 21st C sexism into situations where it's annachronistic. For example in KN it actually makes no sense for female werewolves to be at a disadvantage physically. Here, in 1880s you would expect some sexism but despite this, women were atrending universities, earning degrees, practicing medicine, writing books, rejecting the actual patriarchy (there was one back then!). Or at least they were in Britain and Ireland. (I realise the US has always been more conservative and therefore somewhat behind the UK on a lot of issues). But still, even as a non Americal I can think of a dozen US women off the top of my head who were just as liberated. So this mousey MC who goes from academic to trading on her sexuality just doesn't land fir me. Women can be both or just not define themselves based on how desirable they are? Anyway, I liked the premise of this but I was more up for something like Marie Brennan's A Natural History of Dragons so this fell a bit flat.

This is a creative fantasy adventure. Full review to come. Thanks to the publisher for Read Now access.

The Naturalist Society, by Carrie Vaughn, is one of the best books I've read in a while. The characters are interesting and the there is just enough magic to make the story feel believable without going overboard. If you're looking for a novel with a strong female lead, great supportive male characters, and nature imbued with magical elements, read this book!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC; all opinions are my own.

This story was unique and interesting. The concept of imbuing oneself with the qualities of different animals was thought-provoking. I really felt for the female protagonist, Beth, as she struggled with the loss of her spouse and her career. (Makes you wonder how many discoveries humankind has missed out on by excluding women from intellectual pursuits!)

The plight of Bran and Anton was poignant as well. Two smart men, one of whom is automatically looked at differently because of his skin color, also have to deal with hiding their affection for one another. Again, just think of what we’re missing out on when we don’t allow people to be their authentic selves!

The ending was very satisfying…this book was a delightful, distinctive read!

Nature has power, naming something has power. But a woman in the 1880s? No power.

As an Arcane Taxonomist, Beth can draw power from the natural world through studying the subject and knowing the proper Latin name. When Beth meets Henry Stanley she not only finds a husband, but someone who can be the face of her research while she plays the part of the proper lady. But, when only three years later Henry dies her whole plan goes up in smoke. She meets an Arcane Taxonomist, Brandon West, and an explorer, Anton Torrance who are working on funding a North Pole Expedition. After looking to get ahold of the late Henry Stanley's work, an unexpected relationship between the three forms.

As an environmental scientist, Carry Vaughn created a world I have regularly thought about. How could we as scientists draw power from nature? And as a woman, how could I be a scientist in a time where women were expected to care for little outside their family? I connected deeply with Beth and felt her emotional trauma.

I wish that the backstory of Arcane Taxonomy was a little more thorough. I did enjoy the mid-chapter descriptions of explorers who had used Arcane Taxonomy, but how is it something that is so new? Briefly, at the beginning, the use of Arcane Taxonomy by Innuits is talked about, but there must be other forms throughout the world or things that have been passed down. I was also not totally clear until the end how Arcane Taxonomy could be taught from one person to another.

Generally, I will warn future readers that if you are not interested in slow-paced Academia heavy books, this is NOT the book for you.

If you are a fan of Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries you will likely also enjoy The Naturalist Society.

Semi-spoiler tropes featured listed below:
Why choose, pansexual main character

Will update when tiktok/Instagram reviews have been posted.

oh my goodness !! I loved this book so much ! I knew I would love it when we first met Beth. The method of the arcanism was exciting, and that the author tied her love of birds into Beth's love was delightful. The idea of the taxonomical nomenclature giving you the power of the animal was interesting, I really liked the idea and versatility of it. It was disappointing that Beth couldn't put her own name on her work, but the work-around of using Harry's name was great, until he passed away.
When we met Brandon and Anton, we learned about their travels and how well they worked together on their expeditions. Wnen the two gentlemen meet Beth, I had great hopes for their continued acquaintance.
There are some twists and turns, a lot of frustration on my part regarding the lack of free will for women of that age, and some rollicking good times, as well.

If you like Carrie Vaughn's writing, if you like birds, if you like magic, if you like strong, independent women, you will LOVE this book !