The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels

I genuinely don't think I've had this much fun reading a book in years! Attempting to describe the plot doesn't even scratch the surface of India Holton's deliciously batty historical adventure romance. Suffice to say that there are pirates, flying houses, fake ghosts, secret identities, parasols as deadly weapons, assassins-to-lovers, godawful poetry, and some of the funniest literary allusions I've ever read.

The short version is that Cecilia is part of a long line of lady pirates who cheerfully run around pirate-ing and attempting to take each other down (or working together, depending on their moods). At first, she's the target of an assassination attempt by a rival pirate, but then a villainous would-be poet and pirate puts his own hit out on her. Ned, the first assassin, winds up having to help her go on the run and rescue the rest of her fellow pirates, and that's when things *really* go off the rails!

The tone is the key to this book, and it would have been so easy to either pull back too much or go too far, but instead, it's just right: genuine emotions alongside the completely wild, matter-of-fact ride that comes with the territory of warring pirates and Bronte obsessions. It's romantic, of course, but in a way that's totally different from most historical romance, and yet manages to be wonderfully familiar at the same time. Just read it - it's worth every minute.