The Wysteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton - The First Team Review

For the first time, the Imaginarium Team are bringing you a joint review. Of course the book is a fantasy. You can’t expect anything less from two fantasy addicts, it is however a slightly different fantasy than you might expect. First of all, there are no dragons, hobbits, fae or anything of the sort. There are however, pirates, secret societies, flying houses and witty, Victorian banter with some Austen/Bronte references.

Jayde:

I’m not typically a fan of books that lack dragons but I will make an exception for this book and the rest of the series. The Wysteria Society of Lady Scoundrels is the perfect palette cleanser for in-between all the huge, epic fantasies. Following Cecilia Bassingwaite, a member of a prestigious, pirate society, Cecilia finds her world turned upside down when she meets Ned Lightborne an assassin, hired by the dastardly Captain Morvath, to kill her. Little do they know both their worlds are about to change.

This was such an easy book to read, the story itself flowed perfectly, the writing wasn’t too dense and I found myself just having a really good time, not having to work at it to get through. The characters were enjoyable, with absolutely brilliant banter pretty much all the way through and that’s not just with the main characters, the way most, if not all of the characters talked to each other throughout was hilarious.

I haven’t read a fantasy that was so comical before but it definitely worked for this book. Though we’re talking about book one here, book two was definitely my favourite and I’m excited to finish the third and final book. While these books probably can be read in any order, due to the books following different characters, there are references to what happens in the previous book so it would be advisable to read it in order.

Robyn:

Many of you know that Jayde and I like loads of the same books, all you have to do is ask us for a recommendation and we’re both reaching for the same authors. So when Jayde said that she really enjoyed The Wisteria Society, I just had to give it ago. Unlike Jayde, my reading of fantasy doesn’t always have to include dragons. I’m partial to urban fantasy and magical realism. I’m also a sucker for the Victorian period, so this book was a huge hit for me. I’m always wary when people describe a book as “laugh out loud”, very rarely does it live up to it. But I definitely laughed out loud with this book. Cecilia Bassingwaite is a brilliant heroine, trying to do right by her aunt, but also wanting freedom. So when a villain shows up, she does the only thing she can, runs off with her would-be assassin and has the most dangerous and exciting time of her life.

This was easy to read, fun and didn’t take itself too seriously. In a world where you’ve only peaked when someone has tried to assassinate you, its hard to be too serious about anything. The best way I could describe this book is that the characters have good manners but no morals. The narration and the dialouge between the characters is what won it for me. Some of the plot points were predictable, but I honestly didn’t care. I was less worried about what the characters would do, and more interested in what they would say.

As Jayde said, this is an excellent palatte cleanser. It didn’t take oodles of brain power to follow the events and I was desperate to know what happened next. The ridiculousness of the plot was a huge win in its favour. Pirate ladies flying their houses across England, but only once they’ve had their tea? It was no wonder I loved this book!