Rating: 77% | C+ | ★★★ Warnings: + Violence Synopsis (from Goodreads): Cecilia Bassingwaite is the ideal Victorian lady. She's also a thief. Like the other members of the Wisteria Society crime sorority, she flies around England drinking tea, blackmailing friends, and acquiring treasure by interesting means. Sure, she has a dark and traumatic past and an overbearing aunt, but all things considered, it's a pleasant existence. Until the men show up. Ned Lightbourne is a sometimes assassin who is smitten with Cecilia from the moment they meet. Unfortunately, that happens to be while he's under direct orders to kill her. His employer, Captain Morvath, who possesses a gothic abbey bristling with cannons and an unbridled hate for the world, intends to rid England of all its presumptuous women, starting with the Wisteria Society. Ned has plans of his own. But both men have made one grave mistake. Never underestimate a woman. When Morvath imperils the Wisteria Society, Cecilia is forced to team up with her handsome would-be assassin to save the women who raised her--hopefully proving, once and for all, that she's as much of a scoundrel as the rest of them. Spoiler-Free Review: What makes a reviewer's job (if what I do can be termed such a courteous title as "job") so difficult is that we constantly clamor for something more—more three-dimensionality! More detail! More speed! The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels is the first novel to which I will not encourage adding more of anything. In a way, the extremity of its characters, plot, and overall writing fits with Holton's insistence on cheerful decadence; in another, more visceral way, its extremity makes the novel exhausting and difficult to read. Holton demands from her readers identical enthusiasm that may not be given, and what results is a disconnect between reader and plot. It is difficult to take much seriously in this novel when nothing is serious, not even the characters' agendas or core values. Still, The Wisteria Society is a delightful romp in on the periphery of Victorian Steampunk, wink-and-grin references to Wuthering Heights (which I had a little too much fun picking out, as this review will explain), and clever turns of phrase. Be prepared to be exhausted, and maybe chug a coffee or two before diving in. (Click "Read More" for spoilers.) Plot (22/30) Beginning (8/10), Middle (7/10), and End (7/10) Holton comes out of the gate raring to go, with magic, scoundrels, and floating houses, oh my! The pacing throughout the novel stays consistently fast, though the speed tails off throughout the second and third acts as it becomes a conscious effort to keep up with the characters. This novel is one that would probably work better as a serialized story—it would make an excellent TV show, for instance. Cecilia and Ned's chemistry, along with the energy from some of the secondary characters like Constantinopla, drive the plot forward and prevent the reader from becoming bogged down in the constant change of scenery and expositional baggage surrounding the Society's rules. The conclusion of the story is harried, however; the introduction of Queen Victoria adds a layer of doubt to the story that I can't fully accept, even if I take the entire novel as satire. But the worst villains of all were the insurance companies and bodyguard services who made a fortune off an anxious public. And none of this even began to touch upon real estate agents. A nefarious lot, they were forever trying to steal the flight incantation so they could sell houses based on 'location, location, and location.' Characters (26/30) Development (12/15) and Allure (14/15) The characters in this novel are undeniably alluring, from the determined Cecilia to the dashing Ned to all of the idiosyncratic members of The Wisteria Society. However, their developmental arcs fall just short of complete; Cecilia and Ned feel static at times, and the secondary characters even more so. Cecilia's father, the villain of the story, is underdeveloped from the start of the novel and never truly achieves three-dimensionality, a hole in the story that feels as gaping as some of the cannonballs blown into the houses in this novel. Writing (15/20) Descriptions (10/10) and Flow (5/10) Holton's writing style adds to the sheer exhaustion that descends upon the reader over the course of this novel. Witty turns of phrase, humorous exaggerations—these all build up, throw off the pacing, and demand that the reader simply run faster to catch up. The many aliases in this story also contribute to some of the confusion in the pacing, despite the cast list at the very start of the novel. (I still facepalm at how many pages it took me to realize that Ned and de Luca were the same person . . .? I'm still not sure they are.) Still, Holton is undeniably witty, and her tongue-in-cheek references to everything from modern-day commercials to gossip items make for an entertaining story. This novel should be commended for modernizing many of the devices found in the classic literature from which Holton takes her in-text references. There are multiple instances of free-indirect discourse in the style of Jane Austen, which were, *English major voice*, very cool. After all, one does not want to encourage the younger generation too much, lest they lose sight of their proper place: under one's thumb. Closure / Set-Up (17/20)
Logic (7/10) and Allure / Closure (10/10) The end of this novel is very, very neat. Too neat. Of course the heroes must win and the villain must lose, but when the villain is so disappointingly underdeveloped, is it truly a satisfying ending? But The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels is, at the end of the day, a romance, and it would seem perversely uncouth for a novel that takes some of its cues from Jane Austen (and Emily Brontë, but I suppose I am in the minority of people who consider the ending of Wuthering Heights an HEA) to end on a downer. Holton does her job, does it admirably and cleverly, and creates a novel that is original and darling—if a little bloated.
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