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rainy days and cliches

reading and relaxing in Seattle

what I’m reading: the wisteria society of lady scoundrels by india holton.

book reviews, books and reading · July 30, 2021

Cecilia Bassingwaite may be a well-bred lady but she is also a pirate and her one pirate wish is to be a member of the Wisteria Society crime sorority. When she finds out that someone has sent an assassin after her, Cecilia knows that this will convince the other lady pirates that she is worthy of being in the Society. It’s too bad that the man sent to assassinate her, Ned Lightbourne, is so good-looking. When the women of the Wisteria Society are kidnapped, Cecilia must team up with Ned to save them all.

It took me a while to get into this book, but once I did I found it to be whimsical and quirky with sort of a sarcastic sense of humor. The humor definitely took a while to get used to. I would say that the jokes and banter are a mix of The Princess Bride and The Addams Family – sort of morbid but also snarky.

When I started reading about Cecilia flying around in her literal flying house, I found myself thinking “What is going on?” But as I got more into the novel and I got used to this world and its absurdities, I started liking the book more. The writing is well done and it was easy to envision all of Cecilia and Ned’s adventures (except for maybe the flying houses – I’m still thinking about them and I cannot picture what a flying house looks like in my head).

The world that this novel is set in is eccentric. The Society women frequently talk about assassinating each other, or stealing, or fighting, all while drinking their afternoon tea and, like I said, there are flying houses. Queen Victoria and Windsor Castle even make a cameo. It was very entertaining and I found myself laughing a lot.

This book was extravagant, and a bit weird, but it was also fun.


To check out other reviews, find this book on goodreads or amazon. Please note, all links are affiliate which gives a small portion of profit to Rainy Days and Clichés. Thank you so much for your continuous kindness!

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Hi friends, I’m Shanna, a book lover currently living in the Seattle area! I run on lattes, eat way too many grilled cheeses, and have a never-ending to be read list. Come join me on my reading adventures!

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