The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-05 07:51:24
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：India Holton
- ISBN：0593200160
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A prim and proper lady thief must save her aunt from a crazed pirate and his dangerously charming henchman in this fantastical historical romance。
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。
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。
Reviews
s
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2。5
Amy Sutton
，
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 star romance vacation read for me！ Historical romance setting with Victorian women as pirates， but with battlehouses instead of ships。 Such fun， whimsical writing。 I laughed several times and throughout is a relationship that’s in the “I was sent here to kill you” trope。 Not much steam， but lots of flirtation and tension building。 Such a fun book。。。“No one bested that grand lady in the deadly martial art of polite conversation。”。。“She did not understand landlubbers。 They were polite ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 star romance vacation read for me！ Historical romance setting with Victorian women as pirates， but with battlehouses instead of ships。 Such fun， whimsical writing。 I laughed several times and throughout is a relationship that’s in the “I was sent here to kill you” trope。 Not much steam， but lots of flirtation and tension building。 Such a fun book。。。“No one bested that grand lady in the deadly martial art of polite conversation。”。。“She did not understand landlubbers。 They were polite enough until you mentioned you were a pirate， or swooped down in your mechanized house， or creatively acquired some little knickknacks of theirs they couldn’t possibly care about。” 。。。more
Elyse
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By far， the funniest book ever。
Rachel Gordon
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Cute。 Spunky。 Just not my cup of tea （pun intended）。 This is the first book I’ve read with jousting and fighting and I now know that I like watching that genre better than reading it。 Speaking of tv， this would be an amazing little mini-series and I would definitely watch that。 :-）
Holly
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I wish this had been marketed as the fun fantasy historical romance it is！ Like other readers， I really did think this was a hist rom and so I didn't request the ARC， I waited to get it from the library。 It was a big and delightful surprise to discover this society of lady pirates actually have an incantation to pilot their homes around as needed （or wanted）。 They are actually out there having fun， committing crimes to advance in their society， and wearily regarded as pirates。 The MCs meet becau I wish this had been marketed as the fun fantasy historical romance it is！ Like other readers， I really did think this was a hist rom and so I didn't request the ARC， I waited to get it from the library。 It was a big and delightful surprise to discover this society of lady pirates actually have an incantation to pilot their homes around as needed （or wanted）。 They are actually out there having fun， committing crimes to advance in their society， and wearily regarded as pirates。 The MCs meet because he's been hired by another society member to kill her （not for her own actions， which is a disappointment to her， but to upset her guardian）。 Really enjoyed the banter and tongue-in-cheek remarks about the Victorian period norms。 There is a LOT happening from start to finish in this book。 The writing style was like a mix of Deanna Raybourn and Gail Carriger for me。 Unfortunately， unlike those authors' works， I don't think there was any queer rep or characters of colour in this book。 CW: Flashbacks to domestic violence and murder （by one's spouse）。 。。。more
Kristina
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Ok it’s very silly but also delightful？ If they turn this into a BBC miniseries of some kind， that would amazing。
Eleanor
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Sparkling， witty， off-kilter， whacky， hilarious， modern， laugh out loud funny in places， romantic， silly but serious， and jam-packed with literary references。 I would highly， highly recommend this to anyone in need of a fun， delightful read。
Erum
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Pure entertainment， would make a good movie。
Julie
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What a fun ride ！ Witty， smart， romantic with fun characters！ I wouldn't consider reading this book， the narrator of the audiobook is just too good！ My mind couldn't possibly do justice to the story。I can't wait for Alex's story！ What a fun ride ！ Witty， smart， romantic with fun characters！ I wouldn't consider reading this book， the narrator of the audiobook is just too good！ My mind couldn't possibly do justice to the story。I can't wait for Alex's story！ 。。。more
Tara Riddlebarger
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3。5
Emily
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This was a really fun book， lots of comedic timing and over the top victorians。 Light， silly， and with a few good zingers。 The romance was pretty cute， also。
Jen
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Quirky， laughter-filled， and whimsical。 I loved how unusual the piratical life is in Hilton's book。 Quirky， laughter-filled， and whimsical。 I loved how unusual the piratical life is in Hilton's book。 。。。more
Wai
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This book is not what I expected， being a farce and very light。 Perhaps the author can consider deepening the emotions of the characters and make the interactions consistently more realistic。
Beck
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3。5/5
Jessica Ussery
，
I need this to become a movie。
Tracey Dulin
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It is just fun！ Enjoy！
Lexie Allen
，
Fantastic
Elena
，
DNF because of personal preferences。 This was a bit too whimsical for me。
Norah Leighton
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Meh
Stacey
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Review excerpted from my blog post over at Titillated Termagant Romance Reviews （https://titillatedtermagant。wordpress。。。）My Rating: 4。0 starsLibrary recommendation: Recommended for public library historical romance collections。Warning: Hereafter， you chance spoilers。 I will try never to reveal major plot points， but to review any book， you must reveal some parts of the story。_______________ Number of titles I have read by this author: 1Love story speed: Slow-ish burnRelationship dynamics: The P Review excerpted from my blog post over at Titillated Termagant Romance Reviews （https://titillatedtermagant。wordpress。。。）My Rating: 4。0 starsLibrary recommendation: Recommended for public library historical romance collections。Warning: Hereafter， you chance spoilers。 I will try never to reveal major plot points， but to review any book， you must reveal some parts of the story。_______________ Number of titles I have read by this author: 1Love story speed: Slow-ish burnRelationship dynamics: The Pirate Assassin （H） / The Lady Pirate （h）Physical descriptions: Cecilia: blue eyes and red-gold hair; Ned: blues eyes and blonde hair。 Stature is not really a focus in the book。Sexual content: A smidge; on-page and explicitTriggers: Underage female fooling around with an of-age guy （off-page， not h/H）; lawlessness and violence。Grammar/Editing: My ARC had a couple of typos。Review: This book is best described as a romp， bordering on a farce。 This is Victorian England turned on its head。 Indeed， the world has magic。 The women are also greater than men。 However， they have some of the same strange social etiquette and insistence on women being ignorant or everything to do with sex。 This is a feminist text， for certain， but I found that it swings the pendulum a little to far; men are shown as rather stupid， irrational creatures， and while I understand that that is part of the concept of role reversal， I didn’t find it very satisfying。 I would rather see equality than one-sided dominance。 In addition， if you enjoy law-abiding characters， this is not the book for you。 All characters are entirely adverse to law-abiding behaviour and show no remorse， regardless of how their behaviour may affect others。Cecilia and Ned are the main characters in this book。 Cecilia can be catty with her peers。 She is not sentimental unless it relates to piracy。 That being said， she is not a damsel in distress。 If anyone is going to save her from a bad situation， it will be herself。 Ned is a charmer and a bit bumbling， at least in comparison to Cecilia， but he finds everything about her to be wonderful。 Cecilia’s career coming first drives the tension in their relationship， at least insofar as the question of barriers to their being together in the end。 That he might assassinate her barely registers in terms of strikes against his character。 I would go so far as to describe their relationship as cute and a bit of a lark。 There are a fair few supporting characters in this book， and they are all pirates and/or scoundrels。 They are mostly friends with one another， but also all out to get one another。 I think I could have done with a bit more stability in the supporting characters to contrast with the main characters。 It was all just a lot of the same thing over and over in the book。 I also found the villain to be pretty much ineffectual， although I suspect that that may have been the point。Full disclosure: I received a free advance review copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Christina Clouse
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This was absolutely charming and fun。 The audiobook is very wonderfully narrated as well。I love the idea of alternative England with well-mannered lady pirates who navigate their floating homes with style and appropriate levels of bloodthirstiness。The characters were adventurous and saucy and the romance was just the right amount of syrupy sweetness in a comfort read。 If you liked Gail Carriger’s Finishing School series or the Princess Bride， this one is for you。 Definitely not for younger YA re This was absolutely charming and fun。 The audiobook is very wonderfully narrated as well。I love the idea of alternative England with well-mannered lady pirates who navigate their floating homes with style and appropriate levels of bloodthirstiness。The characters were adventurous and saucy and the romance was just the right amount of syrupy sweetness in a comfort read。 If you liked Gail Carriger’s Finishing School series or the Princess Bride， this one is for you。 Definitely not for younger YA readers due to some sexy parts。 。。。more
Dee Turner
，
Pure fluff， but engaging。
Rebecca
，
Too silly for my tastes。
Kelsey Tibbit
，
What did I just read 😄。 Four stars for being quirky， fun， and entertaining。
Rosemary
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An excessively silly fantasy -- which means the author achieved her goal of ladies armed with teacups and pistols flying houses through a Victorian England as they practice piracy。 If you are in the mood for a romantic comedy so light that it practically floats off the shelf， then grab your lemonade and settle in for a summer read。 From haunted housemaids to wicked rogues， all the tropes of Victorian and romance fiction are taken out of the drawer， given a good shake， and set dancing （a waltz at An excessively silly fantasy -- which means the author achieved her goal of ladies armed with teacups and pistols flying houses through a Victorian England as they practice piracy。 If you are in the mood for a romantic comedy so light that it practically floats off the shelf， then grab your lemonade and settle in for a summer read。 From haunted housemaids to wicked rogues， all the tropes of Victorian and romance fiction are taken out of the drawer， given a good shake， and set dancing （a waltz at midnight， of course！）。 。。。more
Lauren
，
This was cute and very funny。
Sumayyah
，
DNF at 35%
Elizabeth Caskey
，
This book was amazing。 Women pirates， flying houses as battleships， Queen Victoria。 All of it。 “I’m thinking of starting a Society of Gentlemen Scoundrels。” “You’re millennia too late。 It already exists and is called the patriarchy。”
Hailee （haibooklovers）
，
Well I very much enjoyed that！ It was not at all what I was expecting （the fairly typical regency romance）， apart from the main character。 She was as plucky as I’d hoped。
Rachel Summers
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