India Holton

This book is the first in the Dangerous Damsels series by New Zealand author India Holton. It is a whimsical feminist historical fantasy romcom set in Victorian England.

Cecilia Bassingwaite is the perfect Victorian lady, sipping cups of tea with her Aunt and minding her Ps and Qs. She is also a pirate, a thief, and aiming to make a name for herself as a fully-fledged member of the house-flying Wisteria Society of pirate ladies, by proving she is as much of a scoundrel as the best of them. Captain Ned Lightbourne enters as her would-be assassin and the two of them embark on a series of adventures, becoming embroiled in Captain Morvarth’s fiendish plan to banish all women back to their tea-rooms.

This is a light-hearted quirky romcom which began as entertaining and funny, but soon became just too silly and almost slap-stick for me. It’s a nice idea, but the humour in making a caricature of the Englishness of the English has been done many times, and often very badly by non-English authors. There were some entertaining moments but I’m not sure I could face the second book in the series.… (mehr)

The League of Gentlewomen Witches is what I would describe as a quirky romance. The second installment in the series focuses around a league of witches and a society of pirates fighting to steal a powerful amulet while a member from each fall in love.

The characters are interesting with most characters being deceitful and selfish while fun and endearing. The action takes a back seat to the love story with the amulet storyline being quite boring. The rate at which the characters fell in love was too fast for me with it being almost instantaneous.

I really loved the first book, The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, but the novelty has worn off for me. It is, however, a fun read when you feel like something light and amusing.… (mehr)

Miss Charlotte Pettifer belongs to a secret league of women skilled in the subtle arts. That is to say—although it must never be said—witchcraft. The League of Gentlewomen Witches strives to improve the world in small ways. Using magic, they tidy, correct, and manipulate according to their notions of what is proper, entirely unlike those reprobates in the Wisteria Society.

When the long lost amulet of Black Beryl is discovered, it is up to Charlotte, as the future leader of the League, to make sure the powerful talisman does not fall into the wrong hands. Therefore, it is most unfortunate when she crosses paths with Alex O'Riley, a pirate who is no Mr. Darcy. With all the world scrambling after the amulet, Alex and Charlotte join forces to steal it together. If only they could keep their pickpocketing hands to themselves! If Alex's not careful, he might just steal something else—such as Charlotte's heart.… (mehr)