#the league of gentlewomen witches

[checkoutmybookshelf]

You Have My Attention: Dangerous Damsels First Lines

India Holton's Dangerous Damsels books were a DELIGHTFUL discovery for me, and she's one of those authors whose writing style I genuinely adore so much that I caught myself reading for the writing. I would read a paragraph, luxuriate in the way this author constructs a sentence, then realize I got to read that paragraph AGAIN because I was so wrapped up in the technical aspects of the writing that I'd missed the plot. I adore the way these books are written, and they had me at hello. So how did these books catch me? Let's look at their first lines.

There was no possibility of walking to the library that day. Morning rain had blanched the air, and Miss Darlington feared that if Cecilia ventured out she would develop a cough and be dead within the week. Therefore Cecilia was at home, sitting with her aunt in a room ten degrees colder than the streets of London, and reading aloud The Song of Hiawatha by "that American rogue, Mr. Longfellow," when the strange gentleman knocked at their door.

-- The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels

Charlotte could listen no more in silence. For several minutes now a young man at the teahouse counter had been abusing a waiter with language that pierced her soul. She tried to behave as the other customers and look away--after all, who did not understand the pain of being disappointed in one's hopes for a warm current scone? But finally her patience broke, and she simple had to speak by such means as were within her reach--namely a volume of Dickens she had been reading over tea and sandwiches.

-- The League of Gentlewomen Witches

It was the best of dress shops, it was the worst of dress shops. It sold the most beautiful garments, it sold the ugliest scraps, and Miss Primula Tewkes fell in love and despair as she walked amongst its displays. Her maid, Alice Dearlove, followed like a shadow, black-garbed and silent, arms full of hatboxes. Primula declared herself to be in Heaven, but Alice privately wished the lady would go direct the other way.

-- The Secret Service of Tea and Treason

[hopepunk-priest]

The Secret Service of Tea and Treason is sooooooo funny they're like, these two are our most competent agents and not only do they fail to foil TWO plots, and a betrayal, they also get their cover blown literally immediately AND every single person they come across is like "those two are too horny to be married"

[theflyingcottage]

The ladies of the Dangerous Damsels series by India Holton. Pirate, witch, spy.

[penna-nomen]

Book recommendation: The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton

Set in Victorian England, the story has:

Witches and magical pirates who compete to steal an artifact.

Forbidden romance between a witch and a pirate.

Copious literary references, especially to the works of Jane Austen.

Romance and comedy of manners.

The feel and humor reminded me of Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series.

The story was so fun that I've already started reading the sequel - The Secret Service of Tea and Treason. In addition to more literary references, it has fun with spy series. There are references to James Bond, The Man from Uncle, Get Smart, and I'm pretty sure there was a call back to Men in Black.

[xserpx]

"Fluff!" he swore. (In fact it was a word vastly more potent than "fluff", but Charlotte's brain decided that she'd had just about enough for one day, and took pity on her.)

— The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton

[bookcoversonly]

Title: The League of Gentlewomen Witches | Author: India Holton | Publisher: Berkley Books (2022)

[blogmollylane]

Newly acquired:

• I have some questions for you by Rebecca Makkai

• If we were villains by M.L Rio

• The league of gentlewomen witches by India Holton

[meeghanreads]

WWW Wednesday — 28 August 2024

Hello friends!! Welcome to this week’s WWW Wednesday — 28 August 2024!!  WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words, where you answer the three following questions: What did you recently finish? What are you currently reading? And, what do you think you’ll read next? Let’s see what I have been reading… (All images will link to Goodreads if you click on them.…

[annafromuni]

The Secret Service of Tea and Treason is a Treat

India Hilton returns with her beloved characters and witty plotting, bringing forth a novel so genius and tantalising that you’ll be just like the agents fawning over Alice and Bixby. The Secret Service of Tea and Treason is a delight to read and a perfect way to spend an afternoon in bed. I appreciate the pining and comical slow-burn aspect of this book. It’s reminiscent of The Wisteria Society…

[bethly126]

Beth Favorite's Books of 2023!

It’s that time of the year! Where we look back at all of the books we read this year and pick our favorites. These are my favorite books of 2023. They are in no particular order but in order that I read them. The Dangerous Damsels series by India Holton – The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, The League of Gentlewoman Witches and The Secret Service of Tea and Treason were such a fun trilogy…

[overflowingshelf]

Review: The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton

I didn't think I could love India Holton's writing even more than I already did, but she knocked it out of the park with book 2 in the Dangerous Damsels series! See why in my review:

The League of Gentlewomen Witches India Holton Publisher: Berkley Books Publication Date: March 15, 2022 Series or Standalone:Dangerous Damsels #2 Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads – StoryGraph Rating: MY REVIEW CW: Child abuse; emotional abuse; violence; fire I absolutely adored the unique writing style of India Holton in The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels and could not…

[checkoutmybookshelf]

In vain Charlotte struggled, but it would not do. Her efforts to swim out of the lake were repressed by the weight of her coat. She came toward Alex in an agitated manner, kicking legs that, booted as they were, did more to drag her down than keep her swimming. "You must allow me to help you," he insisted ardently, and at last secured her agreement--and her person, which he pulled ashore.

-- The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton

[theflyingcottage]

“I dare you,” he said in her ear, hot and tempting. “Step on me with those vicious boots of yours.”

- The League of Gentlewomen Witches.

[mercerislandbooks]

Thoughts On Summer Reading

As someone who's on social media—specifically the book part of Instagram—a fair amount, I hear a lot about how different people read. Some read the next book they plan to read, have five more books lined up after that, and for the most part they'll get them read in that order. Others read whatever strikes their fancy whenever it strikes their fancy. I am a mood reader at heart, but one who wedges in that library book that she's had checked out for months which she DID really want to read at the time so now she better stop in the middle of her other six current reads to rush through it in time to return it tomorrow... which is exactly what I'm going to resume doing once I finish this blog post. So maybe I'm a mood reader with "obligatory books" hanging over her head. 

Part of being a mood reader is the fluctuation of what I want to read each season. For the fall, witchy books like The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, Spells for Forgetting, Wild Is the Witch, and The League of Gentlewomen Witches. In the winter it was mostly science fiction by Becky Chambers. But the most talked about season in the reading community has to be summer. Summer reads, beach reads, vacation reads. Light books that you fall into and out of like a summer fling. This fits the traditional idea of summer reads that we all know and love, but the genres included in summer reading lists have expanded over the past few years. We at Island Books put together a shelf full of summer books for every reader, surrounded by sticky notes with suns and right next to our Staff Picks shelf.

Last summer, all I read was romance. Intense feelings crammed into a book I could read in a day. The happy ending, the guarantee of peace and satisfaction. I picked up several fantasy books and put them down again immediately—any effort to learn about a made-up world felt like too much. This summer, rather than a specific genre, I've been catching up on my backlog. I finished the Anne of Green Gables series for the first time and found it delightful. I listened to The City of Brass and all of its sequels while traveling. I read the first two books of The Borrowers, finished the Seafire trilogy, and sped through books two and three of The Thursday Murder Club. I finally pulled out my two-year-old copy of Red, White & Royal Blue and devoured it in twenty-four hours (just in time for the release of the movie on August 11).  Although it's a completely different path than I took last summer, it's been so fun to discover these books for the first time and then discuss them with everyone who already loves them. I look forward to seeing where my mood reading takes me next summer.

Things that make a good summer read (one list does not fit all):

Not too heavy (physically); needs to be light enough to bring on vacation

Not too heavy (content-wise); needs to be light enough to read on a beach

Characters that draw you in

A plot that grips you

Romance

Intense action

...And the list goes on and on.

Bonus points for reading a book that's set on a beach...on a beach. The perfect summer read is so varied from person to person that the most important criteria is to pick up a book that interests you. I look forward to hearing about what you loved as we talk books over the counter.

—Becca

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

Reading List Game

I was tagged by @thelettersfromnoone. Thanks for the tag, friend!❤️ So here we go.

What are your recent, current, and future reads?

Recent:

Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan (reread) + the graphic novel version which I had not read before

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Once Upon a December by Amy E. Reichert

Game of Thrones by George RR Martin

The Ex-Mas Holidays by Zoe Allison

The Professor's Secret by mrspeetamellark

Have Your Cake and Eat It Too by c-r-roberts (reread)

Forbidden Love by mega-aulover

A Blind Date with Santa by MTK4FUN

Current:

The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton

The Islands by Dionne Irving

When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through edited by Joy Harjo

The Chance You Didn't Take by ronja

Enthralled by damndonnergirls

THG Season of Hope 2023 entries by various

Future:

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Clash of Kings by George RR Martin

Becoming by Michelle Obama

The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan (reread) and the graphic novel version which, as with SoM, I haven't yet read

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Be That Way by Hope Larson

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen because I have somehow never read this one???? I swore I'd read all of hers but apparently not???? #Travesty #For SHAME kdnfb

A House United by shesasurvivor

The Firebird by merciki

Behind Blue Eyes by maxwellandlovelace

The Odds by mollywog

EDIT I CANNOT BELIEVE I FORGOT THIS ONE! MORE FOR SHAME ON KDNFB.... ahem Hunger Games par Suzanne Collins (l'édition française)

The first three of the future fanfictions on my list are all ones that I've started reading and then, for one reason or another that has nothing to do with the stories or writers themselves, I got pulled away from finishing them. So I am determined. They're getting read this year.

Tagging to play if you want to! : @pookieh, @awhiskeyriver, @bellairestrella, @distractionsfromthefood, @pitualba2015, @mega-aulover, @jroseley and anyone else who would like to play!