Hoop Skirts and Big Hats—A Minor Setback
Back in the day circa the mid-1880s, women’s fashion sucked. Ribbons, ruffles, and lace adorned everything. Bodices, bustles, corsets, and heavy petticoats were mini torture chambers that kept everything in place or squeezed it until it got there. Who ever thought that was a good idea? Certainly, not the women who had to wear that fashion.
The books I’m reviewing were set in that period. The authors show how the dresses were an inconvenience to the protagonists, but not even a corset can hold back a couple of kickass women from doing things their way.
Edinburgh in Hoops
The Poisoner’s Ring by Kelley Armstrong is book 2 in the Rip Through Time novels. In the first book, modern day homicide detective thirty-year-old Mallory Atkinson wound up in 1869 Scotland—in a sixteen-year-old housemaid’s body—specifically, one nasty, thieving Catriona Mitchell.
Fast forward to this book (because you really need to read book 1), Mallory has become an assistant for her employer, Mr. Gray, the resident undertaker and part time medical examiner. Once before, she helped him solve a murder, so when men start dropping dead, he enlists her help and knowledge (as a detective not a chamber pot scrubber) to solve this rash of crimes.
With the ridiculously uncomfortable clothing, overwhelming chores, and low regard men had for women during that era, it is no wonder that a few dabbled in poisoning their hubbies from time to time. However, wrong is wrong, and the murderer must be found.
I enjoyed this book as much as book 1. Mallory is getting used to being in the 1800s and is learning how to maneuver better around the people in that time and the restricting attire. She and Gray have more chemistry brewing than the poisonous plants in his sister’s lab.
Funny, Unique, Pirates, and Witches—What More Could You Want?
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels (Dangerous Damsels Book 1) by India Holton is a lot of fun. Houses are used like flying cars by the pirates and witches. A special incantation sets them in motion. Neither the pirates or the witches get along, and the members in each group aren’t civil either. They frequently plot to steal or murder from each other. There are plot twists galore, and this novel is unique by combining it all. The one-liners had me laughing out loud. Literally.
The main characters are complicated and likeable. Cecilia Bassingthwaite, a proper lady, thief, and excellent in weaponry and is able to stash a lot of it in her puffy dress. She’s seeking a promotion in the Wisteria Society and is plotting to kill her father who murdered her mother. Then there’s Ned, the pirate. Or is it Captain Lighbourne? Or possibly Signor De Luca? He goes by many names, but he’s suave and cunning. He’s contracted to kill Cecilia—or protect her—it depends on who is asked.
Ned is hired by many people to counteract everybody’s plots. He quips to Cecilia, “Obviously, Morvath doesn’t trust me at all.” Cecilia’s quick reply is “Does anyone?” The answer is no. Even when he’s being honest, it doesn’t come off as sincere.
One of Ned’s employers confronts him when he brings Cecilia along to her house. “You told me to bring you her (Cecilia’s) finger,” Ned reminds the woman. She replies to him, “Yes, but not attached to the rest of her person.” There is a scene where Ned searches for Cecilia’s aunt’s key—on her person. It is priceless.
It’s a fun story with well-written and not overly done romance. I would (and have) recommended the book, and I am reading the second one in the series.
