Steampunk romp. Fun, fluffy, and rather silly. Pacing was inconsistent; very slow moving at first, then slam-bam super-hero improbably ending. Tone was far too modern for the era. ( )

This is a really fun read. The three main characters are so wonderful, they make the story incredibly satisfying. My only tiny gripe is that the language occasionally pulled me out of the story. There's some contemporary language that just felt out of place. One character speaks slightly in dialect and another speaks English as a second language which she's still learning, so with their speech feeling somewhat authentic it was just weird when overly contemporary phrasing popped up. Seriously a great quick adventure type read though, even with that. And! It features a very cute date, which I am partial to since I have been on a similar very cute date. ( )

Some of my problems with this book stem, I think, from the fact that it's for a younger audience than I generally think of as "YA" - I'd put this for twelve-or-younger - and therefore some of my dissatisfaction with bite in plot and historical accuracy might be hand-waved on the grounds of "making it easier".

But y'know what? Nuts to that. There's no reason why an eleven-year-old can't understand more Victorian-appropriate descriptors of a young lady than "totally hot", and there's definitely no reason why said child can't have their vocabulary and understand expanded by using more complex language than "freaking me out". The modern phrasing adds to the "wheee, fun!" aspect of this book, but every single time I encountered one, I pulled a face (leading to my husband asking if I was sitting on a prickle).

I don't mind the slightly ridiculous playtime-makebelieve aspect to the girls' adventures, or the lack of blood and viciousness. I do slightly lament the lack of hard decisions, and living with the consequences, because easy is just a bit boring, frankly. And I enjoyed the variety of relationships that the girls had with the array of men in their lives, though some of them were dealt with rather too simplistically (there's that length and complexity thing again).

And the finale was very lacking in actual descriptive detail. I mean, yes, of course they manage it, they're the heroes, but, er... maybe just showing us how a little bit? At all? ( )

This book, despite being quite thick, was a very quick read. Quick, easy, fun... very nice. There was this whole mystery thing going on and a couple of cute romances, and this book... it was very good. Very cute.

And, best of all, it was a standalone. ( )

Fantastic Fun! The Friday Society begins with a bang! Literally. Adrienne Kress introduces us to her colorful band of misfit ladies in a unique and refreshing way. Each from different walks of life are brought together through happenstance, misfortune, misadventure and a series of murders. The threads of their lives have been woven and entwined by Fate forcing them together. Eventually they begin to form a bond and a league of extraordinary women (costumes and all).

Corsettes, magicians, mystery, men and three unlikely heroines create a colorful, exciting adventure. Although the story line has a few unexpected twists, overall it isn't the most complex head scratcher didn't-see-that-coming plots. However, it was consistently fun and well worth a read or listen! This is one I will re-read. It is a light-hearted, fun adventure with strong young ladies building each other up; reconizing each other's differences as a strength that compliments their individual weaknesses. A lesson girls of today's society are failing at.

Bring on more Friday Society adventures. ( )