Author: Adriene Kress
Format Acquired: Hardcover
Publication Date: December 6 2012
Publishing House: Dial
ISBN: 9780803737617
Source of Copy: Purchased from Fully Booked
Summary:
An action packed tale of gowns, guys, guns and the heroines who use them all.
The Friday Society follows the stories of three intelligent and talented young women who work as assistants to powerful men: Cora, lab assistant; Michiko, combat instruction assistant; and Nellie, Magician's assistant. Their lives become inexorably intertwined after a chance meeting at a ball ends with the discovery of a murdered mystery man. It's up to these three, in their own charming but bold way, to solve the murder - and the crimes they believe may be connected to it - without calling too much attention to themselves. Of course, blending in has never been these ladies' strong suit, especially with so many eligible men around.
Told with Adrienne Kress' sharp wit and a great deal of irreverence, this Steampunk mystery introduces three unforgettable and very ladylike - well, relatively ladylike - heroines poised for more dangerous activities.
Review:
Three young women who cross paths at a ball are inevitably tied to each other when they discover the body of a dead man. There's Cora who's a lab assistant to Lord White, Michiko who's a combat instruction assistant to Sir Callum and Nellie who's a magician's assistant to The Great Raheem. These three girls take it upon themselves to figure out how the man was murdered while at the same time unravel a great conspiracy that could destroy all of London all the while dealing with their employers and looking absolutely fabulous.
One problem with writing a story in the points of view of three characters is the challenge of giving all of them a distinct voice and personality. Kress managed to pull it off well enough giving readers three smart, witty young ladies with looks to match. Cora is pragmatic and down to earth, Nellie is slightly more outgoing and whimsical and Michiko is serious and a stranger to the country she now lives in. One thing they did have in common was that they were a tad bit cheeky and sassy.
Source of Copy: Purchased from Fully Booked
Summary:
An action packed tale of gowns, guys, guns and the heroines who use them all.
The Friday Society follows the stories of three intelligent and talented young women who work as assistants to powerful men: Cora, lab assistant; Michiko, combat instruction assistant; and Nellie, Magician's assistant. Their lives become inexorably intertwined after a chance meeting at a ball ends with the discovery of a murdered mystery man. It's up to these three, in their own charming but bold way, to solve the murder - and the crimes they believe may be connected to it - without calling too much attention to themselves. Of course, blending in has never been these ladies' strong suit, especially with so many eligible men around.
Told with Adrienne Kress' sharp wit and a great deal of irreverence, this Steampunk mystery introduces three unforgettable and very ladylike - well, relatively ladylike - heroines poised for more dangerous activities.
Review:
Three young women who cross paths at a ball are inevitably tied to each other when they discover the body of a dead man. There's Cora who's a lab assistant to Lord White, Michiko who's a combat instruction assistant to Sir Callum and Nellie who's a magician's assistant to The Great Raheem. These three girls take it upon themselves to figure out how the man was murdered while at the same time unravel a great conspiracy that could destroy all of London all the while dealing with their employers and looking absolutely fabulous.
One problem with writing a story in the points of view of three characters is the challenge of giving all of them a distinct voice and personality. Kress managed to pull it off well enough giving readers three smart, witty young ladies with looks to match. Cora is pragmatic and down to earth, Nellie is slightly more outgoing and whimsical and Michiko is serious and a stranger to the country she now lives in. One thing they did have in common was that they were a tad bit cheeky and sassy.
I expected this story to be a murder-mystery and while it did have mystery and a few murders here and there and maybe a chauvinistic not-so-secret society it wasn't. Not exactly. It was entertaining enough but The Friday Society seemed to focus more on the girls instead of the story. I suppose that was a problem because while I got to glimpse into the lives of our three protagonists, the story took a slight backseat to it all. Another problem I had was that this book is touted as Steampunk and while that much is evident in Cora's experiments I didn't get much of a steampunk vibe from the book. It was more historical with hints of that genre.
Here's another thing I was waiting for: a whole lot of suspense and strange clues that make little sense until they culminate in one final, epic tell-all and end-all. And yes, there were clues and there were things that made no sense but I couldn't exactly grasp how they were connected to the ending. I didn't expect that to happen and while unpredictability is fun and all, I still expect it to make sense. I want to have that Aha! moment and connect the dots but there was none of that and it was a tad bit anticlimatic.
Nonetheless, The Friday Society is an entertaining read told in the voices of three bold and brash young women. Readers who fancy a light, read or want to check out the steampunk genre then yes, don't be afraid to pick this one up. The girls antics will surely entertain.
Rating:
"Novel Nails" is a feature of the blog that showcases nail art inspired by books and their covers. Nail art will be created by either Michelle or Nicole and will be featured alongside their reviews.
I'm on a roll here! Here's the nail art I did inspired by The Friday Society. I've always wanted to do steampunk nails and I thought this would be the perfect time to try it out. I made two different designs for my left and right hand as seen below. The nail polish I used are as follows.
Gears/gray stripes: Deborah Lippman Stormy Weather
Base/gold-green stripes: OPI Just Spotted the Lizard
LEFT
I made some stripes with striping tape.
I'm on a roll here! Here's the nail art I did inspired by The Friday Society. I've always wanted to do steampunk nails and I thought this would be the perfect time to try it out. I made two different designs for my left and right hand as seen below. The nail polish I used are as follows.
Gears/gray stripes: Deborah Lippman Stormy Weather
Base/gold-green stripes: OPI Just Spotted the Lizard
LEFT
I drew gears on my nails using Stormy Weather.
They match!
RIGHT
They match too!
That's it folks. I hope you liked my nails. For past book-ish nail art and other works (I've got a free-hand Pegasus I'm pretty proud of) just search nicolereadsbooks on Instagram.
I remember loving the cover for this even though I hate covers with faces in general. I've read great reviews and not-so-great ones and I think I'll pass on this one. I've read Adrienne Kress' Outcast and it wasn't a strong outing for me so this, while on my list of maybe-read-in-the-future, isn't on top. Thanks for the thorough review and the SUPER PRETTY nails, Nicole!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't supposed to get this in the first place but it sounded interesting so...I did. :> If ever you do get around to reading it, I hope you enjoy. Thanks Dianne! More Novel Nails features to come! :>
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