Review: The Friday Society

The Friday Society, by Adrienne Kress. The GoodReads summary:

Set in turn of the century London, The Friday Society follows the stories of three very intelligent and talented young women, all of whom are assistants to powerful men: Cora, lab assistant; Michiko, Japanese fight assistant; and Nellie, magician's assistant. The three young women's lives become inexorably intertwined after a chance meeting at a ball that 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.

Set in the past but with a modern irreverent flare, this Steampunk whodunit introduces three unforgettable and very ladylike–well, relatively ladylike–heroines poised for more dangerous adventures.

Fun. That’s how I’d describe this book. A whole lot of adventurous, girl-power fun. It’s not unlike Charlie’s Angels, if Charlie’s Angels happened to take place in a steampunk Victorian England. But this book one-ups even the Angels, since the Friday Society girls handle their own mystery solving rather than relying on a man to give them directions. And that’s kinda the point of this book—the three girls, who are assistants to famous men in their day-to-day lives, don’t need men to make their plans, solve problems, and kick butt when it comes to their crime fighting. The blurb on the cover flap pretty much says it all: “An action-packed tale of gowns, guys, guns and the heroines who use them all.”

Cora, Nellie, and Michiko are pure awesomeness. They each have their own set of talents that come together to make them an unstoppable team—Cora and her problem solving, Nellie and her ability to get out of tricky situations, and Michiko and her fighting. And what I love most about them is that they never really doubt their own worth and skills. Despite living in a society where women are second-class citizens, these three girls know they’re intelligent and don’t let others convince them otherwise. Not a group of shrinking violets, these three. Just take a look at the cover art. At first, I wasn’t that fond of the cover, but after reading the book, I think it captures the girls and their attitude perfectly.

The only thing that semi-annoyed me about the book was the writing style. This is probably just me being nitpicky, but the writing came off as a little too informal. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy writing that’s more casual, and I do think a casual style fits this book—it’s just that I think the book took that style a little too far sometimes. Occasionally, I felt like I was trapped in the movie Clueless or something, and things that would sound normal if they were spoken didn’t always come across with the same fluidity when they were written down.

Overall, a light, adventurous mystery filled with awesome girls kicking butt. I’m definitely interested in finding out what these three get up to next.

Rating: 3.5 / 5