The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress Series: Stand Alone
Published by Dial on December 6th, 2012
Genres: Steampunk, YA
Goodreads
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.
This was me at Barnes and Noble the day I picked up “The Friday Society”:
Ohh what a pretty cover, but that’s not what I came here for (leaves YA section). Hmm I love this place. I wonder what radio station this is? Ohh pretty calendar. Look it’s that pretty cover again… Wait. How did I get back to the YA section? *Leaves YA section again* Ommm Starbucks…but I don’t drink coffee…BUT they do have cookies (makes a thinking face). Ohh the YA section!
I wish I was exaggerating a bit but honestly this is what my brain does all the time. And do you want to know the kicker? I completely forgot what I was supposed to be picking up! But that’s neither here nor there. You came here to read a review on The Friday Society or I have you chained to a chair and am forcing you to read this and a review is what you shall receive. 🙂
First let me just get out the few things that seriously got under my skin. Like:
- The multiple POV’s
I can usually get through a story that has two points of views fairly easy, but The Friday Society had three points of view and one of them couldn’t even speak English! Don’t get me wrong it was written very well and there were no grammatical errors, but I personally had a hard time staying tuned into the book.
- The pace
This book is 437 pages long. About 150 of those pages were completely and utterly unnecessary to me. I know you have to build up a foundation when it comes to writing but I just felt like there was too much story and not enough of the action I craved.
- Callum
I will not get into the character that was Callum since he is not exactly a main character but I hated his freaking guts. With every fiber of my being I HATED him.
Now that I have aired out my dislikes lets get to the stuff I loved. Such as:
- The characters (yelps in excitement)
I loved everything there was to Cora, Nellie, and Michiko. It was like 3 pieces to a puzzle coming together to give you the perfect heroine.
Cora was calculating and freaking brilliant. She designed and created a pair of night vision goggles at 16 for heaven’s sakes! How can she not be awesome?!!
Nellie was a underestimated sweetheart that can find a way out of any and every situation. I can’t and won’t go into the stuff she gets out of but heaven knows I envy this girl.
Michiko was the fighter of the group, not that all the girls couldn’t stand up for themselves, it’s just that Michiko could have killed you before you even notice she was there with her samurai ninja style. Even though she only knew a handful of English I really did love her dedication and adaptability.
- The writing
I know your accusing me of being wishy washy but I promise I’m not! The 3 POV’s aggravated me but the way Kress wrote the book in general was stunning. There was so much detail, and even though I’m not a fan of the multiple POV’s you could tell that each character was their own person, so I was never confused on whose head I was in.
- The story
Even though it drags a bit I loved the mystery of everything. Typically, I don’t have the attention span necessary to sit through a whole mystery novel, but I just felt like wherever my girls went there was something exciting happening. From decapitated doctors, to sword fighting mysteries in the fog, to “disappearing” acts, to steamy and unexpected kisses. If it wasn’t for the occasional lags throughout the book it would have been an easy 5 star read. I really did like it and I can’t express how happy I am that I stumbled upon it that day. I do wish I could remember what I originally went into the store for though. It’s so frustrating having something right there, but not being able to grab it. And I’m off track again aren’t I?
The point is The Friday Society had me huffing and puffing at every single person who decided to walk in my office while I was reading it. I seriously just wanted to send out a property wide memo that said:
Octavia is reading today. While I understand this is a foreign concept to many of you, respect and understand that Octavia is not here to work.
p.s. Octavia is also the most awesomest person you will ever know…she is so great we are going to send out a second memo just to elaborate.
That is all.
