"Deliciously Enticing Start of a New Series"
A School for Unusual Girls
By: Kathleen Baldwin
Genres: Young Adult Historical | Young Adult Paranormal | Fantasy
Posted: May 5, 2015
I loved this book. Within a few pages I felt the same sense of adventure I felt when reading Pippi Longstocking and Andre Norton's Witch world novels as a pre-teen, that breathless eagerness to turn the page, the sense of connection with a character who is not what people wish to see but more, not less. Although likely intended for Young Adults the complexity of the alternate history Baldwin has created combined with the subtle clues to the well-thought-out back stories of the supporting characters made this a terrific read for adults as well.
A SCHOOL FOR UNUSUAL GIRLS is a deliciously enticing start of a new series by Kathleen Baldwin, in a genre perhaps a combination of her Regency romps and fantasy Young Adult books but with a unique flavor. Although a great deal of the setting is historically factual (set just after the first Napoleonic conflicts) there are a few twists that promise some intriguing paths to follow in future books. I can hardly wait!
Book Summary
A School for Unusual Girls is the first captivating installment in the Stranje House series for young adults by award-winning author Kathleen Baldwin. #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot calls this romantic Regency adventure "completely original and totally engrossing."
It's 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England's dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don't fit high society's constrictive mold are banished to Stranje House to be reformed into marriageable young ladies. Or so their parents think. In truth, Headmistress Emma Stranje, the original unusual girl, has plans for the young ladies—plans that entangle the girls in the dangerous world of spies, diplomacy, and war.
After accidentally setting her father's stables on fire while performing a scientific experiment, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to Stranje House. But Georgie has no intention of being turned into a simpering, pudding- headed, marriageable miss. She plans to escape as soon as possible—until she meets Lord Sebastian Wyatt. Thrust together in a desperate mission to invent a new invisible ink for the English war effort, Georgie and Sebastian must find a way to work together without losing their heads—or their hearts….
A School for Unusual Girls is a great next read for fans of Gail Carriger's Finishing School series and Robin LaFevers' His Fair Assassin series.
Read an Excerpt
by: Kathleen Baldwin
Tor
May 1, 2015
On Sale: May 15, 2015
Featuring: Georgiana Fitzwilliam; Emma Stranje
353 pages
ISBN: 0765376008
EAN: 9780765376008
Kindle: B00OXHDPS0
Hardcover / e-Book