Review: ‘A Lady Can Never Be Too Curious’ by Mary Wine

I was looking through the many e-books that I bought and then forgot to read and spotted A Lady Can Never Be Too Curious by Mary Wine. It looked like a fun and easy read, so I gave it a shot and of course, now I’m hooked on the series. 😛

Synopsis: Jeanette has always been fascinated by the Illumanists, a group of highly educated men and women who are shunned by society for their forward thinking attitudes. Unable to contain her curiosity anymore, she infiltrates one of their scientific gatherings in hopes of learning more about the amazing advances in technology they discuss. Little did she know that her quick foray into their world would change her life completely, or that she would be quite so flustered by the handsome man who is ready to throw her out the front door.

This book, and the one that follows, are a fun mixture of steampunk, fantasy, and sexy romance that will get your pulse racing and keep you flipping pages long into the night. I had a lot of fun reading these and I’m extremely upset that there is a story line that may never be finished. As far as I can tell, the author gave up on the series because she’s been working on a bunch of other stuff since and left us with two characters who have been captured by the enemy! I’m almost tempted to write to her and ask what the heck happened, because I can’t believe she’s been built this relationship up for two books and then just dropped the ball.

The great part about this series (and really, most steampunk in general) is the feminism. Anyone can be an Illumanist as long as they pass the entrance exam and pledge their devotion to the order. Men and women are treated as equals, women can wear whatever they like, taking a lover is accepted and encouraged, and marriage only happens when couples truly love each other. I always get a bit of a thrill when the curious young lady decides to cast off societal constraints and begins to take on the world, so steampunk novels are always a guilty pleasure for me.

Overall, the writing was okay, but there were definitely a few scenes that felt repetitious between the two books. Of course, many people don’t binge read series like I do, so they might not see the similarities. Most of the action and plot lines were very well thought out, but during the steamier scenes I noticed it felt a little formulaic. I wonder if her other romance novels have the same types of scenes and if this is just her favourite sexy fantasy? And now I’m wondering if I’m spending too much time wondering about the author’s sex life…? lol

LC rating: (fun series, needs an ending!)