I received this e-Arc from NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: May 19, 2015
It’s 1814. Napoleon has been 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 expectations are banished to Strange House to be reformed into marriageable young ladies. At least that’s the impression their parents are under. In truth, Headmistress Emma Stranje, the original unusual girl, has plans for the young ladies – plans that will entangle the girls in a dangerous world of spies, diplomacy, and war.
After accidentally setting her father’s stables on fire while attempting a scientific experiment, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to Stranje House by her unforgiving parents. 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. Forced 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.
I really enjoy alternative history novels, so I was quite intrigued by the first book in this new series. While there’s a few similarities with other books in this genre, A School For Unusual Girls stands very much on it’s own. Kathleen Baldwin does a wonderful job capturing the feel of the Regency period and its structured social norms. Georgie is an appealing character who is extremely smart and chafes at the restrictions that have been placed upon her. Even though she knows her life would be much easier if she just acquiesced to her parents wishes, she stays true to herself and her ideals. Once ensconced at Stranje House, Georgie finds herself among four other girls whose various talents can be of use to the Crown. Because of the ongoing efforts of Napoleon’s supporters, it’s Georgie’s experiments in creating an invisible ink that have drawn the most interest. While they don’t quite hit it off in the beginning, because of their working closely together Sebastian and Georgie slowly fall in love. While I liked the two of them, I found their romance to be the weakest part of the story. It seemed to be almost forced and it definitely was predictable. It was reminiscent of Elizabeth and Darcy’s from Pride and Prejudice. Usually I can’t wait for two romantic leads to find each other, but in this case I was rather ambivalent. I honestly think that this is one of those YA books that would have been fine without a romance. I loved the entire cast of characters including Emma Stranje. They all have backstories which are hinted at and I hope that even more will be revealed in the next book. While Georgie is obviously the heroine of the story, she wouldn’t be able to accomplish what she does without the others. The author does a great job at ratcheting up the tension and when the end came it was exciting and satisfying. This is the first book in a new series so it’ll be interesting to see how all the characters develop. If you like the work of Libba Bray, and Gail Carriger then I recommend you try this.
By Hook Or By Book 
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