Scan barcode
llyrrhiannon's review against another edition
3.0
2/3 stars. This is labelled as a YA book, but it reads like middle school fiction. I agree with the other reviewers, this could've been great fun about a daring young woman, but it fell a bit flat with everything and the kitchen sink thrown in as well as a rushed conclusion that sets itself up for a sequel.
evaserrate's review against another edition
3.0
This is probably a 2.5, if I'm being really honest, but the premise was so, so good that I'm going to leave it at a 3. Also, that cover.
I recommend it as light steampunk adventure, but with a little hesitation. While I enjoyed the book, the pacing was off and everyone was "fine" without causing me to fall in love with them. Some of the motivations and interactions were a bit convoluted, with stakes being raised in extreme ways with little to no warning. Instead of cutting betrayals, true love, and heartbreak, I never found myself invested in who Rosalind was interacting with for different reasons. There isn't a lot of tension built, and it read much more middle grade than teen, despite everyone's ages and some of the behavior. The idea is glorious, Rosalind is adequate, but the execution just leaves me disappointed instead of excited.
I received a digital copy of this book through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I recommend it as light steampunk adventure, but with a little hesitation. While I enjoyed the book, the pacing was off and everyone was "fine" without causing me to fall in love with them. Some of the motivations and interactions were a bit convoluted, with stakes being raised in extreme ways with little to no warning. Instead of cutting betrayals, true love, and heartbreak, I never found myself invested in who Rosalind was interacting with for different reasons. There isn't a lot of tension built, and it read much more middle grade than teen, despite everyone's ages and some of the behavior. The idea is glorious, Rosalind is adequate, but the execution just leaves me disappointed instead of excited.
I received a digital copy of this book through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
dewbird77's review against another edition
3.0
I am not easy to please when it comes to books. I generally give my books 4 or 5 stars, so with a three star rating, it means I think this book missed the mark.
Written for a young adult audience, the writing seemed to better serve an even younger audience minus the death scenes. The idea of the story seemed interesting, but then once the drama unfolded, it was convoluted and boring. The characters needed more depth.
Written for a young adult audience, the writing seemed to better serve an even younger audience minus the death scenes. The idea of the story seemed interesting, but then once the drama unfolded, it was convoluted and boring. The characters needed more depth.
nic_renee3's review against another edition
2.0
A lot of telling rather than showing with minimal plausibility here. The pacing is off and although a culprit is pinned, there is no backstory as to how their actions could have been pulled off. The illustrations are few are far between and don't add anything to the story.
emilygaynier's review against another edition
1.0
This book was very poorly written and executed. The concept was interesting, but the book's description made it sound like a mystery, which it was no where near. The story was kind of thrown at you instead of the world building around you.
Cecily was killed for a reason that doesn't fit her and the reason for Charles's disappearance only slightly made more sense. All of the girls were very two dimensional even though the author did his best to make them seem interesting. Instead of little hints and clues foreshadowing to the events during the book's climax, Rosalind just kind of wonders around until someone shows up to tell her what's happening.
I enjoyed the illustrations
Cecily was killed for a reason that doesn't fit her and the reason for Charles's disappearance only slightly made more sense. All of the girls were very two dimensional even though the author did his best to make them seem interesting. Instead of little hints and clues foreshadowing to the events during the book's climax, Rosalind just kind of wonders around until someone shows up to tell her what's happening.
I enjoyed the illustrations
shhchar's review against another edition
3.0
Very cute book with more substance than other GR reviews give it credit for. However: 1) the antagonistic character of the father was difficult to believe as he lacked presence in the book and 2) the ending seems more like a set-up for a series that didn't take off than a satisfactory note to end on. It definitely could have benefited from more pages!
zoetic's review against another edition
mysterious
5.0
The Translantic Conspiracy is a YA steampunk novella and a very quick read with a mystery subplot. I found the writing style agreeable, and it worked well for me. I found the main character [ Rosalind~ ] to be likable and easy to read for. The first half of The Translantic Conspiracy was establishing the distinctive characters and world building [ established the society and picturesque settings ], and during this first half, the plot was very slow. The aspect of how this bookish society was structured didn't work for me.* The last half of the novella had a faster moving plot with twists and reveals. The ending of The Translantic Conspiracy was open-ended.
I enjoyed the artwork for the chapter pages and the character artwork dispersed throughout the novella.
Overall, I enjoyed my reading experience, and I would recommend it to other YA readers who enjoy steampunk novellas with strong characters and a mystery plotline.
~ Rosalind is a proud suffragist and loathes distinction between the social classes.
* The society within this bookish universe, it is considered unladylike, impolite society, an oddity, and a curiosity, for any not male persons to have jobs and/or interests that are considered for only males.
[ Curious: Why put a squid on the book cover when there's no distinctive squid in the story? ]
I enjoyed the artwork for the chapter pages and the character artwork dispersed throughout the novella.
Overall, I enjoyed my reading experience, and I would recommend it to other YA readers who enjoy steampunk novellas with strong characters and a mystery plotline.
~ Rosalind is a proud suffragist and loathes distinction between the social classes.
* The society within this bookish universe, it is considered unladylike, impolite society, an oddity, and a curiosity, for any not male persons to have jobs and/or interests that are considered for only males.
[ Curious: Why put a squid on the book cover when there's no distinctive squid in the story? ]
rkiladitis's review against another edition
3.0
It's 1908, and 17 year-old Rosalind Wallace, daughter of a self-made millionaire industrialist, is vacationing in England, spending time with her best friend, Cecily de Vere. Cecily's family is high-society, old moneyed England, and treats Rosalind as more of a curiosity, even referring to her as "my peasant". Where Cecily eschews intellectual pursuits and seeks a full dance card during party season, Rosalind is more adventurous; her father has used her to promote his inventions for years, and she's quite brilliant. When her father calls for her to return back to the States by way of his newest venture, the Transatlantic Express - an underwater railway - Cecily and her handsome brother, Charles, offer to journey with Rosalind.
The problems begin almost immediately, when Charles goes missing while boarding the train; things take a turn for the worst when Cecily and her maid are discovered murdered in their room. Rosalind tries to deal with her grief while proving her innocence and conducting her own investigation into her friend's murder.
There is so much rich material to draw on in The Transatlantic Conspiracy, but it never fully realized its potential. It's promoted as a YA novel, but reads more like a middle grade book; the black and white illustrations throughout the book add to this overall look and feel. The characters are stiff, with little development; there are some interesting concepts glanced over, but we don't get much in the way of development. The detective on the train is one-dimensional but borders on being so much more. Cecily is victimized by her lack of development; all we get is a vapid party girl who, it turns out, is more than she seems, but gets killed off so early on, that I guess we'll eventually find out about her, posthumously, in subsequent adventures.
I was hoping for more from The Transatlantic Conspiracy. It may be a good introduction to readers who aren't typical steampunk readers, but fans of the genre may be let down. I'm going to test this one out with the kids in my library and see how it goes; I'll report back.
The problems begin almost immediately, when Charles goes missing while boarding the train; things take a turn for the worst when Cecily and her maid are discovered murdered in their room. Rosalind tries to deal with her grief while proving her innocence and conducting her own investigation into her friend's murder.
There is so much rich material to draw on in The Transatlantic Conspiracy, but it never fully realized its potential. It's promoted as a YA novel, but reads more like a middle grade book; the black and white illustrations throughout the book add to this overall look and feel. The characters are stiff, with little development; there are some interesting concepts glanced over, but we don't get much in the way of development. The detective on the train is one-dimensional but borders on being so much more. Cecily is victimized by her lack of development; all we get is a vapid party girl who, it turns out, is more than she seems, but gets killed off so early on, that I guess we'll eventually find out about her, posthumously, in subsequent adventures.
I was hoping for more from The Transatlantic Conspiracy. It may be a good introduction to readers who aren't typical steampunk readers, but fans of the genre may be let down. I'm going to test this one out with the kids in my library and see how it goes; I'll report back.
neveth's review against another edition
3.0
It took a long time for anything to happen, and nearly halfway through the book before the "mystery" portion of things really kicked off. The world seems interesting, but not enough to keep me engaged, alas.