In Pursuit of Civility is Jen Turano’s second book of the Merriweather Academy for Young Ladies series. It is a piece of historical fiction set during the Gilded Age. It makes the most sense to the read the first book in the series as there are many references to events of the past. If you are expecting a nice proper romance sort of book, then you have picked the wrong story and the wrong author.

If you are a person who enjoys serious, everything makes sense and is in its proper place stories, this will not satisfy you. Jen Turano finds joy in inserting unconventional characters into very conventional society and seeing where the shock factor will take the plot. The characters are sometimes quite clueless, but always entertaining. Every one of them has a tale to tell and nearly all of them have unique personality traits making them just a little off from societal norms.

The book is full of action, unexpected adventure, and a good bit of romance. It is interesting how the animals in the book also take on their own personalities. Sometimes proper romances benefit from just a bit of impropriety. There is always something unexpected on the next page.

Review of a Digital Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by the Publisher

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:   A bird uses a mild French curse word rather frequently.

Violence/Gore: Characters are locked up so a person can steal from them; a man grabs a young lady and holds her at knife point; a person uses grenade-like weapons to escape another; characters point guns at one another and sometimes fire the weapons; references are made to past abductions; a young lady is held captive by a man; report of a ship’s crew staging a mutiny; report of a person killing another.

Sex/Nudity: Characters kiss and embrace.

Mature Subject Matter:

Death of a parent, thievery.

Drug/Alcohol Use:

Characters pour alcohol on themselves, one person attempts to drink it; reference to characters consuming alcohol.