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All Men of Genius
All Men of Genius
All Men of Genius
Audiobook16 hours

All Men of Genius

Written by Lev AC Rosen

Narrated by Emily Gray

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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About this audiobook

Set in a steampunk version of Victorian England, Lev AC Rosen's acclaimed debut novel All Men of Genius follows the fantastical adventures of Violet Adams. Determined to attend the prestigious Illyria College, Violet gains entrance by masquerading as her twin brother Ashton. But continuing the scheme turns out to be difficult-especially when "Ashton" is faced with blackmail, killer automata, and possible romance with a young duke.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 1, 2012
ISBN9781464045684
Author

Lev AC Rosen

Lev AC Rosen writes books for people of all ages, including the Evander Mills series, which began with the Macavity Award winning Lavender House, and continues with The Bell in the Fog. His most recent young adult novels are Emmett, Lion’s Legacy, and Camp. Rosen’s books have been nominated for Anthony and Lambda Awards and have been selected for Best of lists from The Today Show, Amazon, Library Journal, Buzzfeed, Autostraddle, Forbes, and many others. He lives in NYC with his husband and a very small cat. You can find him online at LevACRosen.com and @LevACRosen

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Rating: 3.6500000622222224 out of 5 stars
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  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Viola Adams has a gift for invention, and the best way to hone her skills is by attending the prestigious Illyria College. Illyria only accepts male students, so of course she masquerades as a boy to attend. While there, she runs into wacky professors, sinister clockwork automatons, and the far-too-sexy-for-her-good Duke. While she and the Duke battle their attraction for each other (he assuming she's a boy, she wanting to focus on her inventions), the Duke's ward Cecily falls in love with Viola. Meanwhile, one of Viola's fellow students plans to take over the world!

    It's a bit like Twelfth Night mixed up in a blender with the Importance of Being Ernest, except without the transversive sexual tension of the first or the humor of either. The world building is odd--I could never tell exactly when it was supposed to take place. Judging from Ada Lovelace's age, it should be 1882, but it never felt like it, not even close. All historical details are kept very vague, which is frustrating to someone like me when reading an alternate history. I want to know exactly what's alternate about it! The steampunk feels pasted on, and it works like magic, not science. For someone supposedly obsessed with mechanical devices, Viola certainly thinks about them very little. She doesn't seem to learn a thing at Illyria, either--she spends all her days working on her own project, without needing professors' help, and her nights drinking with friends. Why then go to such effort to attend the college? She's never challenged, never has to study hard or singe her fingers on a mis-wired fiddly bit. Her inventing feels like a set piece, or like a randomly assigned character trait.

    (One big point in this book's favor: it would have been very easy for Viola to be the Sole Exceptional Woman, but in fact she's surrounded by other women, from the girlish chemist Cecily to the sensible prostitute Fiona. There were, if anything, *too many* characters, but a good number of them were women.)

    The plot is silly, like the professors are silly, in this very consciously twee style that apes Lemony Snicket's without approaching his light touch. There's no narrative tension, and the pacing is soooo slooooow. I really, really wanted to like this book, but the construction was just too lightweight and slapdash. I'd love to read a silly book with gender play and marauding robots, but with characters that read more genuinely, and humor that actually works.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Seventeen year old Violet Adams’s greatest desire is to attend Illyria College, the premiere institution of science, but the college only admits men. She’s not about to let this stand in her way, though. She has a male twin brother, and their father is going away to America for a year, so she submits her application to the college in her brother’s name, cuts her hair, binds her breasts and takes some of her inventions to the interview at the school. Accepted as Ashton Adams, she packs her things and goes to college. She is a genius at mechanics, as her best friend Jack, who is also accepted, is a genius at life sciences. Set in an alternate Victorian era London, this steampunk coming of age tale has automatons, flying ferrets, calculating machines developed by Lady Ada Byron (who plays a part in the story), bronze mechanical rabbits that hop around, blackmail, romantic mix-ups, invisible cats, a rabbit who swears like a deck hand, and an evil plot that needs thwarting. What starts for Violet as just getting the education she wants while keeping her gender a secret turns into a battle for survival- perhaps survival of the world. It’s a good, exciting story. The characters are fun, although not terribly deep. Like so many first novels, it could have used better editing. It’s witty, romantic, suspenseful, imaginative and exciting, and definitely good enough to keep me up at night reading it
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a terrific book, combining Twelfth Night, The Importance of Being Earnest, with a dash of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and a hint of Harry Potter.

    When the novel started out I thought it was a young adult and a British boarding school invokes memories of Harry Potter but then as the plot evolved the writing seemed to transform to more adult almost a comedy of manners with a steampunk setting.

    I saw the action orientated finale coming a long way before it flowered. Once we knew Violet was making a "Gundam" and Violio an army of androids it seemed kind of obvious that she'd save the day but it in no way spoiled the fun of the story, and the all the interesting characters
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed this book! A steam punk Victorian story inspired by Twelfth Night and The Importance of Being Ernest--what's not to love? It also had a great cast of characters, all distinct and fun, from many different walks of life. Even the nasty ones had interesting back stories.

    Some of the science was a bit flaky--for whatever reason I can accept a steam punk London but not Lamarckism--but it was also fun. Watch out for Ernest the bunny.

    Overall, a fun and funny book.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    The sex in this book is adorable. It gets a little overwhelming, though, when you realize that no one -literally no one- is going to leave the book single, and I came out of the book feeling tepid because Violet's romance with the college director felt extremely inauthentic (and annoying), and there wasn't enough plot to make up for it. Many of the side relationships were charming, particularly Violet's brother's, but some of them led into what-the-fuckery territory. Guy learns how to treat girl like a person, and helps best rival, ergo he wins a place in her heart by default? Not really how that works.

    The world-building was also on the slight side; it felt as if all the bones were there, but in need of another revision or two or something to make it all tie in together into an accurate anatomical model. This is an intentionally fluffy bit of steam victoriana, so when I suddenly encountered grisly animal experimentation, it really jarred me out of the story.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    How did this book not end up on my radar until now? Seriously, how did I miss this? A book inspired by two of my favorite works of literature, Twelfth Night, my very favorite Shakespeare play, and The Importance of Being Earnest? On top of that, add some steampunky goodness, and you have a book that was obviously just made for me.

    Now, when I say inspired by those plays, I don't mean that All Men of Genius is a retelling. It's not. For the most part, Rosen uses those two plays for character names, some assistance with characterization, and the basic shenanigans of a crossdressing plot. There's a stronger correlation to Twelfth Night, obviously, but Rosen has very much created his own story and characters. If you are as much of a fan of these two works as I happen to be, you will probably giggle with delight at the way he weaves quotes and references to them together in brilliant ways. If you haven't read them, I see no reason why All Men of Genius cannot be greatly appreciated on its own merits; there should be no confusion for not having read his inspiration materials, though I do greatly recommend that you do so for your own well-being.

    Rosen has created a rather large cast of characters, and done so quite deftly. In some novels, an author attempts to trace a number of story lines and characters, with the end result that all of the characters feel rather flat. Rosen, on the other hand, has created a loveable group of genius misfits, giving depth even to those with smaller parts, like Mrs. Wilks, Violet and Ashton's housekeeper. I really appreciate authors that take the time to care even about more minor characters. There are a few instances where he would have been better off leaving some of the detail out, as with a few of the professors, since we track them for such a brief time and don't accomplish much of anything, but, for the most part, I approve wholeheartedly of how he constructed this.

    A handful of the characters are directly comparable to their counterparts in either Twelfth Night or The Importance of Being Earnest, while others come largely from Rosen's own brain or have been tweaked ever so delightfully. Cecily Worthington, for example, has the same sweet, naive spirit of the character of the same name in Wilde's play, as evidenced in her poor choice in a crush and her toy rabbit Shakespeare, which she still takes everywhere with her at sixteen. In All Men of Genius, she also happens to be a genius, rather than a bit of a ditz. Others who hearken strongly to their inspirations are Toby Belch, Miriam (Maria of Twelfth Night), and Malcolm Volio, although in most every case, perhaps with the exception of Volio, they have additional complexities.

    As with Cecily, Violet has much more intelligence than Viola, her counterpart in Twelfth Night. While she goes through the same ordeals, she has a much more powerful idea of what women are capable of, while also figuring out that she does want to be a woman, rather than wishing to have been born a man. Her transition throughout the novel had a lot of power to it, allowing her to truly feel that women really are just as powerful as men. Rosen did a good job navigating the dangerous waters of the gender divide. In some cases, as with Ernest Worthington and Jack Feste, Rosen has borrowed the name, but largely built the character from scratch. Whether the characters really served as references or not, I found that I greatly delighted in nearly every single one of them.

    Obviously, All Men of Genius is rather lengthy. Much as I enjoyed it, plowing through it did take some time. There's quite a lot of discussion of the various sciences, but kept at a reasonable level that even I, who have always been atrocious at science, could understand. For those who delight in steampunk, Rosen has created a swath of wonderful inventions. Personally, I would love to get my hands on Toby's hangover cure.

    My favorite aspects of the novel have to be some of the clever references that Rosen threw into the book. For example, in All Men of Genius, a big change from Twelfth Night is that Violet's brother is gay, whereas in Shakespeare's play he gets to hook up with the woman who falls for his sister disguised as a man. In Rosen's novel, Ashton falls instead for Antony, which every reader of Twelfth Night can probably admit would have been the ending were Shakespeare honest. Rosen also does something quite clever and hilarious with Bunburry. Seriously, if you love those plays, you MUST read this.

    As I conclude my review, I've just checked Goodreads to see if Rosen had any more books for me, and found that he doesn't have any other books out yet. He should get on that, because I want more. Witty literary references, well-drawn characters, and good writing to boot? This is my kind of author.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is an adorable book. I have very little patience for the girl-dresses-as-boy thing, and this doesn't entirely escape the inherent flaws thereof, but it's just so damned cute and queer and funny that I forgive it. (The queerness fixes one of my major objections, namely that the tension in that particular plot is usually derived from gay panic, which I find tedious in the extreme. That's not an issue here.)

    The writing is a little clunky - it kind of tries to be third-person omniscient and is mostly a headhopping mess, and just doesn't exactly sing, most of the time - and it takes a rather long time to find its comic rhythm, but the characters are charming, the setting is perfectly, harmlessly steampunk, and there's a recurring bit about a clockwork vibrator that just won me over completely.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Take Twelfth Night and The Importance of Being Earnest, throw in steampunk, and you get the basic essence of this book. I approached it expecting a droll comedy of manners and wasn't disappointed. High literature, it's not, but I still enjoyed it. I suppose were one looking for something a little deeper, and not being a fan of Victoriana, it would be quite easy to feel put out. As it was, I was put out enough by having broken my toe and not being able to do my usual activities, so curling carefully up, with my foot elevated and ice applied to the injured area, this was a fine way to spend time.So in All Men of Genius we have girl masquerading as boy, to enter an exclusively male institution of higher scientific learning. Then there's the romance element: Does girl love mentor? Is mentor attracted to her as a boy? As a girl? As both? Plus all the dalliances of secondary characters, the various inventions, the hints of mysteries... It made for a fun day or so.Were I of a more critical mind, I might have been dissatisfied with character development, but as I was looking at this as a comedy of manners, I instead delighted in discovering the usual suspects: the dandy, the fop, the fallen woman with the heart of gold, etc. And of course the mixups regarding genders and who is attracted to whom, as well as the poking of fun of the upper class.The Author's note and Mrs Willkes oscillating device were particularly fun to stumble into. I'd originally wanted to read this in the hopes of recommending it to the granddaughters in the hopes of weaning them from sparkly vampires, but there are some pretty heated opinions about "inverts" in their home, so I may wait a little. Interestingly, another book I'm reading now also has a female masquerading as a male, only in that case, it's as a eunuch rather than a young scientist.This book was sent to me by Tor Books. Many thanks for sending it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: Beautifully written prose filled with women’s rights, love, and geniuses creating the impossible.Opening Sentence: Violet and Ashton’s father was leaving for America to help decide where time should begin.The Review:Steampunk is a mixture of history and the fantastical imaginings of machines at the time of The Industrial Age. It’s a world where steam power is the dominant form of fuel and Victorian sensibilities prevail. Combine this idea with the timelessly inspirational stories of William Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde and you have a novel that will no doubt inspire each of us in a whole new way.All Men of Genius tells the story of one woman’s struggle against the stigmata of her gender and her journey to prove her true worth to those around her. Violet Adams is a genius, but her brilliance has gone unnoticed by the society at large. Her dreams are filled with machines and inventions, not the desire for a suitable husband and comfortable lifestyle fit for a lady of her station. In order to see her dreams come true, she develops a plan to prove that her worth is more than her breeding: She will enter the esteemed all-male Illyria College, renowned for its innovative thinking, she joins in disguise as her twin brother, Ashton. After proving her genius to her peers, she will reveal the true nature of her gender at the end of the year science fair. Good plan, right? Of course, if she is found out, she will be executed and her family’s honor will be forever shamed. Is it worth the risk?And if I didn’t know any better, I would say that this book was written by a woman. (No offense, Mr. Rosen!) The frustrations of the limitations of women in this time come through quite clearly. Each female character displays a unique perspective on the issue of woman’s rights, both intellectual and sexual. Both Violet and Cecily want to be judged by the size of their I.Q. and not the size of their breasts. Even Miriam’s independent nature reflects the struggles of feminine suppression. Though this is a dominant theme within the book, it does not overshadow the storyline itself. While the women in this book strive for something more, they are still open to love and sharing their lives with the very men they are rallying against. I guess that line in Mary Poppins is correct-that though we love men individually, as a group, they’re rather stupid.The men in All Men of Genius are just as intriguing as the women. Duke Ernest Illyria, the current headmaster of Illyria College, believes himself a forward-thinking man. Even though he upholds his father’s dictate of only male students, Ernest believes that women can be just as smart as men. When he meets Violet, he is immediately intrigued by, not only her body, but also her conversation. When he next meets her, she is presented as Ashton, her twin brother. Ernest, uncomfortably, finds himself drawn to Ashton as well. And though he eventually discovers the truth, he knows in his heart the person he loves, without the outer dressings.Though this book concentrates on Violet’s journey, it does touch on her brother’s, Ashton’s, struggle. As a gay man, he too is stifled within society’s narrow parameters. I believe that Violet’s fight becomes sort of a call to put the accepted status-quo into question.While all of this complicated byplay is going on, the group of friends at Illyria also find themselves drawn in a fight against an unknown saboteur that is intent on taking over the college. While most students and faculty concentrate their inventions for the betterment of mankind, there are those out there that seek the betterment of weaponization. Can our loveable group of genius’s figure out a way to stop the college from being consumed by greed and war mongering? Can a lonely girl fight for what she believes in, even at the detriment of her and her family’s future?I loved this book to no end. There is something about seeing the little man beat out against “the man” that gets me every time. If you enjoy reading about such epic struggles, this is the book for you. I would not be surprised to find it declared a new “classic” that my boys will be forced to read in high school along with other great books like 1984 and The Giver. I can’t imagine anyone reading this book and not being moved by it.Notable Scene:“So,” Ashton said, eating a cucumber sandwich, “You’ve been chased by murderous automata?”“Yeah,” Jack said, “during our initiation, and then again when we got knackered and decided to explore the basement to see if Volio’s secret lab was behind the mysterious door.”“I’m sorry?”“Volio,” Violet continued, “is a horrid second-year student whose brother was nearly expelled for producing weapons, and who is now blackmailing Miriam because he knows that she goes out with us at night.”“Who’s Miriam?”“Cecily’s governess,” Jack said, and sighed, thinking of Cecily.“He’s in love with Cecily,” Violet said, buttering a muffin. “Cecily is the duke’s cousin and ward.”“This is very complicated,” Ashton said. “Why don’t you just tell me about your week, from first day to last.”“Very well,” Violet said, and she did.A few hours later, Ashton was also a bit paler with dark circles under his eyes. “This is needlessly complex,” he said.“And that’s just the first week,” Violet said.The All Men of Genius Series:1. All Men of GeniusFTC Advisory: Macmillan/Tor Books provided me with a copy of All Men of Genius. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. The only payment received came in the form of hugs and kisses from my little boys.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Violet disguises herself as her twin brother to attend the all-male Illyria College, an exclusive school for the most brilliant scientific minds. With characters and plots from Twelfth Night and The Importance of Being Earnest, this is good, silly fun. The world-building is nifty, and the diverse supporting cast of characters - original, fictional, or historical, sparkles brightly.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    All Men of Genius by Lev Rosen is a brilliant mashup of so many great things -- Steampunk! Shakespeare! Oscar Wilde! Secret scientific societies bent on world domination! Swearing rabbits! -- that I am just left marveling at how much fun it all is.On the surface, this is a steampunk retelling of Twelfth Night. Violet Adams is one of the finest scientific minds of her time, but she cannot attend Illyria, England's premiere scientific college, because Illyria only admits men. The solution? Violet will masquerade as her twin brother Ashton for a year, to prove to the duke who runs Illyria that women should be admitted to the school. While she is there, she will create some brilliant invention to reveal her genius to the world. Of course, she doesn't factor in the possibility that she might fall in love with the duke. . . .Naturally, Rosen deviates from Shakespeare's plot and characterization occasionally, but he stays true to the essence of the play. There are also a few phenomenal riffs on The Importance of Being Earnest, including some nearly verbatim lines from my favorite scene in the play (the one where Cecily and Gwendolyn meet for the first time).This book had me in stitches part of the time, and nearly biting my fingernails during certain other tense or spooky moments. While it's marketed as an adult book, I think older teens would enjoy it as well. I'm not particularly well-versed in steampunk, having only dabbled around the edges as it were, so I'd say this could also serve as a nice introduction to the genre for the curious but inexperienced.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Seventeen year old Violet Adams’s greatest desire is to attend Illyria College, the premiere institution of science, but the college only admits men. She’s not about to let this stand in her way, though. She has a male twin brother, and their father is going away to America for a year, so she submits her application to the college in her brother’s name, cuts her hair, binds her breasts and takes some of her inventions to the interview at the school. Accepted as Ashton Adams, she packs her things and goes to college. She is a genius at mechanics, as her best friend Jack, who is also accepted, is a genius at life sciences. Set in an alternate Victorian era London, this steampunk coming of age tale has automatons, flying ferrets, calculating machines developed by Lady Ada Byron (who plays a part in the story), bronze mechanical rabbits that hop around, blackmail, romantic mix-ups, invisible cats, a rabbit who swears like a deck hand, and an evil plot that needs thwarting. What starts for Violet as just getting the education she wants while keeping her gender a secret turns into a battle for survival- perhaps survival of the world. It’s a good, exciting story. The characters are fun, although not terribly deep. Like so many first novels, it could have used better editing. It’s witty, romantic, suspenseful, imaginative and exciting, and definitely good enough to keep me up at night reading it
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A retelling of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night as a steampunk school story. Not entirely successful, but not without it's charms. I might have liked it better if Rosen had kept the plot outline but not the names.Add half a star if you're a fan of steampunk.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Pros: fabulous writing, witty, complex story with multiple subplots, endearing characters, emotional punchCons: the first 5 pages are a bit over the top, get past them and the rest of the book is fabulousThe Importance of Being Earnest meets Twelfth Night in this fabulously written debut novel. Violet Adams has a plan to attend the illustrious school of science, Illyria, by dressing the year as her twin brother Ashton. Being a man is more difficult than Violet considered, and it turns out to be quite an interesting year, filled with experimentation, drinking, exploring the labyrinthine basement of the school, blackmail, avoiding the love of Cicely (ward of Illyria's duke) and dealing with her own complicated feelings towards said duke.This is a delightful romp that could well have been written by Oscar Wilde himself. It has the feel of Victorian literature, with subtle wit and constant references to things of the period.As a steampunk novel there's a lot of experimentation going on, but very little scientific explanation, so those who want a more hard SF feel should look elsewhere, while those wishing for a book to ease someone into genre should think of this as the perfect gift.The plot becomes more and more complex as new characters are added, each with their own plans that interfere with those of the others. And the characters are all complex. Rosen takes a few pages here and there to flesh out even minor characters so their motivations are understood. And while he jumps between heads often, it's always clear whose thoughts you're following.This book made me laugh, out loud, at several points. It also made me cry. Can't ask for more than that.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A story about a young woman, Violet, and her desire to prove herself worthy to pursue a college education, which is restricted to her based on the social convictions of the Victorian era. Her pursuit leads her to disguising herself as a man in order to enter the college under her twin brother’s name and begin her adventure in learning among some of the brightest and craziest young scientists in London. Violet will set on an adventure of discovery of herself and of other women around her who have pushed social convictions to obtain their own type of freedom. An enjoyable story containing a fast-paced adventure with memorable characters, secret plots, Steampunk creations and romance. Along with many references to Oscar Wilde’s work especially "The Importance of Being Earnest".
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I got an advanced reading copy of this book signed by the author at Book Expo America. I have been looking forward to reading it for some time. It was an excellent book; exquisitely written and creative. It was a slow but wonderful read.Violet is a genius at building mechanical contraptions and wants desperately to go to the Illyria school for genius students; only problem is Illyria doesn't admit women. So Violet, along with her twin brother Ashton, and their friend Jack, devise a devious plan. Violet will pretend to be Ashton and attend Illyria, if she can get in. Once at Illyria Violet's end of the year project will be the least of her troubles. There are killer automatons in the basements, the Duke of Illyria's ward has fallen in love with Violet-as-a-man, and Violet is in love with the Duke. Fans of Jane Austen or The Importance of Being Earnest that love a bit of a steampunk twist to their witty banter will love this book. Being that it is written in that more flowery type of Victorian style this is a slow read and things move very deliberately at parts of the book. That being said the description and writing style is absolutely exquisite. The witty banter between the characters is wonderful and lots of fun to read. The mystery behind the school's basement, along with all the crazy "who loves who" twisting of the plot kept me completely engaged.The characters are wonderful. I loved them all. Especially Violet, Ashton, and Jack. These are smart, funny, heartfelt characters that I really loved getting to know. Even side characters are complex and fun to read about. The book switches viewpoint quite a bit, although the majority of the story is told from Violet's point of view. I didn't find the viewpoint switching distracting or anything, although there were a couple times that I desperately wanted to know what would happen to Violet next and scanned through another character's viewpoint as fast as I could to get back to her.There are a lot of fun steampunk devices in this book along with interesting chemical and biological experiments. I enjoyed them all and at times was reminded a bit of the magical shenanigans at Hogwart's with Ron's trickster older twin brothers. Being a chemist/engineer and a woman, I loved that Violet worked so hard to get women at a technical level equal to her fellow male students. This book really clicked with me and I really enjoyed the premise behind it.When I started the book I hoped that more of it was going to be focused on the mystery behind the school's basement; in the end I thought the whole mystery behind the basement was a bit anti-climatic. I was surprised that the majority of the story focused on Violet's day to day life and all the excitement that held for everyone involved. I was incredibly pleased at the ending of the book; the readers are treated to a rather spectacular battle scene that had more action in a few pages than in the entirety of the rest of the book.The book ended wonderfully. Everything was nicely wrapped up. I am not certain if a sequel is planned, but the book was wrapped up well-enough that one isn't needed. I think the book would be appropriate for older young adults and up; there is some swearing, some bawdy humor, and some discussion of sex acts.Overall this was a spectacular read. The book is exquisitely written with beautiful descriptions and witty dialogue that really make the story come alive; this makes this book a slow read but a wonderful one. The characters are absolutely wonderful; I was especially drawn to Violet and her desire to make it as a technically adept woman in a male dominated field. The intertwining love stories remind of The Importance of Being Earnest or even some of Jane Austen's works. Those who love that type of Victorian style of writing should check this out. Fans of steampunk stories should check this out as well, there are a ton of wonderful devices in this book. Fans of stories about young woman dressing as men to make it in a all male school may also want to check out The Education of Bet (fluffier than this book but still a fun read). I will definitely be reading future books by Rossen.