Review Wednesday: Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger

Title: Etiquette and Espionage (Finishing School #1)

Author: Gail Carriger
1st Date of Publication: February 5, 2013

ISBN: 9780316190084
# of Pages: 307

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Age Rating: 13

Buy on Amazon

Book Description:
It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners--and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage--in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

Setting: 1850s in fantasy world

Point of View: 3rd person- Sophronia Temminnick

Goodreads Rating: 3.79

My Rating: 3.75

 

Part of the Book that Caught My Attention: Both

View on the Cover: The girl in the dress looks like someone you do not want to mess with because she is obviously holding a pair of scissors in her hand in a way that she can stab whoever may attack. This definitely has a steampunk sort of look.
View on Title: The title sounds like a well-rounded woman. She has manners but she can kick some butts if she needs to.

Pros:

• The titles of each chapter make the book seem really fun and foreshadow what will happen in that chapter. It kept me captivated and wonder what will happen in the chapter.
• This book has a bit of mystery which makes it more fun and easier to read.
• I really thought that Sophronia's character was a realistic character. She isn't perfect but it doesn't stop her from learning and growing.
• I really enjoyed the steampunk aspect to it. It made the Victorian era of dresses and ettiquete. The machines answer the soothes  (miners) made the book have more depth.

Cons:

• It takes a while to get into the book. It took me about a third of the way through before it got interesting. The chapters also seemed a bit long.
• I had a hard time reading this book because it was in third person which made the book drag a little bit.
• There were so many characters that it was a little difficult to keep track of them all.

Critics' Reviews:
"Carriger's YA debut brings her mix of Victorian paranormal steampunk and winning heroines to a whole new audience...with cleverly Victorian methods of espionage, witty banter, lighthearted silliness, and a ship full of intriguingly quirky people."―Booklist
"[A] delightfully madcap espionage adventure..."―Kirkus Reviews
"Carriger deploys laugh-out-loud bon mots on nearly every page...Amid all the fun, the author works in commentary on race and class in a sparkling start to the Finishing School series."―Publishers Weekly
"Carriger's leading lady is a strong, independent role model for female readers... Ladies and gentlemen of propriety are combined with dirigibles, robots, werewolves, and vampires, making this story a steampunkmystery and an adventure mash-up that is sure to intrigue readers..."―School Library Journal

Gail Carriger's Website:
http://gailcarriger.com/

Other Recommendations:

Splintered by A.G. Howard
Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Review Wednesday: Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Carriger

*DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW UNTIL YOU HAVE READ ETIQUETTE AND ESPIONAGE. THERE MAY BE SOME SPOILER. If you want to read this series, read my review about Etiquette and Espionage by clicking on the link: Review: Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger

Title: Curtsies and Conspiracies (Finishing School #2)

Author: Gail Carriger
1st Date of Publication: November 5, 2014

ISBN: 9780316190114
# of Pages: 310

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Age Rating: 13

Buy on Amazon

Book Description:
Does one need four fully grown foxgloves for decorating a dinner table for six guests? Or is it six foxgloves to kill four fully grown guests?

Sophronia's first year at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality has certainly been rousing! For one thing, finishing school is training her to be a spy--won't Mumsy be surprised? Furthermore, Sophronia got mixed up in an intrigue over a stolen device and had a cheese pie thrown at her in a most horrid display of poor manners.

Now, as she sneaks around the dirigible school, eavesdropping on the teachers' quarters and making clandestine climbs to the ship's boiler room, she learns that there may be more to a field trip to London than is apparent at first. A conspiracy is afoot--one with dire implications for both supernaturals and humans. Sophronia must rely on her training to discover who is behind the dangerous plot-and survive the London Season with a full dance card.

Setting: 1850s in fantasy world

Point of View: 3rd person- Sophronia Temminnick

Goodreads Rating: 4.12

My Rating: 4.00

 

Part of the Book that Caught My Attention: Both

View on the Cover: Again this girl (probably Sophronia) is not someone you would want to mess with. Her expression shows that she is watching her back and scissors are now replaced with a dagger, which probably symbolizes her growth in the program.
View on Title: I love how the author continues will the alliteration with this book. It makes me wonder what conspiracies that these girls are learning whether they are true or false. It adds to the mystery.

Pros:

• I thought this book was so much better than the first book (Etiquette and Espionage). I think this is because the characters are already known and have some characterization to them.
• I really liked how boys were involved in this. They were also students but they learn for evil so there are werewolves and vampires. The testosterone in the book made it seem a bit more whole.
• I enjoyed that the characters got to move to a new location, which is London. It allowed the mystery to continue and get brought out into a new light.
• I like how the friendship between Soap and Sophronia progresses from the first book into this book.

Cons:

• I still didn't enjoy the third person point of view. It makes the whole book and series seem more dull.
• I also have a problem with the characterization. Many, if not most, are very flat which makes the story drag.

Critics' Reviews:
"Teenage and adult fans alike will rejoice that Carriger retains her flair for musical prose, over-the-top names, clever wit, and strange yet helpful mechanical devices of all kinds. Carriger's blend of comically exaggerated characters and madcap action will easily win over readers once again."―Publishers Weekly
"Carriger's second steampunk adventure exceeds the first... the fun, again, is in watching ever-practical Sophronia sneak and scheme her way into sometimes dangerous, sometimes riotously funny, situations.... We repeat: This witty, light-hearted series is not to be missed."―Booklist

"[A] world of manners, steampunk, and the supernatural. [Carriger] again manages to blend the rules of etiquette with inventions and creatures effortlessly, creating a diverse world of wonder."―VOYA

"The language is every bit as delightful as in Sophronia's first adventure... even in this weightier tale."―Kirkus Reviews
"[Carriger] jumps right into the thick of the action, developing a fast-paced plot that is sure to keep readers' attention...this is a must-have purchase."―School Library Journal

Gail Carriger's Website:
http://gailcarriger.com/

Other Recommendations:

The Selection by Kiera Cass
The Jewel by Amy Ewing