Etiquette & Espionage

Tea should be required for the reading of all Gail Carriger books, don't you think?

Really, I did not expect this to feel so young. It has such a middle grade vibe. And contains some immature characters.The flywayman with the gun struck the headmistress across the face with his free hand.‘‘Oh dear,’’ said Sophronia. ‘‘Violence.’’ She suppressed panic and a strange urge to giggle. She’d never before seen a grown man actually hit a woman.Whaaat? And that would make you, Sophronia, giggle? *shakes head*I didn’t like her as a character until maybe 75% of the sto [...]

2.5 stars, rounded up because I'm feeling particularly generous today. Before any of you start plotting my painful and untimely death, I should point out that I’m a big fan of Ms. Carriger’s previous work. The Parasol Protectorate series is a favorite of mine, despite losing some steam in the later installments. However, I don’t think Etiquette and Espionage was up to her usual standards, and it makes me very sad that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped I would. It took me a while t [...]

Well. Well well well. I think I'll have to go back and give the adult series set in this alternate steampunk Victorian world a try.Despite my stumbling over the affected narrative style at the outset, I ended up being entirely swayed by its charm and cleverness, and I enjoyed the book so much that I was disappointed when it was over. I wanted it to continue, perhaps indefinitely. It reminds me very much of Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching series in its lighthearted silliness and droll humor, tho [...]

Super cute. Super sassy. Super witty.Strike that. It looks like I'm trying to sell glitzy fashion to tweens. 3.25 stars. But it is super cute and fun and all that stuff. Werewolves are wearing top hats! Just the names alone are awesome, and I really hate off-the-wall names 99% of time, but how can you not love the idea of mechanical butler named Frowbritcher? I'm pretty sure that Carriger is one of the only people who can pull off all of the strange names with finesse.And I don't even know what [...]

A cute, young adult book with a steampunk theme that takes place at a "finishing" school which isn't about etiquette at all.I made the mistake of reading this without realizing that it was based in a world from another series of books. I'm guessing that I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the other set first.Etiquette and Espionage had plenty of fun moments in it. One of my favorites is when Sophronia inexplicably claims that werewolves enjoy the theater. From one of the other books? I'm [...]

Fun! Feminism! Girliness! I would definitely recommend the audiobook as the narration is wonderful.

See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads 2.5 stars'"Practice your eyelash-fluttering, ladies. Six rounds of one hundred each before bed."-'I took the big mistake when I read Marie Lu being quoted on my copy of Etiquette & Espionage. "I wish I could attend a school as fun as this finishing academy. It is the perfect steam punk version of Harry Potter." After observing this, I assumed that the book was just as good as Harry Potter. RIIIGHT?! It literally has my name written all over it. LITERALLY [...]

Now I need a book about possessed unicorns, poisonous bunnies and violet bananas, because I have to read something that can get me out of this state of utter boredom.The main fault of this book is the inexplicable absence of a plot: I kept on wishing something would happen, but nothing really did (at least not until 38% of the book, when I finally had enough). It was just a never-ending list of mechanical parts, dirigibles, bonnets and petticoats.I had great expectations of epic escapes on dirig [...]

Hummm well I sort of hesitated on the rating for this one. I mean I don't think I'll be reading the rest of the series, at least not right away, but I did enjoy the bookly.What we have here is a young woman in an alternate England of lords and ladies with very proper etiquette, not to mention stiff collars and lots of frills. Sadly 14 year old Sophronia does not fit in. She put me in mind of the song from The Sound of Music:rnh/videosml?video=She is a great trial to her mother, especially since [...]

"[Is] that wise? Having a mess of seedling evil geniuses falling in love with you willy-nilly? What if they feel spurned?""Ah, but in the interim, think of the lovely gifts they can make you. Monique bragged that one of her boys made her silver and wood hair sticks as anti-supernatural weapons. With amethyst inlay. And another made her an exploding wicker chicken.""Goodness, what's that for?"Dimity pursed her lips. "Who doesn't want an exploding wicker chicken?"I have to say, I was equal parts e [...]

Loved this book! It's a younger version of Gail's Parasol Protectorate series - a fun and entertaining readen. Once again I bought the audio book. Gail's books are great when read with a British accent.

I have wanted to read this series but a while now and when I received the third book for review, I figured now was as good as a time as ever to start it. Instead of reading it I decided to give audiobooks one more try, after all, why not? I could get so much more read if only I could listen to books throughout the day while also doing other things so I decided this was the place to start and hoped like heck I wouldn't regret it.Can I just tell you that I am so glad I listened to this on audio? I [...]

So I got about a third through this book. It wasn't what I thought it would be. While I was expecting refined, suspenseful, and deadly, it was more silly and humorous - with a generous dash of outrageous fantasy. Once I got used of the idea, I was really liking it! Steampunk is quite interesting!However there were a few minor things here and there and then they introduced werewolves and vampires, and no matter how light the feel, I just don't like "good" werewolves and vampires! So I decided it [...]

I have one question and one question only: DOES THIS SCHOOL EXIST?!?Because if it does, sign me up. If it doesn't then it needs to be built asap!Sophronia learns the finer points of deceit, espionage, and assassination while attending Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. Now, I'm not all about taking more classes now that I've graduated from college - but I could totally take these kind of classes.I really enjoyed this book. Especially when no one was annoying [...]

I picked this book up at my local Dollar Tree store. I had heard of this series before so when I saw it I just had to get it. I have never read the Parasol Protectorate series so I was a bit unfamiliar with the world. Regardless, this book was still lot of fun. My only issue was that the ending felt rushed.

What I thought I was going to read: A book about a girl that learns how to kill people in a Nikita-like way in a steampunk setting. What the book is really about: A somewhat boring girl from 1800s in a steampunk world of vampires and werewolves whos family wants to to be more girly so they send her off to a school and they have no idea she will be learning how to kill people in an almost boring way. This book would have been so much better if Carriger didn't add in supernaturals. So many YA book [...]

5 Words: School, friendship, class, spying, betrayal.No dumbing down for a Young Adult audience in this wonderful start to the Finishing School series. Instead, the author keeps things mature - as she should.The voices of the characters are perfect for their age - and there are some familiar faces for those who have read the Parasol Protectorate novels. Different fashions to imagine, different technologies to wrap your head around - and new questions blossoming in your head!As a separate series [...]

DNF'ing because I think it's just a little too young, goofy, and giggly for me.

A YA steampunk Victorian era thriller with a vampire & a werewolf - not exactly my normal read, but I chuckled most of the way through it. Good old sloppy English leads to punny situations & this is one where a daring young lady with unfashionable tom-boy tendencies gets sent off to one of the finest finishing schools that not only teaches manners, but espionage & murder. It's pretty well summed up when a teacher asks what ladies do in crisis."Assess any damage to one’s attire. A l [...]

“Heasted an unassuming mustache, which was perched atop his upper lip cautiously, as though it were slightly embarrassed to be there and would like to slide away and become a sideburn or something more fashionable.”After reading that amusing quote, I just had to read this book and I didn't regret it one bit. Fourteen-year-old Sophronia Temminnick is intelligent, curious, spirited and something of a tomboy. After getting into one too many trouble, Mrs. Temminnick decides its time to send Soph [...]

See more reviews at my blog.This book is pure, whimsical fun. I admit, I was not in the right frame of mind to enjoy this the first time I picked it up. It’s got a very lighthearted approach to worldbuilding, and I it wasn’t until my second attempt that I actually appreciated that. But once I was in the mood for a carefree adventure, this was just the perfect fix for it.Etiquette & Espionage had a very early-Harry-Potter feel to it, and I know it’s irritating to hear everything called [...]

Alt 1854, young girl is shipped off to "finishing school," where she learns important lessons in deportment, manners, and the intricacies of assassination, among other relevant topics. All in pursuit of goals never explained for political purposes never elucidated because guys, that is so not the point.I feel like this book is almost deep. Like this twisted portrait of nineteenth-century education – the juxtaposition of fashion with poison, the way lessons in eyelash fluttering serve both soci [...]

Can I just say that I absolutely LOVE this narrator. She could read me the encyclopedia or an auto mechanic manual and I'd be enchanted. Her cadence, crisp yet gentle British accent, and the host of other voices/accents she creates as she reads is impressive. I was left in the position of eagerly waiting for my commute to and from work to put this on. I even resorted to listening on my lunch breaks and as frequently as I could. I highly recommend.A Steampunk themed novel that centers around the [...]

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 QualityBut Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. It's one thing [...]

Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed reading more of Gail Carriger's writing in this book. This is the first one in a spin-off series which is set within the same world as the Parasole Protectorate series but a few years earlier. There are some crossover characters and contraptions, and we also see a few new characters too. It's a romp and a mess and a spiffing adventure all rolled into one.This story follows Sophronia, a young lady of fourteen who is thoroughly uncontrollable. Sophronia is a nuisan [...]

„Naprosto okouzlující, zábavné a rozpustilé… Perfektní steampunková verze Harryho Pottera,“ tvrdí na obálce Etikety Marie Lu. A já nemůžu než souhlasit, protože tohle je prostě boží čtení. Rozpustilé je to pravé slovo, Etiketa a špionáž je mile nevinná, neobsahuje žádnou ultramilostnou zápletku, což je svým způsobem osvěžující. Sofronie je skvělá hrdinka, trošku praštěná, trošku pitomá, ale steampunková až do morku kostí. Pokud jste žádnou kn [...]

Updated 2nd review after re-read on 9/29/17: much better after having read the Parasol Protectorate books! And more entertaining as an audiobook for sure. Bumped up to 3 stars!Meh. Overall this was a very silly book, and did not give me enough explanation of what the hell was going on to keep me interested. I finished it though, because it was so young and immature that it was very easy to read quickly. not to say that it was bad, but I think I'm not the targeted audience for these books.I think [...]

DNF'd at page 100.That's it. I can't read this. I am not going to force mysef through a book that is painfully boring to read. I simply could not get engaged nor feel involved in the story. It took me more than a week to get up to page 100, the same amount of time I could have used to read 2-3 books. I'm sorry, but this book wasn't for me.I highly doubt that the book is going to get any better if I continue reading, therefore I feel the need to DNF this.

Only fourteen years old, Sophronia Temminnick is well established as the troublesome child in her family. She likes to take the mechanicals apart to see how they work, and her adventurous spirit and complete lack of interest in the latest fashions or appearances in general are a trial for her mother in particular. Desperate to get her daughter on the right track and "cure" her of her failings, her mother enrols Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.I [...]