This series has become such a favorite. The wit, charm, intelligence, humor, adventure, danger, fabulous characters and plots... If you've been following my blog, you shouldn't be surprised by my favorite today...
Waistcoats & Weaponry
(Finishing School #3)
by Gail Carrigar
YA Steampunk
Hardcover, 304 pages
November 4th 2014 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
by Gail Carrigar
YA Steampunk
Hardcover, 304 pages
November 4th 2014 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Sophronia continues her second year at finishing school in style--with a steel-bladed fan secreted in the folds of her ball gown, of course. Such a fashionable choice of weapon comes in handy when Sophronia, her best friend Dimity, sweet sootie Soap, and the charming Lord Felix Mersey stowaway on a train to return their classmate Sidheag to her werewolf pack in Scotland. No one suspected what--or who--they would find aboard that suspiciously empty train. Sophronia uncovers a plot that threatens to throw all of London into chaos and she must decide where her loyalties lie, once and for all.
Gather your poison, steel tipped quill, and the rest of your school supplies and join Mademoiselle Geraldine's proper young killing machines in the third rousing installment in the New York Times bestselling Finishing School Series by steampunk author, Gail Carriger.
My Review
I really don't know how Gail Carriger, the author, keeps topping herself in this series, but she does! The characters continue to mature as the series progresses, bringing higher stakes both with lives and with Sophronia's heart in this third book. There was plenty of adventure, danger, intrigue, and flirtation. And everything came together fabulously.
Sophronia has got to be one of my favorite characters in literature. She is intelligent, brave, and extremely loyal. I like that she also isn't perfect. She tries, but she does make mistakes sometimes. She is extremely curious and likes to "test out" what she has learned at school and from others. In Waistcoats & Weaponry that includes her seduction skills, which made me blush while also cracking up. The lesson for that and her application were seriously hilarious, as was her unknown witness's reaction. Another thing she tested out was the use of her bladed fan, which is featured on the book's cover (the cover does a marvelous job at portraying this story). What I also liked was that Sophronia is slowly learning that her actions can have very dangerous and scary consequences. She is learning that her world has been rather protected up to this point of her life and that she is probably a little naive. Her choices, challenges, and consequences are slowly changing her and driving her towards who she will become. It is a little difficult to watch sometimes.
Of course, Sophronia can't do everything by herself, which is abundantly clear throughout this book. She is again aided by her trustworthy friends and two boys who are vying for her attention. They all had different and important roles to play. They also bring some fabulous tension and humor.
Waistcoats & Weaponry was another great addition to this series. It was a little more serious than the prior two books, but still had plenty of quirkiness, adventure, mishaps, and hilarity that make this series great. I want so much for these characters and for them to find happiness in the end. I can't wait to see what plans Sophronia makes next in Manners & Mutiny. Will she be able to pull her resources together and pull down the one organization that so clearly turned her against them in the end of this book, while also keeping her loved ones safe?
Content: Some innuendo, discussion of anatomy, a few brief references to unclothed men (when the werewolves change into men), and some violence.
Source: Purchased.
Sophronia has got to be one of my favorite characters in literature. She is intelligent, brave, and extremely loyal. I like that she also isn't perfect. She tries, but she does make mistakes sometimes. She is extremely curious and likes to "test out" what she has learned at school and from others. In Waistcoats & Weaponry that includes her seduction skills, which made me blush while also cracking up. The lesson for that and her application were seriously hilarious, as was her unknown witness's reaction. Another thing she tested out was the use of her bladed fan, which is featured on the book's cover (the cover does a marvelous job at portraying this story). What I also liked was that Sophronia is slowly learning that her actions can have very dangerous and scary consequences. She is learning that her world has been rather protected up to this point of her life and that she is probably a little naive. Her choices, challenges, and consequences are slowly changing her and driving her towards who she will become. It is a little difficult to watch sometimes.
Of course, Sophronia can't do everything by herself, which is abundantly clear throughout this book. She is again aided by her trustworthy friends and two boys who are vying for her attention. They all had different and important roles to play. They also bring some fabulous tension and humor.
Waistcoats & Weaponry was another great addition to this series. It was a little more serious than the prior two books, but still had plenty of quirkiness, adventure, mishaps, and hilarity that make this series great. I want so much for these characters and for them to find happiness in the end. I can't wait to see what plans Sophronia makes next in Manners & Mutiny. Will she be able to pull her resources together and pull down the one organization that so clearly turned her against them in the end of this book, while also keeping her loved ones safe?
Content: Some innuendo, discussion of anatomy, a few brief references to unclothed men (when the werewolves change into men), and some violence.
Source: Purchased.
About the Author
New York Times Bestselling author Gail Carriger writes to cope with being raised in obscurity by an expatriate Brit and an incurable curmudgeon. She escaped small town life and inadvertently acquired several degrees in Higher Learning. Ms. Carriger then traveled the historic cities of Europe, subsisting entirely on biscuits secreted in her handbag. She resides in the Colonies, surrounded by fantastic shoes, where she insists on tea imported from London. Gail's books are published in over a dozen different languages. She has received both the Prix Julia Verlanger and the Elbakin Award from French readers.
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