Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School) (utgåvan 2013)

Gail Carriger's books make me laugh and make me happy. The narrator for this audiobook was also really good. ( )

A light romp, in the mode of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies meets... um, I read far too little YA. Whatever the modern equivalent of girls' boarding school stories is. (The woman on the cover is far too old to be the protagonist, who's more like 14 if I recall correctly.) For my personal tastes I'd have liked less steampunk-and-vampires, and more period-realistic language and manners, but I'm picky. I did enjoy the descriptions of the arts of polite spycraft the girls are taught; that's always the sort of worldbuilding I'd gladly read more of. ( )

Bloody fabulous in every regard. ( )

Obviously I love Gail Carriger's YA books as much as the others. I so want to read the next in the series... Almost a year to wait :( ( )

Initially I was put off by a rather clunky start to this story, but perseverance paid off and an enjoyable romp ensued. The reader is drawn in by spunky Sophronia, (the main character); her counterpoint friend, Dimity, was a nice contrast. The escapade with their carriage being waylaid was fun. However, the slow plot development, which later picks up a galloping pace, seemed to derail the narrative for the first third of the book.
Some plot devices were conveyed as if intended for a younger, middle-grade audience. By comparison, Natasha Pulley's portrayal of clockworks and animated machines in The Watchmaker of Filigree Street made her steampunk narrative come delicately alive. Carriger occasionally seemed to dither between sci-fi and steampunk in the 19th Century, with neither meshing well.
Since other Gail Carriger novels are highly esteemed, I suspect my choice of a first sample of her world-building and writing style may have influenced my liking her work. As it was, the story with its assortment of characters enticed me to look for Curtsies & Conspiracies, the sequel in the ‘Finishing School’ Series. ( )