Book Review: Manners and Mutiny by Gail Carriger

Title: Manners and Mutiny Series: Finishing School #4 Author: Gail Carriger Published: November 3, 2015 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: If one must flirt…flirt with danger.  Lessons in the art of espionage aboard Mademoiselle Geraldine’s floating dirigible have become tedious without Sophronia’s sweet sootie Soap nearby. She would much rather be using her skills to thwart the dastardly Picklemen, yet her concerns about their wicked intentions are ignored, and now she’s not sure whom to trust. What does the brusque werewolf dewan know? On whose side is the ever-stylish vampire Lord Akeldama? Only one thing is certain: a large-scale plot is under way, and when it comes to fruition, Sophronia must be ready to save her friends, her school, and all of London from disaster—in decidedly dramatic fashion, of course.  What will become of our proper young heroine when she puts her years of training to the test? Find out in this highly anticipated and thrilling conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Finishing School series!.

**** This is the final book in a series and there may be spoilers so proceed with caution. Read the rest of the Finishing School series first and come back. Here's my review of book one, Etiquette and Espionage to encourage you. ****

Last November I marathoned the Fishing School series and found myself liking it more and more with each passing book. So I was really excited to read the last book in the series, Manners & Mutiny, to see how it would all end. And fans of the series will not be disappointed. This was a really great ending to a series that is both fun and engaging with great characters, a thrilling plot. and interesting steampunk world.

In four books I have become so attached to these characters. They're quirky and interesting. As this is the final book in the series, there is lots of great character development and some arcs that have been building for the whole series come to fruition which is so great to see. There are also tons of big reveals that make so many of the secondary characters more complex than originally thought. Some of them even got these great moments to shine. And a few unexpected characters even return to the story which was great to see. But of course the main focus here is Sophronia whose resourcefulness, determination, and cool head during a crisis is on full display. But despite the fact that she is the hero here, she also has these great vulnerabilities that make her well-rounded and complex. I also adore Dimity and Pillover who have such a great sibling relationship and of course all the teachers at the school who as are so complex.

But the school itself is so complex. Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing School for Young Ladies of Quality is one of my all-time favorite boarding schools.  I have always been struck by the interesting combination of steampunk technology and a Victoria boarding school for girls. The school itself is as much a character as anything. It's a huge dirigible so we have all this steampunk stuff happening. In Manner's and Mutiny we get to explore so much more of the school and little nooks and crannies that we may have only gotten to see briefly if at all in the first few books. I was so excited that there was a map in the front but it was totally needed with all the exploring. It's so complex and there are so many unexpected things. As Sophronia puts it "I should have known they were deadly as well as decorative. Everything at this school is both." But that's because this is basically a school for spies. It makes for such an interesting world and Carriger perfectly builds it.

However, while the plot development was something I did love, it also was something I had an issue with. Like most final books in a series, it all really came full-circle and resolved questions and plot points that began in the first couple books. There is so much going on here both at the school and with the larger world. There's so much political context of the world and it became a part of the plot. In each book we spend a little time learning about different groups within society and here it was a lot about the Picklemen which was a component that we hadn't learned much about before. But also because we are finishing a book about finishing there was so much action and adventure going on here. The stakes are really high and every moment was so full of action. I was on the edge of my seat concerned about what was going to happen to my beloved characters. Everything lead up to a thrilling conclusion that had me both entertained and concerned. But I will say, this may have moved a little too fast. The pace was a little harrowing at times. I found a few of the earlier books to be a little slow when it came to the pacing so this being so quick to move from moment to moment was a little surprising. A happy medium between the two would have been good.

On the whole Manners and Mutiny is a great ending to a fun and entertaining series with quirky and complex characters, a unique and interesting world, and a thrilling plot. I am not ready to say goodbye to this world and these characters. I have not yet read the Parasol Protectorate so that may be my next foray into Gail Carriger's steampunk world. I hear some characters from this book even come back!

I give Manner and Mutiny by Gail Carriger 9 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy/Borrow. This series is definitely worth a read. It gets better and better with every passing book and I ended up really loving it. If you like steampunk, YA historical fantasy, or books about interesting boarding schools then you should definitely check this series out. Fans of the first three books will love the way this finishes.

Have you read Manners and Mutiny? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

On Reread: Finishing School Series by Gail Carriger

On Rereads is a monthly feature on My Thoughts Lit where I talk about the books I reread during the month. It's an opportunity to share some new thoughts on a book I read before and usually to prepare for a new release. For the foreseeable future I plan to do one reread a month so I want to share my thoughts on these books the second time around.

Remember how I said I was going to reread The Finishing School series and The Lunar Chronicles by the end of the month. HAHAHA, that was funny. I don't know what I was thinking. I behind on my TBR to begin with so what males me think that I will be able to do twice as many rereads than I have ever done. It was very optimistic and I totally failed at that. But I did get a chance to finish one of those series so here is my thoughts on the audiobooks for....

Finishing School Series by Gail Carriger

Etiquette and Espionage -  (Amazon / Goodreads / Audible / My Review)

I read this series a year ago and it was right about that time that my interest in steampunk really started taking off. I remember absolutely loving the world of this book.Gail Carriger is a master of combining fantasy and science fiction with magical creatures inhabiting a world of technology and for lack of a better word, robots. The contrast is so interesting and there is so much conflict. I also adore the boarding school here and it was great to experience that again.

But what really struck me during my reread is how much stuff from this book comes into play during the rest of the series. When I first read it, I didn't find the plot very interesting because it felt like a lot of setup. But knowing where the story was going, I saw the clues and hints that I missed the first time. I found it so much more complex this time around and very impressed with Carriger's writing and the fact that she clearly planned this whole thing out really well.




Curtsies and Conspiracies - (Amazon / Goodreads / Audible / My Review)

With Curtsies and Conspiracies it was much the same as Etiquette and Espionage. I loved the world so much and the exploration of the supernatural with the steampunk. I noticed during this book that it seems to be that I remember so little about middle books. I forgot a lot about the plot of this book and found myself thinking, "is this the book where this happens?" One thing I do I remember is loving all the information about vampires the first time around. Plus the conflict here is also really cranked up and so this time around I also found it much more complex because I saw the big picture more and where things were going.

I also found in this case that I really enjoyed the audiobook in this series. There are a lot of different people from different places and the narrator does such an amazing job doing a French accent, a Scottish accent, even a Cockney accent. I loved the characterization and the personality she gave to each character it fit so well. The only one I didn't like was Vieve. I love her as a character but I found her voice grating and I wanted her to be less involved so I didn't have to hear it. But then I felt bad because I love Vieve. In general I did find that I loved the audio and think Moira Quick is a fantastic narrator.

Waistcoats and Weaponry - (Amazon / Goodreads / Audible / My Review)

Waistcoats and Weaponry was when I really fell on love with this series. I loved the way things were developing and felt like this time around there was less exposition and more actual plot development. There is also a ton more conflict and things are more political here. But despite the fact that this was my favorite book the first time around, it was a bit of a disappointment during my reread. It's not that I didn't like it, I just didn't get anything new out of it and with rereads that is a lot of the point.

But the thing that I did love about this book is the character development. I have gotten so attached to these characters after three books and therefore this one is much more of an emotional read. I remember getting hit in the feels for the first time in this book and it definitely happened again. The fact that I like the characterization during the audio made that even worse.

Now I am ready for Manners and Mutiny, the last book int the series. I'm really excited to find out what happens with the characters, especially Sophronia. It comes out next Tuesday at which point it will magically get delivered to my kindle so I can start reading. I won't be able to continue with the audio though. I am however considering continuing with this series. This is technically a prequel series. The series Carriger originally wrote is the Parasol Protectorate, which is I think 30 years after this series and involves a few characters. I'm liking the world so much I may not want to let it go.

Have you read the Finishing School Series? Have you done any rereads lately? What books? Do you like doing rereads or not? Tell me why.  Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Waiting on Wednesday: Manners and Mutiny by Gail Carriger

A weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title: Manners and Mutiny Series: Finishing School #4 Author: Gail Carriger Published: November 3, 2015 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: If one must flirt...flirt with danger.  Lessons in the art of espionage aboard Mademoiselle Geraldine's floating dirigible have become tedious without Sophronia's sweet sootie Soap nearby. She would much rather be using her skills to thwart the dastardly Picklemen, yet her concerns about their wicked intentions are ignored, and now she's not sure whom to trust. What does the brusque werewolf dewan know? On whose side is the ever-stylish vampire Lord Akeldama? Only one thing is certain: a large-scale plot is under way, and when it comes to fruition, Sophronia must be ready to save her friends, her school, and all of London from disaster--in decidedly dramatic fashion, of course.  What will become of our proper young heroine when she puts her years of training to the test? Find out in this highly anticipated and thrilling conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Finishing School series!

Why I'm Waiting 

This November is all about series conclusions, amiright? (cough cough Winter cough). But the ending of the Finishing School series also comes out then. I marathoned the first three books in this series last fall and was blown away by how creative the world building was. Nobody does steampunk like Gail Carriger (I say this having yet to read her first series even though it's been on my TBR list for ages). But it's also a really fun series that is full of quirky characters, humor, and tons of actions. I liked the first two books but by the time I got to the third book in the series I was so hooked that the book gave me unexpected feels.

And so after those feels, I knew I desperately needed the final book in the series. The synopsis doesn't give us much to go on but I know it's going to be just as fun and engaging. The Pickleman plot finally coming into fruition? Sophronia saving the day? Finding out about what happens to Soap? I cannot wait to read this book!

What about you? What are you waiting for this Wednesday? Are you waiting for Manners and Mutiny with me? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

ARC Review: Waistcoats & Weaponry by Gail Carriger

Title: Waistcoats & Weaponry Series: Finishing School #3 Author: Gail Carriger Published: November 4, 2014 by Little Brown (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: Class is back in session...  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.

*** I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review in return. This fact has not changed my opinion. ****

If you have been following my reviews of this series you will realize my one major comment about this book, this is a series that keeps getting better. The first book was good, the second book was better, but this one I really enjoyed. The world keeps growing, the characters keep developing, and the plot is becoming much more intricate and mysterious.

What has always struck me about this series is the world. This past year I have become such a fan of steampunk fantasies. The Victorian era has always been a favorite for Historical Fiction and with the addition of machinery and inventions things are all the more interesting. Gail Carriger does a great job of making things like dirigibles, robots, and other inventions seem perfectly normal and completely interesting at the same time. In this book we got to further expand the universe that this world inhabits. Most of the time was spent away from the school, putting what has been learned in previous books into practice.

Plus things are taking on a decidedly more political tone, especially when it comes to the supernatural creatures that inhabit this world. With the first books things were very narrow. We were only introduced to the three major groups within this series: vampires, werewolves, and Picklemen (these are not half men, half pickles. At least I think they're not). In the second book we got to learn more about vampires and their Picklmen and experience a little bit of the dichotomy between these progressive and conservative ideologies respectively. In Weapons & Waistcoats those ideologies came in direct competition. A competition that began early on but was hanging below the surface.  Plus we got to learn more about the werewolves in this book, which was extremely interesting.

However these two different explorations of the world led to a kind of muddled plot development. With the first few books in the series things were extremely narrow. So narrow that it felt like there was almost no plot development. Then in this book there was almost too much! It was like it was making up for lost time when it came to the larger plot of the book while also incorporating an individual storyline for this book. Or maybe this plot was also below the surface and it only come out in this book. Series love doing that, waiting till it's almost over and then telling you everything that they were keeping from you in the previous book. And with things coming to the surface, there was definitely a lot more big reveals in this book. We learned about what is going on within the larger world and really what is at stake. Little things from previous books that seemed unconnected got connected and there was much more mystery again.That being said, I love an exciting plot and this book definitely had a lot of excitment. It was probably the most thrilling of the three books so far and it definitely had the best pacing. Things built to a really exciting conclusion. A conclusion that left me with seriously unexpected feels!

But those feels may have been less about the plot and more about the characters. Since the very beginning I've loved these characters. They're quirky and fun but in this book they became a little bit more complex. With the expansion of the world, we are narrowing our focus on just a few characters. And while some favorites like Vieve and Professor Braithwope were sorely missed in this book, we got to know many of the other characters a lot better. Secondary characters like Dimity, Sidheag, Soap, and Felix had some great character development in this book. And so did Sophronia. For the first time I would say we got to see her in a more vulnerable place. A place where she wasn't entirely sure of herself, where she saw the consequences of her actions, and where she saw that not everything is how she wants it to be. Before this book she was put in difficult situations but this is the first time where she couldn't be the hero and it was kind of nice.

I've really enjoyed being along for the ride with this series. If you had asked me two books ago if I would be anxiously awaiting the conclusion to this series, I would have said probably not, but now I am hooked. I can't wait to see how it will all end. I'm also even more curious about checking out the Parasol Protectorate series now. In the mean time, maybe I will check that series out. I want to see how this world develops and to see what happens to some of these characters (I hear there are familiar faces).

I give Weapons and Waistcoats by Gail Carriger 8.5 out of 10.

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy/Borrow. If you enjoyed the first two books in this series then definitely add this one to your list, it just keeps getting better. If you are looking for a steampunk Young Adult series then check this one out. It has an interesting world, quirky characters, and gets better as it goes one. I would recommend it.

Review: Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger

Title: Curtsies and Conspiracies Series: Finishing School #2 Author: Gail Carriger Published: 2013 by Little Brown (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: 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. In this sequel to New York Times bestselling Etiquette & Espionage, class is back in session with more petticoats and poison, tea trays and treason. Gail's distinctive voice, signature humor, and lush steampunk setting are sure to be the height of fashion this season.

**** I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This fact has not changed my opinion of the book****

Curtsies and Conspiracies once again reminded me that I should wait to judge a series until the second book. While I did like the first book in Gail Carriger's Finishing School series, Etiquette & Espionage, I wasn't really blown away. And while I wasn't blown away by this book either, I found it greatly improved. Curtsies and Conspiracies took the compelling world and interesting characters from the first book and stepped up the plot to make the book much more mysterious and engaging.

In Etiquette & Espionage my favorite thing about the book was the world. I seriously have been really digging the steampunk settings lately. I love that it combines the historic setting with it's ideas and views of society and adds machinery and technology that actually seems and kind of is historically accurate. It's something new and inventive but rooted in history. This series is no exception. In this book we get to spend more time at the floating school, Miss Geraldine's, and learn not only how to be a lady but how to be a spy. It's such a fun and interesting concept, and one that I really enjoyed. And just like most sequels it expanded the world further. Here we got to explore what steampunk London is like, if only briefly. And that exploration of London also included and exploration of the larger society of the time. I'm not sure I would really say that it got more political but we did get to experience the liberal and conservative forces at play in this world, with our fair heroes right in the middle. It created an interesting dimension to the story and I'm sure these two varying forces will come into play as the series develops.

And the world in this book also veered more towards the supernatural. I haven't read the Parasol Protectorate, Carriger's adult series set in this world, so this may be repeat information for those who have read that series, but I really enjoyed learning more about the supernatural side of things. In this book we got to learn a lot more about the vampires who inhabit this steampunk London. What I loved about this is that we got to see and experience vampire society. It wasn't just about how the lore, how vampires are created and who they are, it was about their hierarchy. It was about their strengths but also their weaknesses. It was detailed and interesting, and I loved being able to learn all about them in Curtsies & Conspiracies.

But the real charm of this series is in the characters. The quirky and fun characters. Our main character Sophronia is back and up to her old tricks. She's your typical strong female protagonist, intelligent and brave but rash and rebellious so that it gets her into trouble. She's also too smart for her own good sometimes. But all of this leads to some fun and exciting situations. There are also some great secondary characters and in this book, with the expansion of the world we got a lot more new and interesting characters that I am hoping will come back in later books in the series. And while I still found the oddities of the characters names annoying, in this book it became more laughable and less frustrating. Sure, I'm supposed to be an adult but I can't help it but laugh at names like Professor Shrimpdittle and Lord Dingleproops. I'm sure a teenager while be giggling away at them just like I do.

The best development in this book, however, was with the plot. In the first book I found myself waiting for things to get interesting but here it was interesting almost immediately, and I think that was because of the emphasis on the mystery within the book. Things got much more intricate when it came to the plot development. There was more to figure out, more clues to search for, and more little things becoming big as the book developed. It felt like things were slowly developing to an exciting conclusion and there was still plenty of exciting moments to keep me reading. That being said, I still did have some issues with the pacing. Even though it developed well, it didn't really seem to flow any better. Some moments we got to extremely quickly while others took quite awhile to reach. It felt much more like a series of moments rather than a cohesively developed story.

This book was a fun and interesting second book in a series full of an inventive world and quirky characters and a much more developed plot full of mystery and action.

I give Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger an 8 out of 10

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow. If you're a fan of steampunk YA or looking for something fun and different within the fantasy genre than pick this series up the next time you're at the library.

Have you read Curtsies & Conspiracies? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Review: Ettiquette & Espinoge by Gail Carriger

Title: Etiquette and Espionage Series: Finishing School #1 Author: Gail Carriger Published: 2012 by Little Brown Books (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: 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 the 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.  Set in the same world as the Parasol Protectorate, this YA series debut is filled with all the saucy adventure and droll humor Gail's legions of fans have come to adore.

*** I recieved a copy of this book free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This fact has not changed my opinion***

Gail Carriger has been on my list of authors to read for awhile now. I had first heard about her years ago when her adult series The Parasol Protectorate was first out. At that time I had no idea what steampunk was but it sounded really interesting, however something held me back from picking it up. But lately I have been really enjoying YA steampunk novels and these sort of alternate histories so when I saw copies of this series, which combined a topic I've been loving and an author I've been wanting to try, available on NetGalley I requested right away. And while I enjoyed the book, I didn't fall head over heels like I expected to.

But one thing I did love about this book was the world. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I've really been enjoying steampunk worlds these days. Gail Carriger definitely created an interesting and unique one in this series. She took a well-know trope, the Victorian boarding school, and adding a creative and interesting spin on it. Not only is this not your average finishing school in terms of its curriculum but even its appearance it out of the ordinary. She created a world and a school of steam engines, blimps, and inventions unlike anything I had previously read about. And this unique setting was explained in a way that I could not only imagine the world but I was easily immersed into it.

Then Carriger took this world and inhabited it with quirky and unique characters. The book was full interesting characters that were likable and complex. There were strong female characters, people with secrets I wanted to learn about, and a sprinkling of supernatural creatures. I was pretty fond of the main character Sophronia. She's plucky, intelligent, and tough which makes her perfectly fit in with this setting and the books plot. But there were also some great secondary characters. My only real problem with the characters was their names. I was trying really hard not to be bothered by how weird and confusing they were but it didn't work very well. I mean one of the only character whose name wasn't unpronounceable is Soap! I spent more time trying to learn or pronounce their names than I did trying to get a feel for their personalities. It really did take me out of the story at times, especially in the beginning when the world was being built.

My major criticism of this book, however, was the pacing and plot development. I expect a lot of exposition in the first book in a series. I expect it but that doesn't mean I like it. But this took that concept to a whole new level. It was seriously all about establishing the world and what I would call a "training montage" for almost the whole book. And for a book that is only 300 pages that is kind of problematic. It wasn't until two-thirds of the way through the book that it developed into anything that even resembled real plot development. But when it did pick up, the book was action-packed and engaging. That's when things became less like a Fantasy set in a boarding school and more like a spy thriller or mystery. Those last 100 pages are what will keep me reading this series.

I did also really like Gail Carriger's writing style. Her world-building was on point and the book was full of humor. There were so many moments that made me laugh out loud and so many silly little puns that had me giggling at the subtlety of the humor. The reason why they call it "finishing" school still makes me laugh. But it was a fast and fun read. It's probably more on the lower age-range of the YA spectrum. I would encourage some of the middle grade crowd to check it out if they are trying YA for the first time before moving on to something a little bit more aged up. Fans of more complex and "older" YA may want to try something different though.

I give Ettiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger 7.5 out of 10 

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow. A fun and fast read with a unique and interesting world and complex and likable characters that would be a great library score but I may not suggest buying it until you try it.

Have you read Etiquette & Espionage? What did you think? What are some of your favorite steampunk books that I should check out. Leave me a comment with your thoughts and of course, HAPPY READING!