Gail Carriger

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.

Etiquette & Espionage

In an alternate England of 1851, spirited fourteen-year-old Sophronia is enrolled in a finishing school where, she is suprised to learn, lessons include not only the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but also diversion, deceit, and espionage.

Etiquette & espionage

Sarah Sammis

Rebecca C Wright

What do you do when you miss the world of Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate? Read THIS book of course. A precocious new character and a plot teeming with intrigue. It will leave you anxious to find out what Sophronia gets herself into while learning to "Finish" whatever comes her way:)

As one would expect Carriger's writing is funny and fast paced. The detail of the world and the character is very well done and you will feel yourself drawn in and staying up late to find out what Sophronia and her friends will find out next about their wonderful "finishing" school.

I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys a strong female protagonist as well as anyone that loves humor and adventure. This series is bound to please a wide variety of readers.

Zahra

Briar's Reviews

Etiquette & Espionage is an interesting start to a steampunk-is young adult series.

I was thrilled to read this book because I am loving the nostalgia jump to my high school years. Unfortunately, this book just didn't do it for me. Let me explain why...

This story felt like it had no real plot. The plot that it did have felt like it was over in the first half of the book. Get our lead character to the school: Done! Then... exist at the school? Face some petty teenage drama? Talk to some people? I didn't quite get where it was going. I expected some cool Harry Potter meets age appropriate Kingsmen with Gail Carriger's own spice flourishing throughout the pages but it just fell flat. The weird thing is I didn't even go in with high expectations - I just wanted some fun.

I think this book is basically the introduction to the series but I don't want to continue on if the other books lack plot. That's where my problem is at the moment. The writing is cool, the steampunk idea is fun but it just lacks substance. 

If you're in a reading slump then don't grab this book. I found myself inching my way through it and feeling like I was stuck in quicksand. It has cool writing and it feels old school but just doesn't connect. I've read other reviews that suggest reading her main series as this is kind of a YA prequel series if I want the real effect. So maybe that's the way to go? 

Overall, this book wasn't for me. I was quite bored with it and that let me down. I am sure there are people out there who will love this book! Unfortunately, I need plot and movement to be interested in a book. Just existence isn't enough for me as a reader. I also don't get any references to previous books since I haven't read them. From my understanding, you could go into this book without reading the main series.

Biggest positive: I absolutely love the covers. They are gorgeous.

One out of five stars.

Emelie

1,5owls. 


Someone should've told me that this was about vampires and werewolves... not impressed!

Connor 

I should probably say this is a 4, but the audiobook was SO DELIGHTFUL I'm bumping it up. My compliments to Miss Quirk on another EXCELLENT execution of a Carriger novel.

Martin

The book is well written in terms of craft. What it lacks is depth.
The world, the characters and their relationships, all is handled superficially. Even the plot is completely straightforward. There are no twists or betrayals, or anything surprising.
There are vampires and werewolves, there are semi-intelligent robots, there are schools where kids get sent by their parents to be spies and assassins (girls) or evil masterminds (boys), but all that is just touched upon.
This is exemplified by the ending when the book gets wrapped up in about two pages.
 
There's definitely potential it just isn't realized.

Amanda Kordeliski

I freely admit I am not a fan of steampunk. Some of my kids are and I really want to find a book in this genre I like to have some common ground. This is not that book. Part steampunk part paranormal fantasy, I was hoping the paranormal fantasy part of the book would sway me into loving it. What is to love? The tedious descriptions of all things mechanical? The pretentious old world vocabulary my kids will not relate to in any way? The marked absence of plot? I am curious to hand this book to my students who love steampunk and hear their assessment of this novel. I will shelve this one on my "books I didn't like but you might love" shelve and see how many give it rave reviews.

Sarah Escorsa

I enjoyed Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series very much but was quite disappointed with this first instalment of Finishing School.

I think the whole idea behind the book is great and actually liked the first part of the book but it just became boring and quite uninteresting halfway through. What did bother me was that it felt like a weak, steampunk version of Harry Potter. I guess that if you haven't read The Parasol Protectorate this whole steampunk world might feel exciting and new but if you're already familiar with it then Etiquette & Espionage isn't quite thrilling. Well it wasn't to me anyway!

I probably won't be reading the rest of the series.

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. 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.

Etiquette and Espionage

Krystin Widener

This is a fun and fast-paced story that is a great introduction into steampunk for young adults. The characters are relateable and endearing. 

Erin Russell

3 1/2 stars. I really only enjoyed this book at about half way. I found the first half to be slow, but definitely worth trudging through. I enjoy the familiar but still distinct personality of Sophronia. Also I'm smitten with the addition of Soap and young Genevieve. Although I liked both Ivy and Dimity, I found them to both to be practically the same person. I hope in further books that they go further into what makes these character tick. I'll definitely be continuing these books because I love Gail's writing style.

Edit after reading up to book 3: Dimity and Ivy are once again similar in personality but I no longer think they're copies.

Cindy Lee

Read more of my reviews at Secrets of Lost Words.

Rating: A-

Etiquette & Espionage looked like the kind of kickass book I'd want to read and that's why I picked it up. The cover is so gorgeous with the girl, the scissor, and the purple background. This book talks about Sophronia who is sent to a finishing school to become a proper lady. But the school isn't what is seems.

My favorite characters were Sophronia, Dimity, and Soap (whose name is actually Phineas). I love how Sophronia always manages to get in trouble. She can't seem to not involve herself in things and her need to figure things out always gets the best of her. Dimity is her best friend. She always supports Sophronia no matter how crazy the stunt might be. And Soap *smiles dreamily*. I think he's love interest in the book but there wasn't romance (which I didn't mind at all). It isn't good for Sophronia to like Soap because Soap is black and he's sootie. Kind of forbidden love, I guess? It might be bad but the thing I loved most about the book is the mechanical dog! Bumbersnoot is so cute and always licking at his coal. Even though he poops out ashes sometimes, I still love him :3

In this book, Sophronia definitely has a great adventure. There were no ends to her stunts and she always manages to find a way to get into trouble. The whole group is just Sophronia, Dimity, and Soap (sometimes Dimity's brother is there too). I love seeing them all together, solving the puzzle. They had to figure out where the prototype might be and bring it back to the academy.

I wish we found out more about who the bad guys were and why they wanted the prototype. With its endless adventures, enjoyable humour, and kickass heroine (don't forget the dog!), Etiquette & Espionage is definitely one of my favorite books of 2013.

Kerry Gibbons

Hilarious and adorable book! I'm so on board to read this whole series.

AND the voice actor was GREAT with all the voices and accents and what have you. She was totally into it.
I mean any book that mentions a sentient dumbwaiter in the first few paragraphs has my vote.

Kayla 

laura

I thought this was super fun read. I really loved how this book combined some elements that i have love recently including regency time period, mystery and also paranormal elements. This book was a fun read and one that a i flew through. I also liked how this book had a wide range of characters and some fun "animal" sidekicks. I have never read her adult series, but still was able to follow this book series. I really screamed at me and reminded me of the mortal insuruments world. I really liked book one and found it be a fun read, and def will read the rest of this series. It was fun but did not wow me, and became a new favorite.

Lisa Collins

Pam Sartain

Gail Carriger writes excellent steampunk mystery books, which I adore!

Anastaciya

Faith Collins

Much preferred Gail's adult series but this was still good! Maybe a little too steampunk for me?

Nikki Sojkowski

It's not as bad as I thought it was going to be. The main character was pretty cool and her friends were each different and interesting. Their society could have been explained a but more with the Pistons and the Picklemen but overall it was an ok book.

Ella Dewars

Eh. It was fine. Not my favorite, certainly.

Based off of only the cover and the jacket, I had expected something a little different. To me, it seemed like the plot wasn't very there for much of it, if you know what I mean. It was slow, but not exactly, because in all the parts that it was slow, something 'important' was happening.

The other thing I didn't really like was that it was written in a way that seemed childish. I mean, yes, the main character is 14, but I'm 15, and I can promise you... That's not exactly the way that a 14 year old thinks. Her thought process seemed befitting of a 10-12 year old.

It was an interesting and fairly unique concept, and it was enjoyable to read, but it isn't something that I'll be going to back to time and time again. I highly doubt that I would read it again, even just once more.

Celia Adams

Such a fun and clever series, good for fans of Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls and probably best for middle school and young high school.