Publisher:
Atom
Release
Date: 5th
February 2013
Edition:
UK paperback,
review copy
Other
Titles by this Author: Soulless, Changeless,
Blameless, Heartless, Timeless
It’s
one thing to learn to curtsey properly. It’s quite another to learn to curtsey
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 curtsey. Mrs Temminnick is
desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrols Sophronia in
Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.
But
Sophronia soon realises the school is not quite what her mother might have
hoped. At Mademoiselle’s Geraldine’s young ladies...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
& Espionage is
probably the book I’ve had the most fun reading so far this year. It’s funny,
clever, action packed and so unique.
There’s such an unusual tone to
this book and I struggled to work out how to describe it. It’s Victorian, but
not; modern but old-fashioned; amusing but not side crushingly funny – whatever
it was, it certainly complimented such a magical and individual world. I mean,
it’s not often you get a vampire professor, lessons in seduction and deception
and go to school on a floating ship. It’s a brilliant world and I can’t wait to
discover more about it as the series goes on.
One of my favourite elements of
Etiquette & Espionage were the
ridiculous names and delightful characters that accompanied Sophronia on her
journey. Now Sophronia is a pretty unusual name, but apparently it’s just an
archaic version of Sophie or Sophia – maybe that’s what I should make people
call me from now on... Lots of the other names, however? Pure, brilliant
nonsense: Mrs Barnaclegoose, Frowbritcher and Lord Dingleproops are my
favourites. Couple them with Sophronia’s partners in crime: Soap, Dimity and
Vieve and you have a book full of incredible characters, most of them who you
can’t help but love.
Along with the pure excellence
of the world building and characterisation, Sophronia is investigating a
mystery. A mysterious prototype is hidden during Sophronia’s journey to Mademoiselle
Geraldine’s and she’s determined to find out what it is, where it is and how to
get it back in the hands of the right people. Her methods are ingenious and
often dangerous and well, you’ll have to read the book to find out if she
managed her goal!
Gail Carriger has started the Finishing School series will a fantastically
fun book and I can't wait to read Curtsies & Conspiracies.
Thank you to Atom for sending
me a copy to review.
Sophie
I haven't had much luck with spy books but this sounds so fun!
ReplyDelete- Ellie at The Selkie Reads Stories
I really need to read something, anything from this author! Looks amazing :D
ReplyDeleteI love your new theme, Sophie! It really suits your blog.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds so good and I'm definitely going to be adding it to my wishlist now. Lovely review! :)