Etiquette & Espionage

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 Temminick 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.

If you've read any of Gail Carriger's previous books, then you know exactly what to expect from her first foray into Young Adult fiction.  E&E is set 25 years before the events of Soulless, and is probably best described as a boarding school set, steam punk, paranormal adventure.  Filled with tenacious characters that have fantastic, I-have-to-say-these-aloud, names, Espionage and Etiquette is a gloriously silly introduction to Sophronia and chums, proving that Carriger's (albeit a tad watered down) imaginatively crackpot plots translate well into the YA market. 

I didn't think I could love E&E more until I realised that there was no romance...yet.  There are some hints as to romantic liaisons that Sophronia could encounter in the future and I think this is a great choice on Carriger's' part.  This lets any could-be relationship grow in a more organic way rather than they typical YA instant love and devotion for eternity.  Then again, I do like that graduates of Mademoiselle Geraldine's wouldn't marry for love anyway, but rather as another means of Espionage! 

The only problem I had was that Sophronia and Dimity seemed to be Alexia and Ivy mark 2, just replace hats with sparkly things, but then again I couldn't imagine a better pairing to replicate. There's a warmth that radiates from their friendship and I liked the message throughout the book of not under estimating anyone, especially your friends. 

Not that I'm wishing the year away, but could it be November please so I can get my next Carriger fix with the next Finishing School book, Curtsies and Conspiracies?

Timeless

Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living in a vampire's second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell's acting troupe's latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a damper on Alexia's enjoyment of her new London lifestyle.

Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Tunstells in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to cross the Mediterranean. But Egypt may hold more mysteries than even the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does the vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy Tunstell suddenly become the most popular actress in all the British Empire?

I can't say too much about Timeless without spoiling the whole series, but 'Shifting times' is a big theme for the last instalment of the Parasol Protectorate.  In Timeless, Carriger has satisfyingly wrapped up her excellently barmy series in style.  What I loved most about Soulless (book one) was that it felt like these people existed previously beyond the book, and I felt exactly the same when I read the last page of Timeless, in that just because I'm not reading about them doesn't mean they cease to exist having adventures.  I can't recommend this series enough and I am looking forward to future Carriger projects, where my inner voice can become posh once again.

Changeless

The second installment of Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate, Changeless, is a brilliant caper that proves that Carriger is more than capable of expanding a complex series beyond one book.   The ending is a little 'squiffy', as a certain character acts completely irrationally, but this has set up a perfectly workable concept for book three.

  Moving the plot out of London and northwards to rural Scotland, Changeless reveals more of Lord Maccon's past before he became Alpha of the Woolsey pack.  While trying not to reveal anything that could be considered as spoilers, Changeless includes: A hat shop, a dirigible ride that has almost fatal consequences and the transmission mission.  With the Parasol Protectorate, Carriger has created the perfect blend of futuristic Victoriana and the paranormal species.

Soulless

Gail Carriger's books have been on my radar for a while, but for some absurd reason the cover always put me off.  This changed recently, after finally reading the blurb on the back of the book, and I decided to give Soulless, the first in the parasol protectorate series, a chance.

  After finishing Soulless I couldn't express how glad that I finally decided to read this fantastic series.  Alexia Tarrabotti is an intriguing, and somewhat refreshing, character, as are the other colourful creations to be found in Soulless.  In the beginning, it becomes evident that Carriger is extremely adept at developing a world all of her own for her strange characters to inhabit.  Her description of Tarrabotti's world is so vivid and detailed that I wondered if  I had picked up the second book by mistake. 
  The only negative is that perhaps the plot is not as strong as it could have been, but this was a capable entry into what will hopefully be a fascinating series.