Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger: Review

Title: Curtsies & Conspiracies
Author: Gail Carriger
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: November 2013
Length: 320
Series: Finishing School #2
Reason for Discovery: I loved Carriger's Soulless series

From GoodReads:

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. Now, as she sneaks around the dirigible school, eavesdropping on the teachers quarters and making clandestine climbs to the ships boiler room, she learns that there may be more to a school trip to London than is at first apparent. 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 latest Finishing School book, a test is completed, romances are started, and mysteries are solved. Sophronia and the rest of her cohort begin their semester with a test to see how they are doing and whether they are up to Mademoiselle Geraldine's standards. The test does not go well for many of the girls, and as a result, friendships are strained. A simple test does not damper the ladies' spirits on the romance front, however. Dimity, Sophronia's dear friend, continues to be head over heels in love with a boy from their sister school. Sophronia is also starting to attract some attention of her own both from Soap, one of the young men who works at their school, and from Felix, a young man from their sister school. Although Sophronia is not ready to throw her hat into the courting ring, Soap and Felix are both ready to catch it. Finally, a school for finishing is also not without its danger. Some kidnappers appear to be intent on snatching Dimity and her brother, and when the villains are not after these two, they seem to be after a certain mechanical piece.

Before I say anything else, I want to give one caveat. If you are not familiar with the Finishing School series, you should start with Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School #1). Although I will start a series in the middle at times, this series relies on the reader know what is going on. You are given a little background to remind the reader of what happened previously, but a new reader to this series will only be confused.

This book was so much fun. I think I might actually want to go to Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality more than I want to go to Hogwarts. I know that sounds a bit crazy, but I love the idea of learning how to be a spy and how to "finish" someone (pun intended), while at the time, acting the part of the lady. I know it may sound crazy, but I think learning how to manage conspiracies and curtsies seems a bit more practical than magic. 

Alright, I should probably talk a little bit about this book. Just like in the first book, I found the characters to be quite lovely. Sophronia is definitely the most well-thought out character; however, the other characters are well-described as well. The girls are almost like Carrie and the gang from Sex and the City. What I mean is that Sophronia (and Carrie) are well thought out, because their adventure is the main one; and Sophronia and Carries' respective groups are a little less three-dimensional, but they are still loads of fun. Because Sophronia's relationship with her cohort are strained in this book, we don't get to learn a lot about the girls in this book, and this makes me sad. Some of the characters in this book are seen later in the Soulless series, and I would love to get to know them even more.
 
The B plot line spun through this book is a blooming love triangle with Sophronia, Felix (boy from the sister school), and Soap (boy who works at the school). I do not know what to think about this! There are reasons for Sophronia to end up with either of these young men, but there are also reasons for her not to be courted by either. I feel that this storyline reminds me more of a Gale versus Peeta situation (it wasn't until the final book that I saw which way the tide was going) than a Edward versus Jacob situation (was there really any doubt which way Bella was going?). Because this is a YA book, I think Sophronia will end up having some sort of romance. I must admit that I am really hoping that Sophronia will end up single in the end. I don't get the impression Sophronia is ready for married life just yet, even if that was the status quo for the era.
 
Okay, we should probably discuss the central plot to this book. As I mentioned above, someone is trying to kidnap Dimity and her brother. Also, people are after certain mechanical pieces. The plot was tight and worked well. It probably would have made a bit more sense, if I wasn't trying to inhale the book in one sitting. I wish the story arc that is being thread through this series was a bit more interesting to me. I am personally not that interested in this amazing piece of technology. I am hoping that once the series is complete and the final parts of the storyline completed, I will be more interested in it. This happened with the Soulless series. During my reread, I became fascinated with the overarching story arc.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The plot was fun and the characters are great. Some of the little plot twists seemed a bit obvious to me, but this may be because the book is YA. If you are a fan of Carriger and/or supernatural steampunk, you should try this series out. I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book.

I give this book a 4 out of 5.
 

18 comments:

Kimberly @ Turning the Pages said...
November 20, 2013 at 2:04 AM

I've really got to start reading this author's books. It seems like every other blogger is talking about them and I feel like I'm the only one left who hasn't tried her. It sounds like an interesting book that's for sure.
-Kimberly @ Turning the Pages

Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard said...
November 20, 2013 at 2:36 PM

I've been waiting to read this ever since I finished the first book! Alas, I was turned down for an advance copy, and given my book budget, I have to wait for the library to get them (and get them cataloged, which is taking longer in these days of budget cuts.) At any rate, I'm glad you rated it so highly, and I am really looking forward to it!

ErinPaperbackstash said...
November 20, 2013 at 8:46 PM

I liked her first book in the Gail C. series. I didn't know about this one.

Unknown said...
November 20, 2013 at 11:55 PM

Her books are so much fun. They are like candy. You may want to start with Soulless. It is the first book in her adult series. You can read it in an afternoon. If you decide to read book 2, make sure you have book 3 handy, because it ends on a cliffhanger!

Unknown said...
November 20, 2013 at 11:57 PM

My husband and I moved to PA in August. The first thing I did after I got my driver's license was get a library card, so I could put in a hold for this book. I wish I could say I am kidding, but I am not. I am a poor grad student, so I know what you are talking about. I was like 8 in line for the first book, and it took a couple of months to get my hands on it! I hope you get it soon!

Unknown said...
November 20, 2013 at 11:58 PM

The Finishing School series is her YA series that takes place in the Soulless universe. It is a ton of fun and classic Carriger, if you liked her Soulless series.

Chanzie said...
November 21, 2013 at 6:01 AM

Awesome Review Pamela and I enjoyed the babbling of little things other than the plot :) I think you would really enjoy Colleen Gleason's Gardella Vampire Chronicles! Have peek when you have a gap in your reading schedule :)

Chanzie @ Mean Who You Are.

Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer said...
November 21, 2013 at 8:41 AM

This series is on my wishlist. I love these type of settings and wow if you want to attend this academy more than Hogwarts well that is saying something. Lovely review!

Tabitha (Pabkins) said...
November 22, 2013 at 1:05 PM

I still haven't read her parasol books or one of these. I think I own the first one I really need to read it should I! Ok ok - will do stat!

Unknown said...
November 23, 2013 at 12:35 AM

A gap in my reading schedule? You are so funny. :) I will add the series to my list though! :) I am sorry, if I babbled too much! I had a hard time writing an actual review for this book, I actually cut down on some of the babbling. I think I need to start using a review template to focus better!

Unknown said...
November 23, 2013 at 12:37 AM

I think I would enjoy being a spy/potential assassin/upper class lady over a witch. I think there would be slightly less memorization involved. Hogwarts always made me nervous will all the spell memorization.

Unknown said...
November 23, 2013 at 12:38 AM

LOL.I hope you enjoy Soulless. It will probably be an uplifting read after NOS4A2. I read Horns by Joe Hill a few months ago, and I need to read something a bit happy after that. :)

Tressa @ Wishful Endings said...
November 23, 2013 at 3:06 AM

I really loved the first book in this series and am definitely planning on reading this one whenever I get my hands on a copy. Great review!

Tressa @ Tressa's Wishful Endings

Unknown said...
November 23, 2013 at 9:54 PM

If you loved the first one, you will love this one too! :)

Chanzie said...
November 25, 2013 at 12:47 AM

ha ha I know, Gaps in the reading schedule are as scarce as hen's teeth! But sometimes a book is just so good (Obviously just my opinion) that you need to squeeze it in somewhere!

Unknown said...
November 26, 2013 at 12:14 AM

I got the book from the library, so it is closer to being read than just being on my TBR list now! :)

Chanzie said...
November 26, 2013 at 12:45 AM

Yay! I am so happy to hear this *Happy dance* I really hope you enjoy them as much as I did. I couldn't even buy the last 2 books here in SA, I had to get them from the US due to some selling rights issue, but it was all so worth it :) Currently The GVC are on my re-read list!

Unknown said...
November 26, 2013 at 10:10 PM

That is so frustrating to hear that you couldn't get the last two books in the series in SA! I am glad to hear that you were able to get the books from the US. I don't want to know what the shipping costs were!

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