Manners and Mutiny by Gail Carriger

Title: Manners and Mutiny (The Finishing School #4)

Author: Gail Carriger

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company 2015

Genre: YA Paranormal

Pages: 330

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Books - W44

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.

Oh my! A very fitting conclusion to this series. I loved seeing the Picklemen's plan uncovered by Sophronia and her band of misfit intelligencers. Very exciting! Plus we get the return of so many side character. And most importantly, we find out everyone's allegiances. (I really should have Agatha's, but she took me by surprise). This volume is a well-paced adventure from page one. Definitely an enjoyable read!

The Finishing School

Waistcoats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger

Title: Waistcoats and Weaponry(The Finishing School #3)

Author: Gail Carriger

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company 2014

Genre: YA Paranormal

Pages: 317

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Read My Own Damn Books

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 hijack a suspiciously empty train to return their chum Sidheag to her werewolf pack in Scotland. But when Sophronia discovers they are being trailed by a dirigible of Picklemen and flywaymen, she unearths a plot that threatens to throw all of London into chaos. With her friends in mortal danger, Sophronia must sacrifice what she holds most dear--her freedom.

Loved this volume in the series! But oh man, that ending nearly killed me. Way to tear at the heartstrings Carriger. Usually I'm not a fan of constant action in a book, but this one just seemed like a rollicking good time. We get so much good action but also some great character development scenes. I especially loved the scenes featuring both Soap and Felix. So much fun! Plu

The Finishing School

#1 Etiquette and Espionage
#2 Curtsies and Conspiracies
#3 Waistcoats and Weaponry
#4 Manners and Mutiny

Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Carriger

Title: Curtsies and Conspiracies(The Finishing School #2)

Author: Gail Carriger

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company 2013

Genre: YA Paranormal

Pages: 329

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Read My Own Damn Books; 52 Books - W32

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.

My fun series for August! After reading a bunch of nonfiction books, I needed something light and fluffy. This volume was just the thing! I love Sophronia and her motley crew of intelligencers and assorted helpers. I wished to see more of Soap and Vieve int his volume. We got a decent amount of Soap, but Vieve was left to just make appearances. And it seems that Vieve will not be regulated to guest appearances in the series. Boo! She's amazing! But we did get an appearance from some powerful vampires, most notable Lord Akeldama, one of my favorite characters from the Parasol Protectorate series. Will be diving into the third book soon...

The Finishing School

#1 Etiquette and Espionage
#2 Curtsies and Conspiracies
#3 Waistcoats and Weaponry
#4 Manners and Mutiny

Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger

Title: Etiquette and Espionage (The Finishing School #1)

Author: Gail Carriger

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company 2013

Genre: YA Paranormal

Pages: 307

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Read My Own Damn Books; Women Authors

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.

I picked this series up on the basis of my enjoyment of the Parasol Protectorate series. This particular series is set a few decades before that one. And I enjoyed this one also. I love how this series throws the reader right into the action. We are forced to figure out what is going on right along with Sophronia. The convention definitely works in this instance. While I like Sophronia, I think the side characters really make this series for me. I loved meeting all the professors and students. Plus, we get some intriuging scenes with Genevieve Lefoux. Love the connections to the Parasol Protectorate series. The writing isn't quite as exciting as as the other series, but this is young adult. And I'm okay with it. I can't wait to read the next volume.

The Finishing School

#1 Etiquette and Espionage
#2 Curtsies and Conspiracies
#3 Waistcoats and Weaponry
#4 Manners and Mutiny

The Curious Case of the Werewolf that Wasn't... by Gail Carriger

Title: The Curious Case of the Werewolf that Wasn't, the Mummy that Was, and the Cat in the Jar (The Parasol Protectorate #5.5)

Author: Gail Carriger

Publisher: 2014

Genre: Steampunk Paranormal

Pages: 32

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

A short tale of mummies, werewolves, and well preserved felines set in the world of the Parasol Protectorate. Alessandro Tarabotti and his valet, Floote, are on a mission in Egypt when they encounter visiting tourists and things go all pie shaped. What is his real mission and will his Aunt Archangelica approve of his treatment of her cat?

A little short story about Alexia Tarabotti's father. Last night I finished a very intense book (High Rise by J.G. Ballard) and wasn't ready for bed yet but also didn't want to start some other intense book. Scrolling through my Kindle app, I realized that I had this story still sitting unread. So I dove in. This was a nice little throwback to the Parasol Protectorate series. We get to see Alexia's father in action in Egypt and we get some information about the werewolf that wasn't. We also revisit Floote. This was such a fun little short story. It got me in the mood to start Carriger's Finishing School series.

Parasol Protectorate

#1 Soulless
#2 Changeless
#3 Blameless
#4 Heartless
#5 Timeless
#5.5 The Curious Case of the Werewolf that Wasn't...

Timeless by Gail Carriger

Title: Timeless (The Parasol Protectorate #5)

Author: Gail Carriger

Publisher: Orbit 2012

Genre: Steampunjk Paranormal

Pages: 416

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fantasy; A to Z -- T; Mount TBR

How I Got It: I own it!

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 am in love with each and every one of the characters in this series. I love them all equally. I really cannot decided who is my favorite. Ms. Carriger has made me want to live in her version of Victorian England. I want to be best friends with Alexia. I want to run into Lord Akeldama and his drones at social gatherings. I want to see the productions of the Tunstells. I want to buy a hat from Biffy. I want to peruse Madame Lefoux's gadgets. And I want to marvel at the dirigbles and ballon travels and general wonderment. This series is one of my favorites in a very long time.

Alexia Tarabotti

#1 Soulless
#2 Changeless
#3 Blameless
#4 Heartless
#5 Timeless

Heartless by Gail Carriger

Title: Heartless (Parasol Protectorate #4)

Author: Gail Carriger

Publisher: Orbit 2011

Genre: Steampunk

Pages: 385

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Steampunk

How I Got It: I own it!

Lady Alexia Maccon, soulless, is at it again, only this time the trouble is not her fault. When a mad ghost threatens the queen, Alexia is on the case, following a trail that leads her deep into her husband's past. Top that off with a sister who has joined the suffragette movement (shocking!), Madame Lefoux's latest mechanical invention, and a plague of zombie porcupines and Alexia barely has time to remember she happens to be eight months pregnant.
Will Alexia manage to determine who is trying to kill Queen Victoria before it is too late? Is it the vampires again or is there a traitor lurking about in wolf's clothing? And what, exactly, has taken up residence in Lord Akeldama's second best closet?

I think this was my favorite one yet from the series. I love pregnant Alexia; she's feisty but clumsy. She's such a treat to continue to follow her unconventional life. Although I love her to pieces, Lord Akeldama and Biffy have become my favorite characters. The interplay between those two is just fantastic. Carriger has captured me again. I can't wait to read Timeless and find out what happens with the baby, the newly installed hive and of course the pack. It's such a shame I have to wait until spring!

Alexia Tarabotti

Blameless by Gail Carriger

Title: Blameless (Parasol Protectorate #3)

Author: Gail Carriger

Publisher: Orbit 2010

Genre: Steampunk

Pages: 374

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Steampunk

How I Got It: I own it!

Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season.
Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London's vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead.
While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires -- and they're armed with pesto.

So good!!!! I love the adventure and paranormal in these books. They're like a supernatural Indiana Jones story. Alexia is still feisty, even after encountering killer ladybugs, Germans, vampires, and Templars. I loved the continued inclusion of Madama Lefoux. A very interesting character indeed. And we get to resolve at least part of the cliffhanger from last book. I must read Heartless soon.

Alexia Tarabotti

Changeless by Gail Carriger

Title: Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2)

Author: Gail Carriger

Publisher: Orbit 2010

Genre: Steampunk

Pages: 386

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Steampunk

How I Got It: I own it!

Alexia Tarabotti, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears - leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria.
But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. Even when her investigations take her to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only the soulless can.
She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.

Another great book to add to the series. I love feisty Alexia, stubborn Conall, and the frivolous Miss Ivy. Carriger's characters are her strength. Sure the story is fun. The mystery is intriguing. The action is fast-paced. Yet, through all this it's the characters that keep me reading. It's the characters that keep me wanting for more. She has the ability to develop well-rounded characters that are each three-dimensional and complicated. Even the side characters are interesting. I loved Tunstell. Felicity keep Alexia on her witty toes. Conall's great great great granddaughter embodies the famous Scottish charm. All of the Kingair pack are components in the plan. Madame Lefoux is a welcome addition, a mysterious and fashionable addition. My only wish was for more Professor Lyall. Hopefully next book.

Alexia Tarabotti

Soulless by Gail Carriger

Title: Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1)

Author: Gail Carriger

Publisher: Orbit 2009

Genre: Steampunk; Paranormal

Pages: 373

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Steampunk

How I Got It: I own it!

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great man social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.
Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire--and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.
With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia is responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

I loved this book! A beautiful blend of steampunk and paranormal with some great characters. I really beginning to like these "supernaturals have come out" types of books. How do they integrate or not integrate into society? What is their role? Are they still dangerous or just fun oddities? These aren't Twilight supernaturals. There's always an edge of danger every time one appears. I just loved the world. Plus there was dirigibles and inventive weapons. And some gruesome experimental machines. The steampunk elements were all there. The storyline was fun with some great twists at the end. I appreciated the whodunit aspect and finding out with Alexia what was going on. It was a refreshing change from the third person omnipotent or the incredibly dense first person monologue. Alexia was a breath of fresh air. A confident spinster who operates within her academic passions as opposed to fashion and husband hunting. Nevermind that she gets the husband in the end, it makes sense for her evolution of her character and Lord Maccon is definitely dreamy. I'm also very attached to her vampire friend Lord Akeldama and werewolf Beta Professor Lyall. I loved this characters so much. There's more to them than what meets the eye. I hope they make appearances in the subsequent novels. I have the next three (fifth book hasn't been released yet) and am ready to dive in. Well, next week's readathon in which I must get rid of some library and Net Galley books first.

Alexia Tarabotti