Curtsies and Conspiracies is the second book in the Finishing School series. Steampunk Victorian teen girls learning to be spies? NEED I SAY MORE? This was a cute, fun, intriguing read. The characters, especially Sophronia are really starting to become their own in this installment. The plot wasn't as interesting as the first book, but I didn't mind because I have grown quite attached to the cast and enjoy reading about their daily lives!

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Books for Young Readers for providing me with this egalley to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
This book picks up right where the last book left off. We already know Sophronia and who she is. We know what's she's willing to do. And now we are thrown into another conspiracy and follow her story a bit more.
The plot throws us back into this steampunk world (I love me some steampunk). Plus you see the main character grow a bit, learning to take things more seriously and realize others can get hurt by her actions. I will say, it's not as exciting as the first book. It moved a little slower but it seems that may have been the author's intention to help her character grow. There are serious part but also funny parts.
I continue to love Sophronia and who she is becoming. She continues to be a bit sassy and definitely has a great mind for getting out of sticky situations. She's also faced with some lessons involving boys. I like that the author doesn't rely on romance to move the book along, though.
Overall this one was fun but not as fun as the first one.

This is a great young adult series. I love the steam punk element. It contains a love triangle which isn't my favorite, but the characters are interesting and the writing is good.

Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality is not your ordinary Finishing School. It is also a secret training ground to turn qualified young ladies into spies. Second year student Sophronia uses the skills she learns to listen in on teachers and sneak into places where she doesn't belong. But then what 15 year old student doesn't do that? The difference is she's highly trained in it.

This year Sophronia will need to work alongside some of our supernatural friends, werewolves and vampires, to help stop a conspiracy taking place in London. And when she's not fighting she's honoring her dance card.

I wasn't particularly keen on the first book in the series (that was a long time ago and all I remember was that I didn't like it much), but I found this to be an amusing, entertaining quick read. Sophronia seemed more playful, more her age, than I remember previously, and despite her dignified training, she knows how to make the best of a situation.

I didn't take this very seriously, but I had a good time. It was sort of the literary equivalent to having a candy bar between meals - a little something to sustain you between more fulfilling reads.

This is not a new series (it was published back in 2013) but if you pick up a copy you may find a fun beach read with a book that you can comfortably leave in a Little Free Library somewhere.

Looking for a good book? Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger is a high-adventure story, targeted teen girls who want to see themselves as high society spies.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I love Gail and promise to read this some day.
I just needed to clear up my shelf in NetGalley.
I am sure I will LOVE this series.
Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles.
I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

BOOK REPORT for the Finishing School series (Etiquette & Espionage, Curtsies & Conspiracies, Waistcoats & Weaponry, and Manners & Mutiny) by Gail Carriger

Cover Stories: Fancy Dresses
BFF Charm: Yay to Platinum
Swoonworthy Scale: 6
Talky Talk: Classic Carriger
Bonus Factors: Paranormal Creatures, Gender Bending, Boarding School
Anti-Bonus Factor: 1800s Society
Relationship Status: True Love

Red alert! This review covers all four Finishing School books—Etiquette & Espionage, Curtsies & Conspiracies, Waistcoats & Weaponry, and Manners & Mutiny. I will do my best to avoid spoilers, as always, but I wanted to give a warning that the chance for spoilers is slightly higher than in a standard one-book review.

Cover Stories: Fancy Dress
We meet again, old frenemy! But in this case, the fancy-dressed ladies (lady?) are quite appropriate, as the young women who attend the finishing school in question certainly spend a large amount of time talking and thinking about their dresses. (Pretty standard for the 1850s.) I do love the inclusion of the weapons, however, as they make it clear that these aren't your standard finishing school books.

The Deal:
With all her elder siblings, Sophronia Temminnick never dreamed that she'd be the one to attend a finishing school. But when the opportunity arises for her to attend Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality, her mother jumps at the chance to cull some of Sophronia's more trying qualities. What Sophoronia's mother didn't expect, however, was that Mademoiselle Geraldine's wasn't a standard finishing school; instead, the school's a place for young women of "quali-tay" to learn how to become assassins, spies, and all-around badasses—the perfect place for a young woman like Sophronia.

BFF Charm: Yay to Platinum
Sophronia is the kind of young woman I think I would have been had I lived in the 1850s: a weirdo who doesn't exactly fit with the times, and is 100% OK with that. Through the four books of the Finishing School series, Sophronia grows from precocious to self-confident but never stops being inquisitive, loyal, and willing to put herself on the line for her friends or what's right—even when what's right might not be proper! (Le gasp.) She and her best friends might not be the most popular girls at the school, but they're all the better for it. Popularity is overrated; intelligence is where it's at, and Sophronia has that in spades. We might have butted heads a little, with both of us being the kind of women who take charge of group projects out of a sense of self-preservation, but I imagine we'd learn to let each other lead where our strengths were best, and rely on each other for filling in the weaker spots.

(I'm really sad she's not a real person for me to be friends with, y'all!)

Swoonworthy Scale: 6
Sophronia's not really looking for a relationship, mostly because she's afraid that saddling herself to a husband would mean giving up all of her agency. (She's not wrong? Not in that era.) But she can't help that young men find her smile irresistible. Specifically Soap, a "sootie" who works in the bowels of the school, keeping it afloat—did I forget to mention that Mademoiselle Geraldine's is a massive airship?—and Lord Felix Mersey, a young noble who might not have such noble intentions.

Talky Talk: Classic Carriger
Carriger is known for her historical paranormal, but the Finishing School series is her first foray into the YA world. It takes place in the same universe as her Parasol Protectorate books, but a couple of decades prior. The series is full of heart and characters you can cheer for, but the best part is Carriger's unusual sense of humor and her hilariously inventive names. Professor Shrimpdittle and Lord Dingleproops are two examples of the latter, while here's one of my favorite examples of the former:

"He was very pale and boasted an unassuming mustache, which was perched atop his upper lip cautiously, as though it were slightly embarrassed to be there and would like to slide away and become a sideburn or something more fashionable."

Bonus Factor: Paranormal Creatures
Mademoiselle Geraldine's has both a vampire and a werewolf on their faculty, and Sophronia finds herself dealing with many more of the two species throughout her adventures. And there's even the occasional ghost!

Bonus Factor: Gender Bending
There's a character in this series who is a young woman, but who dresses and acts much more like a young man, and would prefer to be seen as much. (I can't blame her; dudes really did* have it easier!) It's not clear if she's non-binary, but I don't know that that was a term used in the 1800s, so gender-bending it is.

*Hahaha, did. *cries*

Bonus Factor: Boarding School
Apart from the whole learning to kill people thing, Mademoiselle Geraldine's sounds like an absolutely killer (pun intended) boarding school. Imagine getting to float about the English countryside, training in poisons and spycraft while wearing fancy dresses and taking fancy tea. The idea of multiple petticoats makes me itchy, but I'm sure I'd get used to it eventually!

Anti-Bonus Factor: 1800s Society
Although Sophronia tends to buck societal standards, she still finds herself having to follow them. And she's also not entirely forward-thinking, at least at first; her thoughts about her friendship/maybe more with Soap are often colored by elements of classism and racism—Soap's both lower-class and Black. It's accurate for the time period and Sophronia's much more "modern" than many of her peers, but it's a definite downside(s) to a historical setting.

Relationship Status: True Love
You're a perfect mix of adventure and amusement, Series, and although we spent a lot of time together recently, I didn't tire of you one bit. I can see us being an item for a long, long time to come.

I unfortunately was not able to read this book. I was excited when ever I had chosen to download or pick this book up on Netgalley. However, time moves by so quickly and I never got to read it.

This was fun! Just like the first one, just a slightly different variation of fun, I think. I do really enjoy these books as sort of silly light reads, set within a delightful little world.

I didn't care for this book. I was hoping it would engage me more than the first, and it did a little. Just not enough for me to finish the series. This is definitely written for younger readers. If you have a middle schooler, I'm sure they'd enjoy it more than I did.

I enjoyed reading this because it was a fun, quick, light read. My main problem is that there is zero complexity in the books. It is completely devoid of substance with a drawn-out plot. The writing is awesome; it is funny, it is flippant, it doesn't take itself seriously at all. There is basically nothing serious about this book even though it features a mystery/ spy parts. It’s incredibly hard to remember much as it evaporates immediately upon finishing the book.

After reading this one, I lowered my rating of Etiquette & Espionage to a 3 as well. These books just don't feel complete. They feel rushed and disjointed. I liked the focus on the supernaturals and I love Viev! Also the relationship between Sophie (why can't we call her Sophie?!) and Soap is fun. The audio has such a plethora of English accents, it's wild. Some are really annoying aka Pressia(sp?)/Monique! Such a rushed ending, again! I will continue with the series, only 2 books left.

Series Salute for the Finishing School Series.

1. The Characters' Names
Call me crazy, but the characters' names are pretty much my very favorite thing about these books. Sophronia Temminnick, Dimity Plumleigh-Teignmott, Pillover Plumleigh-Teignmott, Sigheag Maccon, Monique de Polouse, Soap. These are just about the greatest names in all of YA literature.

2. The Mix of Paranormal and Steampunk Elements
Why settle for one when you can have both? That definitely seems to be Gail Carriger's approach with the Finishing School series. Sure there are werewolves and vampires, but there are also steam-powered engines, mechanicals, and mechanimals. But it's not always an easy alliance between the paranormal and the technological.

3. Girl Spies
I love girl spies because no one expects a prim and properly finished girl to also be adept at espionage, but that is only one of the reasons these girls are so adept at spying. These girls are also talented and highly trained.(More girl spies here, here, here, and here.)

4. The Weapons
A lady never goes anywhere without a handkerchief, but at Mademoiselle Geraldine's, the reasoning is more complex. I love the way even the most innocuous things, like sewing scissors or a fan, are weapons in this series. I also enjoy the inventive weapons and maneuvers, like the wicker chicken and the fan and sprinkle.

5. The School Setting
I love a good school setting. Any kind of magical training, or spy training, or arts training in a YA book is greatly enhance by a fantastic school, and Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality is a fantastic school. The teachers range from a werewolf who can't float, to a vampire who needs to be fed, to a teacher who thinks she works at a completely normal finishing school. The uneasy partnership with the Bunson and Lacroix's Boys' Polytechnique (a school for the training of evil geniuses) puts the whole enterprise right over the top for me.

6. The Dirigible
And Mademoiselle Geraldine's is not located in any run-of-the-mill building, it's in a dirigible. A floating mechanized spy school is the best idea. It's patrolled by a brigade of mechanicals and takes a veritable army of sooties to keep the ship afloat. It's location (and very existence) is mostly a secret. The floating nature of the school makes the inevitable sneaking around that much more harrowing.

7. Alternate History
I'm always up for an alternate history. Costume drama, am I right? I just love to see how authors mix real history with imagination. The details in the Victorian Steampunk setting are really what make the story for me. The floating school, the mechanimals, and the flyway men are brilliant inventions. (More alternate histories here, here, here, and here.)

8.Sophronia's Squad
Sophronia is marvelous, and she definitely anchors the story, but it's her friends that make this series so endearing. Sophronia could never execute her schemes without her roommates Dimity, Agnes, and Sigheag and Soap and the sooties. Dimity's brother, Pilllover, and inventor extraordinaire, Vieve Lefoux also play crucial roles. I actually quite like Felix Mersey, as well.

Sorry, could not get to reading this book on time - thank you for the opportunity to review!

Still working on cleaning out my netgalley of books that are not on my kindle either because I forgot to download or because I have transferred to a different kindle and they got lost in the shuffle. Sorry I didn't get to this book, I really enjoyed the first one.

Oh, how I've wanted to like this series. I've tried it using my netgalley files on my kindle, I've tried in print, and I even tried audiobook in hopes I might get into the series. It's just everything I thought I wanted. I can't even say what didn't make it work for me, I just know it, sadly, did not. :(

Another cute book in this series.

These characters just get more likeable as you go. Girl's school with some definite twists!

Sophronia and her friends are back in the second novel of Gail Carriger's Finishing School series, Curtsies & Conspiracies. Sophronia has now been at Mademoiselle Geraldine's for six months. Six month reviews for the first years are due and it is more than a little distressing for all. Some do so poorly that they are put on probation, but Sophronia does so well that she finds herself ostracized from all of her friends. Because of this, Sophronia finds herself virtually friendless, while still having to deal with classes, enemies (Monique!), as well as a vampire plot to kidnap her friends. This is all in addition to Mademoiselle Geraldine's making a trip to London with several members of Bunsons (the boys school for evil geniuses).

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Sophronia continues to be up to her usual antics, while we also get to join her for her espionage classes, trips to the boiler room to visit her sootie friend (Soap), and watch as she handles the horrible Monique and Preesha.

If you haven't read any Gail Carriger books, I suggest you stop what you are doing immediately and go pick up her Finishing School series. It is an extremely entertaining read!