Etiquette & Espionage

Finishing School, Book 1

By: Gail Carriger

Narrated by: Moira Quirk

This young adult steampunk series debut set in the same world as the New York Times best-selling Parasol Protectorate is filled with all the saucy adventure and droll humor Gail Carriger's legions of fans have come to adore.

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 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.

©2013 Gail Carriger (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Funny and Fun!

Any additional comments?

Etiquette & Espionage was a lot of fun to read. Apparently this is a spin-off from Gail Carrieger’s popular adult series, The Parasol Protectorate. Etiquette & Espionage is definitely young adult.

In the beginning of the story there is a really funny scene that had me realize these books are intended to be a fun and funny story. I mean, really, the girls are learning etiquette and espionage on a floating school and it takes a really fast, high jumping werewolf that wears a hat (even when he shifts) to herd them all onto the platform to get them to enter the school? That should tell you!

The characters are all really different. The main character, Sophronia, always seems really concerned about learning how to truly act properly, but she’s so distracted elsewhere that it almost seems like it’s too much of an inconvenience for her to actually learn how to be a lady…even though it’s not like she didn’t really want to learn. This isn’t the case for all of the characters. There’s another girl who I would really like to be consider as the “mean girl;” a girl who really only wants to be a lady and go to a proper etiquette school. And then there’s a girl who seems like she has no intention of being a lady at all. My favorite is Sophronia’s little clockwork dog. So cute! Oh…and the boy that is introduced is cute too.

There is this whole detective thing going on throughout the story, and it all unfolds in the end in a very fun way. I’m really looking forward to reading more from this series.

Steampunkish FUN!!

Now this is what Young Adult should be - fun and fast and witty! There is no triple love play, agonizing angst and long drawn out periods of self pity. Jump on board Carriger's air ship and have a great adventure!

Entertained but not enchanted

I came to this novel having read the Parasol Protectorate series previously. Etiquette & Espionage possesses much of the wit, charm, and creativity I expected from Gail Carriger's work, and completely delivered on fashion, fripperies, and frou frou. References to the Parasol Protectorate universe and timeline were tasteful and thrilling. I think it was a lighter book than her previous work, and I appreciated it's humor and wacky shenanigans. However, I'm not SO anxious to get the next book, and that's never a good sign. I just don't find the characters as compelling as those in Carriger's previous works. But we can't expect a lord Akeldama on EVERY street corner, can we my little tulip petal?

Finishing School sounds like fun!

I loved listening to this! Great narration. I've bought all 4 in the series now.

Can't Stop Listening!

If you could sum up Etiquette & Espionage in three words, what would they be?

Fun, Addicting and Creative

What was one of the most memorable moments of Etiquette & Espionage?

So far Bumbee the mechanimal dog is my favorite!

Which character – as performed by Moira Quirk – was your favorite?

Vieve the gifted 9 year old inventor. BUT Moira Quick does a fabulous job with ALL of the character voices!

Any additional comments?

Absolutely loved listening to this book! It is obviously teen fiction but is great for listening to in the car or while doing chores or cooking!

Fun Book

The writing is light hearted and the narrator does a great job. She fits the story - truely bringing it to life. I wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't know if the story would be dark given that it teaches students to be spys and assassins. The book has great flow and personality. I wouldn't mind giving the second book in the series a try.

this book is much better than the book

The audio makes the book move faster than its text counter part and enjoyable reread.

Absolutely Delightful

Anyone who enjoys Carrigers Parasol Protectorate series will love this dive back into the universe with a more youthful twist to it. Sephronia is a charming protagonist who I really enjoyed along with a wonderful cast of characters including some crossover from the protectorate! I would highly recommend this for a good steampunk Victoria adventure, with more youthful enthusiasm than any sort of romance, though I imagine later in the series we may see some of that. At least I hope so!

Brilliant. Prepare To Be Enthralled

Where does Etiquette & Espionage rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top three. I've listened to this book several times already.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Sophronia. She's a wonderful combination of Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, and Elizabeth Bennet. She's believable and strong, curious and nicely rebellious.

Which scene was your favorite?

The conflagration at the end. Cheese pies, flaming gazebos, and ruined frocks. Any more detail will spoil it.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me laugh and cheer. The book itself has a lot of great moments, but Moira Quirk's reading infused it with so much more, it became an out-loud reaction. Quirk's ability to do accents and male voices (and give all of them such a wonderfully humorous overtone) really sets this book apart from others I've listened to.

Any additional comments?

This book is just so much fun on so many levels. The story is wonderful (like all good steampunk, the setting is lush but doesn't overpower the storytelling), the characters are both believable and enjoyable, Quirk's reading is award-worthy, and I'm recommending this book to everyone I know. Get it.

AMAZING!!!!!

I loved this book.It was very well told and kept me intrigued the whole time.