Waistcoats and Weaponry

Finishing School, Book 3

By: Gail Carriger

Narrated by: Moira Quirk

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 stowaway on a train to return their classmate Sidheag to her werewolf pack in Scotland. Because no one would have suspected what - and who - they would find aboard the suspiciously empty train.

Sophronia uncovers a plot that threatens to dissolve all of London into chaos and must decide where her loyalties lie once and for all.

©2014 Tofa Borregaard (P)2014 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Absolutely charming, comical, and full of whimsy. I wish I could attend a school as fun as this finishing academy, with its host of endearing, headstrong characters. It is the perfect steampunk version of Harry Potter." (Marie Lu, author of the Legend trilogy)

"If spunky Lady Sybil from Downton Abbey happened onto a steampunk set, she might look a lot like Sophronia Angelina Temminnick." ( ShelfAwareness)

"This witty, light-hearted series is not to be missed." ( Booklist)

Brilliant

I could not stop listening. Marvellous as always. Would absolutely recommend this book to anyone.

Delightful series

I have really enjoyed this series. It is quirky and fun. I am listening to it with my 12 year old daughter and she adores it (and has relistened multiple times now). It has strong assertive female (and male) characters which is such a pleasant change for this type of book where so often the female characters are cringeworthy. I totally recommend it as a light well written book that successfully crosses over between YA and adult. Love the narrator also.

Cue Love Triangle Volume

As much as I loved the two previous books in this series, I was admittedly let down by Waistcoats and Weaponry. The plot was pretty much as follows: "Oh Soap!" "Oh Felix!" "Oh Soap!" "Oh, a train." "Oh Soap!" "Oh Felix." Yes, it was nearly all love triangle and Sophronia worrying over her attraction to Soap until Felix came into the picture and then it was distraction by how handsome Felix is and all.

Story: Sidhe's absence has Sophronia worried greatly. Something is going on with the werewolves. Meanwhile, visits to Soap are creating conflicts in Sophronia - she realizes she is attracted to him and it is clear that he is attracted to her, too. But then, Felix shows his handsome face and she becomes even more confused. Cue a ball at her house in which both Felix and Soap will appear. She'll use the night to figure out her own feelings - and stumble upon a conspiracy accidentally while trying to escape the ball.

I honestly kept waiting for the main mystery of the device to come back into the plot - which it doesn't until nearly the end of the book. And not through Sophronia's intelligence, either. She stumbles upon a part of the conspiracy accidentally (and unrealistically). The flights of fancy in this volume were great and honestly starting to veer too far into the 'coincidence too many' side of things.

I looked forward to Sophronia figuring things out and getting things done; none of which really happened here. She was pretty much a love sick moon calf and nothing else really mattered. Sadly, the romance is really Carriger's weakness and it shows yet again in this series.

There is a very unsurprising twist at the end; really, the only way to resolve the love triangle satisfactorily. I will, of course, keep reading and hope a return to the form of the first books.

I listened to the audible version and the narrator is so good - I never want to hear this book any other way.