Not for our main character, Miss Sophronia Angelina Temminnick, and certainly not for me. “No one said learning etiquette and espionage would be easy, my dear.”Īnd it wasn’t easy, my dears. “But I have advanced eyelash fluttering to practice, and a mathematics problem concerning how to order strychnine and a lamb dinner on a limited budget, and three chapters on court etiquette to read, and my handkerchief to starch, and the quadrille to memorize!” Etiquette and Espionage had neither, I’m afraid. In Parasol Protectorate, Carriger’s trademark sense of humor was what made the series stand out, but there was also some substance underneath, and the plots kept me engaged and interested. It took me a while to put my thoughts in order and figure out exactly what went wrong, at least for me, and even now I can only explain a part of it. However, I don’t think Etiquette and Espionage was up to her usual standards, and it makes me very sad that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped I would.

The Parasol Protectorate series is a favorite of mine, despite losing some steam in the later installments. Werewolves and vampires give the story a supernatural twist.2.5 stars, rounded up because I'm feeling particularly generous today.īefore any of you start plotting my painful and untimely death, I should point out that I’m a big fan of Ms. Because Etiquette & Espionage is set in Victorian times, terms such as 'colored' are used to describe Soap, the male love interest, who's black. A budding interracial friendship/romance is one plot thread. While there's murder or death in the novel, guns, bows and arrows, and cannons are used by adults, and there's mild hand-to-hand combat, gambling, and knife fighting. Fourteen-year-old Sophronia attends a finishing school for assassins, where she learns to pick locks and use high-tech weaponry (dangerous knives, scissors) - as well as how to be a lady. Like her other novels, this one - her first for the YA audience - features strong female and male role models and a puzzling mystery set in a steampunk Victorian world. Parents need to know that Etiquette & Espionage is the the first book in the Finishing School series by popular adult author Gail Carriger. A mention of trying to put gin into punch.ĭid you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Etiquette espionage