Book Nook: Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

As much as I don't want to admit it, I need more of Ms. Carriger's universe. When I finished the last book of the Parasol Protectorate "Timeless", I was pleased with the neatly wrapped ending but found myself wanting to know more of the story. There had been so many unanswered questions about the background of characters like Sidheag and Genevieve. Never fear, Etiquette & Espionage, the first book in a new series Finishing School, nicely fills the void.

Set in the same universe as the Parasol Protectorate, this books takes place a generation earlier. We are introduced to Sofronia Angelina Temmenick, a precocious fourteen year old, with a passion for climbing and getting into everything she shouldn't. Sent off to a very unusual floating finishing school, Sofronia meets a werewolf, a vampire, learns how to curtsy as well as how to hold a dagger and poison someone with Digitalis. 

One of my biggest complaints about the Parasol Protectorate was that the language in the first few books was stilted, overly stuffy, and just felt too forced. In this book it seems Ms. Carriger has gone the opposite way. It has a decidedly young style of writing. I read a lot of children's and YA if the covers are pretty enough and this has definitely been toned down. I understand you can't have too much bodice ripping when your audience gets younger, but I hope as we grow up with Sofronia, maybe more of Ms. Carriger's more adult cheekiness will come out. I did very much enjoy the supernatural bodice ripper steampunk adventure comedy of manners mystery genre that she had perfected.

I can certainly see Ms. Carriger's writing chops improving. The story line holds up better and it seems less filled with the frivolous details that Soulless was prone too. For a first timer reading this book without Parasol Protectorate experience, the werewolves and vampires play a much smaller part of the world but this doesn't help when terms like "Progressive" or "London Hours" are bandied around without much explanation. 

I enjoyed this book very much. It is very different from the Peculiars in the sense that the tone is more joyful and silly, but the setting and description were similar. I would have to say I think this book is more like Stephanie Burgis's Kat, Incorrigible or DiTerlizzi's Secret of Wondla. We have a strong heroine, a hodgepodge group of loyal compatriots, and unusual circumstances. If you enjoy adventure, girls who don't follow rigid social structures placed upon them, or afternoon tea, you should check out this new series from Gail Carriger (and maybe some of the other ones I mentioned too)