The second book of Gail Carriger's Finishing School series is Curtsies & Conspiracies. This series is a little bit steampunk, a little bit paranormal, a little bit spy, and all together awesome. It is set in the same universe as her series The Parasol Protectorate, only this takes places earlier in the time line. In fact some of the characters from that series make an appearance in this one, only in a younger state.
Sophronia, in her first six months of finishing school for spies, has been mixed up with intrigue over a stolen device, and made a rather good show of it, despite the cheese pie thrown at her. She is just settling back into school, when their evaluations come about. She does well on her marks, in fact the highest that has been seen at a six month evaluation, but that makes her an outcast among her classmates. She smells a set up, and for now only has Soap, the sootie, and Genevieve, or Vieve to her friends, to confide in.
With evalauations finished, new excitement is bubbling at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality when it is announced they will be traveling to London to see the first flight using the Aether. Oh, and they will be taking along a selct few gentlemen from Bunson's, a school for evil geniuses.
Sophronia has her hands full figuring the real reason behind the London trip, who is trying to kidnap Dimity, and discrediting Professor Shrimpdittle for Vieve. No to mention Lord Mersey's new intentions toward her, and the sorting out of her feelings for Soap.
I simply adore the world that Ms. Carriger has created in her books. The intrigue, the fashions, and the politics are fantastic. Her storylines and characters are so much fun to read. I am never bored by her books. If I could pick a fantasy world to live in, I think that hers would be at the top of my list.
I love that Sophronia is an independent and very capable young lady. She does what she needs to do to get the job done, and never expects for some male to rescue her. Not that I don't love the male characters, too. Soap is wonderful. He is street smart, and just has this way about him that makes him very appealing to me.
Bonus in this book, everybody's favorite fashionable vampire, Lord Akeldama, makes a brief but wonderful appearance. And can I just take a minute to talk about how creative Ms. Carriger's character names are, for instance Lord Dingleproops.
Hints of more intrigue at the end have me wanting more already. Why must I have to wait so long between books?
Currently Reading:
Requiem
by Lauren Oliver
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