Waistcoats & Weaponry

Waistcoats & Weaponry is the third book of the Finishing School series by Gail Carriger.

Sophronia continues second year of 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 charming Lord Felix Mersey hijack a suspiciously empty train to return their chum Sidheag to her werewolf pack in Scotland.  But when Sophronia discovers they are being trailed by dirigible of Picklemen and flyawaymen, she unearths a plot that threatens to throw all of London in choas.  With her friends in mortal danger, Sophronia must sacrifice what she holds most dear-- her freedom.

The Breakdown:
1.  I love that this series really does a great job of being fun to read and having the intrigue of a spy game to it.  Carriger is doing that, plus she is setting up the events that lead to the reason for things in her Parasol Protectorate series.  She ties them together so well without being over bearing about it.

2. I simply adore Sophronia.  She is smart, creative, and loyal, all things that make a strong heroine in my opinion.  She keeps her wits about her, even in the most dire of situations.  I love that she still has a big heart, even when being trained in the art of espionage.  She goes to such lengths to help her friends, even if she is not in total support of their plans.

3.  As far as her love life, I am fully on Team Soap.  I don't care that is a sootie, he is totally right for her.  He loves her, and would not try to stop her from her work.  Plus he is way more trust worthy than Felix, with his dubious ties to the Picklemen.

4. Carriger is killing me with the ending.  I can hardly wait to see how everything will turn out for Sophronia in the end, because the next book is suppose to be the last in the series.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read