Release Day Review: Waistcoats & Weaponry (Finishing School #3)

Waistcoats & Weaponry (Finishing School #3)
By Gail Carriger

Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: 11/4/14
Disclaimer: Copy received from the publisher via Netgalley. This does not affect the content of the review.
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Class is back in session...

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. No one suspected what--or who--they would find aboard that suspiciously empty train. Sophronia uncovers a plot that threatens to throw all of London into chaos and she must decide where her loyalties lie, once and for all.

Gather your poison, steel tipped quill, and the rest of your school supplies and join Mademoiselle Geraldine's proper young killing machines in the third rousing installment in the New York Times bestselling Finishing School Series by steampunk author, Gail Carriger.

Review: This third installment in the Finishing School series is as charming, funny, and action-packed as its predecessors. I find these books to be a lot of fun; a farcical comedy of manners blended with spy vs. spy thriller and set in a steampunk world inhabited by supernatural creatures. The light, humorous tone, the contrast between the strict social rules of the Victorian age and the madcap adventures undertaken by the spies in training make for very entertaining reading. That said, it’s the heroine, Sophronia, that really makes this series.

Sophronia is a competent, intelligent character who excels at being an “intelligencer” yet can still make mistakes and is uncertain about what she wants. She’s a fully fleshed out character who matures with every book. After being forced to face the tragic consequences of her actions in Curtsies & Conspiracies, Waistcoats & Weaponry has a more mature Sophronia pondering her future as she must someday decide what side she is on when it comes to the espionage game.

Complicating this decision are Sophronia’s feelings towards her friend Soap, a worker in the engineering room of the floating finishing school, and her flirtation with Lord Felix Mersey, a handsome nobleman with close ties to her enemies. Yes, there is a love triangle, more central to this book than in any book previously, but I feel it’s written well, gives the boys some added depth, and rather than cause the narrative to stall Sophronia’s struggle with her feelings allows for great character development (plus I was very happy with her ultimate choice).

The other characters, particularly Sophronia’s friends Dimity and Sidheag (strong female friendships, another thing I love about this series) are given time to shine, though I would have liked more of Sidheag's story, even knowing what the future holds for her in The Parasol Protectorate series. The plot provides plenty of action in the form of a train heist, a game of chicken with a dirigible, assorted disguises, etc. and it wraps things up nicely yet leaves plenty of threads dangling for future installments.

Recommended for those who enjoy historical romance, particularly the Victorian era, humorous adventures, awesome heroines, and the idea of a mechanical dog named Bumbersnoot.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014