Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

ISBN: 9780316190084

Publisher: Atom

Pages: 307

Fourteen year old Sophronia is the bane of her mother's existence. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper etiquette at tea - and god forbid anyone see her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. She enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But little do Sophronia or her mother know that this is a school where ingenious young girls learn to finish, all right - but it's a different kind of finishing. Mademoiselle Geraldine's certainly trains young ladies in the finer arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but also in the other kinds of finishing: the fine arts of death, diversion, deceit, espionage, and the modern weaponries.

I really enjoyed reading Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger, which I received for review from Atom. Etiquette & Espionage tended to lean towards the younger side of YA, which I didn't initially expect as it was also categorised as Steampunk. I liked reading about Sophronia's first year as a Debut. The reader learns about both the world outside and inside of Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality, whilst Sophronia does too.  

My favourite parts within Etiquette & Espionage were the Mechanimals and the fashion.

I liked the Mechanimals because they were really different, and I have never read about anything resembling them. I also liked them because they helped to expand upon the characters themselves through the characters reactions to them. For instance, Sophronia showed a more caring side with her Mechanimal. I also liked the fashion within Etiquette & Espionage as the clothes mentioned fitted in with the Victorian era, whilst still being incorporated into the story. Many of the lessons at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality were focused around clothes and accessories, such as umbrellas, handkerchiefs & fans, that could be used as weapons and diversions yet still kept the pretence to onlookers that they were ordinary ladies.

I love the cover of Etiquette & Espionage as it portrays the hidden studies at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality well but subtly. I would definitely recommend this book!

Available at Amazon.com & Amazon.co.uk.