{ARC Review} Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Carriger

Series: Finishing School #2

Publication date: November 4, 2013

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

ISBN-13: 9780316190114

Synopsis

Not all finishing schools are the same, especially Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality where the young ladies are not only thought the proper way to act in society but they are also instructed and encouraged in the arts of espionage, diversion and the difference between cooking for 4 and poison for two.

Sophronia has find herself quiet comfortable with this unexpected finishing school and after proving to herself that this is the place she has to be and with suspicious and unusual behaviors occurring on the school Sophronia is not a minute late to inspect what is happening.

With someone after her best friend, a conspiracy is a foot and hands on the job of breaking a reputation Soprhonia might have her hands in more that she can chew, but she must learn to be careful with the games she plays.

 Review

Curtsies & Conspiracies is the second book in the Finishing School by Gail Carriger where we find Sophronia a girl that wasn’t really meant for the average Victorian lifestyle her family was pushing on her and how on a twist of fate she ends up in a finishing school that is more then she could have expected.

As Etiquette & Espionage, this book is enriched by the secondary characters to the point that I think that at least one of them deserves her own book. The mix of new characters and the collision with the old ones was brilliant, although at one point I think there was some inside joke when they introduced some of the, I will have to read Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate to make sure there aren’t some character from that series popping up here.

Compared to the first book, I feel that danger and the time where Sophronia and her friends start taking action comes sooner in this book, making it move at a faster pace then Etiquette and Espionage.

This book is more set right now into living the moment and in a one conspiracy at a time at a time where I suspect everything will start tying up, there is no main villain from the beginning there is no Voldemort, no corrupt government to overthrow or anything that sets a specific group as the main evil doer.

We are all experiencing this world one book at a time trying to see behind the masks that each group hides behind, and to hopefully get to see their true intentions.

I would like to do a Fangirling on post of this book once it has been published so that we can all talk about this series in an uncensored matter full of theories and spoilers, is anyone game?

Rating:

{Steampunctober} Win a Curtsies & Conspiracies ARC

Sadly Steampunctober has come to an end, but before it is truly over I would like to give you guys the opportunity to win the ARC of Gail Carriger’s Curtsies & Conspiracies.

I know the rafflecopter gadget is self-explanatory but still there is this one thing I would like to leave no doubts about, there is part that says to leave a comment, a meaningful comment, which means no “great post”, “great review”, etc. will be accepted as meaningful comments.

By the way if you have an old comment in a steampunctober post, those count too, just add them on

The post that are eligible for you to comment and enter for a chance to win are any comment with this banner:

And last but not least sorry but the winner must live in the U.S., sorry for all of those that don’t live in the U.S. L

Winner will be notified via mail, if he or she doesn’t answer within 48 hours another winner will be picked.

Good luck guys and I hope you have enjoyed steampunctober.

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{Interview} A taste of how Miss Gail Carriger does steampunk

Today we have Gail Carriger visiting, Miss Carriger is better known as the author of the best seller series Parasol Protectorate and her newest series Finishing School. And she is here today to give us a taste of how she does steampunk.

  

How you got into steampunk?

I came to steampunk first as an aesthetic movement. I’m a longtime fan of vintage clothing and Goth style; steampunk drew me in as a cheerful melding of the two. I also love seeing recycled technology used as jewelry, and other examples of how creative the maker community has become over the past few years.

What motivated you to write in this genre?

I'm perhaps one of the last surviving fans of Gothic literature. The Victorian Gothic literature movement saw the birth of science fiction (not to mention other commercial genres like fantasy, horror, action adventure, mysteries, and romance). The current steampunk literary movement is a weird kind of full circle, taking sci–fi back to its roots, and I love that!

Photo by J. Daniewl Sawyer

How do you see this community growth as an active member?

Steampunk is a unique movement in that it isn’t entirely literary – it has ties to the green movement, the maker community, burning man, musical groups, historical reenactment societies, and the fashion world. Should it crest in popularity within all of these different areas at the same time, steampunk might well rise to the forefront of world counterculture. But I don’t think that is likely to occur.

Right now, I believe it has immense escapist appeal. With our economy in chaos, steampunk offers up an alternative lifestyle of sedate civilized behavior. Do I see that lasting? Probably not, but then no one attributed urban fantasy with much staying power either, so I continue to hope.

Could you possible recommend a movie using a stemapunk books?

I always recommend people start with a visual literary source when delving into steampunk such as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, or Girl Genius.

Some of us have been curious, where you buy your parasols?

I mostly purchase my parasols at steampunk conventions, my octopus one is from Clockwork Couture , and the rest come from online vendor Lace Parasols and Fans who have a generous and varied selection and decent prices.

Do you do your own gowns?

Short answer, yes.

Photo by J. Daniel Sawyer

 Long answer: I'm open to thrifting an other possibilities, and these days I shop for accessories at steampunk events. One of my most commented upon pieces is a corset I tore apart and covered in buttons and brass spoons. Yes, spoons. When I'm thrifting, I try to train my mind to see what a piece of clothing could be, rather than what it is. Also I keep my eyes open at places like Target, Kohls, or JC Penny.

Steampunk turns up unexpectedly everywhere. I have a whole section of my website on steampunk fashion with lots of images and links to easy steampunk DIY projects. http://www.gailcarriger.com/steampunk/the-aesthetic My most popular steampunk DIY is the pocket belt from cargo pants. http://retrorack.blogspot.com/2012/05/steampunk-diy-pocket-belt.html

Some other steampunk merchants that you wish others would know about?

The cover model for the Parasol Protectorate series, Donna Ricci, has great steampunk store that I think everyone should know about, Clockwork Couture. And I always recommend Dark Garden  for corsets.

New and soon to be released books by Gail Carriger:

-         Out now a collection of short stories where you can find an original Parasol Protectorail short story.

Findthis book in the UK                                    Find this book in the US

-         Coming out the 5^th of November:

I hope you enjoyed getting to know a bit of what is in Miss Carriger’s mind, if you wish to know more about miss Carriger know that you can find her in:

Goodreads

Her personal blog

Herofficial blog

Twitter

{Trailer Sunday} Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to finishing school. 

 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. Sophronia and her friends are going to have a rousing first year at school. 

 First in a four book YA series set 25 years before the Parasol Protectorate but in the same universe.