fishgirl182

Etiquette & Espionage centers around Sophronia, a fourteen year old girl with a knack for getting into trouble. Sophronia is chosen for a mysterious finishing school that teaches more than just etiquette. Its main purpose is to train young ladies to be skilled spymasters. Sophronia is soon embroiled in intrigue when a prototype goes missing and she must find it before it falls into the wrong hands. As a fan of Carriger's steampunk Parasol Protectorate series, I was really excited to see what she would do with her first foray into the YA market. I really wanted to love this but, while I liked the characters and the great world building, there was just something missing. I normally enjoy Carriger's whimsical writing, but it started to feel suffocating and repetitive. The plot was also slow and I found myself getting bored losing interest. For a spy novel, there was very little suspense and I never felt that any of the characters was ever really in danger. I really liked Sophronia,however, who reminded me of a younger version of Alexia from Soulless. Headstrong and opinionated, Sophronia is very curious about the world around her and doesn't hesitate to explore it, even if it means hanging outside of a floating dirigible. ---to be continued