Review: Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger (Finishing School #1)

Publisher - Atom
Publication Date - 5th February 2013
Paperback - 312 pages
Genre - Young Adult/Steampunk

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 4 out of 5: I really liked it.

Reviewed by - Maddie

Book Info - 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 a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners—and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage—in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

My Thoughts - So, normally I hate it when books are compared to Harry Potter -or Twilight, or The Hunger Games, or The Fault in our Stars- but this time I understand.  Remember when you were reading The Philosopher's Stone and it just felt.... fun?  Well, Gail Carriger has recreated this but at 'Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality' and without the terrifying ending with Voldemort.

This book was clearly intended for the younger reader, preferably nine years or older, but as a fifteen year old girl, who normally wouldn't be seen dead with a cover like that (seriously?  Sophronia is meant to be a Victorian girl of fourteen!  Not a twenty year old model with a bad cosplay dress), this book would be enjoyed by any girl of any age who just wants some fun.

I didn't have to wait till Sophronia was sent to school to get interested.  I was really quickly involved in the steam-punk Britain she lives in.  Unlike Harry Potter, there is no moment where she moves from our world to the steam-punk world.  I have to admit I missed that moment of revelation.  However Carriger did successfully describe an alternative steam powered place, full of robotic service maids and flying carriages. 

When she arrives at the finishing school I couldn't quite tell if anyone would be surprised by the lessons.  In a world of mechanical butlers and vampires who be surprised by a teacher with werewolf tendencies?  It works though, because instead of being surprised by lessons on flirtations devices you just accept it and hop on the floating school of wonders.  Despite a mystery involving a brand new communication invention and Sophronia's new found enemy possibly concealing it, my focus was on the girls of the boarding school.  

A little gossipy and a little bitchy, all the girls have their own character and there not the cut out stereotypes we're used too.  There is a supposed love interest but he has a personality and it's not too gut wrenching.  It also peaked my interest for the sequel 'Curtsies & Conspiracies' which I will read when I need a little fun delight.

Other books in the series:
1. Etiquette and Espionage
2. Curtsies and Conspiracies

Guest Review: The Queen is Dead by Kate Locke (The Immortal Empire #2)

Today, I'm pleased to welcome back Sarah from Feeling Fictional, who has written a guest review for The Queen is Dead by Kate Locke. Thank you Sarah!

Publisher - Orbit
Publication Date - 5th February 2013
Paperback - 368 pages
Genre - Urban Fantasy

Source - Received from publisher for review


Book Info - Xandra Vardan is the newly crowned Goblin Queen of England, But her complicated life is by no means over.

There are the political factions vying for her favour, and she's under the all-too-close scrutiny of Queen Victoria, who for some reason wants her head. Not to mention her werewolf boyfriend with demands of his own, and a mother hell-bent on destroying the monarchy. Now she's the suspect in a murder investigation - and Xandra barely knows which way is up.

What she does know is that nothing lasts forever - and immortality isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Sarah's Review - God Save the Queen was a fantastic start to Kate Locke's alternate history urban fantasy series so I've been looking forward to getting my hands on The Queen is Dead ever since I first read it. If the stunning covers for this series aren't enough to convince you to read them then the mash up of genres should be, throw in a hint of steampunk, vampires, werewolves and a heroine who has just found out she is the goblin queen and you're definitely onto a winner! Everything I loved about the first book was back again in this 2nd instalment and it's left me desperate to read Long Live the Queen when it publishes in November.

Xandra had quite a shock at the end of the last book when she discovered that she is in fact a goblin rather than the halvie that she always thought she was. The goblins are the most ferocious of the supernatural races and the ones who are most feared by the rest of the population. She has always thought of them as monsters so her world view has taken quite a battering thanks to her newly acquired status as their queen. Not only is she questioning herself and worrying over her new abilities but she also finds that she has become a political pawn that each of the different factions all want to win into their corner, she is going to have to pick her allies wisely though or she'll just end up in an even bigger mess. After everything that Xandra went through in the first book to protect her siblings I have to say I was a bit disappointed in them for abandoning her when she needed their support in return, it's just a good job she had Vex to lean on. Of course the fact that they have been ignoring her for the last few months doesn't stop Xandra diving straight into the investigation when she discovers that her brother Val is missing no matter how much trouble it might get her into. She is the kind of girl who will protect her loved ones at any cost and I can't fault her for that.

I love the way things have developed between Xandra and Vex and I think she sums up my feelings for him perfectly when she says "One of the things I adored about him was he didn't go all chest-thumping on me and treat me like a delicate flower. I knew he'd rip apart anyone who tried to hurt me, but he'd give me first crack at it." I love the fact that although he is an alpha he doesn't try to take charge of every situation. He is supportive and protective of her without being smothering and I like the way he is so calm and centred while Xandra is struggling to come to terms with the revelations of her heritage. Vex obviously loves Xandra for who she is and he is the only one who has always been there for her when she needed him.

Another thing I really enjoyed was getting to learn more about the goblins, we get to see a different side to them as Xandra reluctantly spends more time with the plague and I've come to really like the goblin prince. There have also been a few interesting developments with Vex's werewolf pack and it will be interesting to see how that plays out in the next book. I'm thoroughly enjoying this series and I'm sure anyone who enjoyed the first book is going to love this instalment just as much. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Other books in this series:
1. God Save the Queen
2. The Queen is Dead

Guest Review: God Save the Queen by Kate Locke (The Immortal Empire #1)

Sarah from Feeling Fictional has very kindly offered to let me use her review of God Save the Queen as a guest review here at Once Upon a Series. Thank you very much Sarah, and for those readers who haven't checked out Sarah's blog before... go do it now!

Publisher - Orbit
Publication Date - 5th July 2012
Paperback - 384 pages
Genre - Urban Fantasy

Source - Received from publisher for review


Book Info - The Year is 2012 - and Queen Victoria still rules with an immortal fist.

She's the undead matriarch of a Britain where the Aristocracy is made up of werewolves and vampires, where goblins live underground and mothers know better than to let their children out after dark. A world where technology lives side by side with magic, where being nobility means being infected with the Plague (side-effects include undeath) and Hysteria is the popular affliction of the day.

Xandra Vardan is a member of the elite Royal Guard, and it's her duty to protect the Aristocracy. But things get complicated when her sister goes missing. Xandra will not only realise she's the prize in a dangerous power struggle - but she'll also uncover a conspiracy that threatens to topple the empire itself.

Sarah's Review - As soon as I saw the cover I knew I wanted to read God Save the Queen - it was the combination of the steampunk style outfit with modern London buildings in the background that raised my curiosity. You've got to love a heroine with bright red hair too! Reading the blurb and discovering Kate Locke has created an alternate history where Queen Victoria didn't die - she was actually infected with the plague and became a vampire - just sealed the deal and moved this onto my 'must read' pile of books. Imagine a world where Queen Victoria is celebrating her 175 year on the throne, a world where the British Aristocracy were all infected with a plague that turned them into vampires. The same plague that turned the Scottish Aristocracy into werewolves but didn't really have any effect on the main population. You have a world full of steampunk technology, where women wear corsets and where your heritage dictates your place in society. You also have a story that is a mixture of urban fantasy, alternate history and steampunk - in other words a story that is full of awesome.

Our heroine is Xandra, a 22 year old halvie who was born of a vampire father and a human courtesan and who now works for the Royal Guard protecting the Aristocracy. When her sister Dede goes missing and is presumed dead Xandra is the only one who doesn't believe what she is told, she is convinced that her sister is still out there somewhere and is determined to find out what happened to her. Even Xandra's brother Val and her other sister Avery believe that Dede is dead so she is on her own when it comes to the investigation. The more Xandra starts digging into Dede's disappearance the more she starts to uncover about her own past and the secrets those she is closest to have been keeping from her.

Xandra is the kind of character I find it easy to care for, she is strong and independent but she is also caring and she knows when to accept the help that is offered to her. She has been kept in the dark for her whole life and everything she thinks she knows is completely turned upside down throughout the story. I can't say much more without giving spoilers so I'm just going to say I was impressed with the way she coped with the revelations that were thrown at her. I really found myself liking her family unit, particularly the relationships she has with her siblings but some of the characters I'm most interested in finding out more about are Vex (the Alpha of the British werewolves) and the Goblin Prince. I have a feeling there are a lot more secrets still to uncover and I'll be interested to see how the story develops in the next book.

Considering God Save the Queen was written by an American author it had an authentic British feel to it that I really enjoyed. Add in a great cast of characters, a mystery that kept me guessing and some fabulous world building and this is a book you won't want to miss out on. I can't wait to get my hands on the next instalment and will definitely be adding Kate Locke to my list of authors to watch out for.

Other books in the series:
1. God Save the Queen
2. The Queen is Dead

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